Moonlight: Equine Elegance

Equine Elegance

Moonlight

The Passage

By Stephen L. Wilmeth

     The drug war in Mexico was long ago removed from any suggestion of a simple police action.  It is a ferocious upheaval of human endeavors that threatens to disrupt any normal existence in Mexico for a generation.  With more civilians being killed on a proportional basis than Afghanistan, it is has become a horrendous historical event.

     The border towns have been ravaged by cartel intrusions.  Whole communities have been displaced.  Families have been shattered.  Normal patterns of life that existed only a few years ago are but memories.  The only word that properly describes the life of Mexicans today is . . . war.

     Equine Disruption

     The human toll is a dominating feature of the war, but it is only one facet of the greater problem.  The horse world of Mexico is being shredded.  This is most apparent in the competitive jumping world.  Today, few events are being scheduled.  The lives of the riders and the horses are threatened. 

     The cartels have added the extortion racket to their drug smuggling.  It is not just wealthy Mexican families that have faced the kidnappings and business extortion.  Stories are now coming out of places like Juarez where street vendors have been killed for failing to make weekly protection demands of 100 pesos . . . less than $20.

     Lives of young riders are at risk simply because they are associated with what is perceived to be wealth driven endeavors.  The English riding world is included in that target list. 

     A Growing Mexican Presence in Jumping

     In recent local jumping competitions on the American side of the border, gatherings of Mexicans who have fled Mexico can be seen watching and discussing the proceedings.  They will tell you the American approach to the sport is new to them.  They are learning a new discipline.

     Whereas in America, the Hunter-Jumper disciplines are judged by style and time, Mexican riders have lived in a world where competitors vie for wins strictly on the fastest times and the absence of faults. From those ranks have emerged some of the world’s most elite Olympic riders.

     The Mexican horses are different, too.  They are dominated by warm bloods that tower over the American thoroughbreds and quarter horse crossed horses.  Both sides are learning from an unexpected new union of cultures.

     The Plight of the Horses

     The presence of the Mexican horses at local events is in itself a story.  Those horses have experienced a gauntlet of risks that have become terrifying.  They are not exempt from any of the abuses and dangers that the Mexicans themselves are facing.

     Not only do they face the uncertainty of the protocol of any cross border entry, they face the danger of the extortion and drug smuggling reality of Mexico.  Half of those horses today never make it to their northern destination.  They are killed, they are held for ransom, they simply disappear, and they are being intercepted and used in running drugs across the border.  The unfathomable cruelty of cutting them open and inserting drugs into their bodies is a cartel norm.  It is a horrifying disclosure of events that shock even the most calloused observer.

     Moonlight

     In the recent Scottsdale Classic, a big Hanoverian mare carried a young rider, Mayci Lee, to a class championship.  At 17.2 hands and excess of 1600 pounds, the horse found the turns of several of the classes a bit too tight for her stride and style.  Her demeanor with the .8 meter jumps also demonstrated her absence of patience for the short jumps.  The big jumps fit her personality and her talents.

     This mare, Moonlight, is one of those lucky Mexican horses that made the journey north.  Her former owner, a young Mexican girl who will be identified as Isabella for security reasons, competed at high levels across Mexico.  She is considered one of the bright young riders of that country.

    The decision to move the horse north came as the violence surrounding the horses escalated.  Her family agreed that the best plan of action was to engage security to guard the horse and accompany it to its destination.  The night they crossed the border the mare was in the only trailer of a total of nine that started the journey and made it.  The others horses were either seized or killed. 

     The meeting

     The first time we saw the mare, the horse entered in a local competition near El Paso.  Isabella was in the United States on a temporary visa with two things in mind.  The first was to find a permanent and safe situation for the horse, and the second was to seek any chance of an extended asylum and away from the dangers she faced in Mexico. 

     The horse drew attention for several reasons.  First, she was the only horse in the show that was shown in a mechanical hackamore.  Second, she was a tremendous athlete.  Huge, slick and powerful she attacked the course with aggressive willingness.  Her demeanor with the two young women, Isabella and her friend who was in the United States for the same reason, was also interesting.  She was very affectionate with them, and, particularly, the rider.  This changed abruptly when a stranger, especially a man, approached.  She would back her ears in defiance. 

     As the show ended our oldest granddaughter walked over and started talking to the girls.  Unbeknownst to us at the time, the young owner was surprised at the mare’s reaction.

     The courtship

     Shortly after the show, the mare turned up at the stable where our granddaughters had horses.  The situation allowed the young Mexican national to associate with them and they rode together.  Soon, our granddaughter was invited to ride the horse.  They clicked.

     With the need to care for the horse while she returned to Mexico, Isabella approached our granddaughter.  Of course she would watch over the horse, and, at the end of the week, all Mayci wanted to do was to be with the mare.  Her mother couldn’t keep her off of her. 

     When Isabella returned, she was interested in how the week had gone.  She listened intently as the events of the week were excitedly described.  When she learned that her attendant was only 13, though, she was shocked.  “I leave this mare with a 13 year old!” she proclaimed in her mix of English and Spanish response.  The way she had acted and ridden the horse she thought she was 17.

     For another month, Isabella visited with the family and watched the relationship.  She asked that Mayci exercise the horse.  She worked with the two of them as they jumped.  She offered instruction and advice.

     The gift

     During the 2011 NMHJA Albuquerque Beach Party, the young Mexican rode the big mare for perhaps a final time in competition.  Her attempt to extend her visa and or secure a sports visa had been unsuccessful.  She faced the likelihood of being forced to return to Mexico and all of the dangers that it presented to her.

     Her run put her at the top of the class with no faults.  She was smiling as she exited the arena slapping the big mare on the neck and leaning over hugging her.  “I am so happy,” she had proclaimed.

     I stood by her talking as more horses entered the ring and jumped the course.  Isabella surprised me when the conversation immediately shifted to Mayci.  She told me that other than herself Mayci had been the only person the horse had responded to in the manner she had.  “She is a tough horse and doesn’t like many people,” she had said.  “I knew Mayci was special.”

     As the event ended, we were all together with our hands on the mare.  No ears back or teeth showing, the mare welcomed our presence as we stood anxiously waiting for the results.  First place was announced.  Also with no faults, another horse edged the mare by a fraction of a second.  Isabella shrugged and smiled cheerfully.

     “Hey, it’s okay,” was the Spanish translation.

     The second place horse was announced.  Horse . . . Moonlight.  Rider . . . our young Mexican friend.  Owner . . . from Las Cruces, New Mexico . . . Mayci Lee.

     Without our awareness, the talented young Mexican rider had found the home she was seeking for the horse.  We did not know until the public address announcement.  Not a dry eye existed in our circle.  The horse was safe.  She would continue to compete . . . and she will be loved. 

Mayci on Moonlight

 Stephen L. Wilmeth is a rancher from southern New Mexico.  “Mayci and Moonlight competed for the first time together with a win at the Albuquerque Harvest Classic.  Their second competition was the win at the Scottsdale Classic.  Moonlight demanded that the next event be back among the big jumps.  She likes them better . . . and, oh, yes, Mayci’s Spanish is improving.  Moonlight prefers to converse in Spanish!”

A version of this article appeared in Range Magazine.  For a subscription to Range Magazine please call 1-800-RANGE-4-U or subscribe at the web site.  This is The Westerner's favorite western publication so you should check it out and subscribe.