Your Gateway To An Experience Of Lifetime: Costa Rica’s Gaited Horses

The Costarricense de Paso is Costa Ricas national horse breed and exploring the countrys lush landscapes aboard these Costa Rican Walking Horses is indeed a national treasure.
Watch as a Costarricense de Paso is put through his paces at El Encanto.
On my journey through Costa Rica I arrived at El Lugar Resorts horseback riding facility El Encanto to encounter a horse unlike any Ive ever ridden. Thoroughbreds? Yes. Quarter Horses? Double yes. Irish Warmbloods and Tennessee Walking Horses? Only one time each but also yes. Paints ponies and mustangs? Of course. Costarricenses de Paso? A what?

In my defense I had also never been to Costa Rica and now that I have I will gladly lay claim to having experienced one of the countrys richest cultural assets the Costarricense de Paso Costa Ricas national horse breed.
The origins of Costa Ricas horse
Though the Costarricense de Paso is making gains in the United States with the founding of a Texasbased association the breedalso known as the Costa Rican Walking Horse or the Costa Rican Pasois at the heart of its home country in Central America.
The breed is an outcross between the Andalusian and the Peruvian Paso. Both breeds boast roots in Spains revered horse breeding history the Andalusian dating back to the seventhcentury Moorish invasion and the Peruvian Paso being the result of the Spanish Conquest in Peru in the 1500s.   
The Andalusian became the choice mount of nobles and the Carthaginian cavalry alike thanks to its 15 2hand stature powerful chest and willing temperament. The Peruvian Paso meanwhile is a naturally gaited animal bred for a supreme riding experience but also to handle the varied and challenging terrains of Peru.
ASCACOPA registration committee president José Molina with three Costarricenses de Paso at El Lugar Resort in Costa Rica
The development of the Costa Rican Paso then began in the mid1800s. Nearly 100 years later in 1955 Janitzo the horse that would become the breeds foundation sire was born. In 1972 Costa Rica created a registry and an association for its beloved breed the Asociación de Criadores del Caballo Costarricense de Paso. In 1994 by a National Executive Decree of Costa Rica the Costarricense de Paso became the National Breed of Costa Ricaan animal that is characterized by its beauty resistance energy and elegance in his movements.
The reason why we love so much the animals or at least why I do ASCACOPA registration committee president José