History

The Club

Corfu's Equestrian Heritage

Corfu's relationship with the horse runs deep in the island's history, social life, and natural landscape. The horse was tied to transportation, agricultural labor, everyday rural life, and public events, leaving a strong imprint on the collective memory of the place.

In Corfu's more recent equestrian history, the work of Villa Silva and the SILVA Project stands out for rescuing and preserving the Skyrian horse, a rare native Greek breed.

The effort began in 1996 with Sylvia Dimitriadis Steen and four Skyrian horses, two males and two females. The horses were settled at Villa Silva, within a Corfiot olive grove, where they could live and breed freely or semi-freely.

At Silvaland, in Kalafationes, many generations of Corfu's children got to know horses, learned how to approach them, care for them, and build a relationship of trust with them. Villa Silva and the SILVA Project cultivated a genuine equestrian culture on the island, grounded in animal welfare, the protection of Greece's natural heritage, and the social value of the bond between humans and horses.

It was from this environment that Elisavet Maika's own journey began.