top of page

In the past 15 months, MIM has taken three of our gaited Marchadors to competition in several Limited Distance Endurance Rides in Florida. Cheveyo InMotion, Ferro InMotion, and Brioso InMotion are our Marchadors who have hit the trails. Our goal is to have fun, fun, and more fun, while at the same time our boys are gaining valuable experiences learning to camp overnight in the beautiful forests in the state of Florida. 

In November 2018, Ferro Coragem do InMotion has started his career in endurance at the AERC ride in the Autumn Gallop to benefit Camp Boggy Creek. Ferro is a four year old Marchador who is about 70% Abaiba blood. The Abaiba line had Arab interjected in the early development of this line. We expect Ferro will be a top competitor.

Ferro is only a four year old, so we rode in the LD. The governing bodies of endurance will only allow four year olds to compete in the Limited Distance rides (LDs). His first LD was a 30-miler. The purpose of this ride was for educational purposes for Ferro. It is important that he not feel that the rides are races. Therefore, the first 16 miles were spent at a trot and walk. Once the horses were spread out, on the second loop, we stepped up the pace dramatically and galloped the next 14 miles. Ferro's score card after the second loop where we galloped almost the whole way was scored exactly the same as it was after the first loop. I have long suspected that Ferro could do really well in the sport of endurance. These scores solidified those suspicions. Expect to see more from this young Marchador as we continue these wonderful rides through the forests of Florida. 

At the end of 2017, MIM took on a new sport. Both Brooke and Cheveyo have joined SEDRA and AERC. We are trying our hand at the sport of endurance riding. It was only a natural progression for us as we were already doing 10-15 mile rides regularly. Cheveyo has picked it up easily. We came in 4th at our first real LD endurance ride at the Dunn's Creek Winter Gallop. But, what made our day was that we tied for Highest Vet Score with an international endurance rider at our first ride. I couldn't be more pleased with Cheveyo. We are looking forward to more events and to starting our young colt, Ferro, in the sport of endurance this summer, once he is old enough.

Update: We did excellent at our first AERC and FEI sanctioned endurance ride. We competed in the 25-mile LD ride and placed 4th against some excellent competitors. Cheveyo received all A's on his vet scores. But, unfortunately, his rider (myself), made an error during the vet check for Best Condition. The vet was nice enough to give us a few tips for our next competition. Our next event is the McCulley's Endurance ride on March 30th-31st. Finger Crossed! We just keep getting better and better. :)

Update: We competed in the McCulley's Endurance Ride and finished exceptionally well. We rode the Saturday's LD and placed 4th, but WON BEST CONDITION as well as HIGHEST VET SCORE. We are quite pleased with this, even moreso than a win. This is an indication that we will soon try two 25 mile rides back to back. We are having a ball of fun and will continue with the endurance. 

Marchadors InMotion was honored to be invited to attend the Parade of Breeds Horse Celebration for the Nation's Cup Riders of 2018 held in downtown Ocala on The Square. Marion County is proud to be the only 5-star host to the Nation's Cup. The parade began at 4pm on February 17th, 2018. Marion County is considered to be the Horse Capital of the World, and of the 61 breeds that call Ocala home, 36 breeds were able to perform in the parade. The parade drew a much larger crowd than expected with 7,000 people in attendance. Marchadors InMotion took two of it's horses to the parade, Cheveyo do InMotion and Ferro Coragem do InMotion. One Marchador stallion of C&C Bellandi was also in attendance. It was a beautiful show. If you missed it this year, we'll see you at The Square in 2019. 

