Jun 19, 2012

Julio Mendoza’s dancing horses and la Garrocha

Jon Sham 1 Comment Maryland, Sports, The Baltimore Sun, Video dressage, frederick county, horse ballet, horses, julio mendoza, la garrocha, mendoza dressage, union bridge

11 photos, 1 video

Julio Mendoza has been riding horses since he was 3 years old, but his roots go back much further than that — he is the fourth generation in his family to train them.

Mendoza’s horses do something a little different than what you see at the Preakness Stakes. On his horse farm in Union Bridge, he teaches them dressage, or what is sometimes called “horse ballet.” In dressage, the rider and horse communicate to perform different moves and steps.

Mendoza also performs la Garrocha, which is a type of dressage that incorporates a 12-foot wooden garrocha pole. I visited he and his wife’s farm last week and took some photos and video.

: Mendoza uses the 12-foot pole to perform la Garrocha. Once used to protect a horse from bulls while moving cattle to different pastures in Spain, the garrocha is now used in dressage as an artistic tool. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)

: Xairel, left, is taped, brushed and tail-braided before Julio takes him into the practice ring, while Ivan peeks his nose through the opening in his stable. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)

: Jessica Mendoza, Julio’s wife, brushes Xairel down in preparation for his practice session. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)

: Mendoza has several flags hanging from the covered practice ring on his and his wife’s farm. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)

: Mendoza stops his dance with Xairel, a 9-year-old Lusitano horse, after some practice. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)

: Mendoza and Ivan walk together around the ring. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)

: Mendoza talks to Dreamer before bringing the horse into the stable. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)

: Mendoza and Tatianna Laczkoske, a work student on the farm, prepare Ivan for a dressage session. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)

: Mendoza skips around the ring with Ivan at his horse farm in Union Bridge. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)

: Mendoza whispers to Ivan in Spanish after they finish their practice. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)

: Mendoza and Ivan are in sync as they quicken their pace around the ring. (Jon Sham/Patuxent Homestead)

VIDEO: Julio performs la Garrocha and dressage

Originally, I had shot the braiding of the horse’s (named Xairel) tail intending for it to be a sequence. When I got to the editing stage, however, it seemed more appropriate to show multiple angles at once — including one of Mendoza’s face. This way, I could show the sequence in half the time.