Photo: Peter van Borst and Sidelines TV host and producer, Rob Jordan, during an interview with the North American sales director for the largest Lusitano farm in the world, Interagro Lusitanos, during his visit to Florida for the Wellington CDI3* Nations Cup. (Photo courtesy of JRPR)
Wellington, FL (June 4, 2013) – “They are a breed with attributes in abundance,” Peter van Borst told Sidelines TV host and producer, Rob Jordan, during an interview with the North American sales director for the largest Lusitano farm in the world, Interagro Lusitanos, during his visit to Florida for the Wellington CDI3* Nations Cup.
“A good horse is always a good horse, but a Lusitano, too, can be a dressage horse. My clients and friends, many of whom are longtime riders, have discovered these Iberian horses have natural impulsion. They will say to me, ‘I am using so much less leg,’ and the natural elasticity in their backs have led to more than one rider to describe the experience as ‘comfortable,’ which,” the veteran horseman added with a grin, “is almost a novelty compared to warmbloods.”
Van Borst, who was in Florida to select a Lusitano for his personal facility in Aiken, North Carolina, went on to praise how Interagro’s Destination Lusitano program has been transforming the all-too-common 20-minute ‘sales test ride’ into a luxurious journey deep into the Brazilian culture and history behind one of the purest original breeds in the world.
“It’s becoming quite popular,” he told Sidelines TV about the Destination Lusitano experience at the world’s largest breeder and exporter of the modern Iberian horse. Borst guides private visits to the former Brazilian coffee plantation-turned-award-winning stud farm, which has repeatedly won Breeder of the Year awards. Located on 1,200 private acres outside of São Paulo, the farm is home to 600 Lusitano horses. Prospective buyers, granted visits by invitation-only, experience Interagro in a unique way, from riding and driving its horses to appreciating the warmth and dedication that founder Dr. Paulo Gavião Gonzaga’s family has for its home and country.
An introduction to the Lusitano lifestyle at Interagro begins with one’s own cottage and timetable: “Wake up when you like. Make yourself at home with its horses. Experience life on the farm, from its pastures of broodmares to its training programs, to the culture around you. There is no pressure to buy, we’re not about selling. It’s about bringing you into the ambience of the farm and the horses flow into that process.
“Even if you don’t live and breathe horses, Destination Lusitano is a cultural and historic experience. For every angle of expertise, there is something to offer.”
