PPF: Che, thank you so much for accepting this interview for Perfiles del Paso Fino.
JF: Thanks to you, my love.

PPF: You and I, some 18-20 years ago, were sitting across from each other like this. Do you remember? Back then we published an interview in a magazine where you shared what I believe were your initial stages in this country. So then, for those who don’t know you, please tell me a little about your beginning in Paso Fino.
JF: Do you want me to talk about myself in the United States or of when I started in my country?
PPF: From the very beginning.
JF: My country was horrific.

PPF: Why?
JF: Because I went through a lot of need in my country. I began cleaning stalls, collecting mares, then I started riding for Milito Coronado. That is where I first began, and I have so much to thank them for because it was spectacular. He was like my father. I remember that Negrito Calderon asked Milito if ‘that young man could come ride with me’ and Emilito said ‘yes, if he wants to.’ So then, Negrito Calderon hired me, and I went to work with him. I was riding for him and then was demoted to cutting the grass, to groom, and to bathe the horses. That’s what I had to do, and I did it calmly. After that, they brought me back up and got me riding again. He told me ‘Che, whatever I do, you will do.

And if you have any doubts, you talk to me.’ And that is how we started working together. He said to me, ‘Che, when you start to work at Rancho La Joya, you will have your stamp of approval as a good trainer, and everyone will like you.’ That’s how it all began. I was a young kid, so skinny and scrawny. I had a small beard and moustache. At La Joya, with Manuel Piña, I rode many horses with Rancho La Joya and did well, very well so they gave me a chance. I was so happy. I remember like it was yesterday that Don Negrito told me after two horses had won, one was Fuego and the other Conquistador. Fuego held a lot of pressure on his head, he was very strong and didn’t have much brio. So, Don Negrito said to me, ‘Che, you are going to ride Fuego and I will ride Conquistador.’ That was a collected horse, he had great posteriors and hands, too. He was black with a small star. I took mine into a corner and kicked him four times to get him started up I won the championship.

PPF: Wow!
JF: And Negrito Calderon said, ‘that’s how you do it, Che.’ He hugged me and kissed me and said, ‘I want to have a son like you, a son just like you. A good and hard-working young man. I swear on my mother that I want my children to be like you. I want you to be an example for them, you are a good example.’
PPF: Right.
JF: Yes. I have great appreciation for Milito and for him [Negrito].

PPF: That is so nice. In what year did you come to the United States?
JF: I don’t recall what year that was because I was working with Don Nene and some Colombians arrived there and gave me a hard time, so I abandoned my job and left. That is when I went to work for Mr. Martin Barceló. The Colombians sent me messages every day saying they were going to get me, and they would defeat me. Bimbo was riding at Martin Barceló’s farm too and so I told Mr. Martin Barceló to give the best horses to Bimbo because he was the primary trainer there and I would take the less-quality horses because I was the secondary rider. So, I would ride those bad horses in the morning and again in the afternoon, since they were so poor, I would devote hours to working them until I wore them out. Bimbo used to ask me why I spent so much time working and I’d tell him that I needed to work harder to accomplish something because he had the good ones, and I had the bad ones. The day of the competition, in the three categories, I beat La Rosa. I rode my bad little horses and defeated them. That is when Don Nene sent someone to call me. I sent him a message back saying that I couldn’t go see him. Soon after, he had me called again to go see him or else he would come to see me. I respected him greatly so I had them let him know that I would go see him soon. I went to see him and he asked me if I wanted to come back to work for him. And I said, ‘No, Don Nene. I am working with Don Martin Barceló. He is so good to me.’ He was pure love, that man. When I resigned my position, he was so upset. He even got out of the horse business. Don Nene said to me, ‘If you come work for me, I’m going to buy La Maraquita and I’ll take you to the United States.’ When he mentioned the United States, I said, ‘Wow! My God!’ What an opportunity! But I kept telling him no. I went to Jarabacó one weekend and won at a competition there. Luis Villar showed up to see me. He said, ‘Che, my dad says this and that and the other thing.’ And I just kept saying no left and right, but I was dying to say yes to him. I finally said, ‘Okay, yes. I will go work for you. I’m going to resign to my job with Martin Barceló.’ When I went to resign from Martin Barceló, that man said to me, ‘Ask me for whatever you want, anything. I will give it to you.’ He had my sister come speak to me. I didn’t even know they knew each other. My sister came to ask me, ‘Hey, why did you leave Martin Barceló?’ I said, ‘I want to go to the United States.’ She said, ‘That man is offering for you to ask for anything you want.’ I said, “No, I am leaving. I already said I’m going. I want to go to the US and see what there is over there.’ That’s when Don Nene said, ‘if you come work for me, we’ll go buy La Maraquita. We’ll pick her up tomorrow.” And, I resigned let’s say on Tuesday and we went to get her on Wednesday.

