Sunday Belongs to Horse People
This is the end of a long and fun day. My friends and I went to the annual Day Of the Horse festival. This is an extremely popular event, out of reach pricewise for many locals at $15.00 U.S. or $150 pesos to get in.
The setting is in the Adobe Guadalupe Valley, famous for its vineyards. In the midst of the activity showcasing different equestrian disciplines was wine tasting. There were all kinds of food and snacks, and it was very good! One could eat their way through this thing with no problem!
I ate two chicken tacos washed down with an apple soda. Later I indulged my Pacific Northwest roots and bought a frappucino which really went down well on a warm dusty day.
The equestrian displays were mostly mediocre by American/Canadian/European standards but these people were very proud of their show and some of the horses were absolutely gorgeous (see photos below, scroll down).
This was a truly cultural experience and I couldn't help but notice that perfection is not the goal; these people just do it. Timing was off, balance was bad and the skill level was unschooled but by golly, these people do what they can with what they have.
I couldn't help but be stricken by the enthusiasm and support of the nearly 2,000 member audience. It was endearing and as always, gave me a different perspective. I listened to people wrongly informing each other about things equestrian...it is difficult for me to acknowledge that I am living in the 21st century here. But we Americans are so addicted to "in-depth" and "completely accurate" information that it's difficult for my Anglo-Saxon American mind to not judge these people for being so undisciplined. It's all in the eye of the beholder, truly. These folks have grit. They love what they are doing. They are not doing it for money or prizes or prestige or competition. They are simply showing others what they can do. And people come. In droves.
I loved today and am still digesting my own reactions, automatic or not...watching how my mind insists that my knowledge and perceptions are correct.
I can see why other countries put us down for being self-righteous. We are. We work hard, we put everything we have into what we DO. This culture is so different. So very different. I've been hanging back all these months to see how I can fit in.
The lone jumper in this show informed me that he taught himself how to jump because there is no teacher available in Mexicali where he lives. They traveled for over three hours to do this show. Wow. I commended him for his performance. He does it simply because he likes it.
The encouraging information I gathered, though, is that Mexicans are very open to equestrian arts different from their traditional ones. As does every culture, they adopt a method to themselves, putting their own spin on it. Sometimes the results are good, sometimes not, but all the same everyone has a great time.
The setting is in the Adobe Guadalupe Valley, famous for its vineyards. In the midst of the activity showcasing different equestrian disciplines was wine tasting. There were all kinds of food and snacks, and it was very good! One could eat their way through this thing with no problem!
I ate two chicken tacos washed down with an apple soda. Later I indulged my Pacific Northwest roots and bought a frappucino which really went down well on a warm dusty day.
The equestrian displays were mostly mediocre by American/Canadian/European standards but these people were very proud of their show and some of the horses were absolutely gorgeous (see photos below, scroll down).
This was a truly cultural experience and I couldn't help but notice that perfection is not the goal; these people just do it. Timing was off, balance was bad and the skill level was unschooled but by golly, these people do what they can with what they have.
I couldn't help but be stricken by the enthusiasm and support of the nearly 2,000 member audience. It was endearing and as always, gave me a different perspective. I listened to people wrongly informing each other about things equestrian...it is difficult for me to acknowledge that I am living in the 21st century here. But we Americans are so addicted to "in-depth" and "completely accurate" information that it's difficult for my Anglo-Saxon American mind to not judge these people for being so undisciplined. It's all in the eye of the beholder, truly. These folks have grit. They love what they are doing. They are not doing it for money or prizes or prestige or competition. They are simply showing others what they can do. And people come. In droves.
I loved today and am still digesting my own reactions, automatic or not...watching how my mind insists that my knowledge and perceptions are correct.
I can see why other countries put us down for being self-righteous. We are. We work hard, we put everything we have into what we DO. This culture is so different. So very different. I've been hanging back all these months to see how I can fit in.
The lone jumper in this show informed me that he taught himself how to jump because there is no teacher available in Mexicali where he lives. They traveled for over three hours to do this show. Wow. I commended him for his performance. He does it simply because he likes it.
The encouraging information I gathered, though, is that Mexicans are very open to equestrian arts different from their traditional ones. As does every culture, they adopt a method to themselves, putting their own spin on it. Sometimes the results are good, sometimes not, but all the same everyone has a great time.
posted by Triana Elan @ 12:44 AM
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