National Peruvian Horse Show - Part One

For months, Deb had been talking about wanting to go to the National Peruvian Horse Show in Fort Worth, Texas. Though it is only a six hour drive from here it didn't seem possible as we are on a very tight budget. That's where Deb's brother Steve stepped in and gave Deb one of the best birthday presents she could have received. He paid for the trip.

We left late in the afternoon on Wednesday. The pasture is on the way out of town so we stopped by to take care of our horses and then hit the road. The three little dogs were loaded in the car with us and did remarkably well considering that this was Spike's first long drive and perhaps Sadie's as well. Rusty is a travelling pro and he just curled up and slept most of the way.

The miles flew by and we hit Texas a little after nine in the evening. It was at that point we realized that neither of us had thought to get directions to where we'd be staying. All I can say is that it pays to have a computer savvy friend on the West Coast who is willing to hang on the phone for over an hour and guide us through the maze that surrounds Dallas. We arrived at our final destination and were all glad to be off the road.

Though it was after midnight before we got to sleep, the next morning started at 6am. Deb was determined to be in time to see the first class. We were staying with a dear friend of Deb's and she accompanied us to the John Justin Arena where the show was being held.

The first class of the day was a Zootechnico class which is entirely about conformation. The horses are led in to the arena where they all line up to be looked over by the judge.

These are all mares who are 4 years and older.  This is Silueta, a half sister to our filly Anastacia.

The judge for the breeding classes was brought in from Peru.

He chose this horse as the winning mare for this class.

Next came the stallions, 4 years and older. The Peruvian is known for its thick, long mane and this fellow certainly possessed an abundance of that trait.

The judge wasn't to be swayed by the superficial and took a long, hard look at each horse.

In the end these were his two top choices for the stallion confirmation class.

After the Zootechnico were the halter classes. These were for 2 and 3 year old colts and fillies, horses that are still too young to be ridden. So their handlers did a whole lot of running.

There were a few quiet moments where they stood for the judge.

Then it was back to the running.

And running.

And running.

I'm sure that all of the handlers were quite relieved to see the riding classes start.

The judge watched the horses gait around the arena and then started motioning some to move to the center. These usually where picked in the order that they would place.

We were very impressed with the judge, The Honorable Roque Benavides. He took the time to explain to the audience what he saw in the horses and why he'd placed them in the final order.

Each time we did feel that he had picked the best horse in the group.

On that first day, we only stayed for the morning. We were all quite tired and so decided that we'd leave and come back fresh the following day. Which of course means there will be at least one more photo essay.

And if you haven't had quite enough for the moment, here's a link to a video of the Champagne Class from the second day.