Epona Unlimited
Celebrating Equestrian Partnerships
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Jumpers
When he broke the Puissance world record on February 5th 1949 at the height of 2.47 meters (8 ft 1¼ in), Huaso was already 16 years old, quite an old horse for a result of that magnitude. After the record, the horse was retired and never ridden again. He roamed freely until he died of natural causes on August 24, 1961, at the age of 29. On 
the words of Captain Larraguibel: "On the first try, I miscalculated the distance and allowed the horse to refuse. If I had then applied the whip, the horse would had become nervous, because an animal understands when it's being asked to perform above his capabilities. In the second jump, I must have made a mistake of a centimeter or so, because Huaso passed the hands but touched with the belly and the hinds, and knocked down the obstacle... there was only the third and last attempt left. I recalculated again, and in the precise moment we flew... The most difficult moment was the apex of the jump. My eyes were about 4 meters above the ground and I had the sensation of 
falling head first. My slightest tremor would have been felt by Huaso; who then would have left his hinds behind and we would have crashed together, but we went over. The moment seemed to last forever. I didn't hear a single shout and thought that something had gone wrong, but I couldn't hear the obstacles falling either..." 
