This year marks the twenty-sixth carriage exhibition for the R.C.E.A. (Royal Andalusian Carriage Club). If you’ve been following this blog for a while, or flipping back through the posts in the “Spain” category, you’ll know that the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth exhibitions never actually took place. They were, in fact, rained out.

Sadly, the forecast for this weekend is yet more rain. But, perhaps, if we all think sunny thoughts, the rain will hold off, and our CAA group can (finally!) see the exhibition, which promises to be spectacular.

Early this afternoon, I attended a press conference about this weekend’s event.

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I learned, among other things, that more than seventy turnouts have signed up to participate in this year’s event. These represent a variety of carriage types and driving styles. About half the turnouts will be using English harness, and about half will be in traditional Andalusian-style harness and livery.

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On a slightly related note, the press conference was held at the Foundation Cruzcampo building, which was originally a brewery and now houses offices, a conference room, and a small museum dedicated to the local beer. Among the pictorial displays in the museum area is this collage of several old horse-drawn beer-delivery vehicles:

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