Archive for April, 2008
Last week there was a jumping clinic in La Caraña with a German lady. I can’t remember her name but the clinic was very interesting and learned much about her. She lives a season in Canada for the Grand Prix competitions then she goes back to Germany. She is very qualified for her as a rider and trainer and it was a great experience being able to ride with her. This types of clinics are very important for the development of the sport here in Costa Rica because we don’t have high level trainers like they do in other countries mostly because of the lack of economic support from the Olympic committee to the Equestrian Federation (FECR). This causes low-level competition making private companies and people have to bring clinicians like the one they just brought in order to keep the level. But it is not enough. Even though there are a lot of talented riders in this country they can’t do it alone. They need the support of the Olympic committee in order to pay the tickets and other expenses of the rider and horse to compete in high-level competitions outside the country. I belief that in all the years equitation has existed in Costa Rica only two riders have gone to the Pan-American Games and they both had to pay the expenses of the horse’s transportation and theirs and both have done very bad presentations. Sport in the country has to grow and support from the Olympic committee here in Costa Rica is urgently needed but this committee is very corrupt and only gives money to sports like soccer that are popular but the team is really bad and doesn’t show any positive results, what I mean is that they don’t win games. We are just asking for a chance to get to the top and there is a lot of talented riders that with the proper help they surely can become Olympic riders and give a name to the country when talking about equitation.
April 28th, 2008
Every horse is different not only because of their various personalities, but because of the breeds, that most of the time determine aspects of the horse’s personality and physical appearance. Along the years, people have chosen to mix these breeds in the search of perfection. Some people may be looking for physical perfection; other people could be looking for a horse with a proper mentality for the job he is being breed for. Perfection is a relative word because its definition varies depending on the person who is mixing the breeds. For example, if you want a horse to walk on rough mountain trails my recommendation would be a mix between Quarter Horse and Andalutian Horse in order to get a horse with a fair size great backs and an outstanding intelligence and will to do whatever you ask them. These breed is actually not very know but in is called Aztec and these horses are very sporty and also have a very loyal personality. If what you want is a show jumping horse I recommend mixing a Thoroughbred with a Warmblood in order to get the sportyness of the Thoroughbred with the bones and strength of the Warmblood. Purity in breeds is not always the best thing to have because all breeds have flaws and to correct those flaws you should have to cross that breed with one that its strength is the other ones flaw, if you get me, it is to improve the flaws in the way of creating a perfect horse.
April 16th, 2008
Why do I like it so much? That is the question I always ask myself. Is it because I am good a it or because of what I learn every single day without exceptions. Maybe it is because of all the friends I make that at the end of the day, they are my real friends. There is something that has always captivated me about equitation, and that is the ability to learn something different every single day without expecting it and from the most random people. You are never done with the topic not nearly done with it, in fact there is a huge reason to not be in the edge of finishing and that is horses. They are animals and all of them are different there is not two horses alike and that is what makes equitation so hard. Something I really hate is when people who haven’t even tried to get on a horse say it is easy and that the horse does all the work. Well for those people there are some news first of all horses wouldn’t do any work without us telling them to do it. And believe me, it is hard to tell them what to do because even though they are intelligent animals they still are animals and they need to learn someway. I bet if one of that people who say that the horse does all the work, they wouldn’t last five minutes on top of that saddle, and I love to proof people wrong. Now I just wanted to state that so let’s get back to the good thing the things I like about this sport. The friends, every single day I meet new people, people who are willing to be good friends and support you in good or bad situations. You get to know people all around the world and at the end you know you will have someone to support you all around the world.
April 3rd, 2008
