Rancho Andalucia
Breeders of Pure Spanish Horses Since 1985
Rancho Andalucia Reviews
Descarado P
““Our recent acquisition of Descarado P from Rancho Andalucia has been the realization of a life-long dream. I am sure my wife and I will enjoy watching this beautiful colt transform into a phenomenal stallion right before our eyes in the near future.
“I would like to thank Christa and Sharon for allowing us to continue the tradition that the Cartujano monks started long ago: preserving and presenting the “best” horse breed to the world… the Cartujano Pura Raza Espanola.”
Sergio Castillo
El Paso, TX
Descarado P
Born: July 14th, 2002
Urgel III X Curiosa XXII
Click images below to enlarge
Castillo P
Born: July 16th, 2001
Urgel III x Curiosa XXII
Campanero P
Urgel III x Hacendosa MAC
Gibraltar PRO
Born: June 14th, 2005
Urgel III x Franqueada I
“I am writing to tell you about how wonderful Gibraltar is. He is, of course, beautiful. He is still very dark at three years of age, and stands about 16h tall. We think he will grow at least an inch or two more before he is done. He is also a beautiful mover – but again, I knew this would be the case after meeting his sire and seeing video of his dam.
“What I was unprepared for was the depth of personality and intelligence that Gibraltar has. Having met him as a yearling, I knew he was friendly and affectionate, as he had abandoned his other yearling herd mates and followed my daughters and me all around the paddock, nudging us constantly for pats. (He still does this, by the way.) But nothing new escapes his observation. Not ever.
“For instance, all winter and spring I had worn the same pair of knee-high rubber boots when walking around the paddock area. One day, when the ground was dry, I wore a pair of sneaker-like shoes. Gibraltar came trotting up to greet me, and immediately noticed those shoes. His head snapped down and he sniffed and nibbled all over them. I have never had a horse that looked at footwear before. Needless to say I was astounded.
“He has bonded very closely to my two daughters and me. When my husband was visiting from Iraq, the girls talked their daddy into letting them drive the lawn mower. I went inside to get the camera, and when I came back out they were driving around the backyard, shrieking. I decided to go pet Gibraltar while the girls were careening around. When Gibraltar saw me walk up to his paddock, he nickered at me urgently. I was a little surprised, as he only nickers once in a while. When I went in, he charged up and started tossing his head. He stuck his nose between the gate and the fence and tried to open it. He nudged me and then looked at the girls, who continued to shriek. He pawed. He trotted up and down the fence line. He came back and tried to open the gate with his teeth. He nudged me some more. He paced more and strained his head over the top of the fence. I tried to soothe him, but he would have none of it. HE knew the girls were being attacked by the man-eating lawnmower and he HAD to go rescue them!! And I was clearly NOT getting the message. Of course, I did not let him go after them, as I could not see that leading to anything but trouble.
“He is afraid of nothing. Not loud, unexpected noises or animals of any kind. The first day he arrived our older, and very obnoxious, dairy goat, Heidi, came into his paddock under a gate and ‘challenged’ him. Gibraltar half-reared and charged. I think Heidi saw her life flash before her eyes, and seeing that it had been filled with mischief and trouble, decided she was definitely not ready to leave this earth just yet. She bolted for the other gate. Gibraltar cut her off from the gate in a few strides and she wheeled and ran back towards the first gate. Gibraltar pirouetted neatly on his hindquarters and in a few strides had her cut off again. He proceeded to cut her back and forth between the two gates for about 30 seconds before she finally was able to dive under one of them. It would be months before she would enter his pasture again, although he does not bother her unless she wanders too close to either my daughters or me.
