Any time you embark on a journey to a new and unfamiliar destination, it’s fun to learn a bit about the history and culture; if nothing else, the knowledge informs the stops you include on your itinerary. So as you plan your stay in a Villa Rental Puerto Vallarta, take a moment to familiarize yourself with the Mexican people and their culture, including their horses.
In fourteen hundred and ninety-two . . .
You may not know it, but Mexico has a rich horse tradition, dating back to the 1500s. The first horses arrived in what was then New Spain with the conquistadors (a lengthy and not always heart-warming story in itself). The Spanish relied on their horses to cover the vast distances of Mexico. It didn’t take long, however, for another import, cattle, to become an important economic commodity, and the horse assumed a new role: ranch equipment.
Of course, most horses do their best herding and cutting under the guidance of a human; that combination of cattle, horse and man created the vaquero, Mexico’s cowboy. The vaquero didn’t become an idealized figure in his native land like the cowboy did in the US, but the horse managed to work its way into the country’s heart and soul.
A bit of this, a little of that . . .
Because it is not native to Mexico, there was no distinctly native horse breed in that country – that is, until the 1970s, when a group of breeders started a program to establish a new one. Their work resulted in the Azteca, today the National Horse of Mexico. It is a splendid animal that is nimble and fast and uniquely Mexican.
If you do a bit of digging, you’ll learn that there are specific criteria that define the conformation of an Azteca. And the breeding formula is as close to rocket science as you can get without a space ship – suffice to say that the Azteca’s bloodlines include very specific proportions of Spanish (Andalusian and Lusitano) and Quarterhorse. The crossbreeding program includes five intermediate stages; after three generations passing through those stages, it is possible to arrive at Azteca A, a purebred horse.
It’s not necessary to know the exact bloodline of a horse to enjoy its performance. Take an afternoon or evening away from your villa rental Puerto Vallarta and do some horse-watching. You might even be tempted to saddle up and take a trail ride.
