Juan Manuel Muñoz – Educate and Unify the Industry

PPF: Juan Manuel, good evening and thank you for spending this time with Perfiles del Paso Fino.
JMM: It is an honor for me to be on your prestigious program. Thank you so much.
PPF: Thank you very much.

PPF: To start off, can you tell me a little about your background as a horseman?
JMM: Well, I have been a horseman my entire life. My father was a horseman, I was born among horses, I was raised among horses since I can remember. That’s where I inherited this passion, this hobby, this love for horses. It’s been my entire life.

PPF: At what point did you begin working as a professional in the horse world?
JMM: Well, it’s been my whole life, like I said. I have been with horses my entire life. When I was young, maybe 13, 14, or 15 years old, I would compete some of our horses, my father’s horses. It’s a passion that can’t be left behind.
PPF: Of course, I can imagine. In which area are you located?
JMM: Mainly in Cali, lately I have been in Florida, in Miami, going back and forth between Miami and Cali. For now, I am living in Miami.

PPF: At which point did you become president of CONFEPASO?
JMM: I was called to be a part of the board of directors for ASDEOCCIDENTE [regional association in the Cali, Colombia area] a few years ago, where I worked as vice president. Later, they asked if I would like to lead the association, ASDEOCCIDENTE in Cali – the horseman association in the west of Colombia. I was president there for 2 terms, almost 4 years. Currently, I am the vice president of the board of directors. I was nominated to be the president of FEDEQUINAS [national equine association of Colombia]. In FEDEQUINAS, a person can be president for 2 terms. After I finished my first term, I was reelected for a second term. Once I completed my work with FEDEQUINAS, I saw the option to move on to CONFEPASO, and here I am.
PPF: When was that?
JMM: I’m trying to contribute as much as I can. That was at the March 2022 meeting. I was elected for a 2-year term, according to the rulebook.

PPF: Since the beginning of your horsemanship, was it ever a goal of yours to become president of this entity?
JMM: No, never. It never was. It wasn’t a goal, but has come through life experiences, moments of inevitable circumstances, because life has brought me to certain points. It is a contribution I make completely selflessly because my business is not horse related. It is simply my passion, my love for horses, my hobby. So, whatever I can contribute from my experience and from my organizational and business vision so that things can work out in a transparent and equal manner, where everyone fits in, because that has been my philosophy in life. Nobody is more than anyone else. I have lived my horsemanship in every aspect. My family loves horses and we do everything because of our love for horses. If I can add in a grain of sand and my support, because, just so you know, all these positions, for everyone to know, are volunteered. That means you don’t get paid a cent, not travel expenses, nothing. I am here in Ponce right now, supporting Puerto Rico, supporting their events to generate unity, but it’s all at my own expense; plane tickets, hotel, food, it’s all my financial responsibility. CONFEPASO doesn’t pay me any per diem, or salary, or travel; absolutely nothing.
PPF: Even so, a few weeks ago, we met in Ocala, right? At the Ocala Cup International, and it was under the same terms.
JMM: Yes, right, on the same terms.

PPF: What do you think has made you an ideal person to hold this position?
JMM: Listen, it would be conceited of me to say that I’m ideal. It isn’t about being ideal. It’s about having the disposition to do it and I do it without measure. With all the humility possible, I contribute what I can contribute, and I can guarantee that if it’s supposed to be along this line, it will be along this line. Not to the left, not to the right. I base everything on transparency. It is what it is, what it is supposed to be, in compliance with the statutes and in compliance with the norms. There should be equality, there should be recognition in every sector. In this industry, no one person is more than anyone else. The exhibitor is as important, the breeder is as important, the rider/professional trainer is as important, the caretaker is as important, just as is the farmhand, the veterinarian, it’s you as journalists who spread this passion. In this equine world, everyone, to me, is on the same level of importance pulling a passion forward. And that is the seed I am trying to sow; that we all have a place here and we all have the same rights. This isn’t about who has the greatest number of horses, the greatest wealth, or the greatest or least power. No. If we are all going to build something out of love and passion, we should strip away of personal interests and view everything as a general industry. We can’t focus on one tree, but on the entire forest. And that is the contribution I can make to this industry.
PPF: I feel it is excellent that you are saying this because we need that unity within entities of the same country as well as among all the countries. And just as you said, here we are; you came from Colombia, I came from the United States, and there are many people who have come from many places, and here we are in a little corner at the Ponce International show to let everyone see exactly that.

