Tripulante, a grey PRE gelding owned by Christine Khalil.

Welcome to our new showcase of horses, mules and donkeys, chosen for these pages for their sheer beauty or their serious cuteness quotient! Kicking off this series is the stunning PRE Andalusian gelding, Tripulante.

From his owner, Christine Khalil:

“Tripulante (barn name is Teo), is a 9 year old PRE gelding imported from Spain.  He has old Carthusian and Miura (bullfighting) bloodlines, and his moves show that heritage.  I bought him in 2017 in Spain but left him in Madrid with my trainer, Miguel Anacoreta Soares, for a year of additional training, then brought him to the USA in September of 2018.

“Teo is a Dressage horse with a brilliant piaffe, passage, pirouette and Spanish Walk.  He is a schoolmaster of great sensitivity, talent and generosity.  We have shown a bit but I am planning on letting a young friend show him this year to get scores for her bronze.  I myself most enjoy riding in clinics with him. He has taught me so much and given me the chance to ride movements I’d only dreamt of.

“Teo also loves his ladies! I always say that Teo wants to either be in a circus or in a petting zoo. He’s hot yet tries his heart out. He’s too smart and is always one step ahead of you. If you do a flying change in one spot in the ring, you can’t go by it again without him throwing in a change. That’s why I say he’s a great schoolmaster.  He forces you to be a quiet, focused and subtle rider with light aids.”

Photo: Beate Dalbec