“Just the other evening, at dusk, I was pulling the hose out of his water trough. It was deep dusk, the ‘spooky’ time of day, as all horse people well know. As the hose came out of the trough, it clanged loudly. Gibraltar really jumped. I expected him to canter away a few strides, stop, think and settle down. What I did NOT expect was him to snap his head towards what had made the noise and then charge TOWARDS me, looking intently at the writhing hose as I coiled it, with his ears pricked forward. When he got close enough that he saw it was just a hose, he stopped, made eye contact with me for a moment, and satisfied I was not being attacked by a giant anaconda in disguise, began to graze again.
I could tell Gibraltar stories for pages and pages. I have owned both a Thoroughbred (now deceased) and still have my old, kind Tennessee Walker. But I never thought I would have a horse that would be my best friend and prefer my company to anything else. I never thought I could find a stallion that was possessed simultaneously of fire and endless courage, but would listen to me and show no meanness, even to my daughters who are much smaller than I. And I never thought I would find all of these things in a horse that was so beautiful in body and movement that it takes my breath away every day just to be with him.”
Castillo P
“After researching the Spanish horse for many years by any method I could obtain, book, video, traveling, etc, I began my search for my ‘perfect’ model Andalusian colt. I looked for many years by calling around the US and getting videos, pictures, etc. I finally gave up my search after about 8 years of looking, life changes, etc. Even though I was no longer looking, I surfed the net and Andalusian magazine classifieds just to keep abreast of who had what and if anything interested me, and NOTHING did for quite some time.
“Then in Febuary of this year, I was surfing the net and came across a farm who’s name I was familiar with, but could not remember why. That farm was Rancho Andalucia. I had seen write ups in the Andalusian magazine from Christa many years earlier. As I normally do, I began looking at the farm’s breeding stock. I instantly fell in love with the farm’s main stallion, Urgel, an import from Spain, and a very typie, well made, classical horse with tons of bone, good substance of body, with an unbelieveable hind end and roundness, and this horse can move! His movement was just the type I was looking for, a horse with a motor in the hind! I was so excited when I then came across the mares and they were the same type and style with superb movement as well. That is when I decided to take a look at the sales page.
“I INSTANTLY fell in love with the face and head of a yearling colt called Castillo. As I looked at his pictures throughout the website, I knew this was the horse I had been looking for. I quickly emailed Christa with some questions, she emailed me back the next day and I decided this was serious, I needed to call. I called her, she called me, we both left messages and the phone tag went on for about 3 weeks. When we finally made contact I was delighted to find that she had the same overall goals and views about the Spanish horse, what it should move and look like. I told her I wanted Castillo and would make arrangements to purchase him.
“I impatienly waited for him to be delivered, calling Christa several times a week just to see how he was doing. When he arrived, my husband and I were taken by his type, style and the next day when I took him out to the round pen to run around, I knew that this was the horse I was waiting for, his movement was to DIE FOR. He was more than we could have expected. Quiet, easy going, but energetic and GORGOEUS at the same time.
“It is our goal to use him to promote the breed in our local area at public functions in the future. We do hope to show him (time permitting) at some of the Texas based IALHA shows and stand him one day at stud so that outside mares can have access to this magnificent model of a horse with extreme movement. With this I hope to bring about more foals that are of interest to the purchasers of future Andalusian horses that are of the old school as I am.”
Baroque Farms
The Baudoin Family
Destinada P
"While attending the National Andalusian Horse show in Fort Worth, TX, we met Christa and Dieter for the second time and were introduced to their spectacular stallion Urgel III for the first time. After seeing Urgel’s movement and his win in the movement class we just had to see his babies. We visited Rancho Andalucia the last day of the Nationals and saw Destinada and her dam Hacendosa MAC and fell in Love. Although we were looking for foundation mares and had in mind older fillies, once I saw Hacendosa’s Spanish conformation and the little beauty Destinada by her side I knew I had to find a way to make her ours. Destinada’s conformation mirrors her mother’s with her long beautiful neck and feminine Spanish head. Her movement is true Andalusian, which starts from behind and follows through with lovely elevation and extension. In our eyes Destinada has it all — she is sweet, affectionate, and willing. Her pedigree shows she will pass her beauty and conformation on to her foals. We feel she will wonderfully complement our stallion Olimpico who shares some of her lines. Destinada will be our foundation mare at High Grove Andalusians, located in Cedar Creek, Texas (30 minutes from Austin’s International airport).
