Dave
Jones, nationally well known horse trainer, went into the
mountains of Colombia, South America in the late 1960s to
seek out the best natural gaited and sound conformation
Paso Finos for the foundation stock for Meridian Meadows
Farm in Florida. The horses he found that fit his criteria
the most were the "working" or "transportation"
Pasos which were used daily in the Andes mountains. The
conformation had to be good or they would break down. The
gait had to be good, for they were ridden comfortably over
long distances every day. They also had to be surefooted
to survive. Dave Jones wanted to breed the world's best
pleasure horse. Meridian Meadows used these Paso Finos for
cutting cattle, show jumping and ranch work. Meridian Meadows
imported Guala, Hilaches, Mahoma, and Baron que tal.
Dave
Jones said: "Our stallions are very strong in this
respect and strength of gait plus conformation are our breeding
targets."
Faldero
que tal, Emperador's sire (1971)
Faldero que tal, 1981
Black
14.2 hh. A brother of the great Resorte III, both being
sons of Guala. T.O.P. winner.
- IPFS
National Conformation 3 Year Colts Ch.,1974
- IPFS
National Reserve Conformation Stallion Ch.,1975
- IPFS
National Reserve Versatility Stallion Ch.,1976
- IPFS
National Performance Stallion Ch.,1977
- IPFS
Champion of Champions Performance Stallion,1977
- IPFS
National Reserve Conformation Stallion Ch.,1977
Hilo Barquita, Emperador's dam (1974)
Emperador's
dam Hilo Barquita is granddam to Grand National Pleasure
Champion and National Conformation Champion Indio de Ensueno.
She is also geneticly a full sister to Susie que tal (same
sire and dams are full sisters) -- Top Ten Dam
and dam of multi-Grand National Conformation Champion
El Chino de Batey.
Guala,
Emperador's granddam
(1952)
The
genetic influence of Emperador's granddam Guala is extraordinary.
She is the grand lady of the Resorte legacy which remains
important decades and generations later. Guala was dam to
the famous Resorte III, one of the previous leading sires
in Colombia and the sire of the legendary Resorte IV, who
in turn sired Capuchino, Nevado, Profetiza, and Retorno...all
desired breeding lines today. Retorno is the sire of the
fino phenom Mariquita, a multi-Grand National Fino Champion.
Capuchino was named Paso Fino Horse of the Millenium, and
has been the number one sire in the USA for many years now.
When
Dave Jones first saw Guala in Colombia, South America
in her mid to late twenties...
"Guala was an old mare. The mare was certainly not
beautiful, but had great "class". I inspected
her with a critical eyes and found her to be (in my opinion)
far better than her son, Resorte III. Her head showed
much refinement; her barrel was correct in every way.
She was deep enough and her legs were exactly right. She's
a top Paso producing top colts every year." Ref:
"Guala, Mother of Paso Champions" by Dave
Jones, Horse Lover's Magazine, 1971
Of
noteable interest is the legacy of Guala's bloodlines,
which include her parents -- Oka x Gaucho, who also produced
Caribe, who was grandsire to Campanera the dam to the
famous Carmin. The mare Venus appears twice in Guala's
pedigree. And Guala's sire Plumaje is also the grandsire
to Bochica.
"And off the top of my head what makes Guala so
special is that she is has the Gaucho X Oka cross. as
I understand Oka was one of the most phenomenal mares
ever. Take a look at all the pedigrees with high percentages
of Oka in the tail female line and you will see that
many are champions. I personally love the line."
Guala's dam's full brother was Caribe. "Caribe
was a fire breathing dragon... A lot of the offspring
that resulted from this cross had brio and temperments
that were unbelieveable...Very Intelligent."
Ref: Sr. James, pasopedigree.com forum
Resorte
III (1959)
It
has been told once by a Paso Fino judge that "Resorte
III was a very naturally gaited Paso Fino horse. He is
the source of the extraordinary quality of the Resorte
line. What Resorte III gives you is strong, true Paso
Fino gait, style and elegance and bred to good mares you
get those 'ultimate athletes' - to me, the perfect horse;
real survival prone horses." Ref:
www.pasopedigree.com
Baron
que tal, Emperador's grandsire
(1967)
IPFS Foundation Sire
Grandsire Baron que tal being ridden without a bridle
Our
young stallions, (Belmonte and) Baron, have such strength
of gait that they Paso naturally in the pasture.
