A Concise History of the Arabian Horse
of
Spain by Andrew K. Steen
Arabian Horse Times • March 2007
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A Concise History of the Arabian Horse
of
Spain by Andrew K. Steen
167
Arabian Horse Times • March 2007
T
o fully appreciate how contemporary Spanish Arabians acquired their unique characteristics and obtained their present level of prestige and popularity, one must understand why and how the monarchy and the military became involved in the business of breeding horses. However, one must mention the Muslim domination. In 711, Tarik Ibn Zeyad and an army of 7,000 warriors disembarked on Iberian soil to battle the vastly superior Visigoth forces. Hearing of their arrival, King Rodrigo assembled a huge army (by some accounts 100,000 strong), and then marched to meet his demise on the irrigated plains along the north bank of the Guadalete, between what today are the towns of Jerez and Arcos de la Frontera. By curious coincidence or inexplicable fate, the ancient battlefield lies precisely on the ground now occupied by the Yeguada Militar’s (Military Horse Herd’s) Cortijo Vico, the home of the nation’s Arabian broodmare band and the birthplace of some of the finest stallions and mares the breed has ever known. Therefore, it might be said that the Arabs won not only the first skirmish, but also the war, because the descendants of their horses still command the same terrain. Throughout the 781 years that the Muslims ruled over most of Spain, thousands of Oriental horses, many of which arrived directly from Damascus and Baghdad, interbred with the local equine population, and their descendants evolved into the forefathers of today’s Hispano breed. Unfortunately, following the Muslim expulsion of the Reconquest, which ended in 1492, and throughout the ensuing four centuries, Spain’s often inept rulers wasted the nation’s resources attempting to maintain control of its far-flung empire in Flanders, Italy, and the New World. They also flagrantly disregarded Spain’s equine industry. During those epochs, frequent importations of different breeds, including numerous coarse, sluggish, meaty-headed horses from Naples, Holland, Normandy and Denmark, were imported, which over time contaminated and degenerated all of the nation’s herds to such a deplorable extent that suitable 1815 horses and mules for the military, commerce and agriculture were nonexistent. The crisis was exacerbated to the extreme by the War of Independence (1808-1814) and the systematic pillaging of almost all of Spain’s breeding stock by the French. As a result, the chronic war-horse calamity worsened and placed the nation’s defense in a perilous predicament. To assure that Spain would have a ready supply of quality horses and mules, the recommendations first purposed by Francisco Laiglesia y Darrac in his brilliant 1831 book, Memoria sobre la cria caballar en Espana — causas del aniquilamento de nuestros caballos (Thesis on Horse Breeding in Spain— Causes of the Annihilation of Our Horses) were finally adopted. Laiglesia might well be called the “father of the Arabian horse of Spain,” because he was the first to advocate the importation of a large group of desert-bred stallions and mares as the only means of recuperating the lost qualities in Spain’s horses. In the same work he also articulated the first detailed plan for the creation of the
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Selections from a Spanish stamp series, printed between 1973 and 1978, depicting military uniforms dating from 1493 through 1909.
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Cria Caballar, the Stud Book Español, the National Stud, Yeguada Militar and its regional stallion depots and Paradas, which are military-operated seasonal stallion stations situated in about 35 rural towns to improve the privately owned yeguadas. Despite assertions that the Duke of San Carlos and General José Maria Marchesi had made importations of Arabian horses sometime in the 1830s, it was not until the Second Carlist War (1847-1849) and the reign of Isabel II that the first constrictive impulse to resolve the reoccurring war-horse crises began. A Royal Order dated Nov. 6, 1846, promulgated during the dictatorship of General Ramón Maria Návavez, founded the Cria Caballar and the Stud Book Español (the first official registry of purebred Arabians in the world, which was established March 25, 1847), both of which were administered by the Ministry of War. Only three months prior to that time, Isabel II’s stepfather, Fernando Munoz, the 1st Duke of Riánsares, during his tenure as President of La Asociación General de Ganaderos (General Association of Breeders) had been responsible for a Royal Order of Aug. 10, 1846, which authorized Spain’s diplomat in Constantinople, Antonio Lopez de Cordoba, to contract Nicólas Gliocho, the famous Greek horse dealer and intrepid adventurer, to obtain horses directly from the itinerant Bedouin tribes of the Najd Desert of Central Arabia. Gliocho had previously acquired some of the finest and most influential stallions and mares for the great Polish