“It’s is our goal to breed Pure Spanish horses based on the classic Spanish style. Our plans are to show Destinada regionally and on to Nationals as a two or three year old. She will be trained in Dressage when she is mature enough but mostly especially now she will be kept at pasture with our other fillies and allowed just to be a horse.
“Thank you Christa and Dieter for allowing us to make Destinada part of our family and thanks for sharing your home, knowledge and research of the Pura Raza Espanola with us.
“Our email is olimpico@ev1.net for anyone who may wish to visit our farm or talk Andalusians.”
Lynn and Kurt Gessner, High Grove Andalusians
Destinada’s Show Record
2004 IALHA US National Championship
Top 5, National Grand Championship Andalusian Fillies 2 Years & Under, 9 entries
Gold Medal Movement Award National Champion Spanish Fillies Two Years Old
2004 SWALHC Memorial Weekend Show, Corsicana TX, May 29-30, 2004
3rd: Andalusian Fillies 2 Years & Under, 9 entries
Destinada P
Born: July 31st, 2002
Urgel III X Hacendosa MAC
Mercedes PRO
I consider the Christa and Dieter Probson among the premier breeders of PRE horses in the U.S. My mare, Mercedes, who is, for me, the horse of a lifetime was bred from their program. Not only has she given us two fabulous foals, she is also a very fancy, powerful mover who has a loving, willing personality. My experience of purchasing Mercedes was honest and professional. Without fail all my questions were answered and information/videos sent. I highly recommend Rancho Andalucia as a source for outstanding PRE horses.
Baroque Farms
The Baudoin Family
Campanero P
“The moment I set eyes on Campanero’s images on Rancho Andalucia’s website, I knew I had to go to Texas to see this colt in person. I had been looking seriously for 8 months (and for years in wish-mode), but he was the first one to truly spark my imagination. Campanero’s classic Spanish head and neck, lively, kind eye and superb pedigree attracted me to him initially, but once I actually met him, I knew he was the colt for me. A perfect blend of look-at-me-attitude with a sweet and intelligent demeanor – this coupled with great conformation and movement that took my breath away! His movement is true – driven from behind and with amazing elevation and extension. Just as impressive was his intelligence and tractability. When I worked with him, I was absolutely delighted at how attentive he was, and how much he wanted to understand what I wanted. Some special ‘bonding moments’ together sealed the deal – we were meant to be together!
“Campanero will be the foundation sire of Crescent Farm, located in La Porte, Indiana, (one hour east of Chicago) where we will breed and promote quality classic-style Pure Spanish horses and Spanish-Norman horses. We have a Spanish-Norman foal due out of our Percheron mare Bella in June. Our plans for Campanero include taking him to the Regional shows this Fall (2003) in Wisconsin, and to Nationals as either a three or four year old. I know he will not disappoint. Once he has matured enough, he will begin his driving training (for combined driving) and dressage work, where we plan to compete in both. In the meantime, he will be doing some ground schooling, and just growing up and being a horse. He will also be standing at stud in the near future.
“Thank you Christa and Dieter for breeding and raising such a quality horse, and for being so willing to share your extensive knowledge of the Pura Raza Espanola. I not only found my perfect stallion – I feel I made two great friends in the process as well!
“Our email is crescentfarm@csinet.net for anyone interested in learning more about Campanero.”
