What The Millennium Left Us!

By: Don Jaime Mejias Escobar

Originally printed in 4 Tiempos Paso Fino Magazine and reprinted here with permission.

In retrospect, since the interest for the Paso Fino began in the United States, we can clearly notice its growth in quantity and quality of horses exhibited in all the arenas disputing their supremacy in the many shows today here in the USA. The American horsemen where introduced to the Paso Finos in 1952, when the first horses of this kind were shown at the Dallas Exhibition, in Texas, to demonstrate this breed, thus awaking an interest to introduce them into this country, a direct consequence the impact it produced in our horsemen. Meeting this saddle horse with great phenotype, rhythm and harmonious gait, lively and with an happy disposition, but also with a soft and delicate movement, agile and obedient to the reins and above all with a very elegant presence, was reason enough to win the heart of every horse lover, which caused a great impact in this horse territory.

The interest remained strong since then, and soon the first Paso Fino horses commenced to arrive in the United States by the decade of the 50’s when the Paso Fino were imported from Puerto Rico, and later from Colombia, initiating the creation of the Association of Paso Fino horses to organize exhibitions. During the first shows it was easy to notice the supremacy of the Puertorrican horses, standing out for their elegance and because of there being the largest group of Paso Fino horses.

The first show was staged in Miami, Florida, and was won by Mar del Plata, an imported horse from Colombia, ridden by George Lahood, also his owner at that time. The first horses imported from Colombia arrived during the middle of the 60’s decade by Alberto Uribe Sierra, a great horseman, and very knowledgeable gentlemen in Colombian horses, who also brought beside horses, the first implements for this type of equine, and also Abelardo Ochoa, a member of a traditional horse family. Since the, horse imports have increased constantly from Puerto Rico as well as from Colombia.

Amongst the first imports were Faeton LaCe (Guamani x Piel de Seda), Mariachi (Bolero x Sofia la Negra), Coral LaCe (Canaria II x Dama), representing some of those, together with some others, the ones from Puerto Rico breeders. From Colombia came Mar del Plata (Vinci x Urbana), who left a large number of offsprings that made quite an impact from the 60’s through the 80’s decade, as well as Hilachas (El Zipa x Muneca) did with his many descendants. I would also like to mention other horses from this group like El Pastor (Pastor I x La Cascara), Belmonte (Resorte III x Salpicada) and some other who started the original Paso Fino breed in the U.S.A.

By the 80’s, new bloodlines began to show up and a more visible tendency towards Colombian imports could be noticed, which greatly improved the quality and even the interest in Paso Finns. And very good mares were imported, the fundamental basis for greater breeds, and also excellent quality stallions were brought in for their reproduction attributes, such as Resorte IV and Capuchino, who left a trail of great quality offsprings. Castellano, Majestuoso, Plebeyo, Monarca, Nevado, Festival, Tito Livio, Carmin, Postin, Piloto, Contratista and many others I can’t remember, all part of that stream of very good bloodlines we see today in shows winning prizes. The arrival of the stallions Amadeus and Cosmos was also a very important one, contributing to convey their attributes to their offsprings. Amadeus for his excellent phenotype features and Cosmos for the impressive quality of his filly offsprings.

To all these bloodlines one has to add the great improvement science has contributed in the handling of semen and mare fertilization, making possible the insemination in distant places, taking advantage to the maximum of good stallions. Good bloodlines and great quality are the factors that added to a better product, improving the handling and training of the horse, in a technical and rational sense, with professionalism, with better training classes for handling Paso Finos, prepared for owners and „aficionados“ alike to best take advantage of their horses. Generally speaking, today training is very good, making the handling of a horse easier and much more enjoyable.

