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Pocita was conceived at Hacienda Sinsonte in the spring of 1995.  She  was then shipped in utero to her dam's (Cosa Dulce de Remanso) new home in Tennessee.  Her sire, Leo de Vez, remained at the hacienda.  Pocita  was foaled at the Rays' daughter's farm in  Tennessee.  The Rays retained ownership of Dulce until her untimely  death about a month before her eleventh foal's due date.   Tragically the foal was also lost, thus making Pocita, whose name means "Little bit of Sweet Thing (Cosa Dulce), her last born foal.  Because of  this Pocita was always special to the Rays' daughter.  For the first three  years or so of her life, Pocita remained at her birthplace.  At age 3.5  years she was sent for training.  It was the first time she'd ever been off  the farm and separated from her dam.  It was very traumatic for her and  when she returned home her once sweet disposition had soured and she became  prone to kicking, not only at other horses, but at people.   The daughter still loved her and thought perhaps breeding her would help,  so she was bred at age four to a Hilachas son.  In 2001 she produced a grey  colt. His disposition was very good and to this day he remains an easy-going  riding horse.   However, giving birth did not help matters for  Pocita.  For the first 10 days or so after he son's birth she  would not let anyone near her or the colt.  Finally, she tired of the whole  thing and allowed people to handle her foal.  Pocita was a good riding  horse, but the Rays' daughter and her husband but did not want to have to  worry about injury to themselves or others.  They read an article I wrote  about Leo and Obi in the Paso Fino Horse World and called to see if I would be interested in buying Pocita since I had her sire and had leased her dam for  several years before sending her home bred.  They wanted her to have a good  home, but also one with experienced riders and no children.  After  thinking about it
long and hard I decided I would buy Pocita and see what I  could do with her.
 
Pocita arrived at Vistalargo in the spring of 2002. She settled in well, quickly putting the other horses in their place by kicking at any one that challenged her first position at the gate to come in.  I was busy competing  Leo at the time so I decided to breed Pocita to Alejandro de Vez. During  her pregnancy Pocita was an absolute sweetheart.  She was kind and never  offered to kick horses or humans.  That changed the day her second colt,  Zahen CorALeo Sinsonte, arrived on Mother's Day 2004.  One minute she was  laid back and sweet, the next she was a crazy, dangerous nut case, lashing at  anyone who tried to get near her or the colt.  We were somewhat prepared  for this and did have a breakaway halter with a short lead on her.  This  allowed us to catch her one time in her pen the first day.  While Ed  held her, trying to keep away from her feet and with her dragging him all over,  I managed to get to the colt who was standing there bewildered at his dam's  antics.  He was so calm and curious midst all the fury around him, I  immediately knew I would shorten his name to "Zen".  I rubbed him and  picked him up, then we changed places and Ed did the same.  We couldn't get  near Zen for the next 10 days.  After that, Pocita was fine with us  handling him.  I've never seen anything like it. And Zen was in heaven with  everyone fussing over him.  He is a very affectionate colt and just  loves the rub downs and scratches people give him. 
 
After weaning Zen in the fall of 2004 I decided to start riding Pocita  again.  Giving birth to Zen had calmed her down and she was much happier  and less prone to kicking.  She was quickly and strongly reprimanded if she  even looked like she was thinking about doing anything bad.  In the winter  and spring of 2005 I took her on 4 or 5 limited distance rides.  I  knew Leo, almost 23 at the time, would not be competing forever.  I wanted  to continue in the sport so I figured I'd better get another horse ready and  Pocita was the only candidate.  She did well on her first rides, but she  did have an attitude with vets poking and prodding around her rear end to check  for reflexes.  She had reflexes alright, fast kick reflexes!  However,  we have good ride vets here in the SE and a couple of them in particular were  very good about really getting her to try to kick at them and then they would  work on her until she quit in disgust.  After awhile she pretty much got  over the whole rear end issue. 
We are always on guard at the vet checks,  but so far she has behaved herself admirably.
 
Leo had to be retired in the fall of 2005.  I'd been hoping to compete  him one more season but it was not meant to be.  Pocita was pressed into  full service in the winter of 2006.  She responded with the same heart and  drive that made her sire and full brother, Obi, so good at the sport.  She  completed 5 back to back 25 milers along with numerous single day rides.   During the 2006 AERC (American Endurance Ride Conference) ride season she  completed 460 limited distance miles, 435 with me and 25 with Ed.  The 435  miles for she and I as a team was enough to place us first in the AERC SE Region  team standings for 2006.  Pocita was Champion Limited Distance Horse in  SEDRA (South East Distance Riders Association) for SEDRA year 2005-2006.   She was Reserve PFHA (Paso Fino Horse Association) Endurance Horse of the Year  2006.  Not bad for her first full season of campaigning!
 
The first ride of the 2007 AERC year took place at Blackwater River State Forest.  While there, Pocita and I completed our first ever endurance ride  of 50 miles. It was a wonderful experience and one I hope to repeat at least  once more this year and several times in 2008. 
 
After an inauspicious beginning, Pocita has come through with flying colors  and is a tribute to her sire and dam and a great role model for the other Paso  Finos attempting the sport.  We are very proud of her.