by Eduard van Brunschot Vega

Personal reflections

Life on this planet has many colours. Colours that make our lives sometimes stunning beautiful and sometimes awfully complicated. There are so many shades - there is difference in brightness and contrast and even during one simple day colours seem to change like a chameleon. There is more than one truth and nobody ownes the monopoly of wisdom. What seems to be right today may be wrong tomorrow.

Working with animals requires a more black and white attitude and imagination, which is for me easier to deal with. One of the reasons I love horses.

I was born in Peru, grew up in Holland. With my riding center Perol Chico in the Sacred Valley, it is the second time I make a life in this beautiful country named Peru... the land of thousand colours.

In the years that I have been working with Peruvian Paso horses in its native land I have come to the conclusion that the Peruvian horse has all the physical and characteristic qualities to perfom well as an excellent riding and travel horse. It has strong legs, stone-hard hoofs, stamina and is, relatively, easy to keep. It has great appeal, elegance and the restrained temperament of a dancer. And it has this unique and perfect gait to transport the rider smoothly from one place to another. This Peruvian velvet gaited horse is like a comfortable limousine with a powerful motor, and if well trained, it has an overdrive and ultra sensitive power steering. Once you get used to this horse you are already spoiled.

Time for a change

Unfortunately, not all of the Peruvian Paso horses have the above mentioned qualities to give this ultimate riding satisfaction. Today you can find beautiful specimen of the breed in the showring, even so called Champions, who are not able to cover 30 km without inflammation on the joints and swollen tendons. A showhorse, not a working horse. There are many explanations for this decline in quality.

In modern times the horse is no longer used to cover long distances across the vast haciendas in Peru. The expropiation of land, during Peru's controversial agricultural reformation in the late 60's, made a dramatic end to a prosperous agricultural society. Owners of vast haciendas and many breeders of Peruvian horses lost their land and properties from one day to the other. Important lifestock of the breed vanished into the hands of the unknown laymen. It was almost the end of the Peruvian Paso horse breed.

Thanks to the heroic efforts of some of these old breeders and afficionados, we were able to save the breed from extinction.

More and more of todays breeders in and outside of Peru (not infrequently succesful businessmen with no horse-background), do not have the same affinity and values as the old Peruvian breeders for good working and riding horses, able to cover long distances on a day. Their interests lie more in showresults and on esthetic and exterior facts - they seldom ride their horses outside the showring. Many horses of these new kind of breeders are kept all day in boxes and lack sufficient exercise. No wonder they get inflamed after a short ride.

I do not think that money is governing the breed in Peru yet, as many of the Peruvian breeders I know spend more money on their horses than they make out of the breeding. Huge amounts and blank cheques from wealthy Americans are past tense. So in fact it is only a matter of changing the attitudes and interests among breeders, judges and aficionados to preserve the excellent genetic qualities of our National horse, a movement already in the process of beginning. The same degeneration-problems have damaged the reputation of other working horse breeds in the world and we should learn from other mistakes before it is too late.

Suggestions

Discussing the problem of degeneration of our breed with breeders in Peru is a delicate issue. To a certain point all breeders agree on this subject and they will all say that they breed a working horse able to perform in the showring and not a showhorse not able to work. But if I suggest that each Paso horse in Peru should not cover 10 or 12 km but at least 30 km before allowed in the showring, it becomes suddenly silent. Such a simple solution for such a serious problem. I realise we will need other instruments to change attitudes among breeders in a constructive way, or at least we will have to make a serious attempt to stop undesirable developments that will lead to genetic degeneration of our breed. We just can't do nothing about it.

As confessed before, I am a spoiled man but I don't pretend to own the truth. I just would like to convince as much as possible horse people in the world that our Peruvian horse still is an excellent riding horse, that riding a Peruvian Paso is a unique and wonderful experience and satisfaction (that is the easy part), and next, I would like to open a dialogue among all Peruvian horse breeders and aficionados in the world, not to have endless discussion about what is already a public secret, but to determine a vision for the future. We should open new markets for Peruvian breeders, like the niche for riding, trail and travel horses, thus stimulating the breeding of sound and strong specimen able to cover miles after miles, year after year, like in the old days. We should promote and establish riding centers and equestrian travel with Peruvian Paso horses, set up promotional rides and other riding events. We should open our eyes and discover, like I did, that our Peruvian breed still is of much more net asset value than just a pretty showhorse. Breeders should not ignore the genetic qualities of our National horse, result of more than 400 years of selective breeding. We should respect and conserve nobel traditions and values, even if the world around us is changing.

Dreams have always been the motive of creation

Perol Chico is the first riding center in Peru specialised in riding tours on Peruvian Paso horses and it won't be the last. I will encourage and promote any other serious riding center with Peruvian horses in Peru or abroad and share my experience and knowledge with them as if they were my friends and partners. The more we promote the riding qualities of our horse, the better.

Our second riding center to be set up in Peru is Ullujaya in Ica. It is a venture project of Mariano Cabrera G. , a respected international judge and connoisseur of the Peruvian Paso breed, and Perol Chico. Ullujaya is already a breeding center for Peruvian Pasos, where breeding is practised at an extension of 800 hectares of private dessert land. Close to the hacienda of Ullujaya lies a narrow green valley with water and Algaroba trees, where the horses can pasture. A perfect set up to breed excellent riding horses with good legs and strong hoofs.

The Long Riders' Guild, an international forum of long distance riders and saddle Pals in the world, has invited Perol Chico to become one of their official Equestrian Travel Schools, a place where they can send people who need advise and training in a specific area, are looking to buy good horses, a safe roof when travelling through the country, etc., which we have accepted with great honour.

In Belgium another riding, training and promotion center related to the Peruvian Paso horse, is planned for this year. This new ambitious pilot project of Perol Chico will take shape in close cooperation with an existing riding center in the Belgium Ardennes and with emphasis on the introduction and promotion of the Peruvian Paso horse as a riding horse in Europe. We will invite Master-Chalanes (Peruvian horse trainers) and judges from Peru, organise exhibitions, workshops, seminars, riding vacations in Peru, 'Cabalgatas' (Rides) in the beautiful Ardennes, social events and entertainment. We will offer boarding and training of Peruvian Pasos; introduce the Peruvian riding style, Peruvian customs and traditions. We will import Peruvian riding tack, advise in the purchase of Peruvian horses and publish periodicals about everything related to Peruvian horses and Peru.

All these projects are aimed to shake up the equestrian world by proclaiming the highest acknowledgement for our breed, not only as the smoothest riding horse in the world, but also as a horse to be mentioned among the best travel horses in the world, like his better known brother the Criollo and his far cousin from the desert, the Arabian.

Eduard van Brunschot Vega