Teresa Burton
I never set out to build a business around horses, heritage, wellbeing, and culture.
I simply followed a lifelong curiosity about what makes people, animals, and places thrive.
What began with a move to Portugal and a love of horses became a journey into traditions, craftsmanship, nature, belonging, and the extraordinary connections that exist between them.
Before Portugal
Long before Lusitano Heritage existed, I was already drawn to animals, travel, beauty, old houses, wild places, and the stories that connect people to land.
Horses were always part of the thread, but so were business, adventure, reinvention, friendship, and a deep curiosity about what makes people, animals, and places thrive.
Looking back, I can see that many of the experiences that shaped Lusitano Heritage began long before I arrived in Portugal.
A New Beginning
My journey into Portugal, the Lusitano horse, heritage, and a deep love of the natural world was never planned.
When I arrived in Portugal in December 2009 with a truck full of belongings and a young horse, I had no idea where the road ahead would lead.
What began as a personal search for a different way of life gradually became something much larger. Through horses, I discovered a culture rich in tradition, craftsmanship, hospitality, and a profound respect for the partnership between horse and human.
The journey has not always been straightforward. Some decisions took me forward, others taught difficult lessons. Yet every step brought understanding, and every step was driven by curiosity, passion, and a desire to learn.
Over the years I have had the privilege of meeting remarkable horsemen, breeders, artisans, farmers, and custodians of traditions that have shaped Portugal’s equestrian heritage for generations. Their knowledge, generosity, and wisdom have profoundly influenced the vision behind Lusitano Heritage.
Today, Lusitano Heritage brings together many of the things I care about most: horses, nature, heritage, craftsmanship, wellbeing, learning, and meaningful human connection. It is both a celebration of Portugal’s rich equestrian culture and an invitation to experience it in a deeper way.
My hope is simple.
To inspire people to slow down, reconnect with themselves, their horses, nature, and one another.
To help preserve extraordinary traditions that still have much to teach us.
And to create places, experiences, and communities where people feel they truly belong.
Because belonging is the fabric of life.
Everything is connected.
Image Acarus my travel companion by Lena Saugen
Discovering the Lusitano
Having grown up with horses, they were never far from my thoughts. Even during periods when work, travel, and life took me away from riding, horses remained a constant presence in my imagination, and whenever an opportunity arose, I seized the chance to be back in the saddle.
The Iberian horse was everything my childhood imagination believed a horse should be. The noble profile, flowing mane and tail, intelligence, athleticism, and often that beautiful dapple-grey coat gave them an almost mythical quality. They felt like the horses of history, art, and legend brought to life.
The first time I sat on a well-trained Lusitano and experienced the feeling of collection, balance, and lightness, something simply clicked into place. It lit up my heart and mind in a way few experiences ever have. From that moment, I was captivated.
What made the journey even richer was discovering that the horse was only part of the story. Alongside the Lusitano came an extraordinary equestrian heritage — traditions, craftsmanship, knowledge, and culture that remain remarkably alive in Portugal today. In many ways, it reminded me of the deep horse traditions I had known growing up in Britain, yet expressed through a uniquely Portuguese lens.
The Lusitano opened a door not only to a breed of horse, but to an entire world of heritage, people, landscapes, and traditions that continue to inspire me every day.
““The Lusitano opened the door. Heritage became the journey.””
Beyond the Lusitano
Having decided to explore whether I could help connect people with Lusitanos, I began traveling throughout Portugal in search of horses.
Accompanied by my little dog, Bikkit, whom I had found starving by the roadside and adopted, I set off on what would become an extraordinary journey. Beginning as a search for horses soon became an exploration of an entire culture.
I visited Coudelarias large and small, met breeders, trainers, riders, and private owners, and gradually built a portfolio of horses while discovering Portugal from north to south. At that time there were very few women competing at the highest levels, and one of the first I met was Maria Caetano, whose success was helping pave the way for future generations.
Every journey revealed something new. I was captivated by the way horses remained woven into everyday life — living alongside vineyards, olive groves, cork forests, cattle farms, and historic estates. The towns and villages were filled with castles, churches, palaces, and centuries of history.
What fascinated me most was that the horses were never separate from the culture around them. They were part of local festivals, traditions, craftsmanship, family histories, handmade saddlery, traditional costume, and rural life itself.
As someone who has always loved design, craftsmanship, making things by hand, and the stories that connect people to places, I found myself drawn not only to the horses, but to the entire tapestry surrounding them.
Gradually, Lusitano Horse Finder evolved into something larger. What began as a passion for finding exceptional horses became a desire to celebrate and help preserve the wider heritage that gives those horses meaning.
That journey became Lusitano Heritage.
Selected Highlights
Since 2009 when I arrived in Portugal, my work has taken me far beyond horse sales and riding.
Alongside helping clients from around the world discover Lusitanos, I have had the privilege of contributing to projects that celebrate Portugal’s equestrian heritage and culture.
Highlights Include :
• Featured in equestrian publications and magazines internationally.
• Contributor to articles exploring Lusitano horses, classical riding, Portuguese heritage, and traditional craftsmanship.
• Participation in projects and films produced in collaboration with the Fédération Equestre Internationale (FEI).
• Founder of Lusitano Horse Finder, helping connect hundreds of riders worldwide with Lusitano horses in Portugal.
• Creator of Lusitano Heritage, bringing together horses, heritage, craftsmanship, wellbeing, and cultural experiences.
• Ongoing work documenting and promoting Portugal’s equestrian traditions, artisans, breeders, riders, and heritage breeds.
While these achievements are meaningful, I remain most inspired by the people, horses, and traditions I continue to discover along the way.
Lusitano Heritage
“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time.”
Lusitano Heritage is the expression of everything I have learnt throughout this journey.
It brings together my love of horses, nature, heritage, craftsmanship, wellbeing, learning, and meaningful human connection. It is built on the belief that some of the most valuable things in life are not new at all, but timeless — the relationship between horse and rider, the wisdom of skilled craftspeople, the beauty of landscapes shaped over generations, and the sense of belonging that comes from being connected to people, places, and purpose.
My hope is not simply to share Portugal’s extraordinary equestrian heritage, but to help create experiences, conversations, and opportunities that inspire people to reconnect — with themselves, with nature, with animals, and with one another.
In a rapidly changing world, these connections feel more important than ever.
Through Lusitano Heritage, I hope to help preserve and celebrate the traditions, horses, landscapes, and crafts that have inspired me so deeply, while creating new opportunities for future generations to discover and value them.
Because belonging is the fabric of life.
Everything is connected.
Teresa Burton
Founder, Lusitano Heritage