On a personal level, this interview was very special to me since some of my own greatest accomplishments were reached under William’s guidance and instruction. My family’s relationship with William Cuervo is the perfect example of the typical United States Paso Fino passion… where all aspects of a hobby become the oxygen of everyday life. That was my father’s reality until his last breath and has become my own, thanks to a proper introduction to the breed by William Cuervo, a.k.a., “Master”.

PPF: Thank you so much for accepting this interview for Perfiles del Paso Fino. For me, this is a very special interview because, as some people may remember, we formed a very nice team with my parents and the stallion, Baluarte de la Vitrina. That journey began in the year 2000 when the horse made his debut in the US and where we enjoyed beautiful trajectory together. Obviously, I have been working on Perfiles with all my heart and passion for the sport, meanwhile, interviewing you and having had the chance to meet with you here in the US to record this video is very meaningful to me.
WC: Thank you very much, Maritza. It is with great pleasure that I have accepted this interview.

PPF: Let’s get started by, for those who don’t know you, please explaining how you became involved in Paso Fino. Did your family have a horse background?
WC: Well, as most people from Antioquia, Colombia, my family comes from the mountain, meaning country life and farms. My father also had horses, mostly Trocha. As I remember it, we only had one Paso Fino during my childhood. We mostly had Trocha and Trote horses; Trocha horses are very common in Antioquia. From then on, I continued to ride horses here and there. I went on to high school and met other horsemen and started spending a lot of time with them. I used to go to ASDESILLA on Fridays for the youth events and met many people there as well. After that, I got married and moved to the United States. When I first arrived here, I met a couple named Len and Donna Spieler in High Springs, Florida. They had approximately 60 Paso Fino horses and, basically, they didn’t have a steady rider, just someone who would only go every so often. I used to go with 3 other people from Medellin, Antioquia to ride there on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays. We had a lot of fun there. The Spielers took me to my first national competition which was in Stone Mountain, Georgia. They took me to La Castañuela, which is where Capuchino and Castellano were standing, and later La Castañuela, along with a few other renowned horses. Later, I came down to Miami and focused on visiting Paso Fino farms. After that was when I met Carlos Julio Arango and the farm Latin American Horses, which was part of a larger farm in Colombia named Sociagro. Carlos Julio was a person with vast knowledge of marketing and great projection. I think that he did a lot for our horse. Together, we made the first promotion video for Paso Finos at Latin American Horses. The music we used for the background was that of Gypsy Kings, which still today is being played at horse shows. I also dedicated time to the journalism realm where I published a magazine called Paso Express International. It ran for about 4 or 5 years, then I helped Mr. Eduardo Rodriguez with his magazine, 4 Tiempos, which for me has been the best magazine we’ve had. After that, was actually when I published Paso Express. I started working on photography and have spectacular pictures of the majority of famous horses of the 1990s. Meanwhile, I continued riding here and there. I also had a few horses of my own. As destiny would have it, I ended up riding more and helping out at Mr.  Hernando “Guti” Gutierrez’s farm. I had horses there and met a very kind person there named Julio Betancourt. I spent a lot of time and learned very much from him. Julio possessed great knowledge and in the educative aspect, I would say he was the best teacher I have had for learning to train and ride a horse. There, I also met someone who was one of my greatest teachers and friends, Mr. Reynaldo Diaz. I spent a lot of time with him as well and helped him to train horses there too. Some time after that, I opened my own horse farm in Miami. Since 1994, I managed the reproductive aspect of the stallion Amadeus. That all came about in a funny way because I traveled to Colombia to film a video of the Colombian national competition in Medellin, and I saw an extraordinary black horse named Atrevido del 8. That was where I met a young man. That young man I met back then at a farm in La Loma is nowadays a great horseman, breeder, and one of- if not the best equine reproductive veterinarians in Colombia, Dr. Gabriel Jaime Toro. He revolutionized the Paso Fino horse world, as he was the one who introduced embryo transfers. He is a great veterinarian as well as businessman. After all these things, I also began to transport animals internationally and to seek reproductive-quality receptor mares for Dr. Toro. More or less around 1999, I started traveling to horse competitions in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, more than once to Ponce and a world competition in San Juan, then to Caracas [Venezuela]. I was there for about 30 days because I had been asked to coordinate the transport for horses going to the first world competition under the new horse federation. My job was to process their transport from Caracas to Santo Domingo. I was taken to Venezuela by Mr. Vicente LaMonica and Nicola Greco, great horsemen from that time in Venezuela. May they rest in peace; such great people they both were. The stallion Capitan ended up in the United States because later, Mr. Gilberto Duarte took Mr. Hernando Gutierrez to Colombia, and they purchased the horse there. Capitan ended up at El Danubio Farm, if I am not mistaken. After that, we’re talking about 1999 more or less, I met a very nice family from Bogota, and we ended up having a great friendship. They purchased some horses from me, some of them being from El Danubio. The man who purchased those horses was named Guillermo Martinez, may he rest in peace, your beloved father. I still remember that a horse I think bit you that day.

