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Ten miles south of Ocala, Florida,
in the city of Summerfield, lies United Paso Fino Show Horses, Inc., one of the
largest breeding and training facilities in the country. Founded by
Edgar Ortiz in 1991, later joined by his wife Alei, in 1996, United is the
home to approximately 145 Paso Fino horses.
Edgar and Alei came from two different
worlds. Edgar was born in Pitalito, Huila, Colombia, South
America. Alei, of Cuban descent, was born in Miami, Florida.
He is very serious and quiet, she is very talkative and giggles all the
time. Edgar can have a full course meal right before a big
competition; Alei doesn't eat and stays up all night before her tough
classes. He loves to play golf in his spare time; she loves to go
shopping with her sister, Ani, co-owner of Alei and Ani's Shabby Shak, a
mobile boutique Alei and her sister set up at the large shows. One
asks, how can two individuals who are so different spend so much time along
side each other? Well, Alei and Edgar's love toward the Paso Fino Horse
is what brought them together. They have both dedicated their entire
lives to what they consider to be the most special breed of horse, the
Paso Fino. Apart from all the differences there is nothing Edgar and
Alei enjoy more than staying home at the farm with the horses and their
two English Bulldogs Lulu and Sancho.
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Edgar and Alei joined forces in August of
1996. Edgar drove from Summerfield, Florida to Cornelius, North
Carolina with a horse trailer. It was at this time that Alei, her
two broodmares, and eight training horses moved down to Florida.
Edgar took six of the horses in his trailer and the rest were shipped one
week later.
Up until this time Edgar had mainly trained
and bred his own horses, taking in outside horses only on a few
occasions. Alei trained outside horses on a full time basis and only
owned two brood mares. Well, things changed overnight! By late
1996, United Paso Fino was a full training and breeding operation for Paso
Fino Show Horses.
Alei will never forget how one and a half
months after arriving in Florida, Edgar won the Reserve National Championship
in the Classic Fino stallion class with Tobias del Ocho. The night
before the Championship class, he told her that he wanted her to ride
Tobias back in the Championship. That next day was one of the
funniest days in Alei's life. She clearly remembers the crowd, the
music, and the Reserve Grand National Championship she won on a stallion
she had grown to love in such a short time.
During the following years United Paso Fino
continued to grow. At the end of 1998, they began to represent
Criadero La Luisa in the United States. La Luisa was one of the
largest Paso Fino farms in South America. Under the training and
management of Edgar and Alei, many of these horses became National and
Grand National Champions in the US. Even though they are not managing
this farm any longer, they will always remember La Luisa and the
Patrimonio bloodline (herd sire of La Luisa) that will always be a very
important part of their breeding program.
On April 4, 1999, Prometido de Selecta arrived
in Alei's life after a breeding season in Puerto Rico. This was
definitely one of the most important highlights in her life. Through
the years, Prometido has taken a special place in Alei's heart. She
says she cannot imagine her life without him. He is truly her best
friend and she wants to take care of him for the rest of his
life.
On September 10th, 1999, Edgar and Alei got
married with their good friends Bob and Sheila Spence serving as
witnesses. Less than two weeks later they were at Nationals, where
Alei won the National Championship Performance mare class riding Sucesoro
de Retorno and Edgar came in Reserve on Traviata de La Luisa. In the
Championship, the tables were turned when Edgar won the Grand National
Championship, beating Alei. At this same National show in 1999, Alei
was honored with the coveted "Trainer of the Year" award.
In the years that followed, she and Edgar continued to make National and
Grand National Champions. At the 2001 Nationals, Edgar received his
"Trainer of the Year" Award. Last year at the 2003 Grand
National Championship show, United Paso Fino brought home 23 National titles;
six Grand National Championships, six National Championships, and eleven
Reserve National Championships, all of them under saddle, in both the professional
and amateur owner divisions. Edgar and Alei are thankful for the
trainers that work with them, Ruben, Alonso, Jamie, and then
Alfredo. They are always quick to mention that none of this would be
possible if it wasn't for them and for all of the wonderful clients who
make all of this possible.

Both of them love training for their Amateur
Owner riders especially for their two favorite girls. Sub-Junior
rider Jordan Irvan, and Junior rider Lexie Love, who has received the title
of National High Point Youth rider on various occasions.
Alei is really enjoying training Lexie's new
mare, Maraquita III la Rosa. She is the only sister in the world on
the mother's side to Maraquita la Rosa, multi Grand National Champion
Classic Fino Mare. Lexie's parents, Davis and Robin bought her the
mare after she won the title of Third Grand National Classic Fino Champion
at Nationals last year. She will be making her debut in the
Performance division during the 2004 show season. Alei says
that training this mare has been an unbelievable experience for
her. She talks about how amazing it is for a mare with so much
brio to be so kind, noble, and ready to work at all times. "All
I have to do is cluck to her once or barely squeeze my legs and she feels
like I just put her in fifth gear with her feet going 100 miles a
minute." says Alei, who also mentions that what she likes most about
the mare is the big smile on Lexie's face when she riders her!
Well, it's time to go. Edgar and Alei
need to get back to work! They just had their first open house on
April 24, 2004, as part of the Florida PFHA Farm Tour. Don't forget
to include United Paso Fino Show Horses in your plans when you visit the
Ocala area. Summerfield is just ten minutes south of Ocala and the
entire United Paso Fino staff would love to have you stop by!
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