PPF: I’d like to know, what is CONFEPASO’s main focus as it relates to the Paso Fino horse industry in the United States?
JMM: Listen, when speaking of CONFEPASO, I can’t just talk about the United States. CONFEPASO is the International Federation of the Paso Horse, including its four modalities. That is Paso Fino, known as P4, in Trocha, which is P3, in Trocha and Galope, which is P2, and Trote and Galope, which is P1. Those are its four modalities. Regarding these four modalities, my philosophy as far as CONFEPASO is that CONFEPASO today is made up of 9 countries: United States, Puerto Rico, Panama, Aruba, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador. These 9 countries, I’ll give you breaking news, will be joined by Canada soon. Also, I am knocking on doors in Brazil and Mexico, hoping to bring back Switzerland, Germany, and also try adding Spain. With that being said, we are going to have a more robust CONFEPASO. My primary mission with CONFEPASO is to maintain a unity. A unity within each country and secondly, among all the CONFEPASO countries. Next, is to set forth clear regulations for everybody. These are consensual regulations and statutes because the needs of every country are different; varying by culture, by needs, by geography, by quantity of horses. In Colombia we may see one equine focus, there could be another from Aruba, and another from Panama, or for different types of competitions. So, we must unify and understand that we are all CONFEPASO. That is my most important mission; telling everyone that we are all CONFEPASO. There are people who criticize simply to criticize, so I invite everyone to build from the inside out. CONFEPASO today, with me as president, is an open-door CONFEPASO for the entire equine industry. And when I say equine industry, I mean everyone I mentioned before. Not only the presidents, or the members of the board of directors, or the biggest breeders -who are extremely important and welcomed. But it’s also the riders, the trainers, the people who love horses and who make up the horse, such as veterinarians and judges. From within, we can build an almost ideal model, because ideal doesn’t exist, but it can be formed little by little. That is my greatest interest and my greatest desire. I have one goal. That goal is to take the equitation of Paso horses to become an Olympic sport. We are already putting all our efforts into getting into the Panamerican Games. If we are able to participate at the Panamerican Games with equitation of Paso horses, which used to be called Jinetes y Amazonas, or Chalanería in Colombia… During my presidency, we changed the name to equitation, because it is equitation. Equitation already has a place and is recognized as an Olympic sport. This would be called, Equitation of Paso Horses. So, we already have some terrain conquered and this is my dream come true. First, unity within the industry, in every aspect. Secondly, would be to lead the Paso horse to a place of international recognition. Third, to participate at Panamerican and Central American games, plus for us to participate in Olympic games.
PPF: What a great goal and what a lovely dream. It’s something that perhaps seems impossible for many people, but, as you just said, it isn’t too far from possible. It is very attainable.
JMM: It isn’t impossible, we can work hard on it, between all of us. We can reach it if we are united.
PPF: That’s right.
JMM: And even working together… it is a difficult goal to reach, though not impossible.
PPF: So, it’s a challenge.
JMM: But remember, if you can dream it, you can reach it. And that goes for everything in life. Live to dream, work on your dreams, persist, and if God allows it because it is ultimately His will that fulfills it.