PPF: Capitan!
WC: It was Capitan, exactly. That was your welcoming into the horse world, being bitten by the stallion Capitan. Well, I realized that the family needed help with equitation classes and some guidance in the horse world because he wanted to be more than just a horse enthusiast. So then, I decided it was time to pass on my knowledge to others and I began teaching equitation classes. The Martinez girls were my first students, you know. And when I moved to Ocala around the year 2000, I had 27 students, the majority were women. In Ocala, I arrived at Carmen Michelletti’s Paso Largo Farm. They are very kind people, very horse oriented. Carmen loves her horses, without a doubt. Later, I moved on to manage a farm called Black Gold Acres, belonging to the Kirchmans. I also managed a farm for one of my clients and that’s when I decided that, due to how marketing and sales were being handled, prices were going down and sales were decreasing. I knew that the future in the Paso Fino horse world was not the future that I wanted. So, I decided to sell real estate and I specialized in farms. That pretty much sums up my life in the horse world.

PPF: What a great summary of your trajectory in Paso Fino in the United States. I would like to place a little emphasis on the most memorable horses of your career. I know that you were involved in the promotion of several horses, including Resplandor, Amadeus, I also remember the stallion Polaco.
WC: The closest to me was, without a doubt, Amadeus. He was the one that made me get so involved in the horse world. He was a great stallion and, without a doubt, was one of the leaders of the breed. I had a lot of work to do with Dr. Toro, but, basically after the world championship, he asked me to help him promote breeding for 7 stallions that he was managing. I believe all those stallions were standing at the Simbolo de Besilu farm, including Simbolo de Besilu. I was also very involved with the stallion Profeta de Besilu. If I’m not mistaken, in 1995, Kimberly King and her mother asked me to help them because they had just bought the horse and they were a bit lost on how to compete and reach their goal of winning. So, I was with them for a few months. I think it was like 6 months that I spent in Ocala with the objective of helping Kimberly King win at the United States national championship. At that time, Kimberly King was 19 years old. She won the professional class with an extraordinary horse named Profeta de Besilu, bred, obviously, by Mr. Benjamin Leon. Oh wait, before Profeta and Amadeus, Mr. Ivan Traverso, the owner of Capuchino, asked me to help him for some time with the breeding sales. That was like selling gum, it sold itself. It was incredible! I told him to offer a discount for payment in full and as soon as you told clients that they had 10% off, they would send in their check. It was beautiful… it was beautiful to sell Capuchino breedings. I remember at a horse show in Ocala, Capuchino would go over the sounding board and the audience would go crazy. He was a horse that could really fill anyone with excitement and honestly, he transformed the Paso horse business. So, I was involved with him as well. I also worked some with the stallion Vitral. Since I traveled often to and from Colombia, Dr. Gabriel Jaime Toro would invite me to see Vitral. I even have videos of when his training began and of his whole training process. Eventually, Mr. Eduardo Pelaez told me he wanted to bring him to the US, so I proposed we did it. We had found him a trainer and all, plus I used to transport horses at the time. I recall that when the horse was arriving I was told he was no longer going to my farm but to another farm. It is a real shame that Vitral died so young because he was a grandiose stallion, a great one. I imported the stallion Polaco, around the year 2000, if I’m not mistaken. Polaco was also a great stallion. His footfall was incredible, it was extremely strong. He was a large and long horse, he had great brio, and was the type of horse that would perform a more collected gait. Unfortunately, that horse came with a reproductive challenge, and I had a rough time working with him in order for him to serve mares. Finally, after about two and a half years, we had about 15 offspring of that stallion. Two of them were extraordinary, there was also a very good colt of his, and a mare that became very well known. I ended up returning him to Colombia, where he still lives today. He is still with the same owner, Ms. Ana Cristina Bravo. After 1997 and 1999, came the year 2000 and