80 SIDELINES JULY 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
By Dani Moritz
Approximately 50 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico,
sits two farms, which consist of nearly 500 acres. One named
“Rancho La Querencia,” which translates to favorite place, and
the other called Rancho Corazon.
Rancho La Querencia is the original name of Guy McElvain’s
grandfather’s farm and the current name of his mother’s American
Holsteiner breeding farm, of which Guy recently took ownership.
Rancho Corazon is the name of Guy’s own ranch and business,
which encompasses both farms. The name is derived from
the frst Holsteiner his mother gave him and now embodies an
operation that includes breeding, boarding, showing and training
show jumpers and even a sanctuary for retired horses.
The ranch is operated by 10 employees; Guy, his wife, who is
also a photographer, his daughter and son. Guy jokes that his son
is probably the best rider out of all of them, but he has the least
interest. His daughter, however, who is currently studying at The
University of Denver, hopes to work at the farm full time when she
graduates to continue the family legacy.
Just like his mother, Guy’s focus remains breeding American
Holsteiners. This is in part because of family tradition, but also
because of the immense research on the breed. He currently has
four stallions available for breeding. “What I really like about the
Holsteiner is they [the association] do a lot of research on behalf
of the breeders so you don’t necessarily need to be your own
expert,” said Guy.
Rancho Corazon includes eight pastures, fve hay felds, 25
paddocks, 15 turnout paddocks, a 17 stall show barn, six stall
show barn, two-acre jumping feld, three outdoor arenas and even
100 acres of bosque – or cottonwood forest – complete with trails
and a small cross country course. And that’s just to list a few of
its amenities. There’s no question that La Querencia accurately
describes the facilities.
Besides the show horses, all of the horses live outside –
something Guy feels is an important part of his operation. “I feel
e
Rocky Mountains
Judges in the stallion barn aisle
during the American Holsteiner
Horse Association Approvals held
annually at Rancho Corazon.
Guy McElvain
Rancho Corazon:
My Favorite Place