PPF: And that’s when that story began.
JF: That’s when that story began.
PPF: How old was she at the time?
JF: I think she was four-to-five years old. And when I began to ride her, Don Nene said, ‘Look Luis, that money went to waste.’ That mare had stiff legs; she would plant herself. I looked over at them and said, ‘Don Nene, give me a couple of days to see what is going to happen here. I can’t start pulling these reins without knowing what is going on with her.’ And you know that all hills have a way up and a way down. I started trotting her up and down every single day. She didn’t like for her tongue to be tied down, so no bit. I only used the muzzle on the bridle. If I tied her tongue, she’d plant herself. So just the bridle. And we’d ride up and down, up and down, until one day I said, ‘God, let me pull her back.’ There was some gravel like this, and I decided to collect her and see what she was made of. When I pulled the rein back, the gravel flew up into the air and the reins were loose. I thought, ‘Good Lord, I did it!’ So, I warmed her up and I collected her. She lasted like a minute and a half over the sounding board. She just worked in one place. Don Nene called Luis, he called people from the capital city to come see this. That was the beginning of my story, of when I came here to the United States. That was it… and I thank Don Nene, once again, I thank Dr. Piña, once again. They were the ones who pushed me forward. Without that mare, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything. You have to come to this country with the best horses. So, without that mare, I wouldn’t have done anything useful here. That mare gave me a good image and I did for her as well.

PPF: At that moment, do you feel you already had the connection that everyone in the US was able to witness? I mean, did you already have that connection with this mare since before coming, or was there a key moment where that relationship began between the two of you?
JF: When that mare arrived in the United States, she was ridden by either Silvio or Monchi, I’m not sure. She got first place in her class, but she lost in the championship. Don Nene was really sad and disappointed. My visa to the US had been denied. Don Nene said I had to come to the United States. So, he came and drafted up a work contract and with that professional visa request, I was able to come. When I arrived here, there was a competition at Tropical Park. Everyone thought that she was going to go into a trocha. There was so much commentary about La Maraquita being here and El Che being here. When that competition began, everybody was curious about her. When that mare entered the arena, I knew it was the end of the rumoring. I knew that was mine. We began our beautiful connection right there. That mare is special, you can’t treat her roughly. You can’t raise your voice at her. That mare is like when you talk to your daughter or when I talk to my son. If I speak to him roughly, he will start to cry. That mare was something else. She is the best thing that ever happened to me. Still today, during this past show at Tropical Park, Mario Heinsen’s manager said to me, ‘Che, come look at the mare.’ When he said ‘Che’ and I was coming, that mare came from the back corner to see me. He said, ‘I can’t believe what I am seeing.’ The mare came to meet me at the door, and I hugged her for a while and spoke to her. We had a really nice time there just the two of us.

PPF: That is so sweet. When he called you to go see her, had you not seen her for a long time?
JF: I saw her some 7 or 8 months ago during the last Spectrum. I went to go see her at the farm. That was when I cried my eyes out.
PPF: Why?
JF: Because she didn’t want to pay attention to me when I called her. She didn’t know who I was.
PPF: She didn’t know who you were or was she angry at you?
JF: I thought both, she didn’t know me and she was angry at me for having left her and not being in her life anymore.

PPF: Right, that has happened to me. It happened with Baluarte.
JF: She was upset as if to say, ‘you left me even though I was your biggest love, but you left me and never came back to get me.’ Oh, that’s when I lost it. Carlitos was there with me. I cried, her caretaker cried, my wife was out there feeling sad, along with everybody else. I was just crying as I was hugging her.
PPF: How did you get her to pay attention to you? To forgive you?
JF: I asked her, ‘don’t you remember me anymore?’ I pulled her over to a corner and she would pull back like she didn’t want to go, so I pulled her strongly and I started to scratch her ears. Her caretaker told me that nobody had been able to touch her ears. He said whenever they tried to grab her ears for anything she wouldn’t let them, but she let me.

