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California Riding Magazine • May, 2010 Horse Of The Month: Tuno PM by Kim F. Miller |
Noted Spanish horse breeder Suzanne Punch-Randall was thrilled a few years back when the breed registry in Spain decided to allow “horses of color” into its books. Prior to that, only greys, bays and black horses were admitted, but now Randall’s favorite color, buckskin, was welcome, along with cremellos, purlinos and palominos. Randall is an unabashed fan of buckskins, or “bayas,” as the Spanish say, and it finally made sense to own one in her breeding program. She headed to Spain last November on a mission. There were plenty of prospects in the right hue. Under the direction of the Cria Caballar, the acceptance of new colors was many years in the making and savvy breeders began broadening their palettes well before it became a reality. “I just can’t substitute color for quality,” says Randall, who saw literally hundreds of buckskin horses, but none who met her standards in conformation, gaits and temperament. That was until she came upon the now 4-year-old Tuno PM at Paco Marti’s stable. He was not for sale, but the proud breeder could not help but show Tuno off
“When it comes to breed standards, there are no perfect individuals,” Randall acknowledges. “But this guy comes pretty close. He has it all: size, the shape of his head and eyes and the way his withers and neck connect to his back. His quality is exceptional; the color is just icing.” Tuno is already 16 hh, tall for the breed in general and a buckskin in particular, and she thinks he’s still growing. Randall talked the breeder out of his horse. Part of her pitch was the impact Tuno could have on Pura Raza Española lines in North America, an appealing argument for a man “who worked very hard to have these other colors recognized.” The fruits of his labor will now be evident in North America through Tuno. It helped that Marti owned Tuno’s sire, Carmello II, and dam Tundaca, and that, as a 3-year-old, Tuno had already bred 14 mares in Spain. Tuno just recently arrived at Dorado Andaluz, the Randalls’ breeding and training facility in the Sierra foothills area of El Dorado County. The trip began with six weeks in pre-quarantine in Madrid, then he spent a few days in Amsterdam, flew to Los Angeles, for another three days, then on to UC Davis for four weeks that include the CEF and EVA testing required of breeding stallions. “All that time, he’s changing food, handlers, languages, and it does take a little while for any horse to relax and settle down once he arrives,” Randall explains. As is typical, he dropped a bit of weight, but has now regained that and is getting nicely acclimated to his new life.
“He’s a baby,” says Randall of Tuno’s temperament. “He’s very, very sweet. A little tentative still, which is normal for horses just after they’ve been imported.” He loves to be groomed and praised and is getting a lot of both as Randall begins his basic education. Training wise, he arrived with a clean slate and Randall is putting on his first layer of learning by teaching him to move away from pressure. Dorado Andaluz has a strong track record in the dressage arena, and Randall is targeting him for that discipline. Success in breed shows is part of that process and she expects he’ll be ready to make his debut there by August or September, though there’s no rush. Morphology classes on the Spanish breed show circuit are judged 75 percent on conformation, shown on the line as in a halter class, and, for stallions, 25 percent under saddle. The riding test includes most of the basic movements required in USDF Training Level, tests 1-4. “They are evaluated on their gaits, trainability and way of going,” Randall explains. Dorado Andaluz’ stallions compete very successfully on the Open dressage circuit, too, and Randall expects the same of Tuno when the time comes. Also like his stablemates, Tuno will be asked to handle training, showing and being collected without fuss. Already, his bookings are about full for this year, Randall reports. A fully approved Spanish breeding stallion, Tuno will stand, via fresh cooled semen, to mares that meet Randall’s approval. They do not necessarily have to be Pure Spanish mares, but they do have to be of a quality capable of producing a horse that will do the program proud. In the event that Tuno’s buckskin gene is not passed to the foal, Dorado Andaluz offers a half-priced re-breeding.
Just as in Spain, there are a fair amount of buckskin P.R.E.s in the States, where they are all the rage lately. Randall is confident, however, that few can compete with Tuno in terms of overall quality and she looks forward to demonstrating that on the circuit. Dorado Andaluz’ trainer Sabrina Wood, a USDF gold medalist, does a terrific job with all the farm’s horses, but Tuno is on track to be Randall’s pet project. She anticipates doing the bulk of his training and showing herself. Randall bought her first P.R.E. 12 years ago. “I won’t bother with anything else again,” she says. “These horses are so in tune with their people,” she continues. “They are wonderful, kind, noble horses and I remain just head over heels in love with them.”
For more information about Tuno PM, visit www.doradoandaluz.com.
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