Matchcoor will be a yearling this summer. For years now our efforts to prevent the extinction of the Banker strain of Colonial Spanish horses, left in the wild only at Corolla and Shackleford, have centered on developing off site breeding programs to carry on the fight. We will still continue to do so but we will be changing our emphasis from providing breeding stock to new off site breeding programs to raising and training first rate horses that will then be sold as young adults with the hope that they will be bred by their purchasers.
That will mean some major changes in how we do things. We will continue to offer foals for sale under the same terms as we always have to encourage off site breeding. However, our focus will shift to raising fewer foals and keeping them until they are dead broke. This is not my preference. Doing so will make it necessary for us to charge much more for a horse than I want to do. I hope that those who purchase one of these horses will instantly see how well they perform compared to modern horses that they will want to breed them on their own.
As he matures I will turn Matchcoor into a super-horse. Of course, he will remain a stallion. Gelding one of these nearly extinct horses is nothing more than vandalism and theft from future generations of horse owners who will never get to even lay eyes on these historic horses.
Producing several first rate adult horses each year will require our program to continue to develop first rate young horse trainers who practice first rate natural horsemanship.
Take a look at this picture of Audrey and Matchcoor. I bet I will be a able to find some first rate young trainers who will work hard to preserve these horses.
Bet I won't even have to look all that hard before one turns up.
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