In 2000 we were searching for a pure Spanish stallion to breed to our pure Spanish and Spanish cross mares, and the search was not going so well. Schanen had spent countless hours searching for pure Spanish stallions and had reviewed numerous tapes. There seemed to be no pure Spanish stallions in the United States that would be the right cross for the group of Spanish horses that Dr. Tom and Linda Hoyt had put together beginning in the early 1980's and that had been continued by Blue Mesa Horse and Unser Spanish Arabians.

Then word came that Borneo would be leaving the United Kingdom and that he might be available for lease and importation to the United States. That prompted Jim and Schanen to plan a trip to Britain to see the horse in the flesh and to see some of his get show at the British National Championships. It was discovered that the Spanish National Championships were just a week prior to the British National Championships. Bobby Unser, Jr., suggested that the trip start in Spain and the search for a stallion begin there just in case the Borneo arrangement didn’t work out. A side trip to the Spanish Nationals, to be held in Marbella, and visits to various stud farms, including the Yequada Militar in Jerez was planned, and in July of 2000 Jim and Schanen headed for Europe.

The show in Marbella allowed for an overview of the Spanish horses and arrangements were made to visit selected stud farms. There was one yearling colt by the name of Val Osman that stood out. He was bred by Valjuanete and was sired by the Military Stallion Nabat, so a quick side trip was scheduled to Jerez to visit the Military Stud and see this horse prior to seeing his get at Valjuanete. However, El Juli, the most famous bullfighter in Spain, was fighting in the Marbella ring the afternoon after the show, and Jim and Schanen felt they couldn’t miss that. After a wonderful performance where El Juli was awarded both ears and the tail (an extreme honor), we set off for Jerez. Jim was driving and Schanen was navigating. They decided that going through Rhondo would be the quickest. It began to get dark and the road began to get curvy. Then it got narrower, curvier and even darker. Schanen made the comment, “Jim, you are driving a little deep into your corners”. At that point Jim wondered what the heck he was doing driving when there was an Unser in the car! That was remedied the next day when Schanen took over the wheel, until she scared Jim to death by driving 100+ mph and lighting a cigarette at the same time! The next summer, Bobby Unser, Jr. would be hired by Porsche to film a commercial on that very road, although he did get to drive in the daylight.

The visit to the Military Stud proved to be very exciting because Nabat, the sire of the colt bred by Valjuanete, was an exquisite horse. He had a long thin neck, beautiful head, correct body structure and a wonderful disposition. He was led out of his stall and posed in a stable collar.

NABAT (Drago x Gacia)
That evening Jim and Schanen experienced the wonderful hospitality of *Delerios breeder, Gonzalo Moreno Abril, in Granada and then the next day headed for Toledo and Valjuanete. The invitation to stay at Valjuanete was particularly special because this is the former breeding farm of the Duke of Veragua. The last direct descendent of Christopher Columbus, the Duke imported into Spain some of the finest horses from around the world. At one time the broodmare band included five Skowronek daughters the Duke had purchased from Lady Wentworth.
The next morning a trip to the stables for a view of the horses produced the younger brother of the colt that Valjuanete had shown in Marbella. *Val Pacha was then only a unnamed weanling but was the spitting image of his brother. Things were looking up! Here was a colt that had the right bloodlines, was phenotypically what the Blue Mesa Horse and Unser Spanish Arabians mares needed, and both Jim and Schanen had been impressed by his sire during their visit to the Military Stud.
The last stop on this tour was at the Fleur de Lis farm of the Princessa Laula de Bourbon. Jim had noticed her horses during a previous trip to Spain and had wanted to see what was available. She had invited the group to lunch, which proved to be most entertaining! As the female guest, Schanen was served first. She turned to see a silver tray being presented, upon which appeared to be about two dozen small cooked animals with their appendages still attached. The look on her face and her quick rely of “No thank you!” was cause for many a chuckle through the rest of the trip.

The Fleur de Lis horses were very nice but the decision was made to attempt to purchase the weanling colt at Valjuanete. That night Schanen and Jim met with Cristina Valdes and her father in their Madrid apartment to go through the photo albums that dated back to the time of the Duke of Veragua, and to negotiate the purchase of the unnamed weanling colt. A deal was struck and the pair headed off to England to see Borneo and the British National Championships.

Borneo proved to be a very beautiful stallion and has sired some very typey offspring that did quite well at the show. The setting was in Malvern, near the border of Wales, and the sight of Arabian horses cavorting on that beautiful green showgrounds was quite spectacular. After the show a side trip was made to Pendock Stud for Jim to see some Welsh Mountain Ponies, a recent venture for Blue Mesa Horse. No purchases were made, though a little stud colt aptly named Thuglet did try to talk his way to America.

Once back in the U.S., arrangements began for the importation of *Val Pacha. The reason for purchasing young horses is that, hopefully, they will not be infected with piroplasmosis yet and will not have to go through the very costly CEM testing. As luck would have it, the outbreak of Hoof and Mouth disease in Europe halted all importation, and during this time *Val Pacha contracted piroplasmosis.

Very few horses in Spain are free of piroplasmosis and over the years the breeders have learned how to properly treat for this disease. In the past, many horses have died during treatment and the breed has lost some wonderful Spanish horses as a result. *Val Pacha's breeder agreed to one treatment, but if that was not successful she would not treat him again for fear of losing him. He was treated the first time and, unfortunately, did not test negative. Some maneuvering by Bobby Unser, Jr., and the additional purchase of a filly from Valjuanete while he was in Spain to film a Porsche commercial, convinced the breeder to treat the colt one more time. This time the treatment proved successful and the rush was on to get the colt out of Europe before his second birthday and, thus, prior to complications with CEM. He was taken by van to Madrid and then to Amsterdam, loaded on a plane for Los Angeles, quarantined in LA, cleared Customs and shipped to Albuquerque, all in less than a week. He arrived at Unser Spanish Arabians just a few days prior to his second birthday.

After resting there for a week, he was moved to Blue Mesa Horse at Vista Hermosa in Corrales, where he began preparation for his American career. *Val Pacha is the first stallion/colt to be imported to the United States from Spain in several years, and spanish breeders in America have already expressed interest in his potential. Plans are being made for his public debut late in 2003 or early in 2004.

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