Meet Selma Salome
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Currently I am...
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In Spain living in a small village northwest of Madrid. In the village there are 150 people and more horses and cows than one can count. When I first arrived here people called me “la rubia” ("the blonde"), because I am the only blonde girl living in the village. Here I work in a stable called Equiberia, with 30 beautiful horses. The farm offers week-long trail riding in the mountains of Sierra de Gredos. Although because of COVID-19 it turned out more to be riding and schooling horses in the stables or riding long days in the mountains and forests alone. So I spend my days on horseback, riding in between mountain tops and rivers or streams that are made from melting snow, in beautiful green pastures between horses and cows. In the stables live three big mastiffs (dogs) that kept me company throughout most of the lockdown... Cartucho, the oldest of the dogs was my solid companion day in and day out for four months when I was not allowed to see other people.
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It’s a really good day at work when...
The horses are happy and healthy and the stables have a good atmosphere. When I feel a good connection with the horses and they are responsive when riding. Then I find my way around the mountains and end up at the right places. When something unexpected and amazing happens, which it does quite a bit when working with horses. The other day I helped an Andalusian mare give birth to a beautiful chestnut foal in a field of knee-high grass.
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I like to style a boyfriend shirt with...
Breeches... Because I am always on or with a horse, so breeches are just the best thing. When I am occasionally without horses I like to style it with it a classic pair of jeans or old work pants that I spend hours looking for in shabby little vintage shops in Madrid. And always with a pair of boots! Brown boots, black boots, high or short, doesn’t matter, any pair of boots will do.
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What draws you to Spain in particular
The horses. Horse riding has always been my passion and Spain has an absolutely incredible culture for horses. Everything here is about horses. Every man or woman you meet in Spain has some connection to horses. When you walk in the streets around the villages you always hear people talking about horses. And not only in the villages. Even in the center of Madrid you go to a local tapas bar and you will hear men talking about their horses. I absolutely love this culture that Spain has about horses and riding.
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In which way does Spain differ from Denmark?
The biggest difference, I think, is the people. The Spanish people are lively, proud, strong and open. They are a pure force just like their horses. You have to earn their respect to be a part of their family and culture. They will help you and open their hearts to you but their respect and acceptance is only earned by hard work. And I love that. Also it is the way the people here celebrate life. When they sit out on the streets and watch their football games in old wooden chairs. The “fiestas” that move across the areas all summer with live music, dancing and drinking red wine with lemon juice. It’s when they dress up in their traditional Spanish clothing for bullfighting and gather in the Plaza de Torres to see the brave young men and women fighting these magnificent animals. Yes the people of these two countries are definitely the biggest difference!
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My home office looks like...
A small stable with red walls in the middle of majestic mountains covered in snow. Green meadows with knee high grass and white horses and black cows as long as you can see. Small streams that flow down from the mountains and become huge rivers in the valleys. Cow paths that take me and the horses up and over the mountains and down again. I love my home office…
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Share a story from your adventures on horseback that best describes your passion for horses...
The best word that describes my passion for horses is freedom. One evening I was riding alone in the mountains on a big white horse called Atlante who knows these mountains very well. When the sun came down and the moon rose we rode across a field where free horses where grazing and they took off in a canter and passed right by Atlante and me, and we went cantering with them only with the weak light of the moon. The freedom that I felt in that moment and the connection with the horses and the wild and undomesticated side they have in them. That definitely describes best the passion I have for horses and the freedom I fell when being around them.
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How did you learn to speak Spanish?
I learned because I was the only one who spoke English... I was working in the stables and going riding every day only listening to Spanish and was not able to say a word back. Little by little I started learning word by word and after a month or two I was able to communicate what I needed to say. I never had Spanish classes or anything... The closest I have come to a Spanish teacher is Maria Theresa, who I work with and who doesn’t speak a word of English. She taught me by pointing out at everything and everyone and made me repeat everything she said. She calls me “su hija danesa” with means her Danish daughter. It’s a miracle that we got to be as close as we are today because when we first met I spoke Danish to her and she Spanish to me. Neither of us understood a word each other said, but somehow we found a way of communicating and it was beautiful.
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