n 1985 he became a student of the riding master Nuno Oliveira and followed his teaching passionately up to his death in December 1989. Riding in the French tradition was a real revelation for him. His horses have sensational mobility and ease in the arena, as if they are at liberty, and you immediately think of a centaur when you see him… His qualities as a bullfighting rider have contributed something special to classical riding. Manuel Jorge has always schooled his horses himself right through to high school. In addition to his immense talent for equestrian art he also has a very in depth knowledge of the horse’s nature. His father directed the Ortigão Costa stud through its most prestigious years. Manuel Jorge inherited his father’s innate sense of equine genealogy that he has used for his Lusitano stud since 1981 with mares and stallions from the Veiga and Andrade lines. The prestigious blood of stallions such as Novilheiro runs through the veins of his horses. Virtually all of Lusitano Prestige’s horses come from his stud.
Manuel Jorge has worked very closely with Claire over the past four years and personally monitors her progress as a rider.