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Riding in the
land of the Inca
Click on any image to enlarge
By Richard Green
A new, very
different riding holiday experience awaits the traveler in Peru. A
weeklong trail ride in Peru, land of the mysterious lines of Nazca, the
majestic ancient city of Machu Pichu, the mighty Andes, the deep jungle of
the Amazon and miles and miles of sand dunes, beaches and rolling
countryside.
The
experience is unique and unforgettable, because of the superb food, the
sights, and the warm welcome of the people and especially for the famous
Peruvian horses that we ride. These animals, which are direct descendents
of the horses used by the Conquistadors, some 500 years ago, are the most
unusual horses people will ever have the pleasure to ride. Typically
sturdily built, Paso horses average between 14.2hh and 15.2hh. They have a
unique ambling gait, which is a four beat lateral movement. In other
words, the sequence is left hind, left fore, right hind, right fore. This
gait produces a ride so smooth that the rider hardly moves in the saddle
and there is no jolting at all. In fact, there are competitions called the
Champagne Class when horse and rider negotiate a course while the rider is
holding a full glass of champagne in one hand without spilling a drop! The
majority of the horses are exceptionally kind, docile with stamina to
spare. Twenty plus miles in a day is not difficult for the horses and it
is a pleasurable experience for the rider too!
I came to
Peru to live in September last year after owning thoroughbreds all my life
and never having sat on a Paso horse and now I have five geldings and two
mares! There are horses for all abilities of rider from very experienced
to first-timers in any shape, size and age. Trail rides (called Cabalgatas)
are proving a great success. The most recent Cabalgata took place in
February and was centered around the southern city of Ica, including a
visit to the lines of Nazca. The group, made up of Americans, Canadians,
Peruvians and two Brits, spent two days in Lima then traveled by luxury
coach to Ica. The oldest participant was Alun Jones, a 71 years young
rider from Wales, he and the twenty-four others riders rode for about 100
miles over the five days. We rode on breathtaking beaches by the Pacific
Ocean, across seemingly, endless desert, on rural trails through woods,
streams and country villages which no ordinary tourist ever sees. Visits
to the leading studs were included in the itinerary as well as nights
spent in colonial haciendas, evening concerts of local Peruvian and Andean
music combined with some energetic dancing! The excellent cuisines of
which Peruvians are justifiably proud, not to mention generous amounts of
Pisco, the local grape spirit, were in plentiful supply for the entire
trip!
The entire
group was in good hands throughout with professional Chalans (the superb
horse trainers) accompanying us all the time, as were a qualified vet, a
paramedic and a GPS-satellite tracking system for negotiating the vast
desert tracts. The Cabalgata passed without mishap, equine or human and
everyone arrived back in Lima tanned, a little tired but very happy! We
experienced riding in the moonlit desert, the early morning brilliance of
the Southern sun and in the late, lazy afternoon shade of wooded lanes. We
looked on in amazement as the small, tough, burros (donkeys) made their
way home with the harvest of maize so large that they appeared like moving
haystacks! To the great surprise of the riders, and to the utter lack of
concern of our horses, we found ourselves in a bucolic traffic-jam!
Combined herds of goats and cows, driven by local folk in traditional
dress, the same as worn by their ancestors when the Spanish ruled Peru,
meandered along the lanes by the side of irrigation canals first dug by
the pre-Inca people over 1,000 ago!
Everyone was
reluctant to say goodbye to the noble, hardy, smooth gaited Peruvian
horses, and to the marvelous county that had been their home for too brief
a time. However, they will be back, and will always receive a welcome with
open arms from Peru!
For more details about
the holidays, or for more information about the Peruvian Paso horse,
contact: Cheryl Aldrich at
Phone # 817-594-1597
Or order the Cabalgata
2001 highlights video. $10 +$6 shipping
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