Studs of Prince Sanguszko, Counts Branicki and Dzieduszycki as well as the King of Württemberg. Following an amazing, three-year perilous journey that cost Gliocho his life (having died at Diaberkir, Kurdistan, Jan. 10, 1850), a second Royal Commission headed by Martin Grande, a distinguished Spanish veterinarian of the epoch, was sent to retrieve the desertbreds. They were shipped from the port of Sentari, to Marseille, France, then led overland to Bayonne and thence to Spain. On Nov. 21, 1850, a total of 26 Arabian stallions, 12 mares and three foals (some died and others were foaled along the way) arrived safely to Madrid, which provided the first nucleus of purebred Arabians for the Royal Breeding Farm at Aranjuez. Regrettably, that well-commenced program came to an abrupt halt during the First Republic, when Isabel II and Munoz were sent into exile and all of those horses were sold and widely dispersed. One should always bear in mind that the Spanish military objective and stated goal was not to produce purebred Arabians, which they regarded as too small, but rather to breed HispanoArabs and Hispano-Anglo-Arabs, which in their opinion, possessed (top) The Ninth U.S. greater weight-carrying ability Cavary in the Spanish and were more suitable for the American War (1898). cavalry’s needs. Consequently, in the intervening years, as a stopgap measure, a number of (center) Wan Dick (Vasco De Gama x Hela), and stallions were imported from France. However, following the (bottom) Seanderich, two Spanish-American War (1898), of the four patriarchs the impoverished nation could of the “Spanish family.” no longer afford to pay such high prices and since they had not
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had the foresight to import any purebred mares, the military once again found itself embroiled in the same old dilemma of not having a domestic source of purebreds with which to reinvigorate the Remount’s herds.
1905 I
t was not until 1904 that General Leopoldo Garcia Peña, Chief of the Calvary, sent two new Commissions, in 1904 and 1905. Both were headed by Commandant Augstin de Quinto Fernandez de Rodas to obtain a group of desertbreds directly from the Orient for the foundation of that breed at Moratalla, the Yeguada Militar’s farm situated at Hornachuelos, Córdoba. The ill-prepared first delegation returned with only three stallions and two mares from Turkey, none of which established lines that are found in modern pedigrees. However, the second expedition, which began on May 13, 1905, was more rewarding. It entailed a sea voyage to Constantinople and an arduous seven-month, 600-kilometer horseback journey into the remote and desolate regions of the Syrian desert and parts of Mesopotamia to seek out the horses bred by the warlike factions of the Anazé-Sbaa and the Anazé-Fadaan tribes. Augstin de Quinto succeeded in the importation of 10 stallions, including Ab, a bay horse foaled in 1895; Tayeb, 1898, and Mustafa, 1897, both greys. Thirteen mares were also part of this importation of which three greys would become the keystone of Spain’s present-day purebred breeding program: Zulema, 1901 [a.k.a. Zelima]; Ymm, 1896; and Bint, 1902.
because he was such an outstanding sire of Arab-Hispanos. Nevertheless, his contribution to the “Spanish family” as one of its four patriarchs is firmly embedded in today’s pedigrees. The 1908 Commission also brought from the Syrian desert a number of mares including: Eureka, 1902; Farja I, 1902; Farja II, 1902; Fatima, 1903; Sambry, 1904; and Kalalla, 1895; as well as Zadjara, 1900 (all greys), from Egypt, each of whom established sub-families that, to greater or lesser extent, enhanced the Yeguada Militar’s broodmare band and continue to have an influence on the breed. In Volhynia, the Commission journeyed to Count Jozef Potocki’s Antoniny Estate, the birthplace of Skowronek, where Nowik (Sultan x Yantcharka) chestnut, 1904, was bought. Although none of his sons perpetuated his line, he was the sire of Siria (ex Oriental) chestnut, 1915, who was the dam of both Sirio III and Meca. Their champion descendents are legion in number and have had a tremendous impact upon the breed. At Bialocerkiew, the ancient stud of the Counts Branicki, they also bought Wan Dick (Vasco de Gama x Hela) grey, 1898, for 4,500 rubles. For more than a decade he practically monopolized the mares at Moratalla, siring 107 purebred get. As a consequence his omnipresent name can be found at least once in well-nigh every modern Spanish pedigree. At the same time they selected a group of mares, 11 of which can be found in modern Spanish charts. Noteworthy among these were two greys, Damietta (by Dahman Amir ex Gagar
1906 T
he following year the Cria Caballar sent another Commission, led by Commandant Mariano Lefort, to the renowned Arabian farms of Czarist Russia. At the Sachny Stud of Count Lean Abramowicz, they obtained two mares which would prove to be highly influential to Spanish bloodlines: Kadranka (grey, 1903) and Kebrebassa (bay, 1904), full-sisters by Kubeszan Ebni out of Satyra. On the same mission several stallions were also acquired.
