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Dedication and Love ... the Key to Success Alei Ortiz |
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Alei began riding Paso Finos when she was twelve years old.
She had been taking hunter jumper classes and did not enjoy riding these
horses at all. It was then that her father bought her first Paso, a
mare by the name of Mimosa. Alei recalls how hot the mare was.
The late Pedro Gomez, who was a good friend of her dad, would come out
every day and tire the mare out for her before she rode.
Alei cleaned stalls and rode her father's horses everyday after school. When it was time for her first car she picked a Classic Fino mare, Alondra, over a brand new corvette, and ended up driving an ugly white Maverick, that would have radiator fluid shooting out of the front end all the time. Every time the Maverick would break down and she would ask her brother for a ride to school, he would bother her and tell her to ride her horse to school! In 1989, she won her first Grand National Championship under saddle with her favorite Performance stallion, El Duende. Alei will always have a special place in her heart for him. She believes he opened many doors in her career. Through the years Alei worked for a few different farms. In 1991, she decided not to work for just one farm any longer, and it was then that she went on her own taking in outside horses for training from clients in various parts of the country. In late 1995, and most of 1996, she had the opportunity to manage and train Nevado, a stallion she will never forget. He was kind, noble, and always willing to give her his all. Alei says it was because of Nevado that I met Edgar. And the rest is history.....
Alei on Nevado with Capuchino.
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