Cavalia

Cavalia is a company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that presents large-scale equestrian productions involving trick riding, vaulting, haute école and pas de deux, unbridled displays, and Cirque du Soleil-like performances.

Cavalia was created and directed by Normand Latourelle, one of the original founders of Cirque du Soleil. The musical score was composed by Michel Cusson.

The tour uses 64 horses, all of them either stallions or geldings. Thirteen horses are Lusitanos (and brothers or half-brothers), and the remainder are Canadian Horses, American Quarter Horses, Paint horses, Belgians, Percherons, Arabians, and a young Appaloosa colt. About half of the horses were brought from southern France and the rest are from the United States.

The show is performed in the largest tent in North America, a 2440 m² (26,300 ft²) big top, and takes 40 people 12 days to erect and 7 days to dismantle. The stable adds on another 1070 m² (11,500 ft²), and it takes 45 trucks to move the whole show. The 46m (150 ft) wide stage takes 1500 tons of sand to complete.

The horses are only asked to practice one hour each day, and get two hours each day for play. They only perform for 5–10 minutes per show, 7-8 times each week, and the horses are trained to understudy for each other so different horses can be given the day off.