Only after seeing him interact with Arabian, Friesian, Appaloosa or pure Spanish horses is it credible that he slept for years with a cheetah at the foot of his bed. The cat was rescued from a circus, as was the horse Mabrouk from a situation of daily abuse and contempt, tied up in a Moroccan courtyard, although today he looks so healthy and happy that he seems different. With him he stars in the successful documentary Hermano caballo. He is now preparing a more ambitious audiovisual project to visit different countries with an international star, from Africa to the Himalayas, and learn how other cultures communicate with horses.
Santi Serra (Malleu, Barcelona, ??1988) is called ‘el maestro’ in France, ‘mago’ in Russia, ‘horsemanship’ in the US, and he identifies simply as a friend of animals: “I want the people see that without mistreatment, just with well-being and play, you can get what you want with them. The only thing I do is understand them and try to make them understand me as if I were just another animal, ”he explains in a relaxing voice. Therein lies the secret of this human god for the equine species, capable of turning a Friesian specimen that a Roman emperor already wanted into the emblem of Ferrari: at a word from him, without raising his voice and with the only tool of his trust , the horse rises in a rampant position.
Serra, world number one in free-roaming dressage, has been chosen as a trainer, friend and even a psychologist by such well-known names as the Infanta Elena and her daughter, Victoria Federica (she was on the cover of Hello! Subida a Napoleón), the father of the Emir of Qatar, Carlota Casiraghi, Cayetano Martínez de Irujo, Fiona Ferrer, Sergio Ramos, Riqui Puig and Maluma himself, a close friend of the Catalan.
He doesn’t care about it, which is why it’s difficult to get a list of names: in his world, love for these animals comes before last names. For this reason, he forgets to mention that he has celebrated many Christmases in Villa Certosa sitting next to Silvio Berlusconi. Santi met Nicole, the niece of the late tycoon, when he began to collaborate with the Islander Project, a horse recovery center created by her. They dated for three years: “Silvio was a joker but also a very generous and family person. For me, today they are family: Paolo Berlusconi is like my father and she is like a sister”.
Serra grew up in a family of horse breeders and 50 horses live on his farm in Llagostera (Girona), of which he works with 30. He began shoeing horses, went to the rodeo and at the age of 15, was forced to save a show after suffering an accident the world champion: “Days ago I had dreamed of dressage in freedom –without a saddle, bit, reins– and that day, after placing the lasso on the first one, I took everything from the horse and it began to gallop feeling free. When he wanted to, he stopped in the middle of the track, I jumped down and the audience broke into applause. I owe my life to a dream.” It was then that he devised his method.
When finishing school, Santi took notes on the behavior of the horse in freedom, as they lived on the family farm. He saw that the alpha mare, leader of the herd, was the one who punished the colt that misbehaved. He kicked him out of the group and after a time of reflection, invited him to return. He started testing the method on animals when he was two years old. “If he’s being rebellious, I put him to work: trotting, galloping, doing awkward things… teasing him a bit. This is how I create a pack bond: they understand that I am the leader, the mother who takes care of them so that they do not lack anything”.
