Rancho San Bernardo

In 1992, Ayala Corporation was formed. It went on to become the second most important agricultural company in California with an annual turnover of US$36 million.

Its creator is Don Piedad Ayala. A man who at the tender age of 14 crossed the northern border in search of the American dream. He came from La Piedad, Michoacán, and when he reached Avenal, California, he worked hard until he got his own business.

Years later he was on the verge of bankruptcy, but his talent and unshakeable determination saw him through: with the earnings he later made from the production of garlic, pistachios, almonds, cotton, lettuce and tomato, the Michoacán man established himself as one of the most prosperous Mexicans in the American Union.

Now, Don Piedad Ayala not only creates jobs for tens of Mexicans who earn their living in the United States, but also for his countrymen in Mexico who have found a better way of life on the San Bernardo ranch.

He even convinced 6 entire Mexican families who had lived for decades in the United States, to return to live indefinitely in their homeland.

With the money he had earned in the United States, Don Piedad built a ranch in the precise town where he was born, La Piedad, Michoacán, and specializes in the breeding, sale and training of thoroughbred horses.

Don Piedad has more plans for Rancho San Bernardo, like the construction of an arena where he can show the horses he wants to sell and organize auctions.

He also intends to build an entertainment center which will make it an outstanding place to learn the different equestrian disciplines taught there by Don Lucio, one of the few men with more than 40 years' experience in dressage training.

The administration of the San Bernardo ranch falls on the shoulders of Alfonso Cabrera, a lawyer by profession who put his career aside for his love of horses.

Today, the place benefits 41 families, six of them directly as employees and the rest through the consumption of products and services at the ranch through the purchase of all kinds of food, medicines and materials.

Alfonso Cabrera, a man held in great confidence and affection by Don Piedad Ayala, says with pride and satisfaction, "I had to return to my land, to my roots, and thanks to Don Piedad Ayala, I did it.".