History
The Azteca was first bred in 1972 as a horse for charros, the traditional horsemen of Mexico. Antonio Ariza Cañadilla, along with others, was instrumental in the creation of the Azteca horse as the national horse of Mexico and with its official recognition by the Mexican Department of Agriculture on November 4, 1982. Ariza used imported Andalusians, crossed with Quarter Horses and Criollos and began to breed the foundation horses of the Azteca breed at Rancho San Antonio near Texcoco, Mexico. Early in the Azteca's history, breeders realized the need for a unified breeding program in order to produce horses that met the required characteristics. The Azteca Horse Research Center was created at Lake Texcoco, and in partnership with breeders developed the phenotype of the breed today. The first official Azteca was a stallion named Casarejo, who was a cross between an Andalusian stallion named Ocultado and a Quarter Horse mare named Americana. He was foaled at the Centro de Reproduccion Caballar Domecq in 1972.
The Associacion Mexicana de Criadores de Caballos de Raza Azteca, or Mexican Breeders Association for the Azteca Horse, is the original breed registry and still maintains the international registry. The International Azteca Horse Association and its regional affiliates was formed in 1992. The majority of Aztecas are found in Mexico, and the Mexican association had registered between 10,000 and 15,000 horses as of 2005, according to the Texas Department of Agriculture. The Mexican registry adds approximately 1,000 horses per year.
The Azteca Horse Registry of America was formed in 1989 for registering the US portion of the breed, followed by the Azteca Horse Owners Association in 1996 as an owners association. This registry has slightly different registration and breeding rules, and is not approved by the Mexican government to register Azteca horses. The American registry, now called the American Azteca Horse International Association, allows the use of American Paint horses, which are essentially Quarter Horses with pinto coloration, if they have less than 25 percent Thoroughbred breeding. However, the US registry does not incorporate Criollo bloodlines. The Mexican registry allows only the blood of Quarter Horses, Andalusians and Criollos in its registered Aztecas. There is an additional registry for the American Azteca, called the American Azteca and Foundation Stock Society, which came into existence in 2011.
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