The Palio World Cup is a Global bareback horse racing series.

Everything known regarding modern horse racing in terms of structure and concept needs to be left aside as the Palio World Cup is a completely new form of racing. 32 racing stables with two teams of jockeys and horses will be travelling to 25 locations world wide to compete in a 10 month long season, for five continental Grand Slams and the World Championship.

 

Event description  

When the 200 horses, jockeys and supporting personnel arrive in each city location they will create a buzzing village atmosphere, much like an Olympic village. It will be like the carnival coming to town with street theatre, live music, local and delicious food, colour, excitement and lots of visitors.

The first four days of the Palio are training and dress rehearsals. The dressage team, who dramatically lead the race horses and jockeys to the starting rope in the races, will rehearse with our music team, led by Oscar winning composer Stephen Warbeck.

The three daily training sessions will add to the emotional and exciting build up to the racing days.

The first race day is Friday. Thousands will witness the fascinating spectacle of the well-trained dressage horses leading wild racehorses in a rhythmical dance, closer and closer to the starting rope. In eight breath-taking races the audience will experience galloping horses and astonishing horsemanship close up.

Saturday is the semi-final and Sunday is finals day.

The best horses and riders are competing for winning points and the trophy. The races include body contact between horses and riders, shouting and screaming (not only from the spectators!), with music following the rhythm of the races and the mesmerising sound of 16 pairs of hooves thundering past. This is the Palio World Cup.