La Hípica

Today is the last day of the fair in Nagarote. On this day is La Hípica where people come from communities all around Nagarote to ride their horses through the streets. Everyone is dressed in plaid with boots, cowboy hats, and spurs. It's basically one giant party in the streets.

This morning I was eating breakfast and Aura Lee and Aura Maria (two women that work at the hostel) asked me if I had met Roberto's wife (Roberto is the hostel owners son). I was confused because I have spent a lot of time with Roberto and knew he had a baby, but no wife. Aura Lee led me to the window and showed me Katrina, Roberto's horse. She said he spends more time with that horse than he does with any person. That has remained a consistent joke throughout the day.

In the afternoon I went with Aura Lee and Aura Maria to watch the parade of horses. We saw everything from small children riding on ponies to men riding giant clydesdales. Today I also learned that horses can dance. Some people have trained their horses to walk with a sidestep so they looked like they were dancing their way down the street.

I got many offers to ride people's horses, but I was a bit hesitant to jump on a full sized horse in shorts and sandals, so I settled for taking an offer from a little boy to ride his pony.