At the beginning of the year 2006, the time had come for my husband Malcolm to find a new horse. His favourite horse at the time, Dakota (a Missouri Foxtrotter), had died of old age at 32 years old. What a horse he was….
So, I went to our Portuguese friend, Marc, to check out a few horses. He showed me an amazing looking, tall and strong, bay Andalusian stallion – 5 years old, basic dressage training , and it did not take much thinking or convincing for me to purchase this beautiful horse. The entire idea was supposed to be a surprise for Malcom’s birthday a few months down the road. The horse’s name at that time was ‘Until’. By the way, he also needed more training. Marc and I came to an agreement whereby Until would stay with him for a few more months for additional training before coming to Topanga in June that same year.
One month prior to Malcolm’s birthday, I received a phone call from Marc’s girlfriend Cassandra telling me that the deal was off! Shock. Why?! …because Marc’s horse business partner would not agree to sell the magnificent bay stallion to someone who was a. Not going to breed him and b. Not keep him as a stallion. Cassandra offered me another horse at the same price with more training – a grey 6-year old Gelding who had been brought in from Brazil and was fully 3rd level dressage trained by her cousin in Brazil (Mario) a profound dressage rider
I went to see the horse the following day. There he was, in a round pen, looking at me with his nervous eyes, his long black mane covering his face and his neck. He was tall, his color was ‘stones under water’ – beautiful. Just a stunning looking guy. Walking into the round pen, I noticed that he was quite nervous, but probably also because he had only been there for a few days after having been on an airplane, etc. Yet, he let me touch him and when I asked him to start moving he did and I saw an incredibly beautiful mover. Lots of power, high knee action in the trot, agile and athletic, powerful gate and moves. Okay, done deal, the same price.. this would be the surprise horse for Malcolm. I named him Regalo – meaning ‘present’ or ‘gift’. Malcolm’s birthday came to be and I had invited about 30 or 40 friends, prepared a DVD with pictures of Regalito on it and the words: “Regalito – happy birthday Malcolm!”. I played the DVD and the surprise was there.
A few days later I went to pick him up. I brought him home and it did not take much time for me to absolutely fall in love with him. He was also a very energetic, very challenging horse and needed an agile rider, sometimes having to be ready to get off quickly. He would not tolerate a rider who wanted to show that he was the boss all the time. Instead, Regalito needed a more feminine approach; a very gentle touch – a loose rein and super soft hand, a light seat, and a lot of feeling and sensitivity. Fighting with him would definitely make you the loser. Regalito, as I nicknamed him, became my horse!
I had gotten myself my own present…truthfully speaking! He was the best present I could have ever thought of. What a horse I got there. It took a while for me to absolutely understand him, but the challenge made him even more special. I knew he was my friend for a very, very long time. And the ‘Prince Regalito’ (another nickname) is still my dear friend today and I hope that he will be with me for many more years to come. The most sensible, loving, courageous, and beautiful soul…a ‘pleaser’ born to make me and other people happy.
The same year, Malcolm got a Friesian which we named ‘Guapo’. He was another stunning creature with the biggest heart one could imagine. Unfortunately, we lost this friend too soon to tragedy. Colic surgery – he never recouped from it and passed away shortly after the surgery. We still miss him. Friesians are just not made to live in the dry California weather and climate zone. There is a reason why they are called Friesian – it’s an area in Holland where the fields are large, flat, and full of moist green grass for most of the year – and Friesian horses need that kind of terrain.
That same year, 2012, I had to take some action and get Malcolm a new friend. Losing Guapo, under those circumstances, had seriously affected him. He was very sad and had lost all of his fun in coming to the barn to ride another horse. I made another call to Marc, and guess what? Until was still with him and for sale – now at 11 years old and totally 3rd level dressage trained… a perfect situation. We bought him shortly after that. Can you believe it? Buying the same horse TWICE… first when he was 5 and then again when he had just turned 11.
I came up with a new name for Until, and decided to call him Dominio. He is a true Alpha horse – a dominant guy and a wonderful, loving and caring friend. The leader of our small herd. He had to be gelded as well before we ended up bringing him to our barn, so all the horses could live a peaceful herd life together at our place.
