I WENT TO RIDE IN MEXICO

I went to ride in Mexico.  After many years attending riding holidays all around the world, I went to Mexico and had an unforgettable horseback riding vacation in Valle de Bravo.  I enjoyed so much my stay in Finca Enyhe that I am planning to go back again several times during the next years.

Accompanied by a joyful couple from Denmark, three properly educated English ladies, a family of four Canadian riders, and two cosmopolitan ladies from New York, I discovered the best horse vacation I had ever thought of.  Everything was perfectly well organized, every detail was taken care of, and the friendly hospitality of Lucia and Pepe made me feel like in my own home since the moment we crossed the front door of the their glorious mountain hacienda.

Although coming from different parts of the world, the twelve of us shared one passion: horses.  Horses are part of our lives for different reasons and horses are the reason to share our spare time with new friends in an unknown country.  During the transfer in the van we chatted a lot about our own horses and the ones we had ridden in other countries we had visited. With a great expectative about our vacation in Mexico, all of us were anxious to meet the horses we would be riding during the one week vacation we were just starting. 

After getting set in the beautiful Mexican-style furnished bedrooms, our hosts explained to us briefly what we needed to know about the hacienda and its working system and showed us the route we were going to use marked on a colorful map.  From the description of the mountainous terrain in which we would be riding up and down from the 5,500 ft. and higher than the 10,000 ft., we understood that the horses had to be vigorous, fit and in very good shape.  From the affection and tenderness that Lucia and Pepe showed when they referred to their horses, we understood that in this place equines were part of the family and therefore should be very well treated.  And finally, from the information given to each one of us about how we should ride the horses, we all understood that these Mexican horses had to be very well trained in order to be able to behave as well as our hosts said.

The three suppositions became true as soon as we were introduced to our mounts.  The moist sand of the riding arena surrounded by bamboos and the white stucco of the colonial buildings that are used as stables in Finca Enyhe made a perfect environment where to begin our riding adventure in Mexico.  Each rider had asked for the type of horse preferred for the week and, as far as I could see, everybody was happy with Lucia´s elections.  The same happened with the saddles; according to each rider’s preference, several horses had English saddles, the Canadians were using typical Western saddles, and the Danish lady and myself, the more adventurous ones, were riding on beautiful hand worked Mexican saddles with the big pommel where you could easily place a cup of tequila with its lime and salt to have an invigorating drink before the ride began.

Mounted on the horses by the cobbled stone streets in the outskirts of the town gave us the opportunity to find out how well trained these Mexican horses are.  Riders could go chatting to each other without having to go nose to tail, there were no attempts of kicking or biting, the horses were not scared by the few cars we found or by the several dogs that came out from the houses barking and dancing around us; they all just behaved astounding!  The cobbled stone street was substituted by a dirt road that climbed up to the mountains.  Pepe led the group into an evergreen pine and oak trees forest whilst the riders searched for areas without vegetation to be able to appreciate magnificent views of the blue lake, the red tile roofs of the town and the colossal heights of the mountains that surround the picturesque Valle de Bravo.  Ascending the trail the horses demonstrated how fit they are, it was as easy for them as if they were going in flat terrain.  Once on the top of the mount, a multicolored flowered meadow was an immaculate scenario where to attempt some trots and canters in order to get acquainted with the different horses we were riding. Everybody was delighted!

By mid week we were all talking about how well behaved and trained were each of the horses we were riding and by the end of the week several of us wanted to put “our” horses inside the luggage to take them back home. 

Georgette Crabouillet
San Clemente, California
March, 2010.