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Experiences of Fellow Riders to Brighten Your Day Experiences of Fellow Riders to Brighten Your Day

in Cali. He was the first and only
horse I rode before buying him. I
tried Colorado only once in that
show in Cali, and he jumped
very well so we decided to take
him home. However, in our first
show together, Colorado refu-
sed to jump and I fell off. From
then on, I would fall off in almost
every show. If I didn’t fall off, I
would be eliminated. I felt really
sad because for almost a who-
le year I had very bad results in
competitions, and I was tired of
being thrown off. I remember
being very well known by the or-
thopedists in the hospital, so I decided to change my trainer. I moved to La
Cabriola with Mauricio Guevara and Beatriz Duque, two very experienced
trainers, where they told me that my horse wouldn’t work, and that I had
to buy another one. What I think happened to us is that we didn’t do a
good pre-purchase vet check, and we were too new in the sport. There was
no one but my trainer to advise us, and we believe that he made us buy
Colorado because of some advantage for him. Plus, later we found out that
the horse didn’t have good results in competitions before we bought him.
My second horse was called Chatan. After that terrible first experience, I
traveled to Bogota to try him for a whole week to make sure that this new
horse would work for me. This time I made sure to do a good pre-purchase
vet check, and talk to several equestrians to confirm the potential and good
results of the horse in competitions before buying him. I had a very good
experience with Chatan. I finished my last year in the children’s category
with him, and did a very successful junior career with him. Based on my
experience, my piece of advice for every person who wants to buy a new
horse is to check the horse’s show record, and ask other equestrians what
they know or have seen from the horse, as well as pay for a good pre-
purchase vet check before making a final decision.”

Juan Manuel Gallego

Juan Manuel, better known in the equestrian world as “Juancho Gallego” is a pro-
fessional and international show jumping rider, and probably the most successful

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