The Camarillo White Horse is a rare

horse breed A horse breed is a selectively bred population of domesticated horses, often with pedigrees recorded in a breed registry. However, the term is sometimes used in a broader sense to define landrace animals of a common phenotype located within a lim ...

just over 100 years old known for its pure white

color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...

. It dates back to 1921, when

Adolfo Camarillo Don Adolfo Camarillo (29 October 1864 – 10 December 1958) was a prominent Californio philanthropist, ranchero, and horse breeder, known for founding the city of Camarillo, California, along with his brother Juan Camarillo Jr.Californios Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californians, Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish language, Spanish-s ...

, purchased a 9-year-old

stallion A stallion is a male horse that has not been gelded (castrated). Stallions follow the conformation and phenotype of their breed, but within that standard, the presence of hormones such as testosterone may give stallions a thicker, "cresty" nec ...

named Sultan at the

California State Fair The California State Fair is the annual state fair for the state of California. The fair is held at Cal Expo in Sacramento, California. The Fair is a 17-day event showcasing California's industries, agriculture, and diversity of people. The CSF ...

Sacramento ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento ...

. The California White horse was owned and bred by the Camarillo family until the death of Adolfo Camarillo’s daughter Carmen in 1987.Camarillo White Horse Site
Camarillo White Horse History

Breed characteristics

The Camarillo White Horse is known for its pure

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

color, which includes pink skin under the white hair coat. Unlike a

gray horse A gray horse (or grey horse) has a coat color characterized by progressive depigmentation of the colored hairs of the coat. Most gray horses have black skin and dark eyes; unlike some equine dilution genes and some other genes that lead to depi ...

that is born dark and lightens as it gets older, Camarillo White horses are white from birth and remain white throughout their lives. The breed is not only a

color breed A color breed refers to groupings of horses whose registration is based primarily on their coat color, regardless of the horse's actual breed or breed type. Some color breeds only register horses with a desired coat color if they also meet speci ...

. It has other distinctive physical characteristics, including a compact and refined build. They are known to have strong limbs, an expressive face, large eyes, well-defined withers, laid back shoulders and a well-arched neck. True white is a difficult color to achieve, because any given mating of a white horse has only a 50% chance to produce white offspring. All known white horses have only one copy of the white gene. It is believed to be impossible for a horse to have two copies, because the embryo would be unable to develop and the pregnancy would terminate. The color of Camarillo White horses comes from the

dominant white Dominant white (W) is a group of genetically related coat color alleles on the KIT gene of the horse, best known for producing an all-white coat, but also able to produce various forms of white spotting, as well as bold white markings. Prior ...

allele ''W4'', which as the name suggests, dominantly produces a white color. When homozygous, this allele is believed to be lethal at an early stage of embryonic development.Mau, C., Poncet, P. A., Bucher, B., Stranzinger, G. & Rieder, S. (2004) "Genetic mapping of dominant white (W), a homozygous lethal condition in the horse (Equus caballus)." ''Journal of Animal Breeding and Genetics'' 121 (6), 374-383. . Accessed September 6, 2006 a

/ref> Haase B, Brooks SA, Schlumbaum A, Azor PJ, Bailey E, et al. (2007) "Allelic Heterogeneity at the Equine KIT Locus in Dominant White (W) Horses." ''PLoS Genet'' 3(11): e195
Camarillo White horses do not carry the genes for

Lethal white syndrome Lethal white syndrome (LWS), also called overo lethal white syndrome (OLWS), lethal white overo (LWO), and overo lethal white foal syndrome (OLWFS), is an autosomal genetic disorder most prevalent in the American Paint Horse. Affected foals are bor ...

.The Camarillo White Horse Association FAQ page, accessed December 1, 2007
/ref>

Breed history

All Camarillo White Horses trace back to a single foundation sire, Sultan, a

Spanish Mustang The Spanish Mustang is an American horse breed descended from horses brought from Spain during the early conquest of the Americas. They are classified within the larger grouping of the Colonial Spanish horse, a type that today is rare in Spain. ...

born in 1912 that Camarillo would latter describe as a "Stallion of a dream." Camarillo found Sultan at the 1921 California State Fair in Sacramento being shown by the