PPF: The reason I asked in respect to the United States is that is where I am located, and my website’s focus is the growth of our industry. I have been in this industry for over 20 years and have seen some highs and some lows and we are analyzing the changes we’ve experienced and all that. We have been trying to improve, generally, the quality of our events and the educational quality is something that has stood out very much. That is one of my own main focuses. I believe that if we know more, we have more a greater capacity of reaching an international level that we have seen we do not currently have. So, at events like this one where we have regulations that are under CONFEPASO, for example in the pre-ring, explanations of the competitions, those are factors that are not common at the events in the US. It has always been lacking and there have been some entities who have made it happen, but it isn’t something that generally occurs. Now, there are some regions and other entities who are doing it and the people have welcomed it tremendously. Currently, you were present a few weeks back at the Ocala Cup, held at the World Equestrian Center, just as Ocala region shows. It is a facility where many people from other horse breeds attend. When they enter our shows and don’t know absolutely anything about our breed, it is so valuable to have the explanations at the end of the competitions for the judgments, and more so, a proper translation. This has helped for newcomers to enter our breed. What is your opinion, or what is the support CONFEPASO can offer to make all this that we see at all the other countries’ events, such as explanation of judgments, pre-ring procedures, an order of competition, to become a part of the events in the United States?
JMM: Miss, first of all, I don’t believe in impositions. I believe in academy, in explanations, in technicalities, in the right thing to do, in the why, but not in an imposition per se. In Colombia, you see that the honorable judges explain even the most minimal details for their reasons and that is how we educate the people.
PPF: That’s right.
JMM: But we must be very respectful with the cultural aspect of every country. The right path, for me, is using explanations. If the presidents of each association in each country, including the US, sees that the audience is accepting or requesting this model of explanations, dialogues, and judgments, well then, my invitation, very respectfully, with the utmost respect, is to use this dynamic and start adjusting to what is the need of the industry and the acceptance of such. I believe there should be explanations in order to teach all the people; we should be teaching the breeder, we should be teaching the trainer, we should be teaching all the riders, we should be teaching anyone who wants a horse, it shouldn’t only be geared towards the breeders. Simply, there are people who love horses, who like the horse because of the beauty of the horse, and they have never had a horse. Those are the people we are interested in.
PPF: Absolutely.
JMM: Let’s attract them. And we attract them by way of proper judgments, fair ones, transparent ones, that are explained. That is the way in my opinion. There should be an institution that provides workshops, an academy, explanations, training for the honorable judges so that they are kept up to date. I think this is a very important job to do in the United States. I have spoken to Jose Colon regarding this matter. Just on a personal note, I have rights over the use of the Fedequinas name in the United States through my company. I have a company in which I am the CEO, the president of the company. Its name is Fedequinas, Inc. USA. It is precisely meant to provide seminars, conferences, led by the best judges to explain the proper use of the microphone, the right way to speak, to behave, how to behave properly in the show ring, how a judge should stand in the showring. All that is in respect to the judges, but also for the farriers, and also in regard to the ‘dually-gaited’ horses that we have and diagonally gaited horses in Colombia, which aren’t very common in the United States. So, we are going to start bringing these people to provide these seminars and these explanations. This is all non-for-profit. It is simply to contribute a grain of sand to our industry and to show that there are modalities other than the Paso Fino, which is the standard gait known worldwide. The Paso Fino is my passion, as well as the diagonals. For that, we need a lot of training. I invite everyone to keep motivated. I invite more events to be held. This is a very personal position, but in Colombia, we have 160 events, 160 events per year. That gives me an average of 3.5 per week.
PPF: And it is a much smaller country.
JMM: In one week. And you may ask how, well yes. The more events exist, the more a hobby grows. That is contrary to those who believe that if there are too many events, a competition among them is created. No. If there are fair and accessible prices in place and more events available, the hobby is going to grow. What I cannot do, and this is a very personal opinion, not as president of CONFEPASO nor as an institution, but only as Juan Manuel Muñoz. Hobbies grow, strengthen, and solidify with repetition. For example, I am a golf player. So, I play golf. But sometimes people will say ‘I am a golf player, but then they play golf 1, 2, 3 times a year, or 4. Is he a golf player? Yes. But don’t you think it would be better if he played every week, or every weekend, or every 2 weeks, or even once a month? He is going to feel the sport as more of a part of himself and will have a feeling of belonging to that sport. What I think is that what the United States needs more of is to have more shows, sincerely, more events. Working together and supporting each other in events and shows, get sponsors and sponsorships, and in a more commercial way. What for? To lower their costs. So, those of us who show, can participate with lower costs and more accessibility. Thus, the institutions don’t go bankrupt either because those institutions also need to earn a living. Institutions also have expenses. The directors of all those institutions are also ad honorem. Nobody gets paid in the US either. Dr. Jose Colon, a wonderful man, president of the Paso Fino Horse Association, doesn’t get paid a single cent for his dignity, for being president, nor do the presidents of the different regions. It is our passion that drives us to do this work. The association also cannot go in detriment, that is why they must charge something. Thus, if there are more events, there will be more money, there will be more events and a greater audience. With a greater audience, the commercial aspect, the sponsors will become interested in seeing that this is an important objective audience. So, then I can go to a Coca Cola Company, to an AT&T, to a…
PPF: Toyota.
JMM: Toyota, a bank like Bank of America, or any other, and I can tell them I am going to sell them this many events per year, where there will be these many thousand attendees who can be potential clients for them. I ask them to pay me for that and they will pay. That is how associations sustain themselves. The secret and the greatest support lie in the sponsors and the commercial area.
PPF: Yes, that is true.
JMM: And the greater the number, the greater the hobby.
PPF: Besides, we as competitors or participants of any area in which we experience the event, with each event there is more learning.
JMM: That’s right.
PPF: So there is growth not only in what we can do, our own capacity, but also in what we teach to others.
JMM: Aside from that, your passion will continue growing. Each of us starts inviting 1, 2, or 3 people to an event. If we love this, we must continue to do our part in this exercise. And our equine family will continue to grow in the world. That is everyone’s responsibility.
PPF: Of course, it is. What you mentioned about Fedequinas, did it already begin, or has it not begun yet?
JMM: It has not started. The company has been legally created. The seminars have already been programmed. The national judge Jaime Benavides, who for me is a great gentleman with great knowledge, will be supporting us in this area alongside other people of great recognition at a national and international level. With them, we will be providing these seminars.
PPF: You can count on me 100%.
JMM: Thank you very much.
PPF: One of the greatest points in my passion is the educational level.
JMM: We’re counting on you, thank you very much. This is a job that involves us all. I can tell you that the scheme of seminars is very interesting. We have topics on exhibiting, training, shoeing, equitation on Paso horses, judging… there is a vast array of topics of farriers of podiatrists, everything under this passion. That is what we are going to do. To me, our industry is lacking academy, respectfully. The academy will lead us to a superior level.
PPF: Yes, sir.
JMM: And I am willing to do it under the name Fedequinas, Inc. USA…
PPF: And Perfiles del Paso Fino, count me in.
JMM: And Perfiles del Paso Fino. Yes, ma’am, thank you very much. We’re on it.

