033009IW3

Igorot cowboy

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- Darting between jeeps and avoiding pedestrians, 15-year-old Bryan Lee is riding like the wind. His horse Palomino appears unperturbed by the chaos of the city as he and his master gallop towards their date with destiny. It's the day before the big race that Bryan has been looking forward to for months.

Bryan will be racing against the pony boys of Wright Park in Baguio, youths toughened by poverty and the daily chores of caring for dozens of frisky horses. Bryan is like any shy teenager who likes basketball and hanging out with friends. But he also has the blood of the Ibaloi cowboy streaking through his veins.

Before the Americans arrived a hundred years ago to build Baguio, much of Benguet province was cowboy country. Horses and cattle ruled the land where Session Road and Burnham Park are today. Today the grazing lands are all gone, replaced by pavement and buildings. The horses are now confined to small spaces like Wright Park where children and their parents can ride them while being pulled by pony boys, most of them descendants of Ibaloi cowboys. In their spare time, these young men ride their wards around the park at break-neck speed and race against each other. Howie Severino and his team decide to focus their lens not on one of the Ibalois but on their adopted brother Samson, a stable boy from Pangasinan who has learned to love and ride horses like a native.

Every year, the pony boys' association invites visiting racers to challenge them in a gymkhana, a traditional series of races on their dusty home track: Wright Park's riding oval. Bryan won a big race last year and now a year older and stronger, he is favored to beat the pony boys again. Bryan's grandfather too was an Ibaloi cowboy but he died before Bryan was born. But even before his teens, he learned to love horses and soon became one of the fastest racers in all of Benguet. His father is a local politician, his mother a pediatrician, yet his best friends are fellow horse lovers, some of them out of school youths who care for the horses owned by others.

On the day of the races, a crowd has gathered to see if Bryan continues his winning ways. A series of surprises awaits the protagonists. It becomes a day Bryan will never forget, and not for the reason he was hoping for.
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LA TRINIDAD, Benguet Isang araw bago ang pinakahihintay niyang karera, animoy hangin sa bilis si Bryan Lee sa pag-iwas sa trapik at mga tumatawid na tao, sakay ng kanyang pinakamamahal na kabayong si Palomino.

Isa si Bryan sa mga sasaling pony boys ng Wright Park sa taunang "gymkhana," isang tradisyunal na karera ng mga kabayo sa Baguio City. Kampeon si Bryan noong isang taon, at kumpiyansiya siyang siya ulit ang mananalo ngayong taong ito. Bagamat tipikal na teenager si Bryan na mahilig sa basketball at pagtambay, nanalaytay pa rin sa kanyang mga ugat ang dugo ng isang Ibaloi cowboy. Ibaloi ang lolo ni Bryan pero namatay na ito bago pa man siya isinilang. Isang politiko ang kanyang ama habang doktor naman ang kanyang ina. Pero sa kabayo nalinya si Bryan kasama ng kanyang mga kabarkada. Ang ilan sa kanilay huminto na sa pag-aaral at nag-aalaga na lang ng mga kabayong pag-aari ng ibang tao.

Bago pa man dumating ang mga Amerikano para itayo ang Baguio, malaking bahagi ng probinsiya ng Benguet ang teritoryo ng mga Ibaloi cowboy. Mga kabayo at baka ang dating gumagala sa ngayoy Session Road at Burnham Park. Pero ngayong wala na ang mga pastulan at napalitan na ng mga konkretong gusali, mistulang nakakulong na sa masikip na Wright Park ang mga kabayo ngayon. Ikinabubuhay ng mga pony boys ang paghila sa mga kabayong sinasakyan ng mga turista. Sa bakante nilang oras, ineensayo nila ang mga ito, na kadalasay nauuwi rin sa karerahan. Isa rin sa mga pinagtuunan ng pansin ng team ni Howie Severino ay si Samson. Tubong Pangasinan ang binata pero natutunan na nitong yakapin ang kultura at galing ng mga Ibaloi sa pag-aalaga ng mga kabayo.

Sa itinakdang araw ng karera, maraming tao ang nag-aabang kung maipamamalas muli ni Bryan ang kanyang bilis at galing sa pangangabayo. Pero isang sorpresa ang darating sa araw na ito na hinding-hindi niya malilimutan kahit kailan.

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[elvis2benguet]

Francis, Ni Elvis daytoy congrats ada gayam putot mon....Buti hindi na baldado...Regards.

[SeniorAgent]

I enjoyed it so much. Thank you for showing it to the world!

[spooky2319]

"taraki" means "u rock"

[nothinhtohide]

thanks for the upload!

funny,meron na ring stop dance ng mga kabayo,haha.

Nakaka addict talga ang Wright Park!

[BaguioPonyBoy]

Thanks for the video...two thumbs up for documenting the "culture of Ibaloi Cowboys"...proud to be one of them..