A decline in the use of the Peruvian Paso horse was seen in the southern part of Peru in the early 1900s, following the building of major highways that allowed motor travel to replace the use of the horse. Many of the major breeders in the area gave their best horses away to peasants living in the nearby "quebradas" (valleys). It was in one of these quebradas that breeder Gustavo de la Borda found the horse that was to become the most important modern sire in the breed, Sol de Oro (Viejo).