Moroccan Horse Riders In Fantasia Performance Editorial Image

Moroccan men riding their horses and wearing proudly their traditional outfits to perform Fantasia. Fantasia is a traditional exhibition of horsemanship in the Maghreb performed during cultural festivals and to close Maghrebi wedding celebrations. `Fantasia` is an imported name, the actual traditional term used is lab el baroud `the gunpowder play`. The performance consists of a group of horse riders, all wearing traditional clothes, who charge along a straight path at the same speed so as to form a line, and then at the end of the charge about two hundred meters fire into the sky using old muskets or muzzle-loading rifles. The difficulty of the performance is in synchronizing the movement of the horses during acceleration of the charge, and especially in firing the guns simultaneously so that one single shot is heard. The horse is referred to as a fantasia horse and are of Arabian horse, Andalusian horse or Barb stock. The fantasia is considered a cultural performance and a kind of martial art; it also symbolizes a strong relationship between the man and the horse, as well as an attachment to tradition.