My friend Elizabeth, 30 years old, very cute, from Holland. I write of her often since I spend a lot of time with her.
For the past 2 months she has been working for a horse tour business and about 3 weeks ago decided she wanted her own horse........so, we went shopping for the perfect horse for Elizabeth.
The search took exactly one week and took us from a field where I saw the sickest, saddest horse I have ever seen to the mountains above Heredia which is the home of the President of Costa Rica.
We, Elizabeth, Andrea - from England and the person who owns the horse tour business El works for and myself all started out together to see a horse owned by a tico friend of Andrea's. The horse was being washed when we arrived and was in the driveway of a business next to the highway. He was handsome, and calm. We all liked him right away and were excited to be checking out our first horse. Rides were taken and a discussion held. There were other horses to see.
That first afternoon we saw 3 more horses. Two were in a pasture in the middle of Jaco. Each were easily caught and saddled. Again, more rides and each of us were impressed with the horses we were seeing. The average price was $800. In the states most any horse that would sell for that amount had to be close to death or had something seriously wrong.
As we were leaving the field, we saw a truck coming with 3 horses in it. Andrea knew the driver and waved as the went by - indicating we wanted them to stop. Andrea asked if they had any horses for sale. Immediately, we were following the driver to the same field we had just been. He pulled the truck over and parked it slanted in a ditch so he could unload the horses. Next thing we knew, we were riding two of the three.
At the end of the first day our hopes were high with what we had seen.
The next day, Elizabeth had a tour and I waited the morning at the stables. When she returned the two of us went for a short ride on the tour horses. That afternoon we went to see another friend we both know who owns a horse not far from where we live - Julia. Julia is from Canada and has leased part of a farm to board her horse plus 4 others that she is training or just taking care of for other owners. We checked out her place, discussed horses and the possibility of boarding with her once El had a horse. I'v been riding with Julia before - huge advantage of her location: the beach is right there and the mountains just across the highway - either direction is beautiful.
Several days prior to all this Elizabeth had noticed a Jaco tour horse in a pasture that look very sick. She contacted the police and were told they could not do anything unless the horse was out on the highway. On El's 3rd day at the station to complain I was with her. On the 4th day I was with her also. That afternoon with Andrea with us, as we were driving past the field we could see the horse in an area that a road goes thru. We got out of the car, went thru the gate and walked across the property to see the horse. Up close this was the sickest most horrible animal scene I have ever been close to. Andrea was in tears, Elizabeth was angry, I was in shock. Within minutes we were contemplating how we could humanly kill this horse - He was that bad.
The rest of that afternoon was spent pursing the owner whom we were told would do nothing and there was nothing we could do without risking legal problems against us. Animals here are not valued the way they are in the states. Again - long sad story - the horse finally died two days later and was left in the field for the vultures to take care of.
Elizabeth has lived in Esterillos for 3 years. One of her closest friends is a tico family - Lorraina, Jorge, and their 10 year old son Mario. Jorge's sister is married to a man who is a horse trainer. They live in a beautiful area in the mountains above Heredia which is close to San Jose - the capital of Costa Rica. Jorge knew Elizabeth was looking at horses and arranged for all of us to go visit his sister and brother in law. So on a beautiful Sunday morning, the three of them, El and I drove the 2 1/2 hours to the ranch.
Luis and Jorge's sister have lived on this ranch for 30 years. They have a son and daughter both of whom are in their 20's and have graduated from the university with degrees in engineering - just as their father did many years ago. Both the son and daughter were at the ranch when we arrived.
Driving thru the mountains before we got to the ranch reminded me very much of Santa Barbara - the southern end where there are large ranch homes on large lots - all perfectly manicured. It just had that feel to it = money.
