Bull country
From the shade of the holm oaks that dot the vast expanse of the dehesa, to the sand of the bullring, we follow the life of the toro de lidia, the magnificent fighting bull of Spain.
The sun shines out from unbroken blue as we set out astride our native horses to discover the secrets of one of Nature’s most magnificent creations. From the livestock breeders themselves, we learn the secrets of the beast’s birth in the grasslands, his early life, his separation from his mother, and of la tienta, through which his future is determined.
We watch expert horsemen use their long lances to separate a younger animal and test his mettle, weighing the beast’s strength and stamina, his bravery and intelligence. We witness the branding, learn of the taming and training of the cabestros, and of the slow maturing of the toro bravo as he roams free in his southern grassland home with his brothers in the days of his youth.
Experts from the world of tauromaquia explain to us the terminology, the costumes and the skills, initiating us into the forms and rituals of this esoteric world. We learn, too, of the feints and passes of the ring that await the beast when he makes his last great stand in the bloody magnificence of the bullring.