Friday 15th May, 2020
The current pandemic has us all navigating uncharted territory. With nearly the whole world still in lockdown, it’s nice to think about where we could be aside from within the four walls of our homes. During these strange times, we all feel like we need a bit of a break (and perhaps to be somewhere warm and sunny) which is, unfortunately, the last thing that we’re able to do at the moment.
We can definitely travel from behind the safety of our screens though – so let’s take a break from our everyday worries and have a look at some of the most amazing stables around the world.
Named after the Spanish horses they ride (the famous Lipizzaner stallions), the Spanish Riding school is the oldest riding school that still exists – dating back to the 1500s. Their famous Winter riding hall is located in central Vienna and was built in the 1700s, but the school still perform there today.
The hall is mostly white, with high ceilings and lots of natural light. There’s a royal box with a portrait of Emperor Charles VI hung above it which the riders always salute to before riding.
Whilst you might not have all this space, natural light and a bright, clean paint job can work wonders on your home stable or in your stable yard.
In the 1500s Felipe II of Spain commissioned a horse palace to house the best stallions and mares of the newly formalized royal Andalusian horse breed. The king commissioned the 1st Marquis of El Carpio, Diego López de Haro y Sotomayor, to build the stables as part of the Alcázar fortress.
The fortress is a medieval palace in the centre of Cordoba and looks somber and military in style from the outside and splendid and extravagant inside. It’s home to many beautiful rooms, including a hall of mosaics.
The stables are also built in a distinct military style. You can still visit and see where the horses used to be stabled – it’s now a carriage museum, but still boasts cross-vaulted ceilings and sandstone columns.
If you fancy seeing this for yourself, there are also nightly horse shows from April through to December, and you can walk through the stables and the museum – you can even catch riders practising with the horses at certain times of the day.
The royal stables were inaugurated in 1740 and in their heyday the horse barn housed 250 horses. However, since several devastating fires, only two wings of the stables and the show grounds still exist, and the building is now home to the Danish parliament.
Today about 20 Kladruber horses (from Czechia) live in the horse barns, and they still drive the royal family on special occasions. You can visit the Royal Stables and see the harness museum – including a 24 karat gold carriage and a Queen Juliane’s carriage from 1778.
This is another stable that makes great use of natural light and high ceilings. If you want to draw a little design inspiration from these stables, whilst we can’t sell you a 24 karat gold carriage, we can help you build a stable that makes great use of natural light. Having a light coloured ceiling and dark floors and walls will also help to open up the space and make it feel bigger!
The Chatêau de Chantilly is famous in its own right and is an amazing tourist attraction about 50 kilometres from Paris. The Chatêau houses its own art gallery, the Musée Condé, and has been used multiple times as a music venue by Pink Floyd.
The stables themselves belonged to the Montmorency family and housed more than 300 hunting dogs and 250 horses at their peak. The stables now house Andalusian and Lusitano horses. You can still visit the stables and the horse museum, but if you want to sneak a peek before you visit then you can spot the château and the stables in the James Bond film A View to a Kill!
These amazing buildings which have stood the test of time might not be achievable in your own back garden or stable yard, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t build a light, airy stable and make a beautiful environment for you and your horse.
If you’re planning an upgrade to your stabling arrangements, where better to start than with us here at Vale Stables? We can help you design the best building for your space and your budget. We can’t guarantee your stables will look quite like the stables in the Christiansborg Palace, but everyone has to start somewhere. Download our price lists or contact us today.
Want to read about even more amazing stables? check out our blog post here!