PPF: Coincidentally, several of the questions I had for you were about this topic. For example, I was just telling you about regions or entities offering events more similar to those we see internationally. One of the notable aspects have been in processes such as the pre-ring, for example. We have found ourselves with the difficulty of finding veterinarians who are in capable and knowledgeable of the regulations in order to participate in these events. Therefore, a question has risen. If the veterinarians are not certified in the country of the event, let’s say in the US, if they do not hold a medical license in the US but they do have it in another country, could there possibly be a general certification on behalf of CONFEPASO being that it isn’t a job of prescribing medicine nor of treating an illness, but a health evaluation, that allows the access to the professionals who at this time are not in abundance?
JMM: Listen, with all sincerity, I do not have that answer for you at this moment. We must note that the federal laws in the US are very strict. They are very rigorous and are clearly in writing. And they must be followed. However, it is to my understanding that for some international competitions, our judges are, in fact, able to judge these events that following CONFEPASO regulations. So, being an issue of not intervening an animal as such, but of revision of tack and bits. They would be a type of overseers of the fulfillment of the statutes and regulations. Therefore, we will look into it more deeply. I would think that it can be done. We have to see. The CONFEPASO rulebook is very clear. It must be the associations that are part of the CONFEPASO federation who allow the waivers, permissions, and all else in accordance with their regulations. Yet, we must get started working on that to broaden our spectrum within the regulations, but always protecting the institutional.
PPF: Of course, and the use of the pre-ring process is also a matter of animal protection. You must know that there is great controversy surrounding the Paso Fino horse because, those who don’t know the breed, say that it is animal abuse as the horses are forced to walk in the way they do, and those type of things. When they realize that there is a procedure like that of the pre-ring, where the health of the horse is verified, where something oversees the equipment being used, such as bits, and shoeing, those types of revisions help for the acceptance of this breed among the North American industry.
JMM: And it’s also at a global level. Nobody takes better care of a horse than us, horseman. We love horses. We would never do anything that would hurt any horse. Never. No horseman would allow harm to a horse. The horse is our life, our love, our passion. It’s like a boyfriend or girlfriend, it’s family, it’s a beloved pet. Just like those who love dogs wouldn’t hurt a dog, or a cat, or any animal they have as a pet. These are our pets. No, no, no. That is simply lack of information. None of our animals suffers during its trainings processes. Among others, you as a psychologist must know, there is the famous psychological training methodology. There has been tremendous growth in taming and training, as well as all equine processes, precisely with a psychological understanding between the human and the horse. That has greatly facilitated these topics and are executed with the greatest love in the world. That is a… mistaken vision, from beginning to end, that people have simply because they don’t have the knowledge. Our job is to inform and allow people to see how we handle our horse. It is being done in Fedequinas in Colombia, in great detail.
PPF: Yes, I have seen that and it is something that is greatly needed. Again, an educational level.

