My Equestrian Adventure in Mexico

Recently,  I ventured to Mexico to embark upon my next international equestrian adventure. I have been to Mexico many times for vacation but was never interested in horseback riding.  The majority of the tourist riding adventures are hack stables that offer limited experiences and often do not take good care of their horses.  Being Mexico is known for having beautiful Iberian horses, I was determined to find an authentic Mexican stable and experience the culture of the Mexican Iberian horse.

After doing a fair amount of research, I found the Cuadra San Francisco Equestrian Center located in Los Cabos. When I visited their website I could see right away that the facility did more then just cater to tourists. The equestrian center offered training and was a family owned and operated business. Francisco J. Barrena and his son Valence F. Barrena were both featured on their website as top champions and professional riders. The facility teaches dressage, bullfighting, reining, western pleasure and jumping. Based on my research, I made the decision to make the journey to Mexico to visit the Barrena family and to see their Iberian horses.

Francisco J Barrena riding one of his Iberian horses

I visited the facility a day early before my scheduled ride at Cuadra San Francisco Equestrian Center to checkout the stables.  When I arrived I was warmly greeted by Valence. I shared with him my riding abilities and was hoping that they had a horse that would be enjoyable to ride for someone at my level. Valence said, “We can accommodate any level and I will let you ride my horse!”, as he took me over to introduce me to his beautiful buckskin Lusitano stallion. His horse was gorgeous and was obviously receiving very good care.  Valence asked me a little bit about my riding history and then started telling me about his. It turns out that Valence used to compete in Jumping and was a very successful competitor in Mexico. He took me into his office and showed me beautiful pictures of his father competing on championship Spanish horses, and pictures of himself jumping. I was very impressed by both his and his father's accomplishments and could tell that they took great pride in their horses and their facility. Before leaving I went and looked around at the other horses in their barn. It turns out the Barrena family also breeds some of their horses. They had a beautiful Lippizan stud who in his heyday was quite the competitor. They have bred him many times including to one of their pure breed Lusitano mares (who was also at the facility).  I was able to see one of their offspring, an adorable 4 year old Lippizan/Lusitano cross gelding.

The next day I arrived a little early for my ride to observe the facility and spend sometime with the horses. I was trilled to have the opportunity to meet Valence’s father, Francisco. Francisco is not at the facility full time so it was an unexpected surprise to meet him. Francisco is a true gentleman and equestrian legend in Mexico. Valence was so kind to tack up his Lusitano with a dressage saddle for me, and then he sent me off with his guide, Juan, to go explore the beautiful Los Cabos canyons.  Juan let me lead the way and we galloped for miles in the desert hills. Valence’s Lusitano was a dream. He was so well behaved and comfortable to ride. After about two hours, Juan and I returned to the stables. I was about to dismount when Francisco came up to me and told me that the Lusitano knew upper level dressage movements and to go into the arena and try some. I was a little intimated preforming these movements, of which some are still new, in front of two accomplished riders. With some instruction from Valence, I was able to get his horse into a passage!  I then dismounted and Valence got up on his horse. The two proceeded to give me a five minute demo of several complex movements ending with a difficult but lovely horse bow.

With Valence F Barrena and his father Francisco J Barrena

My time with the Barrena family exceeded my expectations. It was an amazing experience to gain insight into how the Iberian horses are trained and bred in Mexico. It was also so much fun to ride such a quality horse in an incredible setting. I was beyond impressed with Cuadra San Francisco Equestrian Center and thankful I made the journey to experience the Mexican Iberian horses.

A Day with the Peruvian Paso

I recently traveled to Peru to explore one of the wonders of the world, Machu Picchu. On the fourth night of my trek, I stayed at the lodge Sol y Luna, located in the city of Urubamba in the Sacred Valley. The hotel just so happened to have one of the top equestrian facilities in Peru. Instead of continuing on the trek the next day, I decided to go explore the beauty and culture of the Peruvian Paso Horse. 

Until then, I did not know much about the Peruvian Paso breed. Like many things in South America, the horse arrived in Peru during the Spanish Conquest, tracing their ancestry back to the famous Spanish Andalusian war horses. Originally the breed was used in Peru as a working horse to transport crops from plantations. The Peruvian Paso has a smooth gait and good endurance, making them ideal for long journeys. Over time, breeders in Peru started selectively breeding the horses for their gait, conformation, and temperament, to produce a strong sturdy horse for comfort. A unique trait of the Peruvian Paso gait is “termino” - an outward swinging leg action, originating from the shoulder, in which the front lower legs roll to the outside during the stride forward. Today the horses are shown in performances, demonstrating the elegance of their lifting and gentle gait to the rhythm of the Marinera, an emblematic Peruvian Dance.

Everyday the Sol y Luna has a 35 minute show on the greens outside of their restaurant, demonstrating the Marinera on four of their top Peruvian Paso stallions. The show is led by their star rider Felix, and three of his brothers. During the show the horses dance in formation to Peruvian music. I arrived at the show early, to get a front row seat to the incredible display of the horse's ability to preform, and showoff their gaits.  

Felix and his brothers preforming the Marinera dance

After the show, I visited the barn to introduce myself to Felix, and meet his beautiful stallions. Felix's English consisted of saying "hello", and my Spanish consisted of saying "buenos dias". Even with our language barrier, Felix and I hit it off, and he offered me to ride his prized stallion. Right from the start I could feel the difference in the gait of the Paso. They are not tall horses, but have a lot of spring to their stride. The Paso's trot was easy to sit, and their canter felt like I was floating. After about 5 minutes of riding the horse around in the field, Felix galloped up to me on one of the other stallions, halted, and had his horse rear straight up in the air. The rearing position is called a Pesade, a classical dressage movement where the horse stands on the hind legs with the forelegs in the air. Through demonstration, Felix showed me how to balance my horse with no resistance, and ask the horse to levitate off the ground. Within minutes I was preforming a Pesade. Although my Pesade was not quit at the caliber of a classical dressage movement, it was an amazing experience, and such an unexpected surprise to be able to ride the horse and preform a highlevel movement. Felix and I ended the day with a peaceful trail ride around the beautiful Urubana River.

Felix and I at the end of our ride!