Once again, Marchadors InMotion and C&C Bellandi teamed up to promote the Mangalarga Marchador at The Kentucky Horse Park for BreyerFest 2016. Imperador das Aguas JM was chosen to be the Celebration Model Horse. Two other Mangalargas were also chosen to represent the breed: Lendario das Aguas JM, a young stallion imported to the States in March of 2016, and Irana das Aguas JM, a mare imported to the States in 2013. C&C Bellandi has been the ONLY active farm importing Mangalargas during the past 10 years to America. They have been successful in importing the most modern, saught-after bloodlines in Brazil while other breeders have chosen to only import semen or use their own stallions. Thus, the reason the Mangalarga Marchadors of C&C Bellandi were chosen to represent the breed at the Kentucky Horse Park proving to be the most pure representation of the modern Mangalarga Marchador.

The festival was themed after the Brazilian Carnival and was a fun filled week of all sorts of celebrations centered around the real-life horses and their Breyer Horse model representations. The week consisted of an endless amount of equine related activities from equine performances to model horse painting, even a chance to ride a reining horse. Marchadors InMotion and C&C Bellandi set up two vendor locations. One in front of the two Marchador horses that attended the event and another inside the vendor area located on the outside of the performance arena. Both vendor booths were decorated with traditional Brazilian themed items and had give-away t-shirts, hats, and pens that were inscribed with the ABCCMM logo. The ABCCMM is the official world-wide registry for the Mangalarga Marchador. Both booths had literature from the ABCCMM registry, American breeders, and Brazilian breeders. DVDs were provided to those that wanted a more detailed breed description. A Marchador saddle was even on display in the main booth near the arena. Banners were also on display that represented many of the other real-life Marchadors that belong to breeders in the United States.

Brooke Little, owner of Marchadors InMotion, was the work horse, of the human-kind, that was behind scenes for C&C Bellandi and the Marchadors at BreyerFest. She managed everything from contracts, writing the script for the performances, creating the literature and banners for the vendor booth, hiring help and transportation for the horses, and making sure things went smoothly. Claudia Bellandi was responsible for training and riding the horses as well as autographing the model horses. Carlos Bellandi was responsible for creating the give-away items. Claudia's nephew, Vinicius, handled the TV and DVD set up. And, David Tanner, of D&L Horse Transport managed the barn and transported the horses along with Brooke to and from the event. All in all, it was a wonderful experience, the horses handled it well, and we had a great time at The Kentucky Horse Park. 

Above: Imperador das Aguas JM

Above: Lendario das Aguas JM, & Lendario das Aguas JM.

Above: Imperador das Aguas JM

Recently, Marchadors InMotion and C&C Bellandi Mangalarga Marchador Farm teamed up for several breed presentations at Oak Bell Farm to residents of the Ocala, Florida area. Several Marchadors were on display including Cheveyo from Marchadors InMotion, and Imperador, a stallion, and Irana, a mare, both from C&C Bellandi Mangalarga Marchador Farm.

Participates were able to interact with the horses gaining perspective on the docile nature of the breed. Cheveyo, an MIM Marchador, was the star of the show performing several tricks for the crowd including how he lays down on voice command for a reward. Yes, he lays down just like a dog would do. He also gave a gait performance in picada as well as a quick gallop around the track to show that not only does he have a natural gait, he can also canter the same as a non-gaited horse. Owner, Brooke Little, also gave a presentation on the Marchador and Mounted Shooting.

After Cheveyo's presentation, Imperador do Aguas JM, a stallion owned by C&C Bellandi Marchadors, and Irana das Aquas JM, a mare also owned by C&C MM Farm, was brought out to interact with the participants. Participants were amazed that they were able to pet and handle a stallion who stood calmly directly beside the Marchador mare, Irana. Imperdador is the new Breyer Model Marchador horse for Breyer's new 2016 horse sculpture at the Spanish themed BreyerFest this year. He will be on display at the Kentucky Horse Park this summer.

All-in-all, the event was a great success and the people left with a new experience with a breed that they hadn't even heard of prior to attending. A big thank you goes out to Oak Bell Farm and Claudia Bellandi for providing such an exquisite Brazilian breakfast. They were excellent hosts for the event. We plan to offer more breed presentations for groups as well as individuals. If you are interested in the Mangalarga Marchador, please feel free to reach out to us. Both C&C Bellandi and MIM offer studs services. We also offer other avenues to gain ownership of this wonderful breed. Please inquire for more information. We have exciting plans.

