Every winter a large part of the European showjumping circuit moves south. From late autumn until April, the horses that spend the summer in the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Scandinavia are competing in Andalusia and on the Valencian coast, because the weather allows it and the footing holds. For a buyer, that is the single most useful fact about the Spanish calendar. For three months of the year, Spain is where the horses are.
This guide covers the shows that matter if you are looking for a horse, not just watching one. Two of them are genuine trading circuits where hundreds of horses change hands every season. Two more are worth seeing but are not where you shop.
The Spanish season at a glance
| Show | Where | When | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andalucía Sunshine Tour | Dehesa Montenmedio, Vejer de la Frontera, Cádiz | February to April, around ten weeks | CSI2* to CSI4*, plus young horses |
| Andalucía October Tour | Same venue, Vejer de la Frontera | Mid October to early November | International and national classes |
| Spring MET | Oliva Nova, Oliva, Valencia | February to April, several tours | CSI1* to CSI3*, plus young horses |
| Autumn and Winter MET | Oliva Nova, Oliva, Valencia | Late November into December | CSI1* to CSI3*, plus young horses |
| CSIO Barcelona | Real Club de Polo, Barcelona | Early autumn | International official, top sport |
| Madrid Horse Week | IFEMA, Madrid | Late autumn, indoor | International, indoor |
Sunshine Tour, Vejer de la Frontera
The Andalucía Sunshine Tour is held at Dehesa Montenmedio in Vejer de la Frontera, in the province of Cádiz, and it is the largest winter equestrian event in Europe. The 2026 edition, the thirty-second, opened on 2 February and ran for around ten weeks. The venue has a long list of grass and sand arenas and a removable indoor arena of roughly 5,850 square metres, said to be the biggest of its kind in Europe.
Classes run from young horse divisions up to CSI4*, so a single week contains four-year-olds finding their feet and 1.50 m horses jumping for ranking points. The same organiser runs the Andalucía October Tour at the same venue in the autumn, which is a quieter version of the same thing.
What it means if you are buying. This is the most efficient week of the year for a buyer in southern Europe. Instead of driving to five yards in five days, you sit at one arena and watch fifty horses of the type you want, in competition, on the same footing, against the same clock. Horses are openly for sale, dealers and agents are all there, and a great deal of European trade is done in those ten weeks. The flip side is that everyone knows it, so prices are not soft and the good ones move fast.
Mediterranean Equestrian Tour, Oliva
The Mediterranean Equestrian Tour runs at Oliva Nova, on the coast between Valencia and Alicante. It is organised in blocks: a Spring MET across February to April in several consecutive tours, and an autumn and winter series from late November into December. Classes run from CSI1* to CSI3* with dedicated young horse divisions.
What it means if you are buying. Oliva is the better circuit if you are shopping for a young horse or an amateur horse rather than a 1.50 m ride. The young horse classes are well filled, the atmosphere is less pressured than Vejer, and because the tours run back to back you can watch the same horse on three consecutive weekends and see whether it stays consistent. That is worth more than any video.
Barcelona and Madrid: worth seeing, not for shopping
CSIO Barcelona at the Real Club de Polo and Madrid Horse Week at IFEMA are the two Spanish fixtures most people outside the sport have heard of. Both are excellent events and both are worth going to. Neither is where you find a horse. The fields are small, the horses are at the top of the sport and mostly not for sale, and the format is built for spectators rather than for trade. Go for the sport, and do your buying at Vejer or Oliva.
How to use a show if you are buying
- Watch the warm-up, not just the round. The arena shows you what a horse can do. The warm-up shows you what it is like to ride, how much it needs, and how the rider has to prepare it.
- Watch the same horse twice. One good round is a good day. Two or three consistent rounds across a fortnight is a horse.
- Ask what it is doing next week. A horse that is entered for the following week is in work and sound. A horse that is suddenly available and going home is worth a question.
- Do not buy in the arena. Agree nothing on the spot. Arrange to try the horse properly, at home, and vet it independently afterwards.
If you find the horse
Shows are a shop window, not a shop. Once you have seen a horse you like, the process is the same as any other purchase: establish a fair price for what the horse genuinely is, then commission your own vet. Our 2026 price guide by level sets out realistic European brackets, and the pre-purchase exam handbook explains how to read the report. If the horse is standing in Spain and you are not, or the other way round, moving a horse across Europe is cheaper and simpler than most buyers expect.
Questions buyers ask
When is the Sunshine Tour?
The Andalucía Sunshine Tour runs at Dehesa Montenmedio in Vejer de la Frontera from early February for around ten weeks. The 2026 edition began on 2 February. The same venue hosts the Andalucía October Tour in the autumn.
Which Spanish show is best for buying a horse?
Vejer if you want a made horse at 1.30 m and above, because the depth of entries is greater. Oliva if you want a young horse or an amateur horse, because the young horse classes are stronger and the tours run consecutively so you can watch a horse more than once.
Can you buy a horse at a competition in Spain?
Yes, and a great deal of European trade happens at these two circuits between February and April. Agree nothing in the arena. See the horse ridden at home, then commission an independent pre-purchase exam before any money moves.
Do I need to speak Spanish?
No. Both circuits are heavily international and business is done in English, and often in German and Dutch. It helps at the local yards rather than at the shows.
Going to Spain to look for a horse? Tell us your level, your budget and the kind of ride you want, and we will tell you which weeks are worth the flight. Start a brief, or see the horses we currently have.
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