Jose' Aviles is a third generation horse trainer who is originally from Morelia, Mexico. He now trains horses and provides instruction to students at his farm in West Fork, Arkansas, serving the Fayetteville and N.W. Arkansas area. Jose also teaches at Elkhorn Stables located west of Fayetteville. Lessons are $50/session. Jose will also teach at other locations for $50/session plus a travel fee.

Circ de Jose is a group of Jose Aviles students that enjoy doing exhibitions for entertainment. The group began with the 2006 Horse Festival with Jose and his students Roma Lisa Gray, and Erin Tessman. Since then they have been joined by Carol Shannon and Susan McDonald. The group comes from a variety of backgrounds. Their discipline is Jose's unique combination of Vaquero, Baroque equitation and of course, Circus.

The goals of the group are building communication skills with their horses while having fun, entertaining, and for Jose and Rebeccca, promoting the rare Colonial Spanish Horses. Our equine partners are as follows: Roma Lisa and Abrasadora, a 7 year old Andalusian mare, Rebecca and Chisto, a 7 year old Colonial Spanish gelding, Erin and Willie, an 8 year old paint gelding, Carol and Gringo, a 9 year old Cremello Quarter horse gelding, and Susan and Espresso, a 10 year old Paso Fino stallion owned by Susan McDonald.  Jose rides variety of horses.

OUR HORSES

Barcode is a 7 year old Grant's Zebra stallion owned and trained by Jose Aviles. Jose acquired him from a local veterinarian as a 3 yo when he became too unruly for her to handle. He is and will always remain a wild animal. However, Jose has worked wonders with him, teaching him some manners and tricks and he has adjusted well to domestic life. He is the proud father of Zonkey Jote (pronounced Ho-tay) a zebra-donkey cross, that also belongs to Jose. As Jote matures he will be joining the Circ de Jose exhibitions.

Ibawichi is a 4 year old Colonial Spanish stallion. The Colonial Spanish horses are the pure descendents of the horses that came with the conquistadors to the New World. They no longer exist in their native Spain and the breed is considered endangered with fewer that 3000 in existence. Ibawichi is from one of the primary breeding herds which is located in the Kiamichi mountains of southeast Oklahoma. This herd was owned by Gilbert Jones and are from a foundation of North Texas, New Mexico and Utah Colonial Spanish horses to which has been added a good deal of Choctaw or Huasteca breeding and also horses from the herd that produced the famous endurance horse 'Hidalgo'. Upon the death of Gilbert Jones in 2000 the herd was passed on the the Bryant Rickman family. Due to the termination of grazing contracts the horses have had to be removed from the mountains in which they have ran wild for decades and many homes are needed for young Colonial Spanish horses like Ibawichi. For more information contact Bryant Rickman at www.rickmanspanishmustangs.com, or the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy at www.albc-usa.com.