1908 T
wo years later, the Cria Caballar dispatched another Commission believed to have been headed by Commandant Juan Sanz de Haro (a detailed report has not yet been discovered) to Egypt, Syria and Poland. It returned with (top) Ursus (Dahman Amir x several stallions of only minor Gagar), a patriarch of importance. However, amid their number was Seanderich, bredthe “Spanish family.” in-the-strain Saklawi, grey, 1902, who had reportedly come from (bottom) Tabal (Congo Baghdad. He was not used on x Hilandera) any purebred mares until 1918
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[a.k.a. Hagar] ex Ozora), grey, 1905; Europa (Kubikan x Otava) 1905; and the chestnut Arbaleta (Antar x Otawa), 1901.
1912 I
n 1912 the Cria Caballar sent Commandant Juan Sáez de Haro to Czarist Russia, Egypt and Turkey, where he obtained several extremely important sires. From Countess Maria Branicka at Bialocerkiew, they acquired the magnificent Ursus, whose true saga is far more compelling than all of the balderdash invented about him and the fictitious high price of 60,000 pesetas, which supposedly brought down an entire (never disclosed) Spanish government. The fact of the matter is that Ursus was not even considered the best stallion acquired by that Commission. As the second patriarch of the “Spanish family,” his male lines not only prospered, but also had an unprecedented impact upon its bloodlines. Through his sons Sirio III (ex Siria), chestnut, 1925; Gandhy (ex Gomara), grey, 1931; and the latter’s sons, Tetuan and Aboukir and their numerous descendants, Ursus was of enormous importance. At Antoniny, Ornis (Ibrahim x Sikora) grey, 1907, a three-quarter brother to Skowronek, was also acquired. Although he was sold desecho (permanently retired, often for excess numbers in the herd or because of advanced age, not necessarily defects)
and sired only two purebred get for Ybarra, he nevertheless left his mark through his descendant An Malik. Mares that were purchased on that sojourn included: Gacela II (Arsalam x Brussa), grey, 1906; Hela (Hamdani II x Altona) chestnut, 1905; Hesperyda (Hamdani II x Huriska), chestnut, 1904; Riada (Rushanie x Cometa), grey, 1906; and Rumelia (Rishanie x Maiuma), grey, 1908, all of whom enriched and added to the military herd’s breeding resources. Before returning home they stopped off in Turkey, where they bought five stallions, including a horse named Djeilá, who was considered as the finest stallion that they had encountered. However, these were denied an Iradé (export permit) by the Ottoman authorities, and none of them ever arrived in Spain. In Egypt they had better luck. There they bought several good horses, including the mare Farjan (a Saklawi), chestnut, 1905, and stallion Sabet-el-Heir, chestnut, 1906. However, Korosko, 1907, grey, bredin-the-strain Hamdani Simri, was of special merit. He wielded considerable weight in the evolution of the “Spanish family” through his daughters Euterpe (ex Zarifa), grey, 1919, and Fianza (ex Agata I), bay, 1920, which were later purchased from the estate of Marqués de Casa Domecq by the Duke of Veragua.
Juan and José Maria Del Cid B
y 1913 the Yeguada Militar herd had grown sufficiently so that some of its number were sold desecho, thus allowing private breeders the opportunity to acquire mares and stallions for the first time since the dispersal of the Royal Breeding Farm. The honor of being Spain’s first private breeder went to Juan and José Maria Del Cid, who purchased the mare Europa for 800 pesetas. In the ensuing years they sold more than 70 stallions to the Cria Caballar’s purchasing commissions. The Del Cid descendants continue to own one of the nation’s largest broodmare bands, numbering more than 70 head. The fact that they are the oldest breeding farm in continuous operation in the world says much about the quality of their horses.
José Maria Ybarra B
eginning in 1917 and for almost five consecutive decades, Ybarra had been engaged in the art of breeding Arabians— but not just your run-of-the-mill variety of stallions and mares. The man was to horses what Goya was to paint. In his own way he crafted several equine masterpieces. His broodmare band, which had originally been acquired from the Yeguada Militar between 1917-26, consisted of six Wan Dick and three Korosko daughters. In 1930 it was augmented (top) Congo (Ilustre x by several mares from Manuel Triana) Guerrero’s elite herd. Thereafter, no others were added, and the (bottom) Ajlun (Rasim morphological characteristics of x Merjamieh) that yeguada solidified.
