The Fantasia Horse Festival

This spectacle takes places each year in Meknes, Morocco. It is a celebration of tradition and equestrian performance, which takes place in May.

Each group of riders display their equestrian skills by taking part in a charge, all dressed in traditional outfits, firing a gun at the end of the ride. These charges are inspired by traditional Berber warfare, and the riders try to carry them out with speed, accuracy and synchronisation.

Horses are greatly celebrated in Arabic cultures and they have some of the finest horses in the world. The Barb horse is native to Morocco and many of the horses seen at the festival are likely to be Barbs or at least related to them. The performances at this festival celebrate the relationship between the horses and riders. These animals must be shown the utmost respect.

This is something that I would love to see for real. I have heard a great deal about it from a friend of mine who comes from Meknes. He kindly allowed me to use these photos so that I could spread the word :)