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Paso Fino News
Photos are Here From The Fiesta of the Spanish Horse
Paso Fino is the cover horse on the National Stallions Calendar for 2008
Each year, Rancho Fino invites the top national equine photographers
to the ranch, where stallions are released “at liberty” in large
green pastures, giving the photographers the opportunity to shoot
unlimited photos and generate pictures they can then sell.
For the first time, a Paso Fino is the cover horse on the National
Stallions Calendar. The cover shot was taken by Sherron Sheppard and
is Rancho Fino’s Ingeniero.
To get a copy of this beautiful calendar (which is available in
several configurations) and which also includes another Paso Fino (Caton
de Ropa, owned by Edgar & Alei Ortiz, United Paso Fino Show Horses),
contact Horse Classics Calendar, 4799 Lower Mountain Road New Hope
PA 18938 or call (215)794-5878, (215)794-3544.
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 Do
You, or Someone You know Have Equus Amor Syndrome?
by: Larry Palmer
My oldest friend's granddaughter hit a wall a few years ago. Not a
brick wall or a freeway wall, but that wall many of us plow into
when we're very young-the wall of confusion, frustration, despair,
and hopelessness.
An only child, she was 12 when her parents divorced. Although she
never admitted it, I knew she was devastated by her world suddenly
coming apart. When asked how she was doing, she'd always say "Fine."
That was my first clue that her life was a lot of things, but "fine"
wasn't one of them.
That easy answer led her into drugs, alcohol, and boys. Of course,
she found no answers at the bottom of a vodka bottle or in a pill,
but she kept looking until her life was bankrupt in every possible
way.
At age 14, she moved in with her grandparents so she could be home
schooled and monitored 24/7. It worked. After a year of successes
and a minor relapse, she began to grab hold of her life and moved
back with her mom.
This smart, talented, and beautiful young lady, I've known since she
was a baby, began to save her own life. Her grades came up. She
joined some real "reality shows" in programs like Alcoholics
Anonymous. She came to be dependable, accountable, and responsible.
But I felt she needed something she'd discovered and that was hers
alone. Then she came to my birthday party last year. We stood for a
while, petting my two Paso Fino horses. She told me how much she
loved horses. Smiling, I reminded her that this very horse, Cal, was
the first horse she ever touched or sat on.
Her face lit up. "Yes! I remember;” she said excitedly. "Wasn't I
about 6? And you took my photo with my hideous, round, wire-framed
glasses. You wrote a story about me that was put in the newspaper."
Always eloquent, I replied, "Yep." That's when I thought I saw "it"
- something that says, "I've got the 'equusamor' syndrome." We all
know that in a teenaged girl, that syndrome trumps boys, booze, and
other chemicals. The high we get from a horse is a natural high that
God clearly intended for us to enjoy.
It took only a second for me to decide.
The offer was made to gift her six lessons with four conditions:
-
Mom
had to approve.
-
The six
lessons had to take place with my trainers. (I know what and how they
teach - things like commitment, accountability, honor, integrity, and
the absolute requirement of dealing with a horse: trust.)
-
She had to
show up on time for her lessons (45 minutes from home) and do everything
the trainer told her to do.
-
She had to
keep her grades up and not get into trouble of any kind.
She agreed and so did her mom. After the first six lessons, her
grandparents bought her six more lessons. Then her mom bought her
another six. Then she started buying her own lessons. She was
hooked. Lessons moved toward shows.
This talented, bright young woman found her life suddenly full of
good things. The dead-end roads she'd been traveling disappeared
like spit on a summer Texas highway at noon. Her mom became her best
friend, and could often be found leaning on the rails at the arena,
watching her daughter discover the world of horses.
When she was 16, she became a horse owner. Shortly thereafter, her
mom found a horse she just couldn't resist, and they became a
two-horse family. The two are already talking about long rides into
the sunset. I hope they invite me along someday.
The last time we visited; I advised her she'd likely encounter a
condition I called "wet-mane" with her new horse friend.
"What's that?" she asked. She thought I was warning her of some
dreaded equine disease.
Laughing, I explained it was a condition, but not a disease. "Folks
just naturally tell their horses about life's disappointments,
challenges, and broken hearts," I explained. "He'll never criticize
you, judge you, care how you look, or think your feelings are silly.
The best way to talk to him is to bury your face in his mane and
cry. He'll just accept you as you are and listen patiently.
"He'll go against his 50 million years of evolution and ride through
fire if you ask him, because he loves you and trusts you. You'll
both share a sacred and unique bond. Hold it dearly. Use it often.
He won't mind that his mane's wet."
It's a bond and experience she'll carry with her through life, and
she's got a good start on that journey. I'll always be grateful this
extraordinary young woman allowed me to be a tiny spark in her
rocket.
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