A photo essay
Early Sunday morning in Barbados, I stepped out onto my balcony with my mug to find thoroughbreds swimming in the surf. Who needs coffee?! I pulled on shorts, grabbed the camera, and got my feet in the sand.
The historic Garrison Savannah Racecourse, established in 1845, is just two blocks from the Radisson hotel. Every morning, handlers and trainers bring horses to be beach for various courses of bathing and intense swimming, depending on the animal.
These graceful horses and their handlers were on the beach and in the water for nearly two hours (horses in and out, so many). The trust and relationship between man and horse was the riveting, over and over. It was a gray morning, and then a rainy morning, and at the very end, a sunny morning. I chose to shift the color on the images presented here. It’s more about the men and their horses, and not about the aqua blue water.
Want to see the swimming horses of Barbados?
According to the Radisson hotel staff, the horses visit to the beach happens every morning. I have read another account that said the horses were only around for twenty minutes. On my visit, the Garrison Savannah Racecourse was in the middle of a big race meet, which would mean MANY horses currently in residence. If you are interested in seeing the horses on the beach, you might want to check the Garrison Savannah schedule AND call the Radisson for advice. The Hilton is at the far end of the same beach, but most of the rooms face in another direction, so you’d need to take a walk to find out whether the horses were there.
I wish I knew about this when I was there a few years ago. Looks so beautiful to see, great photos!
I completely missed it when I was in Barbados at the Radisson three years ago. I may have slept too late that time, or it may be that there wasn’t much going on at the racetrack at that point.
Gorgeous photos! I’ve visited Barbados twice and didn’t know about the race track or the horses at the beach.
I’ve been to Barbados several times, and while I did know about the Garrison Savannah racecourse, and Sandy Lane — their big stakes race, I had never heard about this morning swimming tradition. I’ll book the Radisson again, simply to see this happen — it was an amazing morning.