La Yeguada de la Cartuja

The XIX century represents an era of convulsion and drastic changes for the Stud farm, following its past years of splendour and stability. The Napoleonic invasion and the dissolution of the property belonging to the Church meant that the stockbreeding of Carthusian horses would leave the hands of the monks and become the property of various owners, eventually incorporating the present day brandings.

The expulsion of the Carthusian Monks

The beginning of the XIX century coincided with the invasion of our country by the Napoleonic troops and the subsequent War of Independence. The arrival of the French army in Jerez brought about the departure and fleeing of the monks from the Carthusian monastery, who were given refuge in various convents in the area. In their escape, the Carthusian monks left all of their possessions behind them, among which were the horses and mares that filled the stables of the convent. After more than two years in exile, the monks were able to return to the Carthusian monastery in 1812, coinciding with the Decree of the Courts of Cadiz through which the State expropriated the belongings of the monks. Nine years later, the monks were once again forced to abandon the monastery at the orders of the Courts, following the abolition of all the monasteries in the country. In 1835 the Carthusian monks were expelled from their monastery for the last time and the monastery was subsequently used as a prison, later changing hands and coming under the control of the Diocesan Board of the State (Junta Diocesana del Estado) and finally being handed over to the Commission for Historical and Artistic Monuments (Comisión de Monumentos Históricos y Artísticos) which declared the monastery a National Monument in 1856. Not until a century later, in 1948, was the monastery returned to the Order of the Carthusian Monks, who continue to inhabit the monastery to this day.

Recovery and change of ownership

In 1810, after the monks fled from the Carthusian monastery, the legendary stockbreeding stud was saved from what would have been an irreparable dispersion by the clergyman Pedro José Zapata.

Don Vicente Romero García mounted on a Carthusian horse.

Zapata, founder of the Hospital de Arcos de la Frontera, bought 60 mares and 3 stallions of the best calibre and hid them in "Breña del Agua", sending the Carthusian monks in Cluny the amount for the established price. From these horses was formed what is at present known as the Yeguada de la Cartuja - Hierro del Bocado. The brand in the form of a Bridle without the letter C, designed by Zapata for branding the animals, which originated from the stud of the Carthusian monastery, has given the name to this prestigious stock. Don Pedro, and his brother Don Juan José, took charge of the Stud until the death of Don Juan, when the stud passed into the hands of his son until his own death in 1854. It was then that his widow, Doña María Romero, took over the reins of the stud. Years later, in 1857, Don Vicente Romero García, acquired part of the stud and added a letter "C" to the traditional brand in the form of a Bridle. Seven years later, he also acquired the brand without the letter C, which he used to brand the stock. Throughout the century, several fine specimens from the stud began to stand out for their excellence and won prizes in horse shows and competitions held all over the country.

Años después, en 1857, Don Vicente Romero García, adquiere parte de la yeguada y añade una "C" al tradicional hierro del Bocado

. Siete años más tarde también adquiere el hierro sin la C

, que utiliza para herrar al ganado bravo. A lo largo del siglo, empezaron a destacar algunos ejemplares de la Yeguada, que consiguieron premios en exposiciones y concursos de todo el país.