This is no ordinary horse. In fact it is a rare breed. Only a small number of these horses exist. Most white horses are born gray and through time they turn white. These horses are special in that they are born white. They are called the Camarillo White Horse.
Not too far from Oxnard is the town of Camarillo, and that is where this breed of horse originated. You may have seen these horses before and not realize it. They often made appearances at the Rose Bowl parades in Pasadena. They often appeared in local parades, in Oxnard, Ventura, Santa Barbara and elsewhere. They attended the opening ceremonies of the Oakland Bay Bridge back in 1936.
Many famous people have ridden these and horses, among them were Presidents Warren G. Harding and Ronald Reagan, actor Leo Carrillo.
Here we see a picture is of the man who developed this particular breed of horse. His name is Adolfo Camarillo. He owned a successful ranch to the South of Oxnard. A Settlement, then a town started growing around his ranch and eventually it became the town and then city of Camarillo.
I remember the big house. I remember visiting the family many times. My stepfather John Olivas knew the Camarillo’s very well. It has been restored and is open to the public. Now days it looks pretty much the same as when I was a little boy.
Carmen Camarillo was one of the daughters and she was about my age, a little bit older. She would take me to look at the horses, she had her own horse. The horse would walk up to her and say hello.
The stables where they were kept are a few yards away from the house. Today they house the gift shop and other offices.
I cannot describe in words the beauty of the Camarillo horses. They were a special breed and this was the only place in the world where they were raised. They had a special way of walking. It was more like dancing, they carried themselves like they were the kings of the planet. I suppose they really were.
Beautiful horses!