“Coral LaCE, “ has been reprinted here with the permission of the author, Barbara Preiss of La Caballeriza Paso Finos, pictured above with Coral LaCE's son, Coral's Viajero de Vez..
Coral LaCE was a 14.1 hand Colombian Paso Fino stallion imported into the United States in 1968 by Mr. George LaHood. He was born in 1964 and was bred by Alberto Uribe Sierra from Colombia, South America. Coral was a beautiful mahogany bay with two matching hind socks. With his extremely thick mane and tail, along with his beautiful full blaze, he was a picture of beauty, elegance, and style. He was a true picture of absolute presence. Because Coral LaCE was imported, Coral was no relation to any other LaCE paso fino horses. When you watched Coral LaCE in motion, you realized that Alberto Uribe Sierra was no ordinary breeder. Mr. Sierra was a renowned horseman of horsemen. He was a trainer of the bullfighting lusitanos, a judge and, after I rode Coral LaCE, I realized he was also a breeder of paso fino horses to be horses of horses. Coral LaCE, at the age of 19 years old, was one of the most agile of all the breeds of horses I ever rode or have ridden. Coral would respond to execute any command from the slightest of cues, which made you feel he was just an extension of your body. He was so well gaited at any range; he quickly became the 1972 Grand National Performance Stallion in the United States. From 1976, I observed Bobby, Alegria de Blanca, La Sombra Nuac, Bambino de Coral, Coralito to only mention a few of the offspring of Coral LaCE. Because of their accuracy, style and agility, the study of the Colombian background of Coral was never a priority to me. These offspring all looked alike in movement with great carriage. They were all loved and highly valued by their owners. The owners rode their Coral offspring in the show ring as their closest companions. The rider and the horse became one beautiful sight to see. I saw that these horses had something in common. I discovered that Coral LaCE was the common factor. After watching these horses, I developed a tremendous desire to breed some of my mares to him. I made contact with Betty Klein who was the owner of Coral at that time. I was hoping she would accept my mares for a breeding to him. She did accept; that was the start of my present herd of nearly thirty of his sons and daughters on my farm in Weirsdale Florida. The history of Coral LaCE is quite interesting, for he was first imported into this country by Mr. George LaHood. Mr. LaHood and Cece Figueroa were partners. When they separated, Coral LaCE was not part of Mr. LaHoods breeding plans, so Coral LaCE was sent to Miami Florida with Mr. Cece Figueroa. Mr. Figueroa then sold him to Mr. Frank Noyas in Brandon, Florida. Mr. Noyas soon fell in love with Coral, and he rode him all over the Brandon area. He claimed he was not a rider; and yet, Coral would carry him everywhere. He often stated that people would stop him all the time and tell him how elegant and beautiful his horse was. Mr. LaHood also made this statement when his son would ride Coral over the territory of Valdosta, Georgia. Coral LaCE was always the gem of the parades and the show rings, or just being ridden along side of a rural highway. It did not take long for Betty Klein to realize this was the horse of her dreams. She wanted this horse. She soon became the owner of Coral LaCE. Then a number of years passed and Betty Klein began to have some personal problems. Betty loved Coral so much that she began to search for the one person who would love him as much as she did. Much to my surprise, I received a phone call from Betty telling me she had to find a good home for Coral; the horse she loved with all her heart. She wanted to know if I would buy him, so she could rest knowing the care and love he would have. You can imagine the emotions that ran through my soul at that moment. Needless to say I became the owner of Coral LaCE in 1981. I can say he was one of the loves of my life. He soon won my heart with his sweet nature and his beauty. Needless to say, Coral LaCE charmed me right out of my beliefs in the Pure Puerto Rican paso fino horses. While Betty Klein owned Coral, she rode him often in costume with a side saddle. Betty spared not a penny on her costumes, so the two of them became the anticipation of all of us who were at the shows. When his offspring began to win so many placements, demonstrating the qualities Coral passed to them, he soon became the 1980 #1 top ten sire. He held the top ten sire placement thirteen times in his life. He later became a foundation sire of a breed known as the North American Singlefooting Horse Association. NASHA contacted me, and they stated that their standards for their association were everything that Coral was known for. His offspring had already made him a sire with the most points in their breed. They chose him for his longevity of life, his great agility, versatility, athleticism, and his great disposition. They said they saw all this from his offspring. Coral's greatest asset was his ability to pass his vast range of gait to his offspring. The great range of gait, that Coral LaCE possessed, he inheritantly passed to his offspring; thus enabling them to gait along side any other equine breed mode or ability-gaited or otherwise. The one horse that needs to be mentioned at this point is Coral's Monarca de Vez. Monarca won the all gaited speed challenge, third in team penning, poles and barrels. Coral was well known. Rhonda Hart that owns "The Gaited Horse Magazine" said she knew of Coral LaCE before she ever heard of a paso fino horse. When the Paso Fino Horse Association established the Hall of Fame, Coral LaCE was voted to be an inductee into the PFHA Hall of Fame. He sired during his lifetime 181 registered offspring. This places him eleventh place in the registry as producing the most offspring. Remember this was before the great era of artificial insemination. He was tenth in the nation in stallions with the most grandsons with more than fifteen. He was number two in the nation in general ranking of the best stallions. This information was produced by the Statistics Study of the Stallions according to the stud book of PFHA by Mario Gomez Caballero. Coral LaCE was a legend when I bought him. He kept on being a top ten sire due to owners riding and showing and winning many championships every year with their Coral offspring. Many of his daughters are top ten dams along with numerous mares who were bred to Coral. Coral LaCE died in 1993. He was as beautiful at twenty nine years old as he was when I first saw him. He walked to his resting place, held his head high, and slipped into his final place to rest on my farm. To this day, Coral lives on my farm through his sons, daughters, and his gorgeous grandchildren. They all reveal his presence every where I look. Coral LaCE was truly the greatest horse I have ever known. Barbara Preiss |
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