Breed Portrait: Trote y Galope

While the Paso Fino—a breed well known for its smooth, animated gait—was gaining notoriety in the U.S., another closely related breed was being developed back in the country of Colombia. Called the Trote y Galope, this horse started as a cross between the Paso Fino and the Lusitano, and eventually developed into its own breed.

The Trote y Galope inherited the spirit and sensitivity of the Paso Fino with the height and power of the Lusitano. And as a bonus, the Paso Fino and Lusitano gaits managed to combine to create something truly unique in the Trote y Galope: a smooth diagonal gait. 

Common History of the Trote y Galope

As a close cousin to the Paso Fino, the Trote y Galope has its roots in Colombia. The Paso Fino was developed there in the 1500s from horses brought to the Dominican Republic, Cuba and Jamaica by Spanish conquerors.

Christopher Columbus helped establish a breeding program there with the goal of supplying Spanish soldiers with horses. These carefully bred horses were then brought to both Puerto Rico and Colombia.

The horses in this breeding program carried the DNA of the Jennet, a now-extinct gaited Spanish horse. The Jennet passed along its gaits to early Paso Finos, who were also the result of crossings with Barbs and Andalusians.

The Lusitano, the other breed that provided the foundation to the Trote y Galope, is descended from early Spanish horses that lived on the Iberian Peninsula during prehistoric times. The blood of these Spanish horses became mixed with that of breeds that arrived from other parts of Europe during times of war and migration. The Lusitano descended from this mix of bloodlines and continued its development in Portugal.

Because of their strength and agility, Lusitanos became the favored breed of Spanish and Portuguese bullfighters.

Diagonal vs. Four-Beat

The Paso Fino is famous for its lateral, four-beat gaits: the classic fino, the paso corto and the paso largo. Each of these gaits results when the horse places one hoof down at a time in a four-beat rhythm. The Trote y Galope also provides a smooth ride, but they do it differently: with diagonal footfalls.

The Trote y Galope gets its name from its signature gaits: the trote and the galope. The trote is a diagonal two-beat gait without the suspension present in a standard trot. Even though it’s not a four-beat gait, it is comfortable to sit because there is no suspension. When watching performance of this gait, it looks as if the horse is marching. A 1-2, 1-2 rhythm is created when this gait is performed.

The breed’s other signature gait is the galope, which is essentially a canter with diagonal propulsion in three beats. First one hind leg strikes the ground, followed by the other hind leg and the foreleg that is diagonal to that hind leg. Finally, the other foreleg hits the ground. The sound of this movement creates a 1-2-3, 1-2-3 rhythm.

The Trote y Galope in America

The Trote y Galope is popular in Colombia and can be seen at Paso Fino shows throughout the nation. But in America, the breed is still growing.

The small numbers of Trote y Galopes here in the U.S. are being shown in western, English, jumping, trail obstacle, dressage and Paso Fino events. They also make great mounts for recreational trail riding.

The Paso Fino Horse Association considers Trote y Galope horses a separate breed from laterally gaited Paso Finos, grouping them with two other diagonally gaited breeds related to the Paso Fino: the Trocha Pura and the Trocha y Galope.

Horses registered as Paso Finos have only Paso Fino horses in their pedigrees, while the diagonally gaited horses have other breeds mixed with Paso Fino blood.

Key Takeaway

Next time you visit a gaited horse show, keep an eye out for a laterally gaited Trote y Galope. Thanks to their dramatic stature and fascinating way of going, it won’t be long before these horses are a common site in the gaited horse world.

This article about the Trote y Galope appeared in the March 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!