Who we are

We're more than a company... We're a story that began thanks to horses... like many of the things we've been able to experience to this day, which are thanks to them. We believe that, like almost all projects, we begin with dreams, plans, a desire to do things well and offer the best we can.

More than a company, I'd say we're a family founded in 2014. We're Alfredo and Laura, founders of Cal Robusto Turisme Eqüestre. We met in Dubai, working with high-level sport horses.  Alfredo, a veterinarian specializing in high-performance endurance horses. It's worth noting that it's the national sport there and takes place during the "cold" months (October-April), the desert endurance racing season (endurance races, or raids). And I, Laura, worked as a professional trainer and jockey for the horses that participated in the races that take place every weekend during that season.

We were there for many years and during the months when there were no races,  We would come to Europe or go to Uruguay, where Alfredo is from.

Laura, I'm from the Canary Islands (Tenerife), and I graduated in Tourism. Ever since I finished my degree, I've always dreamed of combining horses, which has been my great passion since I was very young, with my tourism studies. I always thought it would be the perfect combination. But the reality is that our lives revolved around sporting events, horse training, a lot of responsibility, and a commitment to achieving the best results with the horses at our training center.

In 2019, we moved our "headquarters" from Uruguay to Catalonia. We flew our training horses to continue our activity in Europe. Those were tough years for everyone, a time of pandemic where all sporting events were suspended, and life was put on hold. We resumed our activity after the pandemic, and the farmhouse came to us by pure chance.  “Cal Robusto,” a house built over the course of history, but whose oldest part dates back to the 11th century. (Wow! We never imagined ending up living in a medieval house… for us, it was unimaginable.)

When we first walked in… I felt like it was our place in the world… Alfredo wasn’t so sure because there was so much to do, so much to work on, and when I told him… “It’s here…,” he looked at me in surprise and said… really?”

We moved and began to dream... design... and begin to give shape to what we had once dreamed of... Equestrian Tourism... But at that time we were still training horses, competing  almost every weekend, until we found out that we had gone from two to three. Little Julia was on the way! That was definitely a moment in our lives where everything changed. On the one hand, personally, because of everything that the arrival of a baby entails in a marriage, and on the other, professionally, I couldn't ride a horse,  At least at the pace I'd been doing for many years (about 6/7 hours a day), let alone competing. So the Cal Robusto Turisme Eqüestre project began to take shape in a more tangible way.

We began renovating the first accommodation, "El Estribo," with the idea of offering our visitors an equestrian experience or simply a stay in a rural setting, where you're woken up by the chirping of birds in the morning instead of an alarm, allowing our guests to disconnect from their routines for at least a few days. And it's off to the races; we're proud to say we still have guests who have been staying at Cal Robusto since our inception.

Over time, we grew, shortly after Julia was born, we found out that Irene was on the way, another pregnancy, immersed in a complete renovation of the house that we thought would never end... In short, two very small babies, 12 horses at that time, an endless job, and lots and lots of excitement.

On the other hand, we began to welcome riders, both experienced and inexperienced, who wanted to explore the Alt Empordà region on horseback. We were very grateful for the surroundings. I can personally say it's paradise for horseback riding... grassy paths where the only visitors along the route are wild animals, the sun, and occasionally the Tramuntana wind so familiar in our area. Word of mouth from tourists who have their own horses, top-level riders, and also people who have nothing to do with the equestrian world began to spread the word that in a corner of Girona, there was a place where, assisted by professionals in the sector, they could see that things were being done right... Just what we had always wanted.

Over time, two other spaces began to take shape: "El Guadarnés" and "La Cuadra." With the experience we had from "El Estribo," we knew what our visitors were looking for, taking care of even the smallest details. We also grew in confidence; every client, every challenge, every achievement... everything has been part of the journey that brought us here.