A generation of Australian children grew up with the distinctive El Caballo Blanco-ooooo television ads for the famous dancing white horses then based at a theme park in western Sydney.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The park is long gone but the legend of El Caballo Blanco: The Dance of the White Horses lives on under the direction of Swiss-born trainer Rene Gasser, who is based in Mount Macedon in Victoria.
Gasser and his wife Barbara have been sharing their twin passions of horses and live entertainment since 2000 but were constantly asked by the public if their horses were ''the ones from El Caballo Blanco''.
''So we decided we should dig into it and we got the name and bought the beautiful Spanish horses and the costumes and the saddles and the response has been unbelievable,'' he said. ''Everywhere we've been, we've been sold-out. It's been phenomenal.''
The troupe of horses and riders has been touring for seven months, with Canberra one of the last shows before ''the boys go in the paddock for a well-deserved holiday''. Gasser will then travel to the United States to negotiate taking the show there for the first time next year.
The show at the Australian Institute of Sport Arena on Sunday night also includes Spanish flamenco dancers and guitarists. Each horse takes about 10 years to become fully-trained, with the dramatic rear-up action a throw-back to historic military manoeuvres.
Gasser said only horses who could also handle the noise and excitement of a crowd were used in the show.
''My family has been involved with training horses and performing horses and the military for seven generations. So it's a bit in the blood,'' he said.
''Our crowds are also 90 per cent horse people so they know if a horse is enjoying its work or not.''
A spokeswoman for Territory and Municipal Services said the Government Vet was aware of the horse show and had no issues with it.
