A beautiful horse of proud Spanish heritage. The ancestors of today's Paso Fino were transported in 1943 to the New World on Christopher Columbus' second voyage to the New World. He brought with him a mixture of Barbs (a hardy breed from North Africa), Spanish Jennets (a gaited horse now distinct) and beautiful Andalusians from the Spanish provinces of Andalusia and Cordela and settled them at Santa Domingo (now the Dominican Republic).
Bred for their stamina, smooth gait and beauty, their offspring became the foundation stock for remount stations of the Conquistadors. Over time, because of of its smooth "no-bounce" ride, the breed became known as the "Los Caballos de Paso Fino" which means "the horse with the fine step". This name was later shortened to Paso Fino...simply meaning "fine step". The Paso Fino continued to flourish being found primarily in Puerto Rico, Colombia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Aruba and Venezuela.
Awareness of the Paso Fino, as we know it today, didn’t spread outside Latin America until after WWII when American servicemen came into contact with the stunning Paso Fino horse while stationed in Puerto Rico. In the mid-1940's, the importation of the Puerto Rican Paso Fino into America began. It wasn't until two decades later that the Columbian Paso Fino was imported.
Ever since that time, contention has existed between some purists as to which country produced the "truest" Paso Fino because of the slight differences between the two strains. However, a mix of strains, sometimes called the American Paso Fino even though there is no registry for such, also exists and is a reflection of our nation as a "melting pot". The mix, or the American Paso Fino if you'd rather, is often a wonderful blend of the best Puerto Rican and Columbian bloodlines.
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