Living in Peru : your everyday companion

How do you rate the job done by Lima's traffic police?   Good Average Bad

By Charles Sizemore

Driving north on the Panamericana highway out of Trujillo, you pass through several small agricultural towns that break up the seemingly endless expanse of sugar fields that flank both sides of the road. Some, such as Casa Grande, have rather impressive histories. Prior to Peru’s agrarian reforms of the late 1960s and 1970s, the Casa Grande hacienda was one of the largest private landowners in the world, stretching from the Andes to the Pacific Ocean. The hacienda was, for all intents and purposes, a country within a country, and for better or worse, it is unlikely that anything like it will ever again exist in South America. It was one of a kind.

Generally though, you’re not missing much if you drive through the towns without stopping. Most are characterized by what seems like one never-ending solid wall of colorless cinderblock buildings punctuated by the occasional gas station.

From the Panamericana, Paijan might at first appear to fit this description. But if you turn off the highway and into the old colonial core, you will find a real gem of a town.
Paijan has a surprisingly long history. It was founded by the Spanish in 1540, and the pre-colonial history of the area goes back much further. The nearby temple compound of Las Huacas del Sol y Luna attest to the sophistication of the pre-Colombian culture and is definitely worth a visit, as is Chan Chan, a nearby archeological site that holds the distinction of being the world’s largest adobe city.

Within Paijan itself, the traditional Plaza de Armas is a pleasant place to stop for an ice cream or a Coke. The plaza has a series of well-manicured gardens separated by wrought-iron fencing and park benches, and despite the bustle of the town it is surprisingly peaceful.

Still, Paijan is most famous today for the reputation of its Peruvian paso horses, bred by the local Vásquez family.

The Vásquez clan, led today by brothers Luis Vásquez Nacarino and Anibal Vásquez Nacarino, is a virtual horse breeding dynasty, and the collective influence of the family over the past 30 years has been nothing short of phenomenal. (I will admit, I am a little biased here. Luis Vásquez is my father-in-law. The numbers, however, speak for themselves. Mares bred by the Vásquez family won the National Champion of Champions prize fifteen times in a twenty-three year period and a record eight years in a row in the 1970s. Not a bad run, indeed.)


Luis and Anibal are carrying on the legacy of their father, the late Anibal Vásquez Montoya, who was a breeding legend in his own time, and have raised their own sons to carry on the tradition into the next generation. For the sake of the breed, let us hope they are successful.

For readers unfamiliar with the Peruvian paso, the horse is one of the most graceful animals to ever walk the earth. Bred in virtual isolation for over 500 years from an original breeding stock left by the Spanish conquistadors, the Peruvian has developed into a breed with several distinguishing characteristics.

The Peruvian is one of the few breeds in the world that has a four-beat gait; its hooves touch the ground in an evenly-spaced 1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4 pattern (Most other horse breeds trot, meaning they walk with a 1-2, 1-2 hoof pattern that tends to make the rider bounce in the saddle.) Among the gaited breeds the Peruvian is generally considered to be the smoothest to ride. You can ride a Peruvian horse with a drink in your hand and not worry about spilling it.

Interestingly, the gait is not learned; it is bred. Peruvians are born with their distinctive walk.
Another characteristic of the gait is the action in the forelegs called término. This is something you really must see to understand. But to give you an idea, Peruvian horses walk with a distinctive high step in the forelegs that almost resembles a swimming motion. That the horse is able to walk with this flair while still keeping the saddle stable is truly testament to the quality of the Peruvian’s breeding over the centuries.

The Peruvian’s disposition is also noteworthy. The breeders call it brio, and unfortunately this is one of those Spanish words that doesn’t translate well into English. The literal translation is “sprit,” but this definition doesn’t fully reflect the meaning of the word. It’s more like that “special something” in the horse’s personality that you can’t explain.

Ernest Hemingway — who wrote his masterpiece The Old Man and the Sea in Cabo Blanco, Peru, by the way — had his own complaints about Spanish words that didn’t translate well into English. When writing about bullfights in Sun Also Rises, he laments that there are no fitting equivalents for afición or aficionado, which literally translate into the rather prosaic “fondness” and “fan” in English, respectively.

As Hemingway would have told you, afición means something much deeper than “fondness.” It is more of a profound appreciation and respect for something. And an aficionado is much more than a “fan”; he is a person who understands and appreciates something on a more complex level and who can see the intricate subtleties and shades of gray. Basically, if you can explain what you feel in words, then you’re not really an aficionado.

Certainly, not all fans of the Peruvian paso horse can legitimately be called aficionados. I certainly cannot make that claim for myself at this stage. But I am looking forward to the 2010 Concurso Nacional this coming April in Mamacona, outside of Lima, and I encourage any readers who are interested in seeing a unique aspect of traditional Peru to attend.

Charles Sizemore, CFA, is a financial writer and portfolio manager who splits his time between the United States and Peru. To see what else Charles has to say, visit his blog.

tags : horses ride Mamacona champions Paijan Trujillo

Add to del.icio.us | |

4 Comments

# Judy Choquette says :
27 January, 2010 [ 03:59 ]

I enjoyed

this article being a Peruvian Paso owner and lover I enjoy reading positive things about our beloved breed of horse.

We own

1 Peruvian Stud colt just a year old this month.
His name is Milagro Del Rey
We own a 6 year old gelding
Don Diego de Machismo
2 mares 18 & 20 years of age.

I would love to email to the Nacarino family if they do such things
I belong to the web site
www.peruvianhorse world.com

If anyone is interested in see our Stud colt or our gelding I have pictures posted there.

One day we hope to show our colt and maybe even our gelding as a luxury gelding.
and in g aited classes .

Our dream is to come to Peru and see the nationals there.

Thank you for writting about the Peruvian horses
There is none smoother to ride and none as strong and intelligent

Well in our opinion as owners .

Thank you
Judy Choquette

# Sasha McInnes says :
31 January, 2010 [ 08:23 ]

I have friends visiting Lima who ride horses in Australia - would you please let me know of clubs in Lima where they might do the same?

Thanks very much.

# Charles Sizemore says :
31 January, 2010 [ 09:00 ]

Sasha,

You might want to contact the Peruvian horse association: http://www.ancpcpp.org.pe/inicio.html

I would say that is a good place to start.  Hopefully they can point you in the right direction!

Thanks,

Charles

# Trevor Hughes says :
8 February, 2010 [ 09:41 ]

Yes, this is a wonderful breed and they are beautiful!  On January 11, 2010, my wife and I were lucky enough to enjoy lunch at the Vasquez hacienda in Paijan and see a demonstration of Peruvian's proud gait - it was one of the highlights to our Peru visit.

Trevor & Verna Hughes

---