Heather Bender

The Interagro Program - Lusitanos From Brazil

Heather’s experience with Sargon Interagro and Spartacus Interagro led her to truly understand the talent of the Lusitano horses. So Heather and Tom Mikes traveled to Brazil in July of 2004 to see the Interagro International Collection auction. They stayed for a week seeing the whole program and learned the vision of Interagro and the farm's founder Dr. Paulo Gaviao Gonzaga and his daughter Cecilia Gonzaga. The farm and their vision for the Lusitano was a life changing event for Heather and Tom. That trip was the beginning of Treasure Coast Farms that we know today.

Tom purchased 4 horses the first trip, Umbar Interagro and Ultramondono Interagro, are now 5 and two yearlings, and a small Palomino 4-year-old that will be a driving and riding horse for himself. Heather went on to show Umbar and Ultramondono in 2005 with winning success in the training, first level and the FEI 5 year old tests.

Tom and Heather returned to Interagro and bought two more special horses. One a stallion from the 2006 collection, Valete. Heather fell in love with this horse and wanted him for her friend. Lawrence Joyner, a top trainer of high school horses, also works at Treasure Coast and will do all the specialty ground work and Heather will do the riding.