RANCHO
LA PURISIMA
ABOUT
Rancho La Purisima is a horse breeding and boarding facility as well as a working cattle ranch. A great place for raising livestock, it is nestled in its own secluded valley of over 1,000 acres within the greater Santa Ynez Valley (about 40 miles north of Santa Barbara, California). The ranch is owned and operated by Paul and Tina McEnroe.
Purisima Cattle Co.
Purisima Cattle Company is Rancho La Purisima’s commercial cow calf operation. Our Angus/Black baldy cattle graze the valleys and hills of our home ranch. Our cattle are all grass fed and “natural”. We regularly use the most up-to-date veterinary recommended vaccination programs. No hormones are ever used. An EID tagging system with Premise Identification is fully implemented. We emphasize quality, evidenced by the fact that local ranchers have selected some of our regular calves to use as herd sires. Calf crops are typically marketed in late summer or early fall. Contact the ranch for information and pricing.
Horse Boarding
We specialize in boarding horses for retirement, layups or just periods of rest and relaxation. Our pastures and paddocks are all fenced with specific horse fencing such as wooden rails covered by no climb wire, no climb wire, or three rails. Almost all the pastures have seasonal grass and a few are irrigated year-round.
We have about 20 paddocks and 15 pastures. The pastures range in size from one to more than 30 acres. The smaller paddocks are typically served by run in sheds and are adjacent to the pastures, so that horses can come in as necessary for feeding, at night, or during inclement weather.
We try to match horses that get along well together, placing them in pairs or groups which, of course, promotes happy horses. Many of our borders have been here for more than a decade. We work closely with the nearby outstanding veterinary clinics such as Santa Lucia Farm and the Alamo Pintado Veterinary Clinic. We do not, however, support riding on the ranch. We offer discounts for multiple horses. Call the ranch for boarding prices.
HORSE BREEDING
We have been breeding for 46 years, focusing on European Warmbloods since 1984. While only breeding a few top-quality mares each year, we have been fortunate to have bred:
The North American Young Rider Gold Medalist
(Gulliver)
The North American Champion KWPN (Dutch) Mare of 2008
(Zoie’s Ferro Rose)
The North American Reserve Champion Hanoverian Performance Mare of 2008
(Tiara’s Rose)
We typically breed to Nationally and Internationally famous dressage and jumping sires, while striving for reasonable and value-based pricing. In addition, we also breed a number of less expensive horses by crossing warmbloods with thoroughbreds, quarter horses, and other stock also producing wonderful horses for dressage, show jumping, three-day eventing, foxhunting and pleasure riding.
Sir Prize Purisima is a 2011 bay gelding, just over 16 hands, by Dayton Purisima out of Rosie
the Riveter.
His sire, Dayton Purisima, is by Olympic Ferro, Silver Medalist at the 2000 Olympics and
Champion of his 3-year-old Stallion Performance Test. He was the Silver Medalist at the 1998
World Equestrian Games as well as the 1999 European Championships. He scored over 80% in
his freestyle at the World Cup Championships.
Early in his career he was #1 on the BN World Stallion sire rankings for dressage. Affectionally
known as “The Black Pearl”, his offspring have won Gold Medals at the 2012 London Olympic
Games (Uthopia) and the 2010 European Championships. Having begun his training as a show
jumper, he is also known as a jumping sire, carrying the great jumping blood of Ulft, Le Mexico,
Furioso xx and Farn. Tragically, Olympic Ferro suffered an untimely death in 2005.
Dayton Purisima’s breeder decided that, after breeding horses for 40 years, he would keep
one of the best as his personal riding horse. Dayton is very gentle for an older man to ride but
has the gaits and looks of a high-level performance horse. So, Dayton was chosen as that
personal riding horse. A great decision, but, of course, it means no list of show ring
accomplishments. On the other hand, he is here for one to see and observe the disposition
that he has passed onto Sir Prize.
Sir Prize’s dam, Rosie the Riveter, was the Reserve Champion Jumper at Rancho Marietta in
2017 (1.1 m) and is currently competing in three-day eventing under Maureen McEnroe.
Rosie the Riveter is the first foal out of Tiara’s Rose, who was the Reserve Champion
Hanoverian Performance Mare of 2008 for all of North America. Tiara’s Rose is by the well-
known dressage and jumping champion stallion and Horse of the Year Rubinstein. Rubinstein is
approved internationally by both the Dutch (KWPN) and the Holsteiner breeding
organizations.
Out of the KWPN (Dutch) mare Madeleine’s Rose, Tiara’s Rose is also a half-sister to Zoie’s
Ferro Rose, the North American Champion KWPN (Dutch) Mare of 2008. Madeline’s Rose is a
full sister to the North American Young Rider Gold Medalist and nationally famous dressage
horse Gulliver.
Sir Prize is a very attractive horse with a marvelous disposition and terrific conformation
(especially legs and feet, but overall as well). He attended the colt starting program at Cal Poly
and was then trained in general riding. We have used him here on Rancho La Purisima, riding
many miles of back country, alone, in company, and gathering cattle. He is very bold and goes
anywhere you would reasonably ask a horse to go. Recently he has begun dressage training
under Rita Good.
CURRENT SALE HORSES
Windsong Purisima
Windsong Purisima is a 16:3 hand 2010 dark bay Hanoverian mare by Windfall CB out of Tiara’s Rose.
Her sire Windfall CB, shown by then owner and Olympic Bronze Medalist Charlotte Bredahl, was the 2001 USDF 3rd Level Horse of the Year (median score 72.33%), the 2002 AHS 4th Level Horse of the Year (median score 68.8) and UDSF Intermediare 1 Horse of the Year (median score 71.13%). Look him up online.
Her dam, Tiara’s Rose, was the North American Reserve Champion Hanoverian Performance Mare of 2008 (noted above). She is also the dam of Windsong Purisima’s full sister, Rosie the Riveter, Reserve Champion Jumper (1.1 meters) at Rancho Marietta in 2017 and currently competing in three-day eventing under Maureen McEnroe. Tiara’s Rose is by the well-known dressage and jumping champion stallion and Horse of the Year Rubinstein. Out of the KWPN (Dutch) mare Madeleine’s Rose, Tiara’s Rose is a half-sister to Zoie’s Ferro Rose, the North American Champion KWPN (Dutch) Mare of 2008 (noted above).
Windsong Purisima is a beautiful mare with world-class dressage gaits. While she was started late due to her owner’s health, she possesses amazing talent and the potential to go to the top.
Sir Prize Purisima
GALLERY