PPF: What do you think has been your greatest challenge as you hold this position?
JMM: As president of CONFEPASO? My biggest challenge is yet to be accomplished; that is to unify the industry. And as I try to obtain this unity, sometimes I have to take certain standpoints that go against some people or some positions that can lead to division. Keeping everybody happy isn’t easy, but a strong character is necessary, and everything must always be left up to the majority vote. The democracy and open-door policy in CONFEPASO must be real. It can’t be left as just said. All decisions must be left in the hands of the delegates, no matter what decision they make. This isn’t about dictatorships, or about one person knowing more than another, or because someone is more important than another. No. We all have something to contribute from our level of knowledge. Every little grain added could be very valuable or could mark the difference in something turning out well, regular, or poorly. So, the idea is to lead us to a true unity. A true unity with the equine industry in the US, just as in Puerto Rico, where there have been great differences. Today I see that they are headed in the right direction, a path towards unity. They were coming from previous work efforts and have already accomplished a first national show together. They now have Los Abiertos and the 3 or 4 associations here in Puerto Rico working together in pro of the horse. And when a group works together, I tell you, look at the results we are seeing here.
PPF: Yes.
JMM: There is not one hotel room available in Ponce.
PPF: There isn’t.
JMM: But why not? Because they all came together to make this event a success. There is exquisite quality, there is a calm atmosphere, a unique harmony. This goes to show that we are headed in the right direction. That unity is the right track. That is my main challenge to overcome, there is still a lot of work to do with this. Taking Paso Horse Equitation to Central and Panamerican Games and to the Olympics, and leaving a mark of cordiality in the industry, and telling the industry that we need an academy, we need workshops, we need training. Our industry has been formed, at least in my country – in Colombia, on our own, because the father taught his son, and now the son is teaching his own son, who now is the grandson or great grandson. We have inherited it empirically.
PPF: Right.
JMM: If we add training and academy, if we include this wonderful tool of academy and training, the advancement will be tremendous. I invite you to incorporate an academy, incorporate education about all this so we can advance. Let’s work towards keeping a unity and let go of vanity and egos, so we see that we all fit inside this vast equine circle in the entire world.

PPF: A form of aggression or a conflict is generated from the basis of something unknown. Thus, when everyone understands, learns, and knows how things work and speak with transparency, as you said, and with respect, we can recover a lot of what has been lost and reach great distances.
JMM: Every action, causes a reaction. If the action is positive, the reaction will be positive. If the action is negative, the reaction will be negative.

PPF: Who is or has been the most influential person in your career?
JMM: My father. Hands down, my father. He died in 1984, many years ago. He was an honest, transparent, and decent man. An unbelievable horseman. The first mares titled Out of Competition in Colombia, come from his mares. La Violetera, Colombian Paso Fino. La Rebolera, Trote y Galope, today P1. They are recorded in Fedequinas as Out of Competition and as national and international champions of that time. He left a very nice legacy, of ethics and honor, as men used to be in his time, a man of his word, a gentleman. He has been the most influential person to me in this area.

PPF: What is the most important aspect of your work?
JMM: That it isn’t work for me. I do what I do without any interest, I don’t receive any kind of compensation. It’s my hobby and my passion. It’s what I like. It isn’t work.

PPF: What do you like most about the horse?
JMM: Everything. Absolutely everything. From its smell, to seeing it, feeling it, riding it. I invite the international community, and I love horses in general, the Spanish horse, the Arabian horse, the Lusitanos. But I invite everyone to ride a Paso horse so they can feel what they have never felt in their lives, an exquisite smoothness in any of its 4 modalities so that they can feel that exquisite smoothness that is unique to only our horse; the Paso horse.

PPF: Which word best represents your horsemanship life?
JMM: Passion.

PPF: What would you like people to know or remember the most about you?
JMM: That I tried my best to do everything the right way and that I put my heart into it all.

PPF: That is clearly seen. Juan Manuel, thank you so much.
JMM: Thank you very much.