I came across a horse named Baluarte de la Vitrina, by chance. If you ask me, I believe that horse was seen as a lost cause until then, but I was able to make a deal for him. The following day, Guillermo Martinez offered me another deal and I agreed to it. That was also the beginning of my equitation school in Miami. After that, I really didn’t manage stallions anymore, I just focused on training. As I mentioned, I had Mr. Reynaldo Diaz, great trainer, and Mr. Julio Betancourt, who I hold in very high regard in his knowledge about horses. I understand he is no longer with us, but Julio, if you’re no longer around and you’re above us, I truly appreciate your teachings because they were amazing lessons. I also attended 2 clinics offered by Mr. Monty Roberts. Monty Roberts is a famous trainer of the rational training method. The truth is I have learned so many things. Honestly, horses used to be mistreated greatly in the past and currently, all that has changed here as well as in Colombia. The handling of a horse is very important, and we see better results, much better results. Ever since I started working with horses, I made a promise to myself: To never work with my heart. I made a living with horses, so I couldn’t go around saying ‘I love this one so much’, no. Business is business. What I would say every time I started growing fonder of a horse was that a buyer would show up, and a buyer would, in fact, show up. That was probably because that horse was very well trained. A well-trained horse is easily sold because it is easily handled. The stallion Baluarte left me many, many, many memories and many triumphs. I enjoyed that period immensely because to see a person riding as you did, being so new in the horse world, and reaching the levels you reached was extraordinary. As a trainer, I opened paths not only with the horse but with the person who was riding him because it showed the work of the trainer and of the instructor. So, in that respect, on a personal level, I think that was the horse that has brought me the most satisfaction. I also grew very fond of the stallion Talisman. He was a great horse, a very nice ride, what a great horse. Polaco was a business deal with his owner, but Polaco was amazing when he worked, his footfall was crazy. Also, he was a horse who could perform Trote, Trocha, and Paso Fino, and he did all three very well.

PPF: It is interesting to me how you say that you enjoyed the process of the work you did. You enjoyed the training of a horse and we, as a family, watched it from the sidelines. Well, it’s been 20 years since I have been an enthusiast because we never had any part in business; we just did it for fun. At first, you used to tell us we just got the fever, but my dad and I used to talk about a passion that had turned into an obsession.
WC: That is correct.
PPF: And to this day, there are very few people who we see that cover all those facets of training, which are to have learned it initially, as everyone had to have done, obviously; exercise and apply it. Many people have spoken of rational training and of having learned techniques from other horse breeds, but I’m referring to passing on that knowledge in the way that you have done. You said earlier you would discuss this later. I, first handedly, learned what it was to flex a horse, train a horse inside its stall, to employ a pulley system with a tree branch to loosen the neck and provide flexibility. I also learned how to do groundwork, train while riding, use a double rein, ride without a bit, ride bareback, I mean, so many different options in order to know how to handle your horse as well as any other horse. That is something that I have been seeking for my daughter and I have realized that it isn’t something that everyone does. I didn’t know that. I thought it was something that was included in the basics of what everyone teaches. At this moment, it seems to me that physical presentation is what has become most popular; what is known as equitation, looking pretty on top of a horse. But, in my opinion, and perhaps because of the teachings I received when I began to ride from scratch when I was 19 years old, it is one thing to ride and another thing to handle a horse, to train a horse. So, my point is, it’s so nice to hear that you enjoyed it and that it was the most important aspect for you, despite having managed such famous and important horses during such a monetary period of reproduction and promotion, which is nothing like that at this time. And nonetheless, what you enjoyed the most back then was to train.