The ranch owned by Jorge is like none other in that is not the perfect looking ranch. It looks very old - and is. It is one of the oldest in the area. The road across the property is not paved but instead has huge rocks that you have to drive over. The buildings are very old and appear to be falling apart - but this is the charm of the whole place. The house they live in is also very old, small, but oh so quaint. When we arrived - we got the grand tour starting with the hill that overlooks the property. From there we went back to the house and then the stables. We saw sheep, pigs, cattle and beautiful horses. As we were getting the tour our horses were being saddled for a ride.
When we headed out, there was 7 of us: me, El, Jorge, Luis, one of the workers, Luis' son Luis (that made it easy to remember his name) and another man who was boarding his 4 horses with Luis so they could be trained. When I mounted my pure white mare, Luis told me not to let go of the reins. I thought he was telling me this incase I was a beginner rider - that was not the reason.
The second I picked up the reins she was ready to go. As we headed off the ranch and onto the paved road we had come up, I was having a hard time holding her back and trying to get her to walk. When we got out on the road, she and I immediately took the lead. I could hear Elizabeth and Luis behind me chatting away about his horses. I was trying to sit like I knew how to ride and keep my horse under control. We turned off the main road after a short distance but were still on pavement - however, the road was very narrow with a foot to two foot drop offs on each side. My horse wanted to run and actually did 2 small bucks with her hind feet. The first motorcycle I saw coming at us almost gave me a heart attack. I quickly envisioned my horse jumping off the road and falling into the ditch on either side and me with her. Amazingly the bike made no difference in her attitude. She was still all go, but not any more upset than she already was. At one point the other man who was riding with us came up next to me. I asked him if he knew this horse. He said he did. Luis just boarded her for another owner who seldom ever rode. He told me everytime he has seen her out, she is a handful. That at least made me feel better letting me know it wasn't just me.
More cars, and more bikes came at us - each one causing me to see my life pass in front of my eyes but I held on and stayed with her.
Finally we got to an area that was dirt. When we reached a trail leading up a hill that disappeared quite away up, we were told we could run - do whatever.
Oh, Elizabeth - Elizabeth has owned a horse in Holland since she was 15. From photos and long discussions about her horse I know Elizabeth comes from a family that has money. She owns a dutch warmblood that has been professionally trained and still does shows with her trainer - whom has had a career as an olympic equestrian trainer. As a result of all this - Elizabeth is a very good rider. The horse she was on was a very gentle, quite, beautiful white mare. I glared at her several times as I was trying to stay in my seat. She knew what I was dealing with and just smiled.
So here we were at a place my horse knew she could run. Luis' worker was the first to start the hill at a full gallop. I was behind him and just let her go hoping I could stay with her. Amazingly she did not break into a full on run but rather a very fast canter up the hill and as I got close to the top and pulled her back, she actually slowed down. By now, the worker was out of sight in the woods and I was alone at the top of the hill with my girl. Now I decided she was fun and headed back down the hill. The rest of the group was just walking. I came cantering up, turned on a dime and headed back up again. My girl didn't miss a beat and was happy to be let loose.
The ride lasted for about an hour and a half. My mare never did relax enough to just do a slow walk. There was zip in every step she took. When we got back to the ranch I was tired but had had a blast. I no longer was afraid of her - in fact, I loved her.
After all the horses were rinsed and put away, we had a wonderful lunch of traditional Costa Rican food in the house - all around a big table.
Because the trip had taken so long I thought we would be heading back soon - crossing the mountains at night is not advisable, but no - there was more fun to be had.
After lunch, all of us piled into a pickup truck. Elizabeth and I were in the bed of the truck while the wives and kids rode up front.
The ranch Luis took us to was breathtaking. Acres of land, perfect brilliant green fields, stables and a house that would rival any I have every seen in person or a book. When he took us to the stables that housed the stallions I had no idea the show we were about to see.
Luis is the trainer of all the horses on this property. For the next half hour he got each of the 4 stallions out - one at a time. For about 5 minutes each one would jump and rear as he led them to the end of a lunge line. Then he would start to slowly pull them back in and within just a few minutes, each horse would stop and but his head in Luis' hands. It was magical.
