Welcome to Paso Finos de Marca.  We are located in Northeastern British Columbia just outside of Fort St.  John, Canada.

Paca paca, paca paca.  Gaited rhythm that is a sweet anthem to my ears once again.  As a teenager I was given a gaited filly named Sugarfoot.  This graceful mare forever planted a love for gaited horses in my heart as we traversed hill and dale with the smoothness of silk.  Sadly, I lost her at the early age of twelve.  Many other special horses have trotted their way through my life since ten but I never forgot the happy feeling riding my gaited mare left me with.

Another mind set of Sugarfoot left me with is that gaited horses can do anything.  Growing up on a ranch with this pleasurable horse to ride, I worked cows with her, forded rivers, gymkhanaed, and, of course, rode with all manner of other horses, never thinking twice about it.  This gentle but spirited mare fit whatever task was asked of her and adapted to whatever speed other horses were traveling, while still giving me that oh, so enjoyable gaited ride.

Is it any wonder, then, that when the opportunity presented itself to get to know some Paso Finos, I fell head over heals in love with the breed.  With them, I once again found the silken ride combined with intelligence, character, and beauty.  Riding a demo horse called Monte Frio, brought back pleasant memories.  The ease of controlling a Paso Fino while they still showed fire is the famous and compelling "brio" I was told about.  Addicting to say the least!

Shortly after this initiation, I acquired Monte Frio, older but with lots of the go left in him.  What they say about Paso Finos is "one is never enough", so it wasn't long before I purchased La Monte de Marca, daughter to Monte Frio and Cordelia de Gracia.  You see I needed a young horse to be training for when Monte Frio retired.  It made no difference that she was related to Monte, as I had no plans yet of raising foals.

Almost immediately, though, the Paso Fino breeders I had been dealing with liquidated and offered me first choice of their mares.  How could I refuse?  They had put exceptional research and effort into their blood lines, importing their mares from the U.S.  So Bridgette Imperial in foal to Caribe de Amadeus HP(son of Amadeus de Resorte Cuarto) came to live with us.  Sweet Bridgette, granddaughter to the great Coral LaCE?!   I chose her wonderful nature and have never regretted it through all the foals that she has given me.

Once this well bred herd was dispersed they would likely be gone from our northern climate so I just had to purchase a weanling that caught my eye and stole my heart.  I christened him Montar de Marca, which simply means "ride from the mark".  This was to be my future herd sire.  With Caribe de Amadeus HP as his sire and Cordelia de Gracia as his dam, I couldn't go wrong with his blood lines.  Even though Papa and Mama are both black, Montar threw back to the chestnut of the Resorte IV line with the added bonus of flaxen mane and tail that gleam in the sunlight.  Montar has size, solid bone, conformation, excellent nature and gliding gaits.  Training him at the age of four was a pleasure.  Easy to work with, we were soon trail riding, crossing paths with bears, deer, and moose with ease and even riding alongside geldings and mares with no problems.  The highlight of our summer was an endurance ride in the sand dunes outside of Grande Prairie, Alberta, where Montar came in the ribbons even though we had just planned it for a pleasure training ride.

Montar de Marca now has eight foals on the ground with more expected.  He is indeed my dream horse!

The pleasure I gain from riding, raising, and training these marvelous horses keeps a glint in my eye.  Even to just watch them from my kitchen and living room windows is a therapy in itself.  I believe I am hooked for life!

Montar de Marca is a pure Columbian Stallion off of Caribe de Amadeus HP and out of Cordelia de Gracia.  I started him under saddle at the age of four, having done ground work off and on for the past couple of years.  What a delight!  First ride out of the corral, Montar immediately showed me he could transition smoothly between all his gaits without blinking an eye.  We had deer, moose, and even a bear cross our path and he handled them just like a pro.  Fourth ride out was in the company of both geldings and mares without a hitch.  About the seventh time out, I took him to an endurance ride in the sandy dunes along the Wapiti River called the Dunes Day Challenge.  I just planned to make it a fun training ride but he came in in the ribbons as a bonus.  The next day we traversed te second loop of the 15 miles just for fun.  And fun it was sailing through such beautiful country on the back of my

fantasy stallion alternating between a pleasant quarto gait and a breathtaking largo.  He was just as fresh and full of joy at the finish as he was at the start.

Montar de Marca has proven to be a strong breeder with six foals on the ground and some expected in 2006. 

Two of his foals have his gorgeous coloring.

I am most pleased with this aspiring young stallion!