PERRY, Georgia - The Mangalarga Marchador horses pretty much wowed everybody at Equitana, the largest equine exposition in the country, in Louisville, Kentucky, and are now on their way to the Southern National Expo in Perry, Georgia.
PERRY, Georgia â The Mangalarga Marchador horses pretty much wowed everybody at Equitana, the largest equine exposition in the country, in Louisville, Kentucky, and are now on their way to the Southern National Expo in Perry, Georgia.
The horses have an amazing history and represent a milestone of sorts since they are just now being introduced in the United States.
In 1751, King D. Joao V founded the Alter Royal Breeding farm in Portugal, dedicated to improving the national horse breeds, crossing Andalusian horses with Barbs and some selected Germanic horses. The breed gained notoriety during the remained of the 18th century and in 1808, when the Napoleonic armies threatened Portugal, King D. Joao VI transferred his court and selected stallions to Brazil. These royal stallions were bred with imported Barb mares to produce a horse known for its rhythmic and smooth gait, gentle character, amazing stamina and the characteristic regal bearing.
These were the original Mangalarga Marchadores.
Octavio Orta fell in love with the breed while working in Brazil in the 1970s for a United States corporation. An Olympic equestrian in his native Cuba, he was fascinated by the Marchadores. But he blames Manolito, his Paso Fina horse, for his current involvement. During the transaction to buy Manolito from Ohio breeder Marsha Sielbeck, she said she could sell a lot more horses if they were larger and calmer. Orta told her about the horses fitting her description in Brazil. A partnership was formed and the Mangalarga Marchador Horse Association of American (MMHAA) was born.
Recently retired from the corporate world, Orta was eager to be involved. Combining his Hispanic heritage, knowledge of the breed and international business experience with Sielbeckâs equine expertise, the partners formed the Regal Legacy Horse Farm for the purpose of importing Marchadores for sale in the United States.
The breed features all colors, including paints, and because of its calm temperament, the horses are easily trained in many disciplines such as polo, hunter/jumper, dressage and trail riding. The marcha gait mimics a marching rhythm with each foot moving independently, providing the unusual three-hoof support which prevents the vertical lift and drop characteristic of a trotting horse.
The Marchadorâs stamina is legendary and documented in the Guinness Book of World Records. Three 60-year-old Brazilian men traveled nearly 9,000 miles on their Marchadores, riding in the daytime and resting at night, for more than a year in altitudes ranging from sea level to 15,000 feet (and in temperatures that ranged from zero to 115 degrees Fahrenheit) and this feat set a record for longest endurance ride on horseback.
The MMHAA serves as the exclusive registry for the breed in the USA, in support of the rules and standards of the Associacao Brasileira dos Criadores do Cavalo Mangalarga Marchador, the Brazilian organization founded to preserve, regulate and register the unique bloodlines of the horses.
According to the MMHAA, it is the only breed association to insist on the humane treatment in the training and showing of horses by its members.