Press Kit

Project Mission Statement:  To have the Colonial Spanish Horse named as the State Horse of Arizona, there by preserving their history, and providing protection for the horses.  We also want to have the Colonial Spanish Horses represented in the Arizona Centennial Celebrations.

Media Contact:  Maureen Kirk-Detberner, horses@arizonahorseproject.com, PO Box 69370, Oro Valley, AZ 85737

History of the Horses:  http://www.arizonahorseproject.com/History.htm

Committee Bios: 

• Becky Chandos - Becky has loved horses since she was a child.  Luckily Becky's husband full filled her childhood dreams with getting her first horse as a Christmas gift, and then later another as a birthday present.

  She was originally drawn to the Colonial Spanish horses while researching Arizona as a place to live when they retired.  Today, she lives with her husband on 40 acres in Southeast Arizona with 3 dogs and a her Lambert Morgan Dan.  Now Becky is working with a Preservation Breeder with over 30 Colonial Spanish Horses.  While working with the horses she has found them truly intelligent, level headed and hearty horses.   

  Becky also is involved with the Spanish Barb Breeders Association as an officer. Coming from a teaching and management background, Becky enjoys the change in focus and freedom to pursue helping preserve the genetics of these historic horses............... a worthy cause!

• Deni Mitchell - Deni has had a lifelong fascination with horses but didn't have her own horse until she was an adult.  Deni has practiced many different riding disciplines but now she rides for the shear pleasure of being outside, exploring new places and sharing the experience with her horse. 
  
  Over the years, Deni, her husband, and her daughter have had the privilege of adopting a Morgan, an Arab mix, a Quarter Horse and now a Colonial Spanish Barb.  Deni's degree is in Early Childhood Education and she is employed by the Amerind Musem and Foundation as the Children's Education and Museum Volunteer coordinator.  Currently Deni and her husband live near the Dragoon Mountains in St. David, AZ.

• Marjorie Dixon - As an educator and practitioner of child development Marjorie found breeding and training foals a natural progression as I retired from the work world.  Her goal was to keep horse herds in the most natural environment available as they bred and raised their young.  Marjorie started the Stronghold Herd in 2002 where on a thousand acres where her stallions and mares to roam until the foals came in to be socialize with humans. 
  
  Marjorie lives near the Dragoon Mountains in St. David, AZ.  She has a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and Child development and a Masters of Science in Family Studies at Arizona State University.  Raising a rare breed, Spanish Barb, lead Marjorie to the Spanish Barb Breeders Association where she am a Director and have supported the organization by writing newsletters, articles and organizing breeders meetings over many years.

• Maureen Kirk-Detberner - Horses come into Maureen's life when her daughter showed interest in horses and that led to many wonderful times in 4-H and the Arabian Class A Shows. 
  Horses have been a part of Maureen's life for over 25 years.   She has enjoyed riding the Arizona trails and Competitive Trail Riding with her Arabian Horses. 
  Currently Maureen lives north of Tucson near the Tortolita Mountains and her barn houses an Arabian, a Fox Trotter and a pony.  Working on the Arizona Colonial Spanish Horse Project has been a labor of love utilizing Maureen's passion for horses, her love of photographing horses, and her project management skills.  Maureen Kirk-Detberner is the owner of Fast Winn Photography and has over 10 years experience as an IT Project Manager.   Maureen has a degree in Business Management from St. Mary's College.
  

• Silke Schneider - Silke Schneider’s interest in rare breeds was ignited in the early 1980s when she lived in the outback of northwestern Australia, where it was an uphill battle to keep maladapted cattle and horses from “down south” producing or even alive. From 1984 until 1993 she was Animal Systems Manager for the Biosphere II project in Southern Arizona. Part of the project was an agricultural “biome”.
  
  Silke graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Animal Science and then worked as a Research Associate with Drylands Institute in Tucson, Arizona. She continued her education to receive a post-bac degree in elementary education. Recently she re-located her farm with her botanist husband Richard Felger to Silver City, New Mexico. She is now employed by Western New Mexico University to teach at the Early Childhood program. She raises Wilbur-Cruce Spanish horses, Australop and Cochin chickens.
  
  Silke is a full member of the Long Riders Guild, and she has been a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society in London since 2004. She has been on the Board of Directors of Rare Breeds International since 2001, and Vice President of the Spanish Barb Breeders Association since 2004. Silke published her first book in 2007, “Arizona’s Spanish Barbs – The Story of the Wilbur-Cruce Horses.”
  

Articles: 

• Spanish Mustangs in Southern Arizona,by Marye Ann Thompson and Dr. Philip Sponenberg,  The Arizona Horsemen's Newsletter, Summer 1990.

• Evaluation of the Cruce Herd of Horses, D. P. Sponenberg, DVM, PhD, 1990.

• Preserving The Pride of The Conquistadors, by Elizabeth Al-Hazzam Dawsari and Gail Pearl, Phoenix Home and Garden, March 1991.

• Spanish Barbs, From Conquistadors to Mounted Shooting, Marjorie Dixon

• Kino the Padre on Horseback, M. A. Thompson, Conquistador Magazine, June/July 1992

• The Cerbat Horses, by M. A. Thompson, Conquistador Magazine, January 1992

• Wilbur-Cruce Spanish Barb Horses, article by Marjorie Dixon, The Center for Desert Archaeology, Archaeology Southwest,  Spring 2009

Press Releases:

February 15, 2010 News Release,

March 1 ,2010, News Release on Rex Allen Jr.

June 29, Press Release on Arizona State Heritage Horse Bill.

Video and photos of the horses: Photos of the Colonial Spanish Horses

Reading List: 

• A Beautiful Cruel Country, by Eva Antonia Wilbur-Cruce 1987, University of Arizona Press, Tucson

• Arizona's Spanish Barbs, by Silke Schneider 2007, Outskirts Press, USA

• Managing Breeds for a Secure Future, D Phillip Sponenberg, DMV, PhD,  Donald E. Bixby, DMV, The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy, 2007, Pittsboro, North Carolina

Supporters: 

• Arizona State Legislators:

  • Rep. Patricia Fleming,
  • Rep. Nancy Young Wright,
  • Sen. Jonathan Paton,
  • Rep. Jack Brown,
  • Rep. Lynn Pancrazi,
  • Rep. Cloves Campbell
  • Rep. Frank Antenori,
  • Rep. Chad Campbell,
  • Rep. Steve Farley,
  • Rep. Bill Konopnicki,
  • Rep. Daniel Patterson,
  • Rep. Anna Tovar.
    

• Public:

• The American Quarter Horse Association
• The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
• D. Phillip Sponenberg, DVM, PhD (Professor of Pathology/Genetics Virginia Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine) expert in the Colonial Spanish Horse Breeds.
• The Equine Resource Guide of Arizona
• The Spanish Barb Breeders Association
• Bryan Martyn, Pinal County Supervisor-District 2
• Fran Lynghaug, Author of The Official Horse Breeds Standards Guide; the complete guide to the standards of all North American equine breed associations.
• The Amerind Foundation
• The Spanish Mustang Registry
• The Horse of The Americas
• The County Line Riders of Catalina, Arizona (Horse Cub)
• Donald T. Garate, Chief of Interpretatoin/Historian, Tumacacori National Historical Park.
• Clay Harper Arizona Professional Horse Trainer
• Santa Cruz Valley Heritage Alliance