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It is almost unthinkable to contemplate what today’s “Spanish family” might resemble had Ybarra not been there as a kind of guardian charting the course of the nation’s Arabians. By using a series of astonishingly prepotent stallions he continuously reinvigorated not only his own herd, but also influenced those foaled at the Yeguada Militar. He had been the first to experiment with the English import Aljun. Likewise, he was the first to recognize the potential of Fondak, Gandhy, Malvito, Aboukir, Ornis I and Tabal. As the last owner of Ursus, Ybarra had bred him extensively to his best mares with highly successful results. Ybarra’s stallions Gandhy and Tetuan were exceptional sires, although he regarded Congo as his crowning achievement. Over the years, other stallions such as Ornis II and Damasco III also played subtle yet significant roles in fermenting the Spanish gene pool that foreign breeders would later marvel over. Only a handful of individuals in the history have left such an indelible stamp upon the universal breed.
The Marqués de Casa Domecq F
ollowing the example of the Del Cids and Ybarra, Juan Pedro Domecq, the Marqués de Casa Domecq, began breeding purebreds around 1918. His ancestors had been breeding Hispanos and crossbreds for well over a century. Indeed, they had been among the fortunate individuals to acquire two of Gliocho’s stallions and a group of mares at the auction at Aranjuez during the First Republic. His mares included two daughters of Korosko, Euterpe (ex Zarifa), grey, 1919, and Fianza (ex Agata), bay, 1920, in addition to two grey daughters of Ursus: Cadiz (ex Euterpe), 1925, and Caftan (ex Erato), 1925, as well as three greys, Aida II (Seanderich x Incauta), 1930, Incauta (Seanderich II x Baraja), 1923, and Abadan (Egipto x Elmira), 1928, which, among others, were later integrated into the herd of the XV Duke of Veragua, who had previously bought Sirio III (Ursus x Siria), chestnut, 1925, a stallion of extraordinary quality.
Concurso y Venta (Contest and Sales) B
Frontera, involved in the business of producing and marketing its famous Sherry and Brandy) began breeding purebreds.
Manuel Guerrero O
ne of the most enthusiastic and gifted breeders was Manuel Guerrero, whose contribution to the Arabian horse of Spain has been grievously neglected. He was largely responsible for organizing the first race meets for Arabians in 1926. He was the only private breeder to import a stallion, Sawah-the-Second, from Egypt and brought over 20 horses from France, including Sultane (Farid x Andae), chestnut, 1912, and her daughter SadaYama (Hedbdan x Sultane), chestnut, 1919, whose contribution to the “Spanish family” has been overlooked far too long. Among the latter’s descendents is Barich de Washoe, in whose pedigree she is found twice. She may well have been the secret ingredient of that prepotent stallion’s success as a sire.
The Duke Of Veragua T
he family of His Grace Don Cristóbal Colón y Aguilera (1878-1936), a descendant of Christopher Columbus and the XV Duke of Veragua, had been breeding horses of various casts since the mid-17th century. His grandfather, Pedro Colón de Toledo, had been (along with Fernando Muñoz) Spain’s first private ganadero to employ several stallions acquired by Gliocho to breed crossbreds. Although he did not begin raising purebreds until 1926, Colón had already demonstrated his acumen by being the first to use Seanderich as a sire of Arab-Hispanos. An exceptionally knowledgeable connoisseur of the breed, Veragua often maintained, “the breeding of Arabian horses is a glorious task.” He not only collected the best Spanish mares from his fellow breeders, but also spared no expense to obtain the finest horses that money could buy from other sources, such as Lady Wentworth’s Crabbet Park. From Del Cid
eginning in the early 1920s the Cria Caballar intensified its efforts to compete in the international war-horse market, which for many years had been dominated by Anglo-Arabs from France and Russo-Arabs produced in Poland and Russia. In an effort to gain a foothold in that industry, the military began offering large prices (2,500 pesetas and more) for stallions produced by private breeders and patronized horse shows, polo Stallions Sirio III matches, endurance races, and Europe’s (Ursus x Siria) first regularly scheduled purebred racing and Razada program. As a consequence, the breed (Shazada x Rana). gained popularity, and around 16 wealthy individuals of the aristocratic and landed gentry class (mostly from Jerez de la
