After 3 long and hot days, Sarah, Santiago, Ariel and I finally arrived in Danli. We were tired but we were met with such love that our spirits were lifted.

Friends from Tegucigalpa had put me in touch with the cabalgantes de Danli and, in good Honduran fashion, they welcomed us horseback.

“Welcome to Danli, we are very happy to have you here,” Francisco Valle said as the ponies rested at a friends ranch right before the city.

As we waited for a truck to bring the horses that would ride in with us, I had the first hero moment of my life. As we sat there chatting, one of the Spanish studs broke free and went after our horses who were free grazing.

Like a lion on the hunt he ran towards Sarah’s mare Deedee. She threw her fanny pack at his head and managed to get him turned around. That’s when he began to chase Frenchie and Dude. They ran with fear in their eyes. At this point I was already doing the only thing my instincts said, which was, “run for your rope!”.

I grabbed my rope off my saddle and began running after my scared ponies. As I began to open my loop Dude stopped to protect Frenchie (his mustang instincts). This gave me a chance to catch up to the stud just as I started swinging my rope. Without even thinking I threw out my loop with a big reach and just like that I caught myself an angry horse. I managed to put all of my weight on the rope and get him facing me which made him feel dominated and ended his rage.

“That was amazing Filipe, you sure can rope,” Francisco said as I walked back with the stud.

Feeling like a real cowboy, we mounted our ponies and rode into downtown Danli with around 30 vaqueros. It was an epic party full of beers and laughter. I can’t thank the cabalgantes of Danli and Sarah, Santiago and Ariel for sharing this amazing day with me.