Ref: "Answering Some Questions
About Pasos" by Dave Jones, Horse Lover's Magazine,
1970's
Baron que tal showing his strong natural gait
Photos Credit: Dave Jones
Eblis,
Emperador's greatgrandsire
Baron que tal was sired by the Colombian stallion Eblis,
out of an Eblis daughter."Eblis was terrific in build
but had a poor head. My thought was the owners were very
high on Eblis for his daughters were bred back to him. These
high mountain horses were what we needed so we bought all
of them we could." Ref:
Dave Jones,
Paso Fino Chronicles
Espectro
que tal, Emperador's grandsire (1970)
Espectro que tal, ridden by his owner
Luis de Hechavarria
Photo: early 1980's El
Batey Ranch
Espectro que tal was one of the few Hilaches sons that
produced like his sire. Produced a strong gait, balanced
conformation and lovely heads. This stallion should be perfect
for upgrading the quality of many breeding operations. Ref:
El Batey Ranch,1987.
Espectro
que tal - Sire of National Champions:
- Jalapena
que tal - National Performance Mare Ch.
- Briosa
Sin Par - National Reserve Performance Mare Ch.
- Susie
que tal - Top Ten Dam; dam of El Chino de Batey,
multi Grand National Conformation Stallion Ch.
Hilaches,
Emperador's greatgrandsire (1956)
"Hilaches was one of the most intelligent horses
I ever handled. When we first saw Hilaches in Colombia --
conformationwise, he was too short-legged and too long in
the back. But one only had to look at his offspring to see
that he was an outstanding stallion. He outdid himself and
this, is exactly what we wanted in a stallion. The outstanding
feature of Hilaches was his head. His eyes were large and
his forehead was one of the broadest I'd ever seen. Intelligence
personified -- we had to have him." Ref:
Dave Jones
"Hilaches achieved more fame than our other
stallions. Hilaches was the absolute cornerstone of the
Fino-Colombian breed and our main refining stallion. He
put a head on a horse aaaand gave his offspring great conformation."
Ref: Joyce and Colin Phipps, Meridian Meadows
Hilaches
was a true Foundation Sire in the U.S. in every sense of
the word. His offspring and grandoffspring won more than
150 Grand National Championships. This great stallion and
eight of his famous offspring placed on the Top Ten Sires
and Dam's list 21 times bewtween 1977-1984. Hilaches was
the Sire of the Year 3 times. The Hilaches stamp on his
offspring are their distinctly dished profiles, wide foreheads,
large intelligent eyes and gracefully arched necks.
Hilaches being groomed by Mary Wadsworth
with handler Landon Winstead, Colorado, 1981(left).
Hilaches (right)
Photo credit: Lynn Gallup (left)
Mahoma,
Emperador's greatgrandsire
(late 1930'-early 1940's)
Mahoma showing his natural carriage and easy gait when ridden
Mahoma gaiting at liberty
"Mahoma
was really something! We only had to see a few of his offspring
to know that he was extremely valuable. His son, Oro Negro,
was THE gait producer in Colombia and his nickname was "The
Machine" because his gait was considered by the Colombian
horseman as the ultimate. Oro Negro was a very famous "out
of competition" stallion. We inquired about his price
but never got an answer; we bought his sire Mahoma. There
was no better Colombian Paso than Mahoma. With perfect conformation,
he was strong and had no blemishes (at over
age 30). He was just about the ultimate Paso we found.
Mahoma did the natural Paso gait at liberty. Even at his
great age he had all the natural "brios" (the
fire)." Ref:
Dave Jones
Mahoma
was a most remarkable horse by all accounts. Mahoma, beholding
many outstanding qualities, most unique to all who knew
him, was preferred by many to any foundation stallion. He
was very old when imported (in his twenties) and lived to
be an estimated 34 years old. While Mahoma's conformation,
brio and ability to execute the Fino gait were not as resplendent
as Hilaches, "he just had such substance - was
so intelligent and dependable", stated his owner.
Some of Phipps best jumpers came from Mahoma's lineage.
Ref: PFHW , Sept. 1999
Striking a like pose...Mahoma and his great grandson Emperador
Corveta
que tal, Emperador's great granddam
(1968)
Dam to Champions: Trobador, Flint Oak Keepanion
Gacela
Sin Par*
Emperador's great great great granddam
(1959)
Dam of National Champions:
