The Paso Fino Horse and its Cultural Differences in the United States by Carlos Tobon

This article, with photos, first appeared in Conquistador Magazine and then was reprinted in the Paso Fino Horse World Magazine.

The Paso Fino Horse is a breed whose development began over 500 years ago from horses brought on the trips made by Christopher Columbus to the Americas. The horses are descendants of the Andalusian, the Spanish barb and the Jennet horse.  In the countries of origin (Colombia and Puerto Rico, and  then expanding to other Latin American countries, primarily Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Aruba, and Venezuela) the Paso Fino horse has been used for means of transportation and work.  The breed has developed different characteristics through the evolution of the show horse.  There are a large number of serious breeders who make it their passion to continue to improve upon the natural ability the Paso Fino Horse is born with. 

Each of the countries of origin for the Paso Fino Horse has associations that oversee registrations and also manage the different shows in each of the countries. In Colombia, for example, there are over 150,000 Paso horses DNA tested and registered.  There is also a multi-national entity called CONFEPASO (Confederation of Paso Horses) and all countries that promote and register the Paso Fino Horse are members. CONFEPASO shows are sponsored in each of the member countries and horses from any member country are eligible to participate. A CONFEPASO World Cup is held every two years in the month of November and the countries of Colombia, Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the United States rotate in hosting this prestigious event.  The United States will be hosting the 2007 World Cup in Florida. In addition to regular shows, CONFEPASO also promotes youth equitation shows focusing entirely on youth riders. This year, the United States will be host to the CONFEPASO Youth Mundial Equitation Show to be held in Kissimmee FL July 3^rd – 9^th.  In the countries or origin, the Paso Fino Horse show is a tremendous spectator sport.  In Colombia, for example, the average number of horses that participate at a show is 280. There are usually about 3000 spectators in attendance at each show.

In the 20^th century the Paso Fino Horse arrived into the United States.  The original horses came from Puerto Rico, brought by a number of individuals who were in the military service in the 1940’s and learned about the Paso Fino on the island.  The Colombian Paso Fino horse made its way as well in the early 1960’s with a well known presentation at the Dallas stock show in 1963 by a group of renowned breeders from Colombia. A number of breeding programs were established in the United States by mixing the bloodlines of Puerto Rican and Colombian horses.  In the United States, the Paso Fino Horse Association (PFHA) is the governing body for Paso Fino registrations, shows and events.  The PFHA sponsors shows through its geographic Regions throughout the United States, in addition to an annual National show.  In order for a horse to compete in a PFHA-sanctioned show, the horse, the owner and the rider must be members of the Paso Fino Horse Association.  The current Paso Fino Horse Association was established in 1972.  Since its existence the Paso Fino horse has grown in large numbers becoming more popular with the American public. There have a been a great deal of breeding programs established that have imported and bred some of the top quality Paso Fino show horses, and also a large number of recreational/ pleasure Paso Fino horses.

It is here where I want to share with you what I mean by the “cultural differences” within the Paso Fino breed in the United States.  As the Paso Fino horse came to the United States, many breeders and trainers from the countries of origin have also come to America to share their bloodlines and knowledge and to promote the horse to the American public.  These breeders and trainers bring their ideas of what the Paso Fino Horse is and should be, based on their cultural experience of the horse.  However, the American public has its own ideas of how to enjoy the horse and in many cases; these two sets of ideas create differences of opinion.

 The Paso Fino Show Horse is a sport in the countries of origin, like baseball is in the United States and the breed is as popular and plentiful as the Quarter Horse is across America.  The horse that does not qualify for the show ring is utilized as a work horse or a fun horse for the owners to ride in trail rides, parades or Cabalgatas (weekend rides around national festivities).  There are a lot of Paso Fino horses that are bred who do not have registration papers who are the common horse of the average individual.  These unregistered horses are also used mainly for work and transportation in some remote areas. The Breeders of Paso Fino Show horses have well established breeding programs that go back generations in some cases.  Their sole goal and dream is to breed better horses and/or the next champion to improve upon what is in competition at that time. Colombia has an edge over other countries where the Paso Fino is bred, because they have greater numbers of top quality broodmares with more varied bloodlines. As you know, breeding champions is a game of luck, timing and team work between breeders, trainers and owners.  In the Latin American countries, the Paso Fino show horse is judged and evaluated to find the best athlete that performs the Paso Fino gait to its highest level of smoothness along with the pride, elegance, brilliance and brio (spirit) that the Paso Fino horse is known for.  A very detailed criterion is emphasized in the rules that make it a great challenge for trainers and exhibitors to come out on top. The pride and prestige felt by all of the members involved in reaching this goal is what makes the sport so exciting.  The pride of ownership is in seeing the horse competed successfully and not necessarily in showing it one’s self.  This is the first and perhaps the greatest cultural difference: in the countries of origin, there are no Amateur Owner classes at the shows:  the owner does not ride his own horse.  Puerto Rico is starting to include Amateur Owner classes in some of their shows.

 The Paso Fino Horse Association (PFHA) was established to fulfill the needs of those enjoying the breed in the United States.  The American public wants to have a horse that can compete in the show ring in Open and Amateur Owner classes that can also be enjoyed, in many cases, as a recreational horse.  PFHA separated the normal Paso Fino show division as seen in the countries of origin to three different divisions in which the horse can be competed in Open and Amateur Owner classes.  These divisions are differentiated by the style and collection of the Paso Fino gait.  They are: Classic Fino, Paso Performance and Paso Pleasure. In both Open and Amateur divisions, the classes are divided into schooling and adult classes based on the age and sex of the horse.  A fourth division, known as the Specialty Division, was created to showcase the versatility of the breed and includes Trail, Versatility, Western Pleasure, Paso Driving, Costume and Country Pleasure. As in the countries of origin, PFHA offers equitation classes for the youth as well as youth classes within the divisions of Classic Fino, Paso Performance and Paso Pleasure.  PFHA also offers halter classes for young and adult horses called Bellas Formas which translates to “Beautiful Form.”  At the PFHA National show in Perry, GA, which takes place each year in the month of September; there are around 900 to 1000 horses in attendance with over 1300 entries, balanced between open, Amateur and Youth classes.  It is an exciting time to watch and enjoy the best of the best the Paso Fino show horse has to offer and Owners enjoy the thrill of competition as much as the professionals do.

There are over 47000 registered Paso Fino horses in the United States. PFHA has over 8400 current members. Members who strictly participate in the Paso Fino Show aspect of the breed only make up about 20% of the membership. There are about 80 horses at each Regional show on average. In spite of this, the show horse contributes the largest percentage of revenue to the National Association. The majority of the membership is pleasure and recreational riders and some of them participate in the Regional shows as well. Many of these recreational members are involved in competitive trail, drill team groups, and parade groups.  PFHA is made up of 24 regions around the country.  These are divided in geographical areas. Each region has a board of directors, and its own committees to promote the Paso Fino horse in their area.  Each region has a delegate that represents the membership at the PFHA Board meetings. 

 Most PFHA members in the United States own a single horse or a small number of horses.  Many are used for recreation and/or competitive trail riding.  This last aspect is one where the Paso Fino horse has become very popular plus very successful at the same time.  Their gait and stamina makes them a great choice.  There are also breeders who specialize themselves in breeding recreational-specific horses.  Most of these horses are used in the pleasure market but there are more and more used in competition especially in the pleasure division and the specialty classes.  The use of the Paso Fino horse across the country works like a pyramid.  As more pleasure riders come into the breed, some will get the “show bug” and become more involved in the show aspect of the breed.  As breeding continues to improve the show horse; however, it has become more difficult for an owner to have the trail/recreational horse they keep at home, be competitive in the show ring at the National level.  If you want to enjoy both recreational and show aspects of the breed, you may have to buy two different types of Paso Fino horses, especially if your competitive hunger is for a national or international champion.  Herein lies the second major cultural difference:  in the countries of origin, the Paso breed associations do not attract members who use the horses for pleasure and recreation and in the United States, 80% of the PFHA membership is made up of this type of rider.

 The last major cultural difference that I am going to address is the method(s) of training.  The countries of origin focus on the traditional way of training a Paso Fino Horse from start to finish.  The typical Jaquimas (rawhide headgear) and a variety of Colombian bits of different size and shapes are commonly used.  It is a centuries-old training system that has evolved along with the horse.  However, in the United States the influence of other training disciplines like dressage, natural horsemanship, clicker training and others are now part of the American way to handle the Paso Fino Horse. Most show horses are trained in the same traditional way as it has been for over 500 years, especially those trained by trainers whose heritage is in the countries of origin.  These trainers do bring in aspects from other disciplines to enhance their system and help in specific situations.  In the recreational and pleasure market of the Paso Fino Horse there are more and more people working with other disciplines like dressage and natural horsemanship.  This is very appealing to PFHA members since there are lots of trainers nationwide that support these training systems and many Americans who come to the Paso Fino from another breed are already familiar with many of these systems.  There are a couple of well known Paso Fino trainers that also specialize in the natural horsemanship concept as well.   

The Paso Fino horse attracts all kinds of people from all different walks of life.  Some people just want to realize the dream of owning a horse that is fun and easy to ride; others choose the Paso Fino to get away from the diagonal ride of the trot and others have generations of Paso Fino Show horses in their blood from their ancestors in the countries of origin. So my wishes for you and for all of those people who have a Paso Fino horse is to remember that the Paso Fino Horse comes with a set of cultural traditions to the United States:  a country made up of many different cultural views.  So as long as we respect those who choose to enjoy the Paso Fino horse in a different way than we do; the breed will grow and more people can realize how awesome it is to enjoy “the smoothest riding horse”:  the Paso Fino Horse.