PPF: You would always touch her ears?
JF: Yes, I always grabbed her ears and hugged and kissed her. She finally stayed still and laid sleeping over me. It seems she didn’t forget again because last time I saw her at Tropical Park, I spoke to her and she came to me. I will never understand anything like that. She was the mare who made my career take off. I had my career in Santo Domingo with a pretty nice background from there. As a young man, I worked very hard over there. Back then, Yamil and Jimmy Espino would go there, and we’d give each other war in the show ring. Jimmy would be champion in stallions, and I would be champion in mares. If I could take her [Maraquita] to my house and make her a room, I would have her live there with me so I could take care of her. I don’t think anyone would ever take better care of her than I would. If Don Mario told me to take her, I would spend any amount of money to make her a stall next to my bedroom and have a camera installed so I can watch her always. Honestly, God forbid, the day she dies I am going to go crazy. Just so you know.

PPF: Who do you believe have been the greatest teachers in your career?
JF: I have only had 2 teachers in my life. They are Negrito Calderon and Milito Coronado. And when I was in Santo Domingo, I only worked at 4 farms. I didn’t work with anyone else because if you paid me, for example, 50,000 Dominican pesos and you and I are faithful to each other, someone could offer me 150,000 and I will be by your side forever. The other guy could even pay me 200,000, but I will stay by your side because I feel comfortable with the way you treat me. You respect me and you love me and that is what I like, to be respected. If anyone ever wants to tell me something, call me to the side and say, ‘Che this is what’s happening.’ If I have to apologize, I will apologize. If I don’t have to apologize because I am right, then I won’t apologize. I wouldn’t do that.

PPF: In this industry, we greatly lack trainers being truly valued for the professionals that you are. If you weren’t experts in your area, the rest of us would not need you.
JF: My father taught me to respect, so that I am respected.

PPF: Speaking of which, what do you consider having been the most important lesson you have learned as a trainer?
JF: Lessons… I have learned many lessons in my life, but the most important one is one that I am going to keep to myself. I rather not say because I suffer greatly just thinking about it.

PPF: If you could share only 1 anecdote as a horseman, which would that be?
JF: Well, this wasn’t too long ago when I was granting Steven an interview. La Maraquita is the love of my life. Steven asked me who I was rooting for; La Silinda, or a very good filly that came, or any of the other 500 wonderful mares that were coming. I replied, ‘all those mares are important, as well as the fillies that are coming. But I won’t turn my back on my bloodlines; I am sticking with Lunita who comes from the Vitral lines as well as Maraquero and Maraquita and all the others. I won’t deny those bloodlines.

PPF: While you were at La Rosa, it pays to mention the other horses you worked with while you trained there. Tell me something about those other horses.
JF: Yes, La Rosa was a farm like no other. At La Rosa, I really rose to the top with many horses. I used to train La Imagen, El Libro, Caramelo, I trained and showed all their horses. People used to say the judges were paid off because all my horses always won first place. When I would go to a show with both La Imagen and Maraquita, I would ride one on Thursday and the other on Friday and I would win with them both. The other trainers used to ask me to only take one mare to competition so they would have a chance to win, and I would tell them it wasn’t my choice to always show them, but that my boss wanted me to show them. Another mare I have to mention, is La Elegida, owned by Guillermo del Rio. When I went to get that mare from her stall to ride her, she wouldn’t let me get her. So, I asked Guillermo call Mauricio to come and get the mare. Right after he brought her out for me, we made chemistry later that same day. That mare and I have won the Performance World Champion title together, then Mauricio won the world grand championship with her, and now she is a three-time world champion at 16 years of age. This last time, I trained her for free. We planned to obtain her 3rd world champion title. If she couldn’t carry me, I’d have Mauricio show and win with her. And it all turned out just as I had said it would. She won Spectrum and Nationals for ten years, and now to be retired, she earned her third world champion title with Mauricio. She was 16 years old and in her 6th month of pregnancy. That is why I didn’t want to ride her, because of her belly. Everything happened just like I said it would, as if God had told me what to say. I told him I would train her for free because I had never trained any of his horses for free and he had always been with me through thick and thin. So, I wanted to do it for free. When the Coronavirus came, he never turned his back on me, nor me on him. It’s a very nice story; nobody has taken 3 horses to the Hall of Fame except for me. I am going back home with my head held up high, thanks be to God. Everything is thanks to God.