WC: That is correct. In reality, during the early 90s we made a lot of money in the reproductive department and that opened other business doors for horses, of course. But the truth is that the daily activities of the equitation school were fantastic. When you are able to teach and see the results in the people you are teaching, it’s extraordinary. That holds a huge value, a huge one. Unfortunately, many people who teach are doing so because behind the teaching classes come horse sales, and I won’t deny that we have all done it. I used to do it also when I taught. But I do believe we need to provide more than the simple ride on horseback.

PPF: Speaking of which, you have mentioned Julio Betancourt several times as one of your teachers. Is there anyone else that you may owe such useful techniques to? Honestly, my two greatest teachers were Reynaldo Diaz and Julio Betancourt. One time at a horse show, I saw a young rider named Josi Nieves, I believe that was his name, winning. He’s Puerto Rican. I had been watching him for some time because he was improving his horses on a daily basis, and I thought ‘this young man is moving forward’. So, I walked up to him one day and I asked him, ‘Josi, tell how you have been learning. Who have you learned from?’ And he said ‘Listen, Don William, it’s very simple. In Puerto Rico, I learned from the elder Puerto Ricans. When the Colombians came, from the Colombians. Then I came here and learned from the Americans. And I have mixed all of that and developed my own methodology’. And I believe that answer couldn’t be more correct; we all do the same, all of us. As we visit other farms, we observe. For example, I sold many quarter horses and at the places I visited, I saw quarter horses being trained and I would copy some things. Their reining system, to push with the reins is extraordinary, their reining horses. I had a teacher, who I forgot to mention, I hope he is still alive, I haven’t been able to find him; Mr. Henry Landines. That was very, very early in my equine career, when I first arrived in Miami in 1988. He was a military horseman in Colombia and once said to me, ‘you say you know how to ride horses, come ride this horse’, and he had me ride a jumper horse. Well, that day I made a fool of myself, without a doubt. But that man said, ‘if you help me, I’ll help you’. He taught me how to post trot, he taught me how to jump, he taught me how to use my legs. That’s another thing we didn’t use with Paso Fino; we did everything through the mouth. So, I learned many things by that man’s side… many.

PPF: Master, what do you think has been the greatest resource or the most valuable resources for your development within the Paso Fino world?
WC: I was taught to focus, by my family, on business and sales. To me, the best thing I ever did with horses would be sales, without a doubt. In 1994, I think it was, a man from Tennessee named Dan Hall came to the horse show and said ‘William, I am looking for a fino filly’ and I told him ‘I have 45 for you’. He thought I was kidding… so, I invited him that Monday to the farm. I remember I was making barbeque chicken and potato on the grill and the rider was showing all the horses. That day, he purchased 22 horses, plus I sold a mare that I owned, daughter of Castellano. A total of 23 horses were sold that day, on that one day. The deal was extraordinary, obviously. We didn’t sell any more because the owner back then, Mr. Carlos Salas from El Amor Paso Fino, didn’t accept the offer for the remaining 3 horses. There was a black mare daughter of Resorte IV, a son of Carmin… Anyway, I think I made history in that area of horse sales also, because not only did I sell horses, but I also sold in the reproduction, horse semen. And honestly, I had the opportunity to manage the best of the time in the 1990s. The best of that time… the stallions Profeta and Amadeus, to me, were the best of the time.

