Feature 3

Dedicated to the horses
Posted: 4/26/2010

By James Mulcahy

At age 16, Ricky Mendoza spent four days in the Rio Grande crossing into the United States from Mexico. At times, the water was up to his chin.

But he made it across and vowed he would never return.

Suddenly in a country where he couldn't even speak the language, Mendoza worked a few odd jobs -- construction or cutting grass -- before finding his way to Kentucky. Here he began what would become his career -- a trainer of Paso Fino horses with Quinta Chiappetta, located just a few miles east of Shelbyville on Benson Pike.

After 17 years, Mendoza is so respected as a trainer, he was named by his peers Trainer of the Year for 2009 for the Paso Fino Horse Association.

"I really like what I do," Mendoza said in his slightly broken English.

He said the award caught him totally off guard. He was enjoying the PFHA banquet, held last September in Perry, Ga., when the announcement came.

"I stay out there (at the table) with all my friends, and finally I hear my music and I hear my name, and my heart started pumping," he said. "I was so excited it made me cry. I talked to my mom and dad, and everybody is so excited that it happened to me. It means a lot to me."

Mendoza has lots of respect for the breed, known for its smooth gait.

"Paso finos are very smart and smooth, but I like all horses, whatever their blood," he said. "I love all the horses. I don't care if one costs $2,000 and one costs a million dollars."

Mendoza also has ultimate respect for Quinta Chiappetta owners Chips and Kay Chiappetta, who helped him with his immigration papers when he arrived.

"I've been working for these people here for 17 years; they're good people," he said. "Chips is 87 years old, but he's working every day. Every time when he got problems with the tractor or truck, I leave my horse here and go over there and the truck goes, zoom! I say 'See? Nothing's wrong with the truck!' "

Kay Chiappetta said Mendoza knows how to handle a horse.

"He's very, very dedicated to his training and his horses," she said. "He doesn't spoil his horses, but he isn't abusive to them, so his horses like him and work for him. He trains so they're easy for other amateurs to ride, too."

About the paso fino

Called "The Horse with the Fine Step," paso finos show their Spanish heritage with a proud carriage, grace and elegance, according to a pamphlet provided by Quinta Chiappetta.

"He is born with a gait unique to the breed -- totally natural, smooth, rhythmic and purposeful, resulting in unequalled comfort and smoothness for the rider," it reads.

The paso fino stands 13 to 15.2 hands, and weighs from 700 to 1,100 pounds.

The natural gait is an evenly spaced four-beat gait. It is performed at three degrees of collection and forward speed.

Free clinic

Paso Finos Under Saddle will be presented Saturday, May 29, from 9 a.m. until noon at the Shelby County Fairgrounds' Bradley Barn. Mendoza and a trainer from Ohio are clinicians.