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The Journey of a Lifetime

I first saw Leo (pronounced lay-oh) when he was a yearling running with his half-brother, Coral de Vez, in one of the pastures at the farm of C. W. and Barbara Preiss in Brandon, Florida. I'd always loved buckskins and Leo was gorgeous with his gleaming dappled bronze coat and long black mane and tail.  He was well-bred, a son of the PFHA Hall of Fame stallion and North American Single-footing Association Foundation Sire #2, Coral LaCE, out of a buckskin Puerto Rican mare, La Puma T,  from which Leo got his buckskin coat and great heart.  But buying him never crossed my mind at that point.  I was at the farm to take my first look at the then novel horse breed called Paso Fino.  I rode a pretty chestnut mare that day.  I'd never experienced anything like her gait and I'd owned and ridden several breeds of horses over the previous twenty years, including Tennessee Walkers.  I did not buy anything at that time, but soon did purchase a mare and her two year old son from some other folks.  And thus my journey with Paso Finos began. 
 
I next saw Leo in the spring of 1984, just before his second birthday. Events transpired as they often do when things are "meant to be" and I ended up purchasing my dream horse soon after his birthday.  He never had to be "broken", but from day one under saddle acted like he'd been ridden since his birth.  His disposition was so gentle and unlike many stallions that I put off gelding him.  After awhile I told him that as long as he continued to act like a gentleman that I would not geld him, but one misstep and the vet would be on his way.  I guess he took my warning to heart as he remains a stallion to this day, at age 24.5 years. 
 

I never intended to become a breeder so Leo has usually been bred only to replace my personal remuda.  His primary work has been as my trustworthy trail horse and he has excelled at that.   He has carried me thousands of miles in all types of terrain from the deep sands of flat, humid Florida to the high, dry elevations of the Spring Mountains outside Las Vegas, Nevada. We did seven competitive trail rides 1990-1992 and he placed in all but two of them at a time when gaited horses in any type of distance riding sport were almost unheard of.  We did not return to organized distance riding until December of 2002 when
he was over 20 years of age.  Between that date and November 2005 Leo completed two more competitive trail rides for total mileage of 250 competitive trail miles.  And he completed 770 limited distance miles in the American Endurance Ride Conference, placing top ten on several rides. 
 

His offspring are following in his footsteps.  Now that Leo is no longer competing, one of his gelding sons, Obrizo Juan Sinsonte, is racking up limited distance miles with over 1000 miles to his credit and several top ten placements.  His full sister, Pocita de Cosa Dulce, currently has 700 miles, 50 of them garnered at her first true 50 mile endurance ride this past December 2006.  We hope to start another gelding son, Yoda Eclipsis Sinsonte, in limited distance within the year.  He, like his sire, has taken to being ridden with no fanfare, just like he has been doing it all his life.  That's the wonderful thing about Leo's get, they all have wonderful dispositions and are very people-friendly.  They have beautiful conformation, big hearts and love the trail and trail competitions.  Another daughter, Miricastana Sinsonte,  has done very well in speed events such as pole-bending. Considering Leo has produced only six registered foals, these accomplishments take on even greater meaning.  And he is passing these traits into the third generation.  Pocita's son, Zahen CorALeo Sinsonte, was another I planned to geld.  However, his disposition is sweeter even than Leo's and he just loves people and being fussed over.  He's had a saddle on only, no rider, as he is but 2.5 years old, but he wasn't upset in the least by it.  We expect him to be on the trails in 2008.
 
I am truly blessed to have had Leo in my life for almost 23 years now.
He is my "once in a lifetime" horse. 

UPDATE:

"Sadly, Leo passed away 011108, four months short of his 26th birthday.  He is greatly missed by all who knew him, most especially his owner for 23 1/2 years, Lindsay Campbell"