PPF: Where there any resources that you would have like to have? Was there something at that time that you felt didn’t quite work as well as it could have?
WC: Yes, I believe it was marketing. The marketing conducted by the Paso Fino Horse Association has been completely incorrect. I don’t think they have valued certain aspects that I believe are obvious, but that for some reason are not recognized. I’ll tell you about a big issue at stake. Kimberly King was 19 years old and was winning with that stallion, Profeta. Nobody put that to use in advertising to bring in more youth or more females to this business. I once took a training with one of the largest equine advertising agencies here in the US. They explained that the equine business depends on the decision always being made by the woman, or at least most of the times. We, in Paso Fino, have been mistaken because the decision is being made by the men. And, to top it all off, we have made the business too Hispanic, too much. I would say, we overdid it. So, instead of us doing more like the Americans, we make Americans do more like us. No, in Rome, you do as the Romans. We are functioning backwards. That should not be. We also had another female champion before Kimberly; that was Ms. Robin Ratliff with her horse Flamenco del Moro. Nothing was done with that either. Can you imagine if we had brought more women into this business? We would have more horse sales, it’s logical; more sales of everything. Women want the horse, want the farm, want the car, and want the riders too. Thus, in that aspect, I believe we have made a huge mistake with our horses. And I’m going to add something else that isn’t about the US, but does have to do with the US, in fact. We are currently making a big mistake with the promotion of the horse. I constantly see horses on the internet, be it Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or Youtube even more, very good horses that are being promoted. But there are two things I see that I don’t like. One; the horse with its tail all wrapped up. Two; riders not wearing a hat. One of the things I was taught in ASDESILLA was to always wear a hat when riding a horse. I recall the late Jaime Mejia saying, ‘don’t go riding without a hat, bring him a hat.’ I will never forget that… and I think it was with your horse, Baluarte. We have lost certain things with our horses. Who wants to buy a horse with its tail wrapped up in a rag? No matter how good the horse it is, those of us who know about Paso Fino horses know we need to look at their gait; but people who are just learning, those who we want as clients in this business, don’t understand what is happening. They just see a wrapped tail and that’s it. What is that? You know? So, we see a young man, the rider, riding a very good horse, with its tail wrapped, and the rider wearing a baseball cap. It’s the baseball cap that everyone is using. The traditional hat has been lost. So, I see we have those 2 issues there; they are 2 details that should be corrected, in my opinion. We have to focus the business more on females, we have to be more pleasing to the Americans, and simply present our horses, on the big screen that is television, in the correct manner. They should have a beautifully groomed tail and a well-presented rider.

PPF: That was something that you always emphasized with my sister and me: to always wear a hat, to hold our hair back because the horse’s movements could be mistaken with the movement of a woman’s hair, and for us to be well-presented – nice makeup, nice uniform, clean boots – it’s one combination, one complete image.

WC: It’s a package deal. We agree on that; it’s all one package.

PPF: If you had the opportunity to be a pioneer of Paso Fino any place in the world, how would you introduce the Paso Fino horse?
WC: I dealt with a lot of that when I arrived here. Exhibitions. Mrs. Barbara Price held many exhibitions, that’s why she sold her horses. She didn’t show a lot, but she did sell her horses. And she had her own bloodlines, the Coral La Ce bloodlines. We have to offer more exhibitions anywhere we can. I participated in exhibitions at Florida International University; we held many there. We also participated several times, I believe you participated in those too, in Coral Gables.

PPF: Yes, at the parades.
WC: That gets television coverage as well. We have to show our horses more, but we have to show them properly.

PPF: Which do you consider have been your greatest accomplishments?
WC: As a promoter of the breed, without a doubt for me, my greatest accomplishment has been to get the stallion Amadeus to be brought to this country. And I did it. I did it. There are horses that give you a sensation, a very memorable experience when you ride them. I’ll tell you about another horse that left me a great memory during a mere 3 or 4 minute ride, but I still remember it here under me.

PPF: Memory.
WC: The stallion, Clasico. With Clasico, I was very good friends with Ramon Pareces, from Puerto Rico, and I had sold him many horses already. One day he called and said ‘William, what can you find out about Clasico?’ So, I got information and we headed to California to buy Clasico. I had to ride him there. And you know we all know about California and how they have earthquakes and all that, so I had that on my mind because it was my first time visiting California. I remember that I mounted that horse, and he had an incredible footfall. Basically, that horse didn’t move forward, he practically gaited in one place. He was what we call collected. I would look to the sides to see if something was going on and I couldn’t believe what I was feeling, my goodness. Obviously, I enjoyed the moment.

