Day 5 in Uruguay! What a whirlwind this trip has been so far. On this day we were in Treinta y Tres at El Paraiso ranch. This was by far my favorite day! When first discussing the trip details we were not going to be able to ride the nice horses, and I was bummed, but I had accepted that. Upon arrival, I looked out the bus window and saw a good group of horses rounded up and tacked up. I immediately got very excited but tried not to get my hopes up, because as we had discussed, we weren’t riding horses. While speaking with Mr. Jose Ortiz we learned that we were actually able to ride his nicely bred horses! I ride horses and have been riding all of my life so this made me very excited to compare and contrast training methods and breeding!
At first sight, the horses look very similar to the Quarter Horses we have in the States. The amazing thing about Mr. Otiz’s horses was that they are from a direct line from one of the original lines of Spanish horses. These horses were extremely hardy and could stand the extreme heat, little rainfalls, and minimal grass that is in Uruguay. They were so well trained too! We actually got to see the trainer ride a horse that had only had two rides on it. The trainer already had the horse trained to spin like a reining horse! I was in awe and my inner “horse girl” was jumping up and down!
Overall, El Paraiso was such an amazing family-owned ranch. We learned so much about their production and land. By far my favorite day!