MIM Makes the Front Page of the Ocala Star Banner Newspaper

September 9th, 2015 - Click box above to read the online version

2014 Ends with a Bang, Literally!

Above: Cheveyo & Brooke at practice. Are we having fun or what?!!

Above: Denny Chapman shooting off Cheveyo for the 1st time.

Below: Cheveyo with Denny Chapman up!

2014 ended with a BANG at Marchadors InMotion, literally! Cheveyo do MManor was the first Mangalarga Marchador horse to compete in a Mounted Shooting competition here in the USA.

Brooke Little, owner, operator, and trainer at MIM, was able to team up with Mounted Shooting professional trainer, Denny Chapman. Denny is based in Ocala, Florida and is only a short drive from the Marchadors InMotion facility. He holds multiple mounted shooting titles and is ranked as a 2014 “Top 10 CMSA Cowboy.” He is also the only professional horse trainer devoted exclusively to the sport of mounted shooting in the entire state of Florida. You can learn more about Denny and Mounted Shooting on his website at DennyChapman.com.

Mounted Shooting is something that always intrigued Brooke, and when a friend introduced her to Denny, she wasted no time in challenging her lead Marchador, Cheveyo, to take on the sport and tolerate the action of gun fire. Upon arrival at DLL Ranch, where Denny trains and houses his performance horses, Cheveyo was given an evaluation to determine if he would accept the gun fire. Not only did Cheveyo pass the evaluation, Denny was able to run the course and shoot off his back within 24 hours of his arrival. Six days later, Brooke and Cheveyo entered their very first mounted shooting practice, and within a week, their first competition.

Cheveyo carried himself with such professionalism that he out-shined many of the mounted shooting horses who had already been exposed to the sport for several months. He garnered the attention of numerous on-lookers who ultimately became quite inquisitive about the Marchador breed. In fact, Cheveyo took on the sport with such ease that he even outpaced his owner rider.

Denny Chapman, who is excellent at sensing the rate at which a horse will take the gun fire, was quite impressed with Cheveyo’s mind and how quickly he allowed him to progress. Denny said that Cheveyo “never even flinched” the first day Denny shot off of him. Keep in mind that Cheveyo has only been off property a handful of times and had only been in an arena twice prior to arriving at Denny’s.

Following the practice, Cheveyo and Brooke entered the Florida Peacemaker’s Mounted Shooting competition the very next weekend. All in all, Cheveyo finished his training with Denny in less than two weeks. As I understand, this is almost unheard of for a mounted shooting horse. Generally, at least a thousand rounds are shot off the back of a horse before they are comfortable enough with the gun fire to enter a competition. But, Cheveyo? Well, he is exceptional, even among Marchadors.

In addition to handling gun fire with such ease, Cheveyo also does multiple other tricks. He lays down, on voice command. He also lunges at liberty (no lines or equipment of any type); he walks, trots, and canters along with direction changes. If his owner didn’t have numerous other horses to train, who knows the number of tricks the horse would entertain.


Brooke hopes to eventually expose all of her Marchadors to gun fire. But, she has slowed Cheveyo down a bit so that she can learn more about guns as well as buy her own equipment. If you're interested in mounted shooting, I can't say enough wonderful things about Denny Chapman. He is an excellent horsemen. He takes his time with them and improves their confidence during the process. Denny is a wonderful coach.

USMMA 2013 International Mangalarga Marchador Clinic

Above, left to right: Lori Silcher, ABCCMM Director - Tiago De Resende Garcia, Faye Little, and Brooke Little. 