PPF: What was your greatest motivation when you worked with horses? What did you feel gave you the energy to continue working each day?
WC: Listen, when you ride a horse and start to experience its progress, you get an extraordinary feeling of satisfaction. But as I have said, I worked with many aspects of the business. I think the only thing I haven’t done has been to work as a farrier. And currently, I shoe my own horses at my farm in Colombia. But I did photography, video production, trained horses, promoted horses, sold breeding, sold horses, of course, and I sold many. My best horse sale was without a doubt the 23 horses. But before that, I conducted a very nice sale: 6 mares in foal to extraordinary stallions. Those stallions were Carmin and Piloto. Once, I was asked to sell everything at a farm where the owners had bred to Piloto and Carmin. They had mares there as well. There were 6 fillies ages 6-8 months, approximately. I offered them to a lady in Kansas City, Missouri. She was a very nice lady; her name was Paula Wolf. What a wonderful person, she was excellent. The point is I sold 6 mares, in foal to Piloto and Carmin, by phone. Two national champion horses were born from those mares I sold her. They were 2 Carmin offspring that she had. They were very good.

PPF: If you had to choose only 1 method of training that you would teach, which would it be?
WC: Oh, I stick to my ways. You have to start from scratch. That means from the ground. You take the person and first of all, show them what the horse is and that the horse communicates one way and that you communicate in another with the horse; in order to reach a meeting point. To me, that is all a part of rational training, of course. But to me that is basic, the meeting point with the horse.

PPF: Alright, we have discussed promotion and the growth of Paso Fino in the United States during the time you were working in the business, which was in the 1990s and the beginning of the 2000s. What do you believe was most important at that time and as an outsider, since you are not currently part of the Paso Fino business, what is your opinion regarding the business in Colombia, where you currently reside, as well as here?
WC: The most important aspect in recent years has been the improvement in training systems in the US, Puerto Rico, and Colombia alike. I don’t know how it is in the Dominican Republic, so I can’t speak for that country, but I can tell you one thing. Many years ago, Mr. Jochi Rodriguez visited Colombia and he contributed so much. He held extraordinary clinics in Colombia. We now see extraordinary change in our horses. We no longer see any abuse, whether inside the showring or outside. That, in itself, is an improvement for everybody, in my opinion. That, for me, has been the best part. At the same time, I have to criticize something related. We have improved the training, but we haven’t improved much in the pay to the trainers. Unfortunately, in Miami, the pay is about the same as it was 20 years ago, I would say. That is ridiculous. How do people expect for horses to improve that way? I have a formula for the horse world. That is: good horse – good rider – good boss/owner. If you don’t have all three, you won’t have a champion horse. A good owner, in my opinion, is the one who pays well and takes care of his rider.

PPF: In your opinion, once again as no longer earning a living from this business, what is your concept regarding bloodlines, breeders, and riders at this time in the United States?
WC: What I have been able to see through videos or television, I see a young man – Jonathan. I don’t know who Jonathan is, but he is doing very well. I have heard he used to work with Jimmy Espino. Jimmy Espino, to me, is a great gentleman and a great rider, one of the best. I greet him if I see him, but I haven’t had a personal relationship with him. But, to me, his is a great gentleman and a great rider. So, them two for me are like the leaders in the riding aspect right now. This young rider, Alfredo Marquez, who is with Jaime Brody, has improved greatly. I saw him when he first began his career; falling, getting hurt, and getting back on the horse. He is a hard worker, that young man. I now see him married, with children, and all that… that makes me happy. I don’t know what happened with a young man that was with me for some time. That was Benito Jimenez. I know a Mexican young man that worked with me as well, the famous Piri [Garay], is riding in Miami. Last time, I saw him driving an F350 and that made me very happy.