We were all here for at least an hour and a half. We saw the new foals in the barn and walked the grounds. We peaked in the windows of the magnificent house - no one was home. We imagined what it would be like to live there.
It was very late when we got back to Oeste that night - what a great day it had been.
The next day was Monday and Andrea had more appointments for us. We headed out for the first - a ranch about an hour away - on the other side of the Tarcoles - the crocodile river. Just before we passed the river, we saw another ranch with horses in the field. We had a very short quick discussion about stopping and then pulled in. A ranch hand was there and told us that yes indeed they had 2 horses for sale - each belonging to a different owner who boarded the horse there.
The first horse they brought in from the pasture looked like a quarterhorse. As soon as Elizabeth got on him we all fell in love. This was the most beautiful horse we had seen and as Andrea and I saw them together, we knew he was perfect - Elizabeth did also. We saw the other horse but at the moment I can't even remember what it looked like - all we could see was the quarterhorse.
It took us about 30 more minutes to get to the appointment but we were all excited about the horse we just saw by chance. Andrea knew the people we were going to see and we spent another hour or so riding and checking out 2 more horses. One horse was gaited - like my horse back in California. I had tried to describe what a ride like that feels like to Elizabeth as she had never ridden a gaited horse. As soon as he hit it, her face lit up - then she started to laugh. She was gliding around the arena. She rode for awhile as did Andrea and I, and even tho both horses were very nice - they were not what we had just seen.
Later that day we had one more horse to see. The horse was in Jaco and had been sold to a young woman who never owned a horse before. The gelding was sold to her as a purebred Arabian. I have more Arabian in me than this horse did. He was nice but he was a Tico horse. I actually like him a lot - he had spirit - was a good thing I was not looking to buy a horse.
The next day Elizabeth had to work and I had a day off. It had been non stop for days it seemed.
That day, Elizabeth knew she wanted the quarterhorse and had already talked with the owner. The ranch hand had told us the asking price for the 7 year old horse was $1500. El talked to the owner - offered $750 and it was accepted. Arrangements were made for a vet to come out and do a vet check which also included doing a blood test. Here horses can catch a disease from other horses that is called anemia. It is nothing like what we think of - low iron - but rather a fatal disease that nothing can cure once they get it.
The morning of the day we found our horse, Elizabeth had promised a friend in Esterillos to see his horse on Thursday. That friend turned out to be Adrian - the very, very cute Tico that I rode with once a week when I first came to Costa Rica. Where the horse was located was on Adrian's father's ranch in the mountains about an hour and a half from where we live. I couldn't believe we were to go with him to this ranch. I was so excited I could hardly sleep the night before.
My first 3 months in Costa Rica were amazing. When I returned to California for Christmas that year I found it hard to believe I had only been gone for 3 months. It seemed much longer and it had changed everything for me. As many of you may recall, my plan was to move to Colorado upon return from that trip. That plan was tossed when I return to Oeste at the end of January 2007. I have been here ever since except a short return to CA last October.
Anyway - Adrian. When I return in January of that year I quickly found out that Adrian was no longer at the stables. The owner had not been paying him for his work and he had quit. Then he and the local small store owner's daughter ran away. At that time Adrian was 25 - she was 16 - I think. Broke my heart :) The first time I saw him since my return was sometime in March of that year - then several times since. Then recently he and the girlfriend returned to Oeste to do construction work here. I see them at the store occasionally so I guess the family has forgiven him and worked things out.
So here we were - early Thursday morning, ready for another adventure. I had also invited my 25 year old friend Erin to go with us. When we went to get Adrian - here he came with the girlfriend. Of course, I was teased about this and I have to admit I was a bit disappointed - alright, a little bit more than just a bit. What can I say - he is very cute.
The drive took us thru Parrita to the south and then up into the mountains. I had never been on this dirt road before - it was spectacular. Elizabeth drives her Rav4 like it was a jeep - nothing stops her.