As far as exhibitions, the organizers have done a great job for the participating horses, and to prove it, just observe the enormous quantity of horses that were registered in last National Championship, in which quality horses demonstrated all the advances obtained by the Paso Finos. The PFHA was founded over 25 years ago, with the purpose to organize the Paso Fino breed in the U.S.A. territory, long time after it was established in Colombia and Puerto Rico. The PFHA did not create a new breed, it only organized it and ruled the Paso Fino to improve I for the American market. During this time the PFHA staged shows and demonstrated their rules, with excellent exhibitions. They also motivated their owners to participate in those shows (Amateur Category) as well as in the Youth Category to interest teenagers and children, stimulating their love for the horse. Establishing categories such as: Classic Fino, Performance, Pleasure, Versatility, Western, Geldings, etc., has been PFHA’s greatest achievement. This allows the horse to bring out his best qualities, according to his capacity and aptitude, be it by his movement or temperament. The great quality of the participants in those events proves this matter right. Separating males from females makes it also easier for judgment and is fairer to decide who will be a winner. Today, registrations provided by the Paso Fino Horse Association (PFHA) are accurate and accepted by all the different countries associated with Paso Fino horse.

However, not all is rosy. It’s true there is great advancement, but there are still stagnant matters that should be corrected to benefit the future of the sport, the breeders and also the horse owners. The weak point of this matter are the judges. I’m talking in general of those in exhibitions, in which points are accrued (the most affected) to the ones in a National event closing each years activities.
There are large numbers of judges, but not very many with the capacity to judge well a competition, with the true objectivity of wheat a real Paso Fino horse is. Judges should be able to analyze a horse as a whole, by his stance, phenotype, croup steadiness, posture, harmony and gait softness, his response to the resins, his through out steadiness during the performance (not only on the sound board), and many other details leading to a correct judgment.

To want to be a judge is easy and it’s simple to memorize the rules, but to apply them properly requires a long process and great ability to completely identify with the horse. In other words, to have lived completely involved with the horse during the whole life, having fun with them as well suffered the mishaps during all the stages of the horses life, from birth, growth, first time under a saddle, the complete period of training and finally his handling in exhibitions. There are too many expenses, efforts and illusions a breeder undergoes to take a horse to an exhibition, to be later judged by a totally incompetent judge!

The sound board walk has become the „salvation board“ for those judges who can’t see the difference between a troch or a paso horse, to only then notice the horse is lame, has cramps or disrupts or has an uneven gait, details only experience can provide, not memorized rules. There is also the need to unify the criteria for judging. Some judges penalize the movement of the croup or an open leg position, usually caused by lack of all around posture. Others are totally indifferent to those anomalies. For some judge speed is the most important factor in a horse, way above flexibility, harmony and gait softness and elegance. Others don’t care for their brio (or the lack of it), others overdo it. Then there are judges who emphasize in certain training details but ignore the genetic defects that can be devastating for future generations. And unbelievably, some others consider more knowing the owner!

Another method is to simply compare the horse’s past performances to judge a current one. It would be endless to state all the items that must be corrected to unify all the criteria. Seminars must be made and the judges should all gather on one place to exchange comments and analyze all practices for all to stay within a proper and uniform frame to judge. These classes must be taught by an ideal person with true knowledge of this matter, free of the errors committed in the passed times. Illustrating with video shows to demonstrate common mistakes, not to criticize but to teach and give support of this theory to the class to make it a useful and valuable tool. I won’t elaborate any longer about this topic. These are simply ideas born in my heart for my love of the horse, particularly the Paso Fino. I always believed the judge is the creator of the breed for he should know absolutely all about him, he should be a counselor, a guide for the owner and a teacher for the public. A judge should be able to point out all the negative and all the positive points in a horse.

I would like to end this article with a just and deserved homage to a gentleman, and a dear dear friend of mine, Eduardo Rodriguez, who dedicated the best years of his life promoting and serving the Paso Fino horse with his 4 Tiempos International Paso Fino Magazine, creating enthusiasm and knowledge about this beautiful breed of horses with his many reports, as part of an integral contribution to this sport during the second half of this now ending millennium.

Eduardo, we are with you all the way. Your fans and friends need you and appreciate you dearly!

Jaime Mejias Escobar

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