My Association with the Arabian horse began in Santa Ynez Valley in 1968, and my
devotion to them has stayed constant during good and bad times just as with all of us involved with these magical horses.

Living here as relating to Arabian Horses was an eye opener from the beginning. Gainey Ranch was especially influential. Ferzon, Gai Parada, Gai Warsaw and so many others of fixed type taught me the value of a fixed program; creating one's ideal Arabian and sticking to it and not being all over the map. Now, a lifetime later, I still employ those early lessons, staying true to owning and breeding the type ideal for my own eye, avoiding fads always.

My first quality stallion was Boreau, a son of *Naborr, bred by Mrs. McCormick. It took me six years of pursuit, and a loan from my then wife, to finally get Boreau and he remains in my mind a constant reminder of how strong one's love for a horse can be, even after all these years. Boreau taught me the value of quality right off.

Later, other great stallions came to me and made their contributions. *Sasaki, *Vallehermoso, *Almansor, Bariata and Mar de Plata were all here. The current stallions here at La Plata are reflective of the quality of the originals and those that have gone on remain with me in spirit.

Mares are a favorite passion of mine and they and their get have been highly sought after. I breed lightly, the pleasure of just having the mares has always been reward enough. The stallions and mares that I have once owned, bred or sold and their foals have taken their place in other's herds and are still making contributions in almost every Spanish breeding program in the United States. Many of my fillies have gone on to become valued broodmares in their own right and are now proving other breeder's stallions. Farms, including many famous ones, are using sons and daughters of sires and dams once owned by La Plata, and my exports to Europe are ongoing as well. Others are now benefiting from my efforts, ups and downs, highs and lows and now recognize what I saw originally in herds of their own. That should be every breeder's goal, to see their work go on.

For the future....I will be using my two National Champion Stallions from New Zealand and Cacique de Plata with a fabulous collection of *Ecaho daughters as well as the remaining pure Spanish mares. While we must applaud the endeavors of preservationist breeders, I now plan to outcross my Spanish lines more while retaining some pure in strain as replacements. The program here will always have a Spanish influence to be sure, but I find that new bloodlines are necessary to be viable and to avoid genetic defects that could occur without outcrosses. It just makes sense as the Spaniards themselves are doing it as well. Therefore, the new direction is occurring but the end result will always be Arabian Horses as beautiful as any in all the world!!!

Please look through the pages of the site and perhaps you have a relative of one of the horses that have blessed my life.

La Plata stays out of the limelight, quietly breeding, owning and selling fine Arabian horses and enjoying them for what they were meant to be. Beloved friends and companions, are the ideal here at La Plata.