Costa Rica Cattle Culture
Recently I was given the opportunity to step back in time to a culture that I imagine would be similar to the old west, a lifestyle that revolved solely around horses, cattle and ranching. I’m Susan Allen welcome to OpenRange I’ll be back to tell you why I found it remarkable. There are very few places left that can be considered true horse and cattle cultures, Argentina, Southeastern Oregon’s Great Basin come to mind, places where ropes are hand woven, where you’ll spot horses tethered in front of the local store or cantina and the large hacienda or ranch provides a community anchor. That’s the world I discovered in the Guanacaste region of Costa Rica a place where sabaneros ride criollo horses crossed often with pasos meaning many have a unique high stepping and extremely comfortable gate. For recreation neighbors gather for trail rides on old wagon trails often at night typically under a full moon. I was invited to ride in an El Tope, a wild parade of decorated horses and riders that winds through narrow streets and showcases horsemanship. It was odd for me to see these small horses, similar to our mustangs, used as basic transportation, along with oxen, to ride among big docil doe eyed brahma and Zebu cattle resting under the huge Guuancoste trees or watch a rodeo seemed a cross between bull riding and the Pamplona running with the bulls. In the end my brief time in Costa Rica’s cattle country allowed for a rare peek back to a ranching culture before technology and I admit it was darn hard to get my boots back on that plane.