PPF: Alright, and now that we mentioned the del Rio Family, theirs has been one of the strongest relationships you have had in this country.
JF: Yes, they are my family. Like this guy here, he’s my brother. We may fight and insult each other, maybe even push each other, but we’re always friends. Being a friend means we can tell each other the truth to our face. Telling you something while I look away doesn’t make me a good friend. I always say, ‘you tell me all the truths you want to tell me, and if it hurts, I will cry.’

PPF: What is something that will never be missing when you train a horse? What is something you always do when you work with your horses?
JF: I always call on to God. I also have a Virgin Mary who I talk to every day. When a horse isn’t doing well, I can’t eat, I can’t sleep. It just makes me sick because I do this with all my heart. When a horse isn’t doing well for me, I try to relax. If I have something bothering me, I can’t work well with the horses. When I have problems, I simply don’t ride horses. Animals are to be respected. They are more intelligent than we are. You do something to them and if they don’t want it, they’ll stand their ground. But if you do something nicely, you will get very far with them. You can get them to do anything you want by being nice. They are very intelligent; they are stronger than we are. If they decide to knock us down, they will. If they decide not to work, they won’t. So, you must treat them properly. And, if you as a trainer, can’t improve a horse, it isn’t about someone being better than me or me being better than someone, your job is to tell the owner that you haven’t been able to do more and that he should get the horse another trainer. That makes me a good trainer; not keeping a horse even if I am not working well with him. If I can’t work well with a horse, let someone else give it a try. Bring that trainer here or take the horse somewhere else. I am not going to feel bad about it. When I am working for someone, I want their name to be risen and for them to be famous because I am a part of it, and I oversee the horses.

PPF: We must all recognize our own limitations.
JF: Exactly. I have this much to give. So, if I have reached that and someone else can give more, then I want that person to take the horse. That will be a nice accomplishment for the horse. We can’t be selfish in life.

PPF: Che, now that you have mentioned it yourself… you know that, with all due respect, people comment on how large of a man you are, how heavy you are, and how your hands are gigantic.
JF: Yes, yes, yes.
PPF: Yours is a great physical control that many people do not have.
JF: Right, look. People think that I am strong with my horses because they see how strong I am. I life weights and I am strong. So, they think my horses are strong at the bit. But go ride my horses and see if they are too strong. You can tell when I throw the rein over my neck. A horse that is pulling at the bit, you can’t throw their rein over your neck. When I throw my horses’ reins over my neck and I halt them, they even lower their rump. But because everyone sees how big I am, they think I am too strong, but no. That is just how I look.
PPF: Lead body, silk hands.
JF: That’s right. Exactly, and I’m going to keep being how I am.PPF: Out of so many championships you have won, which has been the one that has left the biggest mark on your life.
JF: One where I suffered so much was in Jacksonville, I believe in 2007. It was with La Maraquita. She had come back to me in pain. I used to ride her with diapers on her hooves to take care of her so she wouldn’t get hurt walking over the rocks. My friend used to ride her so that I wouldn’t be so heavy on her. She is my witness, so you know I am telling the truth. I would tell her to trot the mare and do what I was doing as I rode another horse. Trotting and trotting, she would ride La Maraquita copying everything I did as I rode the other horse. I would tell her to move the rein a bit and the mare would become so collected and we would let her rest. My friend rode her for me, so my weight wouldn’t hurt her hands anymore.

In 2007, I think it was in Jacksonville, we were in competition and won in our class. There was a grey mare that belonged to Benjamin and now Junior has her. Her young rider had come from Colombia and was overconfident.

