He was the kid we saw years ago on a horse with the most incredible foreleg action, churning, like a Mississippi river boat, down at the show in Lufkin, Texas. His red bearded face intently chomping up arena rhythmical smooth and machinelike. He subsequently, show after show, class after class, exited the arena smiling, laughing, with blue ribbon in hand. Then came the Champion of Champion class at Houston, Texas, when we could only see the top of a Peruvian hat streaming around the arena as if thrown like a frisbee. Upon closer examination, the hat was attached to the same red bearded face. Underneath was stocking legged chestnut mare named Novia del Sol, churning away, smooth as ice.

Constantly working and searching for new horses to star in the Championship Barrida, and searching for new ways to communicate with horses, he found himself in Texas. There he found a door to the past, when a Texas cowboy introduced him to the writings of Francois Baucher, a Frenchman who was educated in Italy. Much like the ancient methods of the Chalanes in Peru, and the methods used by Spanish and Portuguese bull fighters, Francois Baucher emphasized the importance of suppleness and relaxation in his horses. Baucher created quite a stir in Paris in the middle of the 19th century when he was able to produce a high-school trained horse in only months, instead of years. He exhibited in a circus, much the same as the Lipizzaner show in Vienna, Austria. He also revolutionized the horse training methods of the French Cavalry as a consultant at the legendary academy at Saumur.

Baucher’s theory was based on his belief that the horse’s instinctive resistance had to be surrendered by the horse and replaced by willing responsiveness to the riders signals, such that the two became a unified whole, connected by weight and pressure changes. He believed that the communication should flow two ways.

Baucher’s basic horsemanship learned in France, was along the classical lines of de la Gueriniere, the inventor of the “shoulders in”. However, after several years spent in Italy, learning from an uncle who trained horses, and possibly some time in Spain, Baucher returned to Paris with a revolutionary “new” method. Controversy was heated, for this method contradicted master horsemen of his time, who had political power. Nowadays, however, the application of Bauchers’ method comes as the answer to many equestrian questions.

The beginning of a horse’s training was his suppling exercise. Those familiar with traditional Peruvian training methods will quickly recognize many of the “supplings”. The flexion which Baucher claimed as uniquely his own, however, is the flexion of the jaw. In this flexion, the curb bit is used to induce the horse to flex the neck to the extent that the head is brought around to the stirrup, remaining in the vertical position, using minimal pressure, and maximum tact and patience. Basically, this flexion closely parallels the “Entrrega” of the Peruvian Enfrenadura.

Baucher claimed that these exercises would induce chewing and salivation by the horse, which would soften the jaw and neck, virtually eliminating resistance, setting horse up to be a willing partner.

Richard W. “Rick” Mero has combined his own innate ability to understand the equine mind with the teachings of the French Master Horseman Baucher, along with years of learning from some of the best Peruvian horseman who have visited this country. After an Odyssey around the United States, Rick has emerged with a set of credentials as a Peruvian Horse show judge, a solid reputation as a trainer and an impressive list of winnings with a string of Peruvian Horses to be reckoned with by the best in the breed.

With an ebullient sense of humor, and a passion for Peruvian Horses, along with his many others talents, Rick emerges as a sort of Renaissance Man for the breed.

Rick has returned to undertake the job of managing the breeding and training of horses at Phoenix Ranch. We look forward to his continued brilliance in the show ring, his assessments as a judge, his teachings as a clinician, and his cheerful, boisterous presence as a friend to both horse and man.

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