In Beauty's Presence

"I have seen The David.
I've seen the Mona Lisa too.
And I have seen Doc Watson play the Columbus Stockade Blues."
                                                                                     Guy Clarke, "Dublin Blues"

In one of the most significant events to occur since we began our program, El Rosio, Joty Baca's favorite stallion joined out herd last night. For decades the Baca family worked to preserve a spectacular strain of Colonial Spanish horse known as the Baca strain. Baca horses combine smooth gaits and stunning beauty with a gentle spirit and ease of training.

Mr. Baca died recently, but not before receiving the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Horse of the Americas Registry and a resolution of commemoration from the Corolla Wild Horse Fund. At his death only a handful of these extraordinary horses existed.

Stephanie Lockhart, Director of the Center for America's First Horse in Vermont assisted the family in seeking homes for these horses with the hope of keeping the Baca conservation effort going.

We are proud to be the new home of El Rosio. He will be available for breeding to the Baca mares on the east coast and will also be available for breeding at no charge to any HOA registered mare.

We will not use his offspring as part of the Corolla off site breeding program. Though the Corollas and Bacas are different strains of the same breed, Colonial Spanish horse, they differ in type so much that his use in the program would likely produce horses too tall and of a lighter, keener build than the Corollas.

Our effort to preserve the Corollas will not slow down. We have the honor of being able to work to further Joty Baca's dream and we will do that with the same commitment that we have for the Corollas.

I was honored to have this opportunity to help the horses, but I was even more honored to have the opportunity to assist a man whose life's work I greatly admired.  Perhaps someone will do the same for me and my horses after I am gone.

An old Pentecostal hymn captures the spirit of carrying on that I hope to see imbued in all mustang preservation programs.

"Will we be missed when others replace us,
working in the fields that in springtime we have sown?
No, for we sowers shall pass from our labors
Only remembered for what we have done."


We have to be in this for the long haul. I intend to work to preserve these horse until I die, and I want to leave a foundation for others to build on after that.

That is what I expected to see hop out of the  trailer last night, simply a physical manifestation of Joty Baca's work. But I saw much more.

I can love an ugly horse just as easily a a beautiful one. Looks never dazzled me.

Until last night. He looks like a horse from Greek mythology. His beauty goes beyond what I have ever seen in a horse. He is elegant. He is regal. He is more than I have ever seen in a horse.

I have never been in the presence of such beauty.

And keep in mind, like Guy Clarke, I have seen Doc Watson play the "Columbus Stockade Blues."