Kayak was born 22 years ago in France. He was born as a pure black colt, his genes arising from an old Baroque Lusitano bloodline. Kayak was brought to the US when he was about 4.5 yrs and became famous as a black Lusitano stallion in many arenas of the Portuguese bullfighting tradition (bloodless bullfights). Kayak stood up to 3000-pound bulls, being extremely courageous like one would never imagine – never afraid of anything.
We brought him to La Esperanza , our home in Topanga, at the age of 14. He quickly became a huge part of my riding school at the time and has always been incredibly loyal, strong-minded, focused, trustworthy, reliable, and loving with everyone. His little naughtiness is so cute and he makes me laugh often just hanging out with him and the other horses around the barn or when they are all out together running around on their 4 acres of land that we grant them. They need that space to run so much – a herd life. He is not an Alpha horse in the herd, in fact, he takes his place gracefully, but every now and then steps up to the plate and demands his spot and makes sure he is never left behind or unnoticed.
Living in a herd is what horses are born to do. Running around free for a portion of the day with their herd companions is what makes them happy and content. They are living with each other and sense each other and need the surrounding of their friends. This is when they thrive…
Kayak is the greatest riding teacher one could wish for. Whether he’s with a 4-year-old child or an adult who is learning to ride – he is the most patient horse I have worked with. He adjusts to his rider and is gentle in his movements. He is forgiving while he also knows when to give subtle intuitive direction when needed.
Kayak had proven himself to be a huge part of the Equine Leadership Program. He loves working with people of all nature and energy levels, and again, is a master in receiving and sending signals, teaching us humans the same.
About two years ago, I went to my Portuguese friend Marc’s place to look at a Lusitano with one of my riding students at the time. She was interested in buying a horse that she could handle, with great training in basic dressage, with a good disposition and loving energy. Well, I thought, “Let’s take her to Marc”.
When we arrived, Marc showed us this 11 year old stallion – a sweet guy, greyish white with a darker grey mane, pretty boy, long thick mane, and a good size. He had exceptionally strong legs that I immediately noticed. Marc saddled him and rode him first to warm him up and then we put my client on the horse. It was hard for her to get him to do anything because she was not a very strong rider and this horse needed a lot of seat and leg at the time.
I liked something about this guy and he inspired me. Of course, show me a horse I do not like hah! But there is a huge difference in me liking a horse and me falling for a horse and I think I was in between those two realities at the time. After she finished her rather frustrating work with this boy, I decided to get on.. and from the moment I started riding him, I felt the power in him and realized he was just not strong enough, not conditioned enough, at the time. He had weak back muscles and was trying so hard to work with me… almost saying: “I want to be your horse”. I felt that within him and I think that made me decide to purchase him.
I asked why he was so weak in his back and he seemed out of practice totally. The story was that about 5 years prior, my friend had sold him to a person as a pleasure dressage horse. That new owner, soon after he bought the horse had a severe heart attack and put the horse out to pasture, and never rode him again for 4 years so the horse, of course, lost all of his muscles. Marc happened to speak to this man one day and asked about the grey stallion, and was told what happened, and immediately Marc decided to bring the horse back and work him again. That was shortly before I showed up with my client. The rest is not hard to imagine, is it? But the wonderful story is that I then had to give him a name that would match his character and his charm. Well, it was in that moment that the name Chance popped up in my subconscious mind and it felt like I was giving this horse another Chance for his life…a new fresh start. Chance was born!
I made arrangements to bring him to San Jose, CA, to another Portuguese friend of mine, Albert. I have previously referred to Albert as my personal ‘horse whisperer’ friend to many horse people in my close environment. Albert was my choice trainer for getting Chance back into shape. It worked! I also had to have him go through the castration process. I cannot keep stallions on my property because my horses are running free on four acres each day. They are all geldings, and Chance needed to arrive at the ranch being a gelding as well. We never want to jeopardize the safety and wellbeing of the existing horses in our little herd at La Esperanza, and when a new horse is introduced to the other guys it certainly has to be a gelding – not a stallion. Chance came to Topanga six months later, a different-looking horse. Strong again, muscular, sweet as you can imagine, which I had noticed of him right when I first met him. He is a very loving soul.