Miller & Lux Henry Miller (July 21, 1827 – October 14, 1916) was a German-American rancher known as the "Cattle King of California" who at one point in the late 19th century was one of the largest land-owners in the United States. Life and work Born in ...

cattle ranch. Camarillo purchased Sultan and the pair went on to win many championships throughout California. Camarillo bred Sultan to Morgan

mares A mare is an adult female horse or other equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more than four y ...

at the Camarillo Ranch, developing a line of horses privately owned and bred by the Camarillo family for the next 65 years. Upon Camarillo’s death in 1958, Adolfo’s daughter Carmen took over the

horse breeding Horse breeding is reproduction in horses, and particularly the human-directed process of selective breeding of animals, particularly purebred horses of a given breed. Planned matings can be used to produce specifically desired characteristics in ...

operation. She continued to show the horses at parades and events for the enjoyment of the people of

Ventura County Ventura County () is a county in the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, and the county seat is the city of Ventura. Ventura County comprises the Oxnar ...

until her death in 1987, when, according to her wishes, the horses were sold at public

auction An auction is usually a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bids, taking bids, and then selling the item to the highest bidder or buying the item from the lowest bidder. Some exceptions to this definition ex ...

, ending the tradition of exclusive ownership of the breed by the Camarillo family.Camarillo Ranch
Camarillo Ranch Official site In 1989, five individuals decided to regroup the horses for public performances. By 1991, when only 11 horses remained, it became apparent the breed could die out, and the idea for an association began. In 1992, the Camarillo White Horse Association was formed. To avoid

inbreeding Inbreeding is the production of offspring from the mating or breeding of individuals or organisms that are closely related genetically. By analogy, the term is used in human reproduction, but more commonly refers to the genetic disorders and o ...

, the registry has an

open stud book A breed registry, also known as a herdbook, studbook or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders ...

, requiring at least one parent to be of Camarillo's original stock, but allowing the other parent to be from various breeds, including Andalusian and

Standardbred The Standardbred is an American horse breed best known for its ability in harness racing, where members of the breed compete at either a trot or pace. Developed in North America, the Standardbred is recognized worldwide, and the breed can trace i ...

bloodlines. They also maintain a separate record of non-white foals from these bloodlines.

Events of Distinction

From the 1930s on, Camarillo White Horses became famous all along the California coast for their performances at various events. They became well known as regular participants in the

Tournament of Roses Parade A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concentr ...

and even attended the parade to open the

San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, known locally as the Bay Bridge, is a complex of bridges spanning San Francisco Bay in California. As part of Interstate 80 in California, Interstate 80 and the direct road between San Francisco and Oakland ...

. They are the official horse of the city of

Camarillo Camarillo ( ) is a city in Ventura County in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 70,741, an increase of 5,540 from the 65,201 counted in the 2010 Census. Camarillo is named for brothers Juan an ...

. They have appeared in every Santa Barbara Fiesta parade since it began in 1924. Many people of note have ridden Camarillo White Horses, including (then-

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

)

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

, 1946

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...

recipient

John Mott John Raleigh Mott (May 25, 1865 – January 31, 1955) was an evangelist and long-serving leader of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) and the World Student Christian Federation (WSCF). He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1946 for hi ...

, movie star

Leo Carrillo Leopoldo Antonio Carrillo (; August 6, 1880 – September 10, 1961), known professionally as Leo Carrillo, was an American actor, vaudevillian, political cartoonist, and conservationist. He was best known for playing Pancho in the television ...

, and

Steven Ford Steven Meigs Ford (born May 19, 1956) is an American actor, and son of former U.S. President Gerald Ford and former First Lady Betty Ford. Early life Ford is the third child and youngest son of former President Gerald Ford and former First Lad ...

(son of President

Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. ( ; born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 38th president of the United States from 1974 to 1977. He was the only president never to have been elected ...

References

*Mellin, Jeanne. ''The Complete Morgan Horse''

External links

The Camarillo White Horse Association Haase B, Brooks SA, Schlumbaum A, Azor PJ, Bailey E, et al. (2007) "Allelic Heterogeneity at the Equine KIT Locus in Dominant White (W) Horses." ''PLoS Genet'' 3(11): e195

UC Davis page on Camarillo White coloration
{{short description, American horse breed Horse breeds Horse breeds originating in the United States

Breed characteristics

Breed history

Events of Distinction

See also

References

External links