Santa Fe, an equestrian destination

Challenging, competitive, compelling! The horse has, for centuries, evoked worldwide chest-expanding emotions— from the magnificent equestrian statue of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, erected in Rome in 175 AD to an early-morning sight of a horse kicking up its heels in a pasture.

Contributing to the history of the horse in New Mexico is the Spanish mustang. Brought to theAmericas by Columbus in 1493, it took 70 years for horses to reach New Mexico, with the arrival of Oñate. This is when Native Americans acquired horses. To quote Robin Doughman, “The Native Americans of those times lived with their horses and worked with their horses and they became each other. They lived as horse nations. They became legendary.”

Mountain men followed and acquired mustangs. The mustangs survived after the way of life of the mountain man died out in the mid 1800s, when the mustang populations reached about two million. After the CivilWar, cowboys took over and preferred the mustang over other mounts. Tragically, the mustang herds were rounded up and slaughtered by the U.S. Army to make way for larger horses from the eastern United States.

Segueing to the present day, Santa Fe is home to HIPICO Santa Fe; world-class facilities for the horse owner found at the Equestrian Center atThe Club at Las Campanas; The Horse Shelter; Listening HorseTherapeutic Riding; and for fun and thrills, experience the annual Santa Fe Rodeo. (Our apologies to all the other organizations we don’t have space to mention here.)

Maureen Mestas, owner of a horse training and breeding farm in La Cienega, says, “I have traveled the U.S. and Europe to train and show horses in dressage and other disciplines and I can say very few communities embrace the spirit and presence of the horse as Santa Fe does. The growing equestrian event facility HIPICO Santa Fe, located two miles west of Santa Fe airport, has always maintained a focus on the care, training and exhibition of the horse involved in such competitive activities as rated shows, polo, clinics and rodeo.

HIPICO hosts the annual Santa Fe Summer Series, which presents top hunters and jumpers from the U.S. and the world. It has beenmy joy to see the property re-emerge as a premiere event center for horses, riders, and spectators under the new ownership of the McElvain and Gonzales families.”

Want to volunteer? Check the website below for Listening Horse, an affiliate of the Professional Association of Therapeutic Horsemanship International, providing leadership in equine therapy to assist riders, horses, and those challenged either physically or mentally. They have many volunteers, amongst them veterans.

You may ask what this has to do with real estate. Communities such as Arroyo Hondo, Tesuque, La Tierra, La Tierra Nueva, and Las Dos, to name a few, all have properties suited to horse ownership. We represent horse-friendly properties ranging from 12 to 542 acres: the Santa Fe Ranch; 66 Camino de Milagro (the property in Tesuque on the cover of this edition); and an estate in La Tierra with arguably the best barn in the area! Please call us for more details. Resources: www.listeninghorse.org www.theclubatlastcampanas.com/ equestrian www.spanishmustangfoundation.org www.thehorseshelter.org With thanks to Maureen Mestas and Diane La Montaine for their help and for their passion for horses.

We bring a new look to real estate to help integrate you within our community. A profound love and knowledge of Santa Fe combined with a fresh outlook, vitality, experience, local insight, and fun make Penelope (505-690-3751, penelope.vasquez@ sothebyshomes.com) and Drew (505-4709194, drew.lamprich@sothebyshomes.com) your trusted real-estate advisors.