The Enganches Exhibition Contest recovers its traditional format in Ronda on September 6, after two years of renovations. The event, which will start at 12:00, will have a single entry of 5 euros.
The bullring of Ronda will once again host the Enganches Exhibition Contest on September 6, which returns to its traditional format after two years of conservation work on the historic arena. The event, coinciding with the Feria y Fiestas de Pedro Romero, will celebrate its forty-sixth edition with an audience in the stands.
In 2024, consolidation works prevented the contest from taking place. A year later, the handling test of the First International Traditional Harness Contest (CIAT) City of Ronda was able to take place in the arena, although behind closed doors and without spectators. The completion of the main works now allows for the usual scene of horses, carriages, and the public sharing the Real Maestranza venue.
This year's edition was presented in the Salón de Grados of the institution, with the participation of the mayor, Mari Paz Fernández; the deputy of the Elder Brother of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda, Rafael Atienza, and the vice president of the Real Club de Enganches de Andalucía, José Juan Morales. The three entities organise the event.
The programme will begin at 10:00 hours with the movement of the enganches and their traditional stop in calle Virgen de la Paz. At 12:00, the contest will start in the arena, where participants will showcase both the carriages and the training and driving of the horses.
The relationship between the enganches and the Ronda arena dates back to 1954, when the carriages of Pablo Atienza, Marquis of Salvatierra, along with those from the stallion depot in Jerez de la Frontera, began to transport the goyesca ladies to their box and perform evolutions in the ring. The contest as such arrived in 1972, coinciding with the fourth centenary of the Real Maestranza. Since 1996, the Real Club de Enganches de Andalucía has been responsible for its organisation alongside the City Council and the Ronda institution itself.
The return of the public has been made possible after the consolidation project of the arena directed by architect Ricardo Aroca. The works, which have lasted for eleven months, aimed primarily at reinforcing the arches of the building, within an intervention intended to ensure the conservation and stability of the monument.
To attend the contest, there will be a single entry of five euros for both the sunny and shaded stands. Online sales will begin on August 24 through the Giglon platform, while ticket offices will open from August 31. Part of the proceeds will be donated to Cruz Roja de Ronda.
This edition's image features a hand-coloured illustration from 1843 belonging to the travel literature collection of the Library of the Real Maestranza. The scene depicts a street in La Valeta, Malta, traversed by a calesse, a characteristic two-wheeled carriage pulled by a single animal.
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