clipped from: www.independent.co.uk Three men on trial after firebomb attack that left six Domecq-dynasty thoroughbreds dead and injured six others
A matador on horseback is one of the most spectacular sights in Spain. The dramatic face-off between man and beast becomes even more theatrical when the bullfighter confronts his prey from the saddle of a high-stepping thoroughbred, and the figure of the mounted matador – the rejoneador – has been immortalised in vivid ringside sketches by Francisco de Goya.
Anything to do with bulls or horses arouses fierce passions in Spain, but neither the taurine nor the equine world have witnessed anything to match the extraordinary crimes now being tried in a Toledo court. Three rejoneadores are accused of hiring Colombian hitmen to firebomb a dozen horses belonging to the aristocratic Domecq dynasty.