Portuguese for “Cherry”
20 July 2007 · Agolada, Portugal
by Mimosa (RA) and Uhipi (CN)
Ten foals, one remarkable mother, and a lineage carried forward.
Cereja was born from a mare impossible to forget: Mimosa, a bay Sorraia, a leader by instinct, with very dominant behaviour and a distinctly male presence. In freedom, she would not allow herself to be sired; she competed with the stallion as if he were an intruder in her own territory. And while she kept him away, the herd remained suspended in time, year after year, without foals. At a moment when we had very few mares left and urgently needed to breed the only three remaining, we decided to hand‑cover Mimosa (with mare and stallion held on lead ropes), even knowing it was far from ideal from a natural‑selection perspective.
To reduce consanguinity, we were advised to use a stallion from Coudelaria Nacional (the National Stud), genetically more distant from our own bloodline. His name was Uhipi. He was gentle and easy to handle (which was essential, since the whole process required human presence, transport, and control). He was grey… and carried a detail that weighed heavily in our decision: a white star on his forehead.
In Sorraia breeding, white markings are undesirable: in the wild, white breaks camouflage and makes the animal an easier target. So, from the perspective of preserving a breed with traits close to the “wild type,” these markings are not wanted. Using a stallion with a white mark — and introducing that trait into our genealogy — was therefore a difficult choice. Still, the risk of consanguinity with the other stallions was greater, and so we chose Uhipi.
And so Cereja was born in 2007 — Mimosa’s last foal. From her mother she inherited the bay coat; from her father, the white star. A small mark on her face that, at first, felt like an uncomfortable omen: what if, because of us, we had opened the door to an undesirable trait?
Time answered better than we did. Cereja became, without question, our best mare. And more than that: our best mother. Since reaching breeding age, in 13 years, she conceived 10 times and produced 10 foals — some of the finest Sorraias we have ever had. We managed to recover a line of bay foals. And none of her foals — neither the grullos nor the bays — carry the white star. As if the mare herself held the mark, but chose not to pass it on.
The fear of spreading an undesirable trait almost stopped us from continuing the lineage through her. But the fact that she does not transmit the white mark makes her a true improver of the breed.
Today, she is the oldest mare in our herd. When we arrive, she is always alert. Her gaze is gentle but steady. She no longer keeps her distance as she once did; she flees less — or perhaps she no longer needs to. She maintains a short, measured distance, the kind held by animals who know our presence and still do not surrender. She stays there, the way animals who have seen everything stay: they do not run to us, they do not run from us — they watch.
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By becoming Cereja’s Guardian, you help us preserve her place in the Agolada herd and the maternal heritage she represents.
Every mare has a story. Cereja’s is one of motherhood, continuity and generations carried forward.
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