That was eight years ago and now the couple has nearly 30 of the little horses at their TLC Ranch in Desert Hills, including that very first one.

Miniature horses now play a dominant part in the couple’s life. They are the founding members of the Petite Elite Precision Driving Team, a group of dedicated mini‑horse owners who promote the breed. They show the horses, take them to various nursing homes and schools, and perform precision drills with the horses pulling carts at equine events and parades around the country.

Ron is also the current president, and Joanne the secretary, of the Miniature Horse Association of Arizona, of which there are nearly 100 members statewide. There are only three or four organizations of this kind in the United States.

“Most people don’t know the miniature horses exist,” Ron says. “When you say miniature horse they think of a Shetland pony. Make no mistake, these are not ponies. They’re horses and they can hurt you.”

The miniature horse can do everything a full‑sized horse can do except be ridden.

“They can pull twice their weight. They used to be used in the coal mines in Appalachia to pull ore carts in and out.

They’re short and can turn around inside a mine.”

Miniature horses perform in two classes, Ron continues.

“There’s the American mini class, where they are no taller than 34 inches at their withers; and the Registry mini class, where they’re only 28 inches tall. We’re in the American class.”

Joanne handles the choreography for the group’s performances.

“I pretty well put the show together,” she says. “We only use eight horses in the shows and we have 12 people. I’m the one who has to tell them who is going to perform and who’s not. We have to use the ones who are doing the best. Sometimes I have to be the bad guy. It’s not easy, because everybody works real hard on the routines.”

Owning one of the few mini‑horse breeding facilities in the country is both a pleasure and a pain at times, the Souzas say.

“It’s a pleasure to bring my little first‑graders out here for tours,” Joanne says. “They’re fascinated and the horses love them. It’s fun showing people around and explaining the horses to them. We don’t make much money because we don’t have the heart to sell them after they’re born.”

“Nobody’s as stupid as we are to keep all of them,” Ron laughs. “The way we see it, if we’re going to sell one, it better be going to a better home than it has here.”

To transport the horses to shows and events, like the upcoming Rose Parade, Ron has taken a full‑sized horse trailer that would normally hold four horses and converted it to a nine‑horse trailer.

Each stall is less than 30 inches wide and about five feet across, allowing the horse plenty of room.

“They travel just fine,” Ron says. “They just lean against the rails when they sleep. They’re easy to pull because they don’t shift around when I stop.

I installed two little cameras so I can watch them from the cab.”

Home is spacious mini‑stalls, perfect for a mini‑horse in a mini‑barn. The animals are friendly, playful and mischievous.

“They’re really like big puppies, big perpetual puppies,” Ron lovingly says of his horses. “We wouldn’t trade them for the world.”