Darla Aldred, Crescent Farm
www.crescentfarm.net
Campanero’s Show Record
2004 Region 3 Championships,Elkhorn, WI,August 14-15, 2004
1st: Andalusian Junior Stallions 3 & 4 Years Old Championship, 2 entries
Andalusian Region 3 Qualifying Show, Elkhorn, WI September 19, 2003
1st: Andalusian Colts Two Years and Under, 3 entries
3rd: Andalusian Best Movement, 6 entries
3rd: Andalusian Stallions, Amateur to Handle, 4 entries
Andalusian Region 3 Championship, Elkhorn, WI September 20-21, 2003
Reserve Champion, Andalusian Regional Colts Two Years and Under, 4 entries
Bucephalos P
Born: May 2nd, 2000
Urgel III X Curiosa XXII
“While living in Italy, I was searching for another Cartujano stallion of the oldest breeding to fill a spot left empty when I sold my wonderful Andalusian stallion, Luminoso to Cindy Meens of Storm King Ranch along with my mare. I had had a Terry-bred and Domecq-trained Cartujano stallion during the years I lived in Spain so I knew exactly what I wanted in another horse/partner. I looked in Spain, in France, in Germany, even there in Italy to no avail. Nothing caught my eye or my heart. The bloodline had to come first, it always tells in future generations, it is the foundation. Temperament was critical as well, as I will not breed and pass on a poor temperament. Movement was my third criteria in choosing a horse. He had to have classical form and power, not just flash. He had to excel in all three areas for me to make the trip to see him. Needless to say, I made few actual trips to see a horse as there were few who could pass all three tests.
“One evening, I was browsing the Web, when my eye was struck by one horse standing out from the crowd, Urgel III. His lines were unsurpassable, the very ones I was seeking. From comments by others his temperament was the kindest. His movement was to die for. And there, below him on the stallion page, was MY HORSE! I knew him the instant I saw him and e-mailed my husband his picture at work to say I had found him at long last!!!!! I didn’t pick up the phone to contact Rancho Andalucia as I wasn’t sure then that we were moving back to the States. I hesitated for several weeks until we flew back to Texas. I call Christa to say that I wanted to come out and see Bucephalos, then…the crushing blow, Christa is a kind voice said she was so sorry but he had left for his new home four days ago! I was heart-broken but I had to go out and see Urgel.
“Dieter met us and introduced us to their wonderful stallion, Urgel, who reminded me so much of my boy in Spain many years ago. I knew that I had just missed my soul-mate. Christa arrived and we toured the facility. As I was introduced to her mares, she asked which one I liked best. Without hesitation, I said, “Curiosa!”. They were all lovely but Curiosa was the prototypical Cartujano mare. She was surprised as most visitors had chosen another lovely mare, but I insisted that it was Curiosa who spoke of Andalucia to me.
“Resigned to losing Bucephalos, I asked Christa if she knew of any others available. She did not but would check for me. Weeks passed, I started to settle back into our ranch in the Texas Hill Country, but my mind kept returning to Bucephalos and mourning his loss. One day out of the blue I receive a call from Cynthia Vasques, of Bel Terra Baroque Horses, she leaves a message saying something about owning Bucephalos. It seems that Cynthia has too many stallions and, after talking to Christa about me, is willing to sell me Bucephalos! My joy could hardly be contained! She proceeded to do; the videos of him, the pre-purchase and repro exams and finally, several months later he arrives at the trainer’s!
“He comes quietly out to the trailer (after four long days of travel in icy storms) and proceeds to totally impress the trainer with his calm demeanor. He has since won the hearts of all with his sweetness, beauty, incredible movement and willing attitude! I could not have asked for a better match and look forward to many wonderful years with this Spanish Treasure!
“Many deep and heartfelt thanks to Christa and Dieter, the wonderful, thoughtful and dedicated breeders of Bucephalos and to his owner, Cynthia Vasques, for his further training and for being willing to part with this magnificent stallion. I hope that I can do him justice in the coming years as we attend clinics, shows, parades and exhibitions as his training progresses. Bucephalos will bring all that is the best of Spain to the breeding barn. Look for him at Cortijo Al-Andaluz soon!” Lee Caffey, Cortijo Al-Andaluz