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he purchased Hungara (Wan Dick x Pelotera), chestnut, 1922; Arancenilla (Ursus x Babara), chestnut, 1923; Duquesa (Vissir x Montasena), bay, 1918; and Despierta (Vissir x Hele), bay, 1918. In France he acquired Andjer (El Sbaa x Adelaide), chestnut, 1927, and bought Guerrero’s Sada-Yama from Ybarra. In Argentina, through an agent, he imported 10 mares and one stallion from Hernan Ayerza, the oldest stud in the Western Hemisphere. Driven by an insatiable obsession to breed “the perfect Arabian horse,” he imported no fewer than 14 mares from England, including: Insilla (Naseem x Nisreen), grey, 1930; Ranya (Nasik x Riyala), grey, 1916; Ritla (Jeruan x Rissla), chestnut, 1930; Shalaimar (Yakoot x Jiwa-Jiwa), grey, 1921; Amuseh (Rasim x Arsua), bay, 1922; Awalani (Rissim x Libnani), bay, 1923; Kirat (Sher-I-Khurshid x Shejret Eddur), bay, 1926; and Libnani (a desertbred of the Mejamieh strain), bay, 1919. He also imported stallion Ajlun (Rasim x Merjamieh), bay, 1926, which became a foundation sire at the Portuguese National Stud. Veragua’s exceptional prowess as a gifted breeder culminated with the acquisition of five Skowronek daughters, all greys: Reyna (ex Rissla), 1930, Jalila (ex Rasima), 1922; Namira (ex Nessima), 1928; and Shelifa (ex Selima), 1922, and Nasieda (ex Nasra), 1927, a fullsister to Naseem. If one bears in mind that only five daughters and three sons of Skowronek ever arrived in America, his lust for excellence and aptitudes as a horse breeder becomes clear. Colón’s senior sires were Razada (Shazada x Rana) grey, 1923, and Sirio III. During the Second Republic he also bought, desechado, the desertbred Marouf and used him to sire 11 foals. Likewise, he was the only private breeder to use Sultan III (a Keheilan Nowag), chestnut, 1922, as a sire for potential racehorses. The “Vera mares,” especially Veracruz, through her only daughter, Galatife, established a dynasty of several hundred members that includes a myriad of extraordinary individuals such as the latter’s sons Orive (by Barquillo), Galero and Jaguay (both by Zancudo), and her daughters Teorica (by Barquillo), Zulema and Alhama III (both by Congo). Similarly, Veralca (the dam of Sablista), Verana (whose sub-family includes
prodigious sires such as Melikatoa, An Malik, Jalisco and the mare Estopa), Veranda (the dam of Habiente and Uzacur) and Veraz (the dam of Tea etc.) each had a huge impact upon postcivil war bloodlines. Veragua-bred stallions Nana-Sahib (Razada x Jalila) and Kashmir (Razada x Reyna), foaled in 1934, and to a lesser extent, Ifni (Razada x Reyna), 1937, all greys, likewise played pivotal roles in shaping the modern “Spanish family.” Cristóbal Colón y Aguilera’s singular contribution to the universal breed cannot be overstated.
1927 I
n an effort to obtain new bloodlines specifically for Spain’s recently created racing industry, in 1927 the Cria Caballar sent another Commission (its last), led by Commandant Javier Naneti, to Egypt, Syria and Turkey. Prior to departing for the East, it made a stop at the French National Stud to look over a group of stallions that had been imported in 1925, then sailed to Egypt to inspect all of the racing stables at the hippodromes of Alexandria and Cairo. At the palace of Prince Mohamed Ali they attempted to buy Nasr, who later was imported to the United States and used by General Dickinson at his Travelers Rest Stud. From Beirut they traveled by train to Damascus, then in rented Model-A and Dodge automobiles to Hama, Homs, and the ancient ruins of Palmyra, then into the desert in search of factions of the Beni-Kaled, Anazé Fedaan, Sbaa-Abade, SbaaGomosa, Mawali, Addidines and Arrakán tribes. They returned with four noteworthy grey desertbred stallions: Bagdad, 1923; Marouf, a Saklawi Jedran 1919; Sultan III; and Sawah-the-Second, 1920, who was bought on behalf of Manuel Guerrero. Additionally, they acquired 14 mares among which were Ghazel, Faouaza, Beni-Kaled and Selimieh, each of whom augmented the Yeguada Militar’s broodmare band and established formidable families whose descendants continue to influence