Festa Sant Antoni Abad

This weekend see the festival of Sant Antoni Abad in our village of Serinya. St Antoni among other things one of the patron saints of animals, so tomorrow at midday a special Mass is held in the village church and the priest will bless the assembled animals, which are mostly but not exclusively horses. The usual pack of scruffy dogs get a look in and someone invariably brings along a cage of hens. However the horse is the star attraction, with people making a real effort to show off their mounts and themselves.

Our friend and neighbour Rafe is the star of the show tomorrow, being the leader and trusted with the banner of Sant Antoni as he leads the parade round the village. He runs the local riding school and takes great pride in ensuring his pupils and their rides are turned out in splendour.

I am not sure where the custom originated, but we are a very rural community and to a Catalan peasant his animals are up there, on a level with his land, and just ahead of his
wife, and so deserving of blessing. It is always fun if the sun shines and the presence of sixty or seventy steeds in a small cobbled square always brings a frisson of disaster, especially since the machismo of some of the men means they are perched on the back of sometimes excitable stallions.

In some ways it reminds me of the riding of the marches in Scotland though there is definitely less alcohol consumed, but the same excitement and sense of occasion.