Una Pará en Gines 2026: Record 85,000 Visitors and the PRE Champions

Una Pará en Gines 2026: what happened

Una Pará en Gines is a free, four-day horse and country-traditions fair in Gines, in Seville's Aljarafe area, and its 18th edition closed on Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026 with a record 85,000 visits. That figure comes from the organizers, as reported by the Ayuntamiento de Gines and the regional press. It is a headcount of visits, not an independent audit.

The fair has been declared a Tourism Interest Event for Andalusia. The mayor, Romualdo Garrido, called it something "authentic and genuine" that was born from the people.

The PRE champions

The headline competition was the Concurso Morfofuncional de Pura Raza Española (PRE) "Ciudad de Gines". Organizers say 72 horses from 55 studs took part, and that the show is approved by ANCCE (the PRE breeders' association) and counts as a qualifier for the SICAB World Championship.

Beyond the show ring

• A young-horse doma vaquera championship, with 95 horses reported.
• Spain's yuntas y carreteros (ox-cart) championship, with 12 participants.
• Traditional harness-driving contests, stone-dragging with mules, a national ham-carving championship and a flamenco fashion show with about 30 brands.
• Pony activities and an animal farm for children.

The Yeguada Cartuja Hierro del Bocado also presented an exhibition on five centuries of the Carthusian horse, according to trade press.

What is a pará?

In Andalusian horse culture, a pará is a stop. Riders, carriages and carts pausing on a ride or pilgrimage to eat, drink, chat and listen to music before moving on.

The fair borrows that spirit: the whole town becomes a long, friendly stop for everyone who loves horses. If you want to see where the idea comes from, our guide to the cabalgata tradition covers horseback processions from Mexico to Seville.

How the fair works: a visitor guide

Cost and access

Organizers advertise more than 50 free activities, so you do not need a ticket to see the main shows. Food, drinks and shopping are paid. The commercial area reportedly has more than 70 vendors.

What a typical day looks like

The 2026 program gave a good template:

• Thursday: opening ceremony and the fashion show.
• Friday: school workshops, stone-dragging with mules, international equestrian exhibitions and a concert.
• Saturday: a mounted gymkhana, a National Police mounted-unit demonstration, an equestrian show and the Noche Rociera (Rocío night).
• Sunday: the yuntas championship, the PRE special awards, the young-horse doma vaquera finals, pony jumping and harness obstacle trials.

Program details change every year, so check the organizers' site before you plan 2027.

Tips for families and first-timers

1. Arrive early on Saturday and Sunday, the busiest days.
2. Wear flat, closed shoes; the grounds are dusty and hooves are everywhere.
3. Keep children beside you and ask before touching any horse.
4. Never walk behind a horse, and give carriages and carts room.
5. Bring water and sun protection; early October in Seville can still be hot.

For more on staying safe near horses, see our safety guide.

What a morphofunctional show judges

A morphofunctional show combines two things: the horse's body (morphology) and how it works under movement (function). Judges look at conformation, balance, proportions and breed type, then watch the horse move in hand at walk, trot and canter. In ANCCE shows there is also a ridden functionality test, where the gaits are judged under saddle.

The movement score matters because a beautiful standing horse that moves poorly is not what the breed wants. Our PRE morphology judging explainer walks through the scoring step by step, so we will not repeat it here.

Why it matters for the breed

PRE shows are a shop window and a quality filter. Results shape which stallions and mares breeders choose, and qualifiers like Gines feed into the national and world championships. You can read more about the breed in our Andalusian (PRE) guide.

How to read PRE show results

1. Champion and champion mare: the best male and best female in the show, usually chosen from the class winners.
2. Best breeding farm: a prize for the stud (ganadería) whose horses scored best as a group, which rewards consistency, not one star.
3. Stud name in the horse's name: many PRE names carry a stud prefix or suffix, so you can trace where a horse was bred.
4. Qualifier status: a title at an approved qualifier can open the door to the SICAB final, but it is a step, not the end of the road.
5. Scores beat titles: if the organizers publish class scores, they tell you more than the podium.

To compare with another Andalusian-region horse tradition, see our piece on doma vaquera.

What to watch next

• Full class-by-class results from the organizers, if they are published.
• How the winners fare at SICAB, the PRE world championship.
• Dates for the 19th edition, expected to be announced in 2027.
• Other autumn fairs, such as the Huelva horse fair.

If you are new to horses, our breeds hub is a good place to start.