Blog 9 Tope!

Mel and one of his horses

Tope is another word for cabalgata and cabalgata means Costa Rican horse party. Since I love horses and I love Costa Rica, when I hear the word tope (pronounced to-pay) coupled with an invitation, I smile, big time.

Tom arrived last Friday and since the tope was on Saturday, the first thing he did here (besides an early morning surf and swim) was to get dragged to an all day, all in Spanish, music, beer and food fiesta in nearby Quebrada Nanda.
These get togethers occur about once a month and many of the towns in the Guanacaste region take turns hosting. The festivities center around displays of horsemanship since the horse was—and to some extent still is—central to the cattle industry which grew this part of Costa Rica. Topes also help cement friendships and strengthen community ties between towns in a sparsely populated land.
As I understand, each tope/cabalgata is a little different depending on the hosting community. This one started around 11:00am as all manner of vehicles converged on a sawmill that was nesteled under a clump of huge mango trees. A bar, outhouses and a small stage had been constructed for the occasion and dozens of tables and chairs set up. We traveled with friends Karen, Mike, and Wendy and two trucks hauling horses from “our” town, Pueblo Nuevo. One of the horses belonged to neighbor Mike and Wendy and I had arranged to share a borrowed horse which was also hauled in.
The music was already playing as we arrived and the beer (kept ice cold in a huge watering trough) already being happily consumed. We joined the family that hauled the horses from Pueblo Nuevo at their table and were soon eating the delicious food that emerged on giant trays from the converted sawmill.
This is the same family I wrote about last year (Cabalgata post), who are the leading horse family in the area. Don Antonio is the imposing but friendly padre and Mel, his son, trained many of the horses that were featured at this tope.
For hours we ate and drank and listened to music while absorbing the sights and sounds of rural Costa Rica. Course after course of different dishes--tacos, rice, ribs, soup--arrived tableside and in our limited Spanish, we expressed appreciation.
Music sets alternated with horses being put through their paces to an appreciative audience while informal races were conducted out on the street. The climax for riders was the parade from the mill to the town center. As the sun was setting, all the horses were s addled up and riddento the community center where the entire party was transported for a huge dance. Those that wanted to, continued riding, showing off their horses and running around for fun on the town's soccer field.
We didn't stay to the end of the party. Full of food, beer and good company, we piled back into the truck for a bumpy but congenial ride back home. The horses followed much later, in the back of their own truck, certainly even more tired than we were.

Mini horse rides--note baby water buffalo (!) in the background that was the mount for earlier rides

Girl in kitchen window

Tope!

Horses amusing themselves while waiting

One of many courses

Three white horses

Another padre, getting ready for parade

Beginning of the group ride/parade which included a music truck with huge speakers (background)

Mel led the ride

Neighbor Mike on his horse, Rain

Kids and minis on the soccer field

Mel and his horse on "dancing" platform which resonates the sound of the hoofbeats,  in time with the music

After dark, serious horse negotiations commenced

At dusk, me on sweet Rosita, borrowed horse-for-the-day