PPF: A few years ago, he was trainer of the year for Florida PFHA.
WC: That’s amazing. It makes me happy to see that those who have been around me succeeding in what they do. It makes me extremely happy. I know that the focus of the business is almost 100% in Ocala. We have lost the biggest American breeding farms, unfortunately, because we need to have more Americans involved in the business. We have to go back to promoting and doing the right marketing. I have been analyzing which horses are winning in the United States national competitions, especially in the most prominent class which is the Classic Fino stallions division. And I have seen that the majority of the champion horses come from one particular breeder… Besilu. Mr. Benjamin Leon. I remember, I think it was in 1988 in Memphis, Tennessee, when Monarca de Besilu was titled grand champion. Monarca bred several high quality broodmares; very good. There was a good horse around named Cañonero, he had a good run too, Cañonero de Besilu. To me, Mr. Benjamin is a big name in Paso Fino, without a doubt. He got started with the stallion Monarca; continued with Profeta, a son of Profetiza, bred by him, of course; then he had Simbolo de Besilu, who was a national and world champion as well; and currently, he has Vivaldi, which is off the charts. I believe he holds 4 grand champion titles. I don’t know, and if I am mistaken, please correct me, but I don’t know of any breeder in the United States that has earned so many grand champion titles in the Classic Fino stallions championship. I do not know of any other. In my opinion, he deserves great recognition as a breeder, yes indeed.

PPF: In respect to diagonals, you know very well that for a long time, they have been trying to gain more acceptance. It’s been stop and go, then go and be stopped, then stop and go again… What is your opinion of diagonally gaited Paso horses?
WC: You already have experience with Trocha. What is it with Paso horses, with Colombian Paso horses? We refer to Trote, Trocha, Trocha and Galope, and Paso Fino all as Paso horses. Once you ride a good Trocha horse, you fall in love with the Trocha. That is pretty much like that horse fever when you first enter the horse world and you are locked in, as if you were stung by a bug and contracted a fever. Riding a good Trote horse is spectacular as well. I have had the pleasure and the enjoyment of riding all three; Paso Fino, Trote, and Trocha. If you analyze statistics of the market in the United States, you’ll see how crazy it is. It consists of billions of dollars in sales of horse products and horses, billions of dollars. So, why don’t we have a bigger chunk of that market for ourselves? We have lost so much. We were on the right track and have lost so much. We need to bring more, let’s say, baseball players like we did at one time. Just like movie actors, as we did once in California. Trocha, Trote, and Paso Fino go together. I conducted a marketing survey in 1995. Basically, many of those clients we had in 1995 said they had been introduced to Paso horses by someone in their neighborhood and that they had sought a smoother horse because they could no longer ride a jumper or a quarter horse, for example, because of a fall or some kind of accident, so they needed something smoother. People need that sensation of riding a horse. But you have to define the client. The client must be 40 years of age or older because by then they are more likely to have the economic capacity to buy a horse. So, I can tell you that there is a very wide market for the Trocha, Paso Fino, and Trote horse alike.

William’s Five MOST…

• Who was the MOST influential person in your career in Paso Fino? – As a horseman… I would have to say that those people who gave me the chance to ride their horses on the weekends at their farm in High Springs, Florida were the most influential for me. They were the ones who opened the doors of Paso Fino in the US to me. They were Len and Donna Spieler. 

• What is the MOST important aspect of your work? – For me, it was having brought Amadeus to the US.

• What do you like MOST about a horse? – Riding a good Paso Fino horse is like riding a good… Mercedes Benz, without a doubt.

• What would you like people to know or remember the MOST about you? – You know, I believe that in the horse world when we are in the prime and limelight of our career, everyone loves and remembers us. When we stop frequenting horse shows, with time, people stop remembering you. ‘Barbeques without you aren’t the same.’

1. What quotes from the horse world do you say or like the MOST? – Honestly, I don’t really have a lot of sayings for the horse world. “On a long journey, you have time for revenge.” I always say that… and it has a lot to do with life, a lot. If you work hard, you get ahead.

PPF: William, thank you very much for your time and for sharing a bit more about your life with us.
WC: I thank you very much and all the followers of Perfiles del Paso Fino. It’s a pleasure to be with you. I hope to see you all at a future horse show in the United States.
PPF: Thank you.