Every year the USMMA holds an Annual Marchador Clinic. In September of 2013, the USMMA hosted an International Mangalarga Marchador Clinic. This year it was in Helena, Montana. The clinic was a great success, by far the best yet. We absorbed a multitude of information, we had a truly gorgeous trail ride that would make most turn green, we competed in the Complete Horse Test and gait classes, and most of all, we had FUN! Each year, the clinic has improved dramatically. I expect the clinic in 2014 will continue that trend.

First of all, I’d like to send out a big thank you to all those that volunteered time and money to make this wonderful event occur. Those people are Susann Gabrielle, Tresa Smith, Eliza Frazer, Lori Silcher, Tia Nelson, and Derek Brown. We even had lunch and dinner every day along with continuous refreshments. A sincere thank you to you all!

Somehow no one chose to write at much length about the clinic and the winners this year, so I have decided to write a short article based on what I can remember.

The first day we were matched and acquainted with our horses. One truly amazing gift during this event is that horse owners allow members/riders from other areas of the country, who can’t bring their own horse, to borrow their horses during the clinic so that they may ride and learn as well. Once matched, each rider had an exclusive training session with a Brazilian instructor. This way, each rider could receive coaching based on his or her individual riding abilities as well as tips regarding how to keep the horse in gait. For those interested, who were not currently riding, they were given the option to watch and learn.

The second day of the clinic was a group ride through the mountains. I have to say that this was a breathtaking ride. The scenery was absolutely amazing; up the side of a mountain, through prairies, streams, and ravines. A description just doesn’t do it justice. This took up the majority of the day. Dinner was hosted by Tia Nelson and Derek Brown. The food was prepared and ready by the time we all arrived.

The third day consisted of a friendly competition of The Complete Horse Test and gait classes for geldings, mares, and stallions. I apologize that I can only remember who won the classes. Regarding gait classes, Lori Silcher of 4 Seasons Marchador Ranch, won best gaited stallion with Baluarte Piry as well as The Complete Horse Test over everyone. Best picada gaited mare as well as gelding was also awarded to Lori for her mare, Janella, and her gelding, Mateus. The best batida gaited gelding was awarded Lo Borges of Montana Marchador, owner Tresa Smith. And, best batida gaited mare was awarded to Eliza Frazer for her gray mare. Brooke Little took 1st place in The Complete Horse Test in the competition between the mares riding Lori Silcher's mare, Ana Raio. And, I apologize that I can't remember who won out of the geldings for the Complete Horse Test. The USMMA has video of the classes and competition. To see the videos, you may contact Rick Shatz, the USMMA President. Some of those videos were posted on NAMarchador.org, but they have been taken down for what reason I don't know. I was able to take one VERY amateur video of the gelding gait competition. See video below.

Although horses did compete against one another in the gait competition, the Brazilian instructors took an abundant amount of time discussing each horses gait in depth, and therefore, the competition was more of an educational experience for those that attended the event. With such few Marchadors in the States, it is difficult to get all the Marchadors in one part of the country so that they could all be pitted against one another. Therefore, there are no horses that have been coined as “best or better” than others like you might have at a National Horse Show.

After the competition, we were served snacks and refreshments and leisurely watched a presentation on the gait and conformation of the Marchador. We then proceeded to the ranch and home of Tresa Smith where the awards ceremony was held and Peter and Lori Silcher played in a band with live music. The food was absolutely incredible and the ranch was gorgeous with an evening rainbow as the sun set in the west to kick off the awards ceremony.

Sunday morning consisted of more individual lessons and a discussion about bits, once the horses were loaded and heading out in trailers, the remaining attendees had lunch at the golf course where we had nice conversations and people said their good byes.


All in all, it was the best educational clinic the association has held thus far and everyone had a blast. I expect no less for the clinic in 2014.

Above: video of the USMMA Gelding Gait Class held in Montana 2013.

Above: Lori Silcher, owner of 4 Seasons Marchadores, with her prize stallion, Baluarte Piry.

bottom of page