He explained how his first Paso Fino competition in the US was in Tanglewood, NC, where he met Cesé and learned about showing a horse on two lines in Bella Forma.

Cesé and Alvaro discussed the great impact of Mr. George Lahood as the first person to import Paso Fino horses from Puerto Rico. They reminisced about both their beginnings in the United States as well as about when they first met. Cesé explained the beginning of the Bella Forma concept in Puerto Rico when his father, Don Cundá Figueroa, attempted to exhibit his Palomino horse and requested a second line when he was reluctant to be led with only one line. Once, at a competition Alvaro was judging, Patricia Figueroa, Cesé’s wife and renowned Paso Fino trainer, showed a filly in Bella Forma and Alvaro noted how horses led on 2 lines looked much prettier.

Through the years, Paso Finos have made their way to many different places in the world, including Europe. Alvaro Iriarte is a well-known name in Europe ever since he was invited to give the first Paso Fino clinics in France and Germany. He recalls how Paso Fino horses were received with such great enthusiasm that he was requested to represent Paso Fino horses at a horse breed exhibition in Avignon, France. Such was the impact of Paso Finos in France and Germany, that within 30 days of Alvaro’s return to the US, he sold 32 horses to Germany. He has since travelled often to France, Germany, Switzerland, England, and Spain to help promote the breed and educate Paso Fino horse enthusiasts and professionals alike. When he judges competitions in Europe, he is sure to provide explanations of the results, which they appreciate so very much. Alvaro has sold approximately 240 horses to Europe and is incredibly pleased and proud to know that these horses are still being shown and loved.

Moving on to the topic of training, Cesé highlighted his learning the fundamental principle of bending from Mr. Al Dunning, multiple world champion trainer in western performance horses. Cesé focuses his training on flexibility for a horse to be able to perform all other tasks and feels grateful to have had the opportunity to have learned Mr. Dunning’s methods to help Paso Fino horses succeed. Likewise, Alvaro discussed having been fortunate to learn many skills from quarter horse trainers, who taught about how to manage horses while maintaining light reins. He remains amazed to see how quarter horse trainers can have their horses at full speed and then bring them to a complete stop on the touch of the rein. Both Cesé and Alvaro reiterated how Paso Fino horses need flexibility to help them maintain consistency and synchronization. They concurred, for example, on how a figure 8 should be started slowly once the horse is light on the rein. This, in order to keep the horse synchronized. They explained that a horse must constantly be worked to the left and to the right to help it keep balanced. Cesé remembered how Mr. John Lyons, American horse trainer and expert in natural horsemanship, always said the Paso Fino horse is ideal because of its comfort. In discussing their own ABCs of initial training, they noted the importance of groundwork and identifying the horse’s natural gait. They said that all horses first need to learn how to walk so that they may be calm, and the rider should know that when the horse gets too spirited, it can always be calmed by returning to a walk. With time, horses can be moved from the walk into a Corto and allow it to slowly develop into the 4-beat gait on its own.

Cesé explained that a challenge Paso Fino trainers have is to debunk the reputation of a Paso Fino as ‘a crazy horse’, as he has heard people say while out on trail rides. He reiterated that training a horse calmly will lead to a calm horse and that a calm horse will last forever. To this, Alvaro insisted that each horse must be communicated with in accordance to its individual personality in order to establish a calm training style. Horses must be given the time to develop their ability to perform an adequate Fino gait without losing the posterior movements by pushing the horse too much too soon. Coordination is lost when the horse is pushed and collected more than is appropriate at the given time. Cesé insisted that “teaching a horse to walk will save your life in the future.”

When asked what advice they could share to present and future trainers, Alvaro and Cesé insisted on envy being the main feeling to avoid. Cesé explained how he had known Alvaro since 1972 and considered him a brother. Likewise, Alvaro stated that he held a great deal of respect for Cesé and all trainers whether he agreed with their methods or not and that the idea was always to be able to speak and share information about the profession without worrying about someone beating us in competition. They both discussed the need for everybody to learn how to win, how to lose, and to accept whatever is to come. Cesé shared a lesson that he taught a young client of his; “you need to have 2 bags,” he said. “One for your blue ribbons and another for all the other colors,” he continued. The key to success, they explained, is to focus on learning every day from people and from horses.

In comparing the times when they arrived to the United States and now, the biggest difference they noted was in the quality of Paso Fino horses. Alvaro described the quality of today’s horses as impressive and extraordinary. He recalled not having the opportunity to serve his mares with such high-quality stallions as exist today. Although Cesé agreed for the most part, he did argue that there are currently amazingly fast horses, but their footfall may not always be nice or clear. Thus, Alvaro replied that judges often hold themselves to the 10% weight of the sounding board and do not have the proper discretion to value the clarity in gait above other factors in the show ring. He continued explaining that judges also tend to allow horses to compete in classes that are not appropriate for them in relation to the Pleasure, Performance, and Fino categories. For example, he told about a time he judged a Pleasure class in Texas where one horse stood out above the other 12-15 horses. Alvaro stopped the competition and explained over the microphone that the horse was to be shown in Performance and not in Pleasure. Alvaro went on to say that judges were lacking the necessary instruction during clinics to be able to learn how to differentiate the specific parameters for each competition. His personal opinion is that judges should express their needs and confusions at clinics so that they can obtain what they need in order to fulfill their responsibilities as judges. Cesé added that this possibly explains why at some shows with several judges, placements are so far apart between one judge and another for the same horse. He holds that a difference in placement should be much closer and that when he and Alvaro have judged, they were always looking in every direction in order to give a proper result.

Cesé shared that his goal was to be as good as his father and older brother. Although he does not know if he has reached it, he knows having that goal has been helpful in his career. Alvaro remembered his father never showing that he was satisfied with Alvaro’s work in order to ensure he would work harder and become better. Additionally, Alvaro said that when he came to work with Paso Finos in the United States, his goal was to learn as much as possible to train Paso Fino horses and make them champions, to promote the breed and share it with the world. He explained that by having taken Paso Fino to Europe, he feels very honored and proud to have done so and to have met so many kind people along the way. Alvaro added that he is delighted that his 5 children have loved and shown Paso Fino horses, but that his daughter, Ana, is particularly crazy about Paso Finos. She holds several champion titles with Paso Fino horses and he is extremely proud of her for having learned to win and to lose.

As Paso Fino pioneers in the United States, Alvaro and Cesé each have an average of 40 years of anecdotes to share. When asked about a memory that stood out above all others, Cesé recalled November 1997, when he took Prometido de Selecta, belonging to Rosanne Gmuer, to compete in Puerto Rico. After having prepared in 28-degree weather, Cesé and Prometido arrived to 80-degree Puerto Rico and proceeded to defeat 32 horses originating from there. Alvaro, in turn, remembered Ensueño de Colombia, a stallion who they both explained positively influenced Paso Fino breeding in the US. Ensueño came to be National Grand Champion in Bella Forma, alongside Reserve Grand National Champion, Cesé’s horse! Both pioneers laughed as they remembered how much they enjoyed being together in the show ring with the best of the best. They are both very honored and proud to have shared the show ring so many times.

Having spent a few hours in the company of the Figueroa and Iriarte families was an amazing experience and a true honor. Furthermore, sharing this account of Cesé’s and Alvaro’s experiences with the Paso Fino world is a dream come true for Perfiles del Paso Fino.