Another distracted day from coffee farming.  A real cowboy showed us his horses.  This used to be cowboy country.  Maybe it still is.    We descended into a neighboring valley to visit the cowboy and his horses on his ranch between two rivers.  It was hot, very hot. We saw lots of horses and rode a couple.  Nice horses.  All stallions all quarter horses, the cowboy horse.  Then we talked about them and drank maranon juice - the juice of the cashew nut fruit - very refreshing.

I think our host is the real deal.  There are lots of people, mostly men, around here who wear the clothes.   He wore the hat and checked shirt, blue jeans and a giant buckle  Some cowboys here have cows - he has cows (lots of them).  

This gentleman cowboy seemed authentic.  He had his fancy horses and his regular working horses that he is more willing to ride out into deadly snake territory.  Mostly though, he has the face and legs that indicate he has spent many thousands of hours in the saddle.  He knows horses.   He had some lovely horses.  

A nice Palomino took my fancy.  Unfortunately probably too old to geld.  The search continues.  As we drank mar anon juice, I made a note to self about potential cocktail combinations with this delicious extraction from the cashew fruit and pondered the bigger problem of macho culture and impact on horses.  Here there is a culture of studs.  Not so much focus on the mares.   I think this is a problem.

Today, was the day for the holiday Cabalgata in Boquete.  This is a horse parade around the streets with some beer involved.

This morning, we got an email that the Mayor had cancelled due to aversion to horse droppings.   

Not to be deterred, a good 30 or so of us set off anyway.   After all this is a tradition that pre-dates the Mayor.  Frankly, Beatrice's tears and tantrum on hearing the 'cancellation' was about 10x more frightening than horse poo.  Mother decided to go regardless.

Mucho fun, must do it again next year. 

The videos (taken by my nearly 5yr old daughter so bear with us) show the first stallion and a mare being ridden by the stable manager.   Then I rode the mare, the owner road the stallion and the stable manager rode a 3yr old stallion that they are training.  We went outside the arena and practiced the parade thing.   We rode in lines and in parallel.   The owner is an accomplished rider of Pasos and used to do a lot of showing himself.  They are training the 3 yr old to feel comfortable in the Peruvian tack and  working in thin and parallel lines.

I learned that the perfect height is up to 15hh although, they can be much smaller than that.   They have very compact barrel like bodies on shorter legs, good looking muscular horses.    They compete around the smoothness of the gait as well as how flashy it looks.  So, it is important that the rider does not jiggle about but stays still in the saddle.   

 Apparently, there is even an event where the riders demonstrate just how smooth their ride is by carrying a glass of champagne.  I would like to try that one time.  I learned a good Paso has brillo - I think this means sparkle or fight (good rule of thumb for people too).  It is different from other horses I have known in that it is desirable for them to have a wild look about them; But close up they are very gentle.  Also, like the clothes, honestly riding in a large poncho more flattering than jodpurs.  They do wear trousers as well.

Conclusion: These are the perfect horses for lots of people for lots of reasons.  In particular, they are a very suitable option for mature people.  Nice ride for a hack, good fast long walk, no jolting in the saddle at the sitting trot, easy on the back, easy to mount, kind and part of a long and interesting culture and tradition.  A lot to be said for that combination.   

Thank you very much to the owner of the Boquete Country Club for being so generous with his time, his beautiful horses and explaining how to ride and what to expect from the traditional coffee farmers horse.  I'm suitably impressed and look forward to riding a Paso again, hopefully soon.

Horse goals for 2011 on hold.   Beatrice will have to train for the Equestrian Olympics at the riding school.  Coffee comes first on a coffee farm.  

We have just changed the coffee management on the farm and need to find housing for some indigenous coffee workers and their families from the Comarca very quickly.

So, yesterday we had the plans drawn up to add a toilet, shower and washing facilities on the back of the stables.   They will get a bit of a make-over on the inside as well.

Building will start as soon as I can get the materials and so today I spent a few minutes down there pretending to be a horse.  I took a picture of the stables - a bit sad and looking forward to building some proper workers housing soon and getting my horse life back on track.

Well, arrived ready to ride the three machos, wearing our English gear and carrying our helmets.  They were waiting for us. Two Peruvians and one Columbian - the traditional coffee farmers horse.  

Fortunately the nephew of the owner was there who is a professor at the University of Toronto.  A delightful man who was on holiday this week.  He was to be found with an avocado and some guava sitting under a tree outside the stables and volunteered to translate between us and the handler.

Yesterday all three horses and all the saddles, bridles and anything else had to go.  Today, apparently, only one of the three horses was for sale.   This discrepancy, to my displeasure, was put down to my poor Spanish and mis-understanding.  Not so I thought out loud to myself and gritted my teeth with obvious distain.   My instincts told me otherwise and so did my due diligence with another horse neighbor afterwards, who confirmed he had also been told everything must go - all three were for sale.     Apparently, this is normal here.  If you do not want something its yours; If you want it - no longer for sale.  More disturbing to me, it is OK to say one thing one day and another thing the next, blame your customer and neighbor for mis-understanding and expect to be treated as a gentleman tomorrow?  Wishful thinking in this case. 

Maybe this is a waiting game.  If so, I am quite sure I have more patience than they do - I have an empty stable and no work or expense.   There are plenty of horses out there.   They have quite a handful of hormones on their hands and not too many folks who can ride well enough to handle them.  Time will tell.

Also, the other part of horse trading in Panama.   The price had changed.  Gone up of course by about $300 and that was for the bad one of the bunch that is not worth even the original price (in my humble opinion).

Well, we asked to see them all anyway.  The one they wanted to sell was the one I would never buy.  Apparently, it was purchased for the wife.  I doubt it as it was much taller than the one the husband apparently rides - if there is one thing I have picked up from riding in Panama it is that the husband does not like to be seen on a smaller horse than his wife.   I did tell the handler this in my bad Spanish and even got a smile.

No, my guess, he wanted it for himself but was a little over-horsed.   Typical modus-operandi, tell a story (any story) to provide a convenient explanation.  She is probably blonde enough and stupid enough and Gringa enough not to figure it out.  Arghhh. Or, should I be grateful - Sun Tzu 'The Art of War' - never under-estimate your enemy.  This is a strategic advantage of being female here in general.  The last laugh is ours boys.

It was a six yr old stallion/stud that even the handler was so scared of that it was hardly handled, hardly ridden or otherwise hardly used.   As a result it was very under developed and rather grumpy.  Skinny hind quarters and narrow chested and tense back.  Tried to bite us all.  Did not go close enough to be kicked.

The other two very nice, the Columbian in particular was a gorgeous little horse.  We registered our interest and left our phone number.  Not sure I want to do deals this way.   Or, do I just get on with it, play the same games myself and have some fun with it.   Girls know best how to play hard to get I think.