Emilita was born in 2000 and was sired by the magnificent Sulphur Springs Herd stallion, Chief, who is part of Return to Freedom’s preservation program. When it was time for her to leave her family band to find her own herd, she was introduced to the stallion Bear and his band of mares. Emilita now has a daughter named Stella, who took on the beautiful grulla coat of her father Bear.

The Sulphur Springs Herd at Return to Freedom is one of the few to be able to claim direct Spanish Heritage. The pure Sulphurs are of Spanish origin, based on phenotype and blood-typing. Many have distinctive dorsal and leg striping, and resemble the horses painted on cave walls dating back to 26,000 B.C.E., along with the Portuguese Sorraias, their Spanish cousins (Dr. Sponenberg, Virginia Tech).

These horses received their name for the area where they are found, the Sulphur Springs Herd Management Area in the Needle Mountain Range of Southwestern Utah. Return to Freedom has two family bands in our Sulphur Springs herd. One is led by Chief, a magnificent dun stallion, the other by Bear, a stunning grulla stallion.