PPF: Salomé?
JF: Salomé! The rider was very confident. He had come and won in his class. So, I told Jimmy we should challenge that young rider in the championship and see what he was made of because one of us had to let him have it. All three mares were doing a fantastic job, but mine was superior. She made no mistakes of any kind. And we were able to earn the title. Then, she stepped on a stone and started to go lame. The judges turned to watch me and so I stopped her for like 10 seconds. When I started her up again, she wasn’t lame. She was walking perfectly. That day I cried like a baby thinking we had lost. That mare is such a warrior that after I stopped her, she started up again stronger and better than ever.

PPF: Don’t you think that she was in pain, but that she was working that well in order to please you?
JF: It’s possible she did. I would tell her, ‘Come on, we can’t look bad. We have to do a good job, let’s do it.’
PPF: You speak to them in competition?
JF: All the time. The whole time I’m talking to them. Sometimes I’m training around here, and people think I have lost my mind talking to these horses. But talking to them gives me good results because they understand me.
PPF: You establish that connection.
JF: They understand. As long as you keep talking to them, they know that you’re telling them something. 

PPF: Do you feel that you have reached the level of feeling and connection that you had and still have with La Maraquita, with any other horse?
JF: With Maraquero. Maraquero was like another child to me. Maraquero was special because everything I have, I have because of him. He died before he should have. I cried for Maraquero like you wouldn’t even imagine. I bred him myself when we were at La Rosa. When the horses were ready to be on the bit, they’d all come out slipping because they were so fast in their gait. Maraquero had long legs, so he would trot and Don Nene would tell me not to show that bad colt. And later, he was the world champion offspring of Vitral and La Maraquita, who were the two best horses in the world. He had to become a monster. When I’d take him out, nobody would turn to look at us, and now look at the monster he became. When horses are young, you have to wait as much as possible. A colt will click from one moment to the next. You can’t just sell it for pennies because then you will see how great it comes out to be.

PPF: If you had to describe your work with only 1 word, which word would that be?
JF: First and foremost, I would thank God for everything he has given me.
PPF: So, appreciation.
JF: Appretiation, fame, valor…

PPF: Che, what is the MOST important aspect of your work?
JF: I think the most important thing about my work is that I am humble. And anyone who respects me can do whatever he wants with me. I am not just a trainer; I work with all my life. If I have to grab a machete and work the land, I will. If I have to bathe a horse, I’ll do it. With all the fame to my name, bathing a horse isn’t a bad thing. When I bathe my horses, I am happy because I am bathing them, and we get to know each other better. The horse appreciates that I ride him, and I also bathe him. I have no problem being at Tropical Park and people seeing me wearing ugly boots bathing my horse. I don’t feel embarrassed because I make a living with them. If I could bathe them all, I would. If I could feed all my horses, I would do it. That just allows me to have more contact with them. When a horse sees me in the morning and neighs, it’s because he knows I am the one who feeds and takes care of him. So then when I ride him, he will be happy with me.

PPF: That is exactly why I couldn’t bring my horses down to Miami… I don’t feel that I could let them go. I want to clean their stall; I want to feed them. I see them every single day.
JF: That’s how it is. Exactly.

PPF: What do you like the MOST about the horse?
JF: Well, what I like the most when I am riding a horse is for it to have brio. I like the brio, but I don’t like an angry horse. When you work with an angry horse, you may need to mistreat it. When you mistreat the horse, he will become angrier.

PPF: What do you want people to know or remember the MOST about you?
JF: I would like to be remembered as a good man and a good rider. I leave it all in God’s hands. Each person will decide. I was a good person in this country. As I see it, I gave it my all. I left my life here. Now, I am returning to Santo Domingo with a little life left because I am older.

PPF: No, a lot of life. You have a lot left, Che.
JF: I am leaving happily, just like when I came happily. I used to think, ‘wow, the United States’ and now I feel just as happy to return to my country. That is my home, and I love my home.

PPF: What word represents your work the MOST?
JF: Responsible. When your boss isn’t following you around because he trusts you. I think that makes me feel very proud. When your boss tells you he believes in you and goes off to New York instead of watching over you. There are days when I don’t want to ride, and I don’t do it. Sometimes I come to ride and am told, ‘don’t ride them, they are doing well.’ It makes me very proud to see that my boss greatly respects me. Without respect, there is nothing left.

PPF: Che, thank you very much for sharing what is inside your heart. That is what I feel you did on this interview. Thank you so much.
JF: Thank you, too, my love. I owed you this interview since a long time ago and you reminded me.