A TRADITIONAL Peruvian reed board known as a caballito, or ‘little horse’ will be made from scratch and ridden by some of Peru’s most famous surfers at the famous Crescent Head point break on Friday morning.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Peruvian surfers are in Australia to mark the announcement of the Gold Coast as the world’s eighth world surfing reserve joining other similar reserves in California, Chile, Mexico, Portugal and Manly Beach.
Peru’s first World Surfing Champion Felipe Pomar who won the title in 1965 leads the delegation.
Seventy two year-old Pomar, a fitness guru, still regularly catches 30 foot plus waves at his home in Hawaii.
Carlos Antonio Ferrer is a representative of the Huanchaco World Surfing Reserve committee and member of Save the Waves Vision Council, an International panel that selects WSR's.
Carlos Ucanan Arzola known as "Huevito” will demonstrate the ancient art of caballito surfing that dates back 5,000 years to the pre-Inca Moche civilization.
Called the King of the caballito, Huevito will construct the reed board and demonstrate the ancient art of wave riding that the Peruvians maintain started surfing before the Polynesians had even though of it.
The Peruvian reed board is though to have been invented around 3,000BC in northern Peru near Huanchaco.
It was used by traders to move goods between coastal villages and by fishermen to reach deeper water. In both instances the caballito had to be ridden back through the surf when returning to shore.
The caballito is made from hundreds of totora reeds which are dried over several months.
They are then lashed together and shaped give them a boat shape. Two skilful people can construct a caballito in less than an hour.
You can see the caballito reed board being constructed and watch the legendary Peruvians in action at Crescent Head surfing reserve from 10am Friday.