When we arrived at the ranch - we parked out on the main road and walked up a hill overlooking the land. So beautiful - so Costa Rica. We walked past cattle with calves and then down to the ranch house. This place was the complete opposite of where we had been in Heredia but this was by far my favorite. The house was small, the barn looked like it would fall down as did the fences around it. Almost immediately after we arrived a bunch of other people also arrived. It was a combination of adults and kids - not sure if it was a whole family or what. The girls and I decided word had gotten out that 3 gringas were on their way up from the city (Parrita) and everyone came out to get a look. It was absolutely delightful.
Adrian brought out a nice looking pinto that was the reason we had come but immediately we knew this was not better than the one we were waiting for the vet results. Adrian of course did not know this and we did not want to make him feel bad so we all watched as horses were being tacked up for a ride. As soon as we were ready to go - it started to rain - lots of rain. For about half an hour we enjoyed visiting with the family and the other people who had come to see us - kinda like at the zoo. They were all very kind and gave us coffee and cheese melted between a corn meal like a tortilla but not a tortilla - it was delicious. When the rain slowed down - we headed out.
When we hit the road, up behind us came riding Adrian's younger brother. It was like a movie. Here he is - very handsome, long sleeve blue shirt, jeans - riding a horse that is prancing all over the place. Erin, who is recently engaged and I could not believe our luck. Both he and Adrian only speak spanish and both of us are very limited - but still, it was perfect with my Adrian up ahead talking horses with Elizabeth and the girlfriend left back at the ranch. I hope all of you know I am not totally serious - but I am smiling.
We rode up into the hills and then we came to a place were we got off the horse. Here was an old mill that is still used to extract sugar from the sugar cane they grow. Oxen or cattle are hooked up at each end of a huge beam that goes around in a circle. This rotates 2 large cylinders that stalks of sugar cane are pushed thru. This crushes the stalk and pushes the sugar out. Then there was a huge container that looked like a wok sitting on a large wood burning stove. Here the sugar is heated until it melts. Several things are made from this including blocks of natural sugar. Totally fascinating.
As we headed back it started to rain again. The red mud at the barn was deep and like clay. Each of us rode our horse thru it hoping no one would trip. Once the horses were unsaddled, more coffee and more visiting.
On the way back, Adrian and the girlfriend fell asleep. Us girls discussed Erin's wedding plans. For a moment as I was looking out over one of the many scenic views I was so aware of just how lucky I was to be here with these wonderful people in a place that makes me so happy.
The test results came back negative and arrangements were made to bring our boy home. He arrived about 3ish on Saturday. Most horses here in Costa Rica do not travel in safe solid horse trailers as the spoiled American horses. In stead, most are in a truck that are open with high bars. To get the horses out, the truck has to back up to something that is higher than the bed of the truck or at least close so the horse can get out. When I walked down to El's house, the truck had just arrived and she was trying to decide where they could unload. We both decided it had to be on my hill. So as we walked down the road, the truck followed. Part way up the hill the truck backed up against the side of another hill and in doing so the back wheels went into the ditch. This turned out to be perfect for the horse to get out - but not the truck. I walked the horse back down the hill to Elizabeth's house while she went to find a friend with a tractor. About 45 minutes later here she came. Meanwhile I had been introducing the horse to her 4 dogs and the property. His name is Milenio which is spanish for millennium as in the year 2000 of which he was born. He was amazing - not one bit upset, very curious and a pleasure to deal with.
Elizabeth's plan was to keep him at her house for a few weeks until we could move him to our friend Julia's. Julia is in Canada for 3 weeks. All that afternoon Elizabeth had 2 workers tearing down a concrete swimming pool that was next to her house and actually part of the porch area. This was a major project and 3/4 completed when I showed up with Milenio. Even with all that noise he did not care.
So now Elizabeth has her horse - in a newly constructed stall - on her porch. If this were the states - this would never have happened. The whole neighborhood would be in an uproar. Here - no big deal. I love living here.
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