About Us

It is a passion for the Pure Spanish Horse that gave birth to one of the great North American breeding farms of this rare breed in the USA. The beautiful horses bred at Oak Hill, as well as those imported by the Curries, are actively sought by those who know and appreciate the classic Spanish Horse. Barbara and her husband Malcolm Currie have spent 30 years studying the history, the bloodlines, and visiting farms around the world to learn all possible about this noble breed. The result of their years of work is a group of horses that is recognized as one of the most consistent and excellent herds in the USA. Those individuals who have been able to buy these imported horse recognize that not only do they have historical champion familial lines imported directly from Spain, they have horses which have been trained and which have competed with extraordinary success in the USA.

The overriding desire of Barbara and Malcolm Currie is to maintain the standards rigidly set by the Cria Caballar and to be able to pass into the next generations only those characteristics which are the best of the breed.

The foundation bloodlines come from distinguished and world famous Spanish lines: Bocado, Cárdenas, Yeguada Militar, Pallarés, Urquijo, to name a few. Always the Curries have sought to maintain the elegance, the purity, the athletic ability, the classic movement, and the nobility of the breed in the horses brought to their farm. The horses on arriving in the USA must prove their functionality—they are trained to saddle and are ridden in competition to understand their capabilities as well as their genealogy to be a part of the Currie breeding program.

Oak Hill is proud of the many champions of the show ring that have been made a part of the history of the Pure Spanish Horse in the USA. The horses of Oak Hill are not only conformationally correct, but they also have the abilities to perform as functional animals, bringing pride to this noble breed.

With more than 30 years of travels to countries where the Pure Spanish Horse is recognized and honored, with more than 25 years of working with the Cría Caballar, Barbara Currie is in a unique position to help breeders in the USA who desire to start their own farms. She has spoken numerous times around the USA to groups of judges and aficionados of the P.R.E. breed to stimulate them to travel to Spain to see the birthplace of the breed, to study the history and bloodlines, to meet the breeders who have championed the breed for generations. She was a founder and is currently serving as the Chairman of The Foundation for the Pure Spanish Horse, a nonprofit organization whose sole goal is the protection and promotion of the P.RE. The awakening of the North American public to the many aptitudes of the P.R.E. Horse has been both a dream and a personal crusade.

There is always a welcome extended to visitors who desire to see the best of Spain’s heritage in the USA, and to share the Currie’s love for the correctly conformed Pure Spanish Horse, the horse which holds the noble genetics, beauty, athleticism and spirit of the centuries.

Champions and Championships

Beginning in the year 2000, the horses of Oak Hill began competing under the guidelines of the Cría Caballar in horse shows sponsored by The Foundation for the Pure Spanish Horse.

Under these strict rules and with the extremely knowledgeable military judges from Spain, the Currie horses have won through the National Celebration in 2011:

10 times Champion Adult Mare (Campeona de la Raza)
2 times Champion Junior Mare (Campeona Joven de la Raza)
6 times Reserve Champion Adult Mare (Subcampeona de la Raza)
1 time Champion Junior Stallion (Campeon Joven de la Raza)
1 time Reserve Adult Champion Stallion (Subcampeon de la Raza)
45 Gold Medals (First Place)
31 Silver Medals (Second Place)
17 Bronze Medals (Third Place)
35 Best Movement Medals

The Curries and Oak Hill horses have also received awards for:

High Point Morphology Score of the Show 2008
High Point Domestic Bred Morphology Score of the Show 2008
Twice named by the Cría Caballar judges as Best Breeding Farm 2000 and 2002

Prior to the time of showing under the Spanish rules, Currie horses won many National Champion titles for the horses presented at halter, as well as under saddle in Hunt Seat, Dressage Suitability, Western Pleasure, and Saddle Seat. In addition to those awards won with her trainer, Vaughan Smith, Barbara Currie was three consecutive years the National Champion Amateur Hunt Seat Rider. Barbara and the Currie horses have been seen in many parades and at many exhibitions.