A Peculiar Breed:The Dancing Stallions of Peru Compete This April
Lima’s annual National Show and Competition is a major event in local cultural life, garnering a festival-like atmosphere and lasting a week each April. This year, the Official Peruvian Paso Horse contest will take place from April 14th through April 21st. As always, the site will be Mamacona Fair Center just south of Lima (near Pachacamac Archeological Complex).
Daily competitions are followed by evening concerts and other events celebrating the Peruvian coastal, or Criollo, culture. Highlights include a closing parade and prize ceremony accompanied by folkloric dancers and music as well as a food fair, and the 5th National Marinera on Horse & Foot Competition.
The compact Peruvian Stepping horse, more 
commonly referred to as the Peruvian Paso horse, is unique in the equine world- rather than the standard trot, it employs a peculiar parallel 4-beat sidestepping which aficionados know as the paso llano, or ambladura, the art of the synchronized gait mastered by breeders and riders known as Chalánes. The singular breed is the result of isolation along the desert coast of Peru and a 400 year process of selectively breeding Spanish and Berber horse breeds brought to the country during the Conquest.
The horses’ natural rhythm has won it popularity not only as a show horse, but also a dance partner… in shows and competitions throughout Peru, riders on horseback couple with women on foot in Marinera shows. It is the paso llano which gave rise to the Marinera, Peru’s national dance. Even the costumes worn by dancers are reminiscent of the chalán riders, comprising the saddle and its trimmings, white shirt and trousers, straw hat, vicuña poncho, handkerchief, boots and spurs.
If you’re interested in catching a glimpse of 
this side of Lima’s social year, you can arrange to be picked up in Miraflores, Lima (the most popular district for travelers to use as a base for their visit to the capital, and the neighborhood where both Pirwa Inclan B&B and Pirwa Prada Backpackers are located) for a ranch visit to learn about the horses and their history and training before continuing on to the National Contest. Ranches that participate in this sort of outing generally include lunch or dinner depending on the schedule (last year, departures were at 10am and 3pm).
For more info on this and other events and outings, don’t forget that Pirwa Travel Service has information counters in both of our hostels in Miraflores. Because we have locations in Lima, Cusco, Puno, Arequipa, Nazca, Machu Picchu, and La Paz, our travel specialists can assist with transport, entrances, treks, and tours throughout Peru and Bolivia.
Check out the following video (set to begin at 7:20s) for a close view of the special gait of the Peruvian Paso Horses: