Press Room
Media
Contact / Official Photographer
Maureen Kirk-Detberner
PO BOX 69370
Oro Valley, AZ 85737
Phone: 520-419-7191
www.FastWinn.com
Email: mkirk at FastWinn.com
Mission Statement
The Spanish Barb Horse Association (SBHA), is dedicated to the
preservation, perpetuation and promotion of the Spanish Barb Horse.
The Barb Horse of Colonial Spain was exceptional because it was
coveted and sought after to improve other breeds throughout Europe.
It survived sailing to the New World and adapted to a vastly
different and often hostile environment. It was upon this horse's
back that the Americas were settled. The SBBA reveres this heritage
and seeks to honor it.
Spanish
Barb Horse Association (SBHA) history is located
here.
History of the Spanish Barb
Horses is located
here.
SBHA Officers' and Board of Directors'
biographies and photos are located
here.
SBHA Media Fact Sheet is located
here. |
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Articles:
Press
Releases:
Newsletters:
Books:
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A Beautiful Cruel Country
by Eva Antonia Wilbur-Cruce 1987, University
of Arizona Press, Tucson, Arizona
 .
Eva lived most of her life on her family's ranch in southern
Arizonia where she rode and raised the little "rock horses."
From the book’s inside flap: “Arizona's Arivaca Valley lies only a
short distance from the Mexican border and is a rugged land in which
to put down stakes. When Arizona Territory was America's last
frontier, this area was homesteaded by Anglo and Mexican settlers
alike, who often displaced the Indian population that had lived
there for centuries. This frontier way of life, which prevailed as
recently as the beginning of the twentieth century, is now
recollected in vivid detail by an octogenarian who spent her
girlhood in this beautiful, cruel country.
Eva Antonia Wilbur
inherited a unique affinity for the land. Granddaughter of a
Harvard-educated physician who came to the Territory in the 1860s,
she was the firstborn child of a Mexican mother and Anglo father who
instilled in her an appreciation for both cultures. Little Toña
learned firsthand the responsibilities of ranching—an education
usually reserved for boys—and also experienced the racial hostility
that occurred during those final years before the Papago Indians
were confined to a reservation.
Begun as a reminiscence to tell
younger family members about their "rawhide tough and lonely" life
at the turn of the century, Mrs. Wilbur-Cruce's book is rich with
imagery and dialogue that brings the Arivaca area to life. Her story
is built around the annual cycle of ranch life—its spring and fall
round-ups, planting and harvesting—and features a cavalcade of
border characters, anecdotes about folk medicine, and recollections
of events that were most meaningful in a young girl's life. Her
account constitutes a valuable primary source from a region about
which nothing similar has been previously published, while the
richness of her story creates a work of literature that will appeal
to readers of all ages.”
-
Arizona's Spanish Barbs,
by Silke Schneider 2007, Outskirts Press, USA.
”A Living Legend of the American Southwest"
“In the late 1600s Jesuit missionary and explorer Father Eusebio
Kino established a herd of Spanish horses along with cattle and
other livestock at Mission Dolores, Mexico, to supply the expanding
settlements of the Pimeria Alta region.
In the 1970s, according to family history, Dr. Wilbur, an early
homesteader near the town of Arivaca, Arizona, purchased a group of
these mission horses. These became the foundation stock of the
Wilbur-Cruce rancher strain of the Spanish Barb breed.
Dr. Wilbur's granddaughter, Eva Antonia Wilbur-Cruce, preserved this
isolated herd through much adversity until she sold her family ranch
in 1989 to The Nature Conservancy to be included in the Buenos Aires
National Wildlife Refuge. Fortunately the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy became
involved. Blood typing and visual inspection supported the oral
history and resulted in the rescue of the herd.
Today Eva's "rock horses," as she fondly called them - noting their
ability to negotiate very difficult, rocky, mountainous country with
skill and ease - are preserved in several Western states.
In 2005 the Wilbur-Cruce horses were formally accepted as the sixth
foundation strain of the Spanish Barb.
Today the Wilbur-Cruce Spanish Barbs are highly prized for their
extraordinary hardiness, sure footedness and strong bond with
'their' people.”
-
Managing Breeds for a Secure Future,
D. Phillip Sponenberg, DVM, PhD, Donald E. Bixby, DVM, The American
Livestock Breeds Conservancy, 2007, Pittsboro, North Carolina.
From the Back Cover “Managing Breed for a Secure Future tackles the
challenges of maintaining genetic diversity in species and breeds of
livestock and poultry. It is both a theoretical exposition and a
practical user’s guide. Strategies that secure standardized breeds
and landraces are outlined and developed.”
 -
The Official
Horse Breeds Standards Guide, Fran
Lynghaug 2009, Voyageur Press Minneapolis,
MN. A complete guide to the standards
of all North American Equine Breed
Associations.
The book is a reference to the many equine
breeds found in North America. It
lists more than 118 equine breeds and
includes Horses of the Range: Breeds
of North American's Wild Regions.
With a information 19 strains of Spanish
type horses including the Spanish Barbs,
Cerbats, and the Colonial Spanish Horse. The
book includes breed histories, conformation
ideals, characteristics, temperaments,
colors, and variations guidelines.
Links:
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What is a Spanish Barb?
