Horse and flamenco show · Torremolinos, Costa del Sol
Spanish horses, dressage, flamenco and an optional dinner, at the El Ranchito equestrian centre in Torremolinos.
A flamenco dancer shares the arena with the horses, and the dinner option carries on with live flamenco.
The evening in four facts
Why go
The Andalusian horse is named for the region around you and has counted as its own breed since the 15th century. Compact, strong and elegant, with long flowing manes and tails, it is the horse most tied to Spanish riding. Watching Spanish horses at work in a ring is a way into the countryside beyond the resorts.
Spain's equestrian federation describes doma vaquera as exercises taken from work with cattle, performed in a rectangle. Classical dressage, the other tradition, is the art of riding in harmony with the horse. The ticket promises a mixture of cowboy moves and high-level dressage, so one show shows both.
UNESCO lists flamenco as song, dance and guitar fused into one art, with Andalusia as its heartland. In this show a flamenco dancer joins the horses, and the dinner option continues with a flamenco show at a restaurant. Choose the length of evening that suits you.
El programa
These are the parts you may meet, drawn from the traditions behind a Spanish horse show and from what the ticket describes.
Read them as ingredients, not a running order. Your option's page shows what is included on your date.
One ticket option opens with a guided visit of the stables, where the riders explain how their horses are trained, and it adds priority seating for the show. If you choose it, you travel to the centre yourself and arrive earlier.
Spain's equestrian federation defines doma vaquera as exercises taken from work with cattle, performed in succession inside a rectangle. The ticket describes a mixture of cowboy moves and high-level dressage.
The “high school” is the advanced end of classical dressage, the art of riding in harmony with the horse. The ticket promises high school exercises in a covered arena with fans and misting systems.
A flamenco dancer shares the ring with a horse, and the ticket highlights the dance between them. A short flamenco performance is part of the show itself.
The last option moves to a restaurant a few kilometres from the centre for dinner with drinks, then a flamenco show. Guests are warm about the horses and more mixed about the dinner, so choose it with open eyes.
Choosing your ticket
What you get
Entry to the show in a covered arena, with a short flamenco number. The same ticket offers a guided stable visit with priority seating. Plans changing is not a worry: cancelling at least a day ahead costs nothing, and reserving costs nothing.
Good for
Seeing the horses without a long evening, or fitting the show around your own dinner.
What you get
The horse show, then dinner at a restaurant a few kilometres away with drinks from a buffet table, then a flamenco show. A children's menu is available.
Good for
One long Andalusian evening with nothing else to book.
What you get
A flamenco-only show with one drink or a bottle of Spanish wine for two. The room is up a flight of stairs with no lift, and it is not for wheelchair users. Free to cancel up to 24 hours ahead, with payment deferred.
Good for
Flamenco in a small room, without the arena.
The town
The first of the Costa del Sol resorts to be built has older layers under the seafront.
Around 1300 the Nasrid dynasty built a defensive tower that can still be seen at the end of San Miguel Street. Torremolinos takes its name from mills built in the Muslim period.
The beach stretches for nearly eight kilometres, with cycle lanes and a fully illuminated promenade lined with chiringuitos, the beach bars.
The town sits on the western shore of the bay, in front of the Sierra de Mijas and about 13 km from Málaga.
The A-7 motorway and the Cercanías commuter train serve the town, and Málaga airport lies about 5 km to the north.
Photographs of Spanish horses, flamenco and the Torremolinos shoreline. Captions say plainly where a picture was taken somewhere else.
Book the horse show
Choose a card to see open dates. Below the cards sits a date finder for the horse and flamenco show, followed by more things to book around Torremolinos.
Entry to the show in a covered arena, with a short flamenco number. The same ticket offers a guided stable visit with priority seating. Plans changing is not a worry: cancelling at least a day ahead costs nothing, and reserving costs nothing.
A flamenco-only show with one drink or a bottle of Spanish wine for two. The room is up a flight of stairs with no lift, and it is not for wheelchair users. Free to cancel up to 24 hours ahead, with payment deferred.
More to do around Torremolinos
Before you go
Guides to the horse show
Show only, with a stable visit, or with dinner and flamenco: what an El Ranchito ticket covers, how to choose, and how it compares with a flamenco-only night.
Read the guide → What you will seeWhat a Torremolinos horse show is: Andalusian horses, cowboy-style riding, dressage and a flamenco dancer in the ring, and how to plan the visit.
Read the guide →FAQ
It depends on the option. The booking page gives each option's length, from about an hour and a half to around five hours with dinner and flamenco. Choose the option before you plan transport or dinner elsewhere.
Entry to the horse and flamenco show, and, with the dinner option, dinner with drinks and a flamenco show. Snacks, other drinks, souvenirs and transport are not included, and the bar and shop take cash only.
That depends on what you want. Guests are warm about the horses and riders and more mixed about the food, so the dinner suits people who want one long evening. A children's menu is available.
Through GetYourGuide you can cancel at no cost until a day before the start, and a seat can be held before any payment. If you bought the ticket from another seller, that seller's terms apply.
A stair-free zone on the ground floor, protected by safety glass, is set aside for guests with reduced mobility. Tell the organiser about particular needs when you book.
Yes, photos and video are allowed, but always without flash.
Both are possible. The covered arena has only fans and misting systems in summer and no heating in winter, because the horses cannot be exposed to air conditioning or heaters. Dress for the weather of the day.
The centre is at Senda del Pilar 4 in Torremolinos, with parking, and a taxi or car is the simplest way. Some options include a coach pickup from the main areas, so confirm it on the booking page.
The fare shown is the per-person price of the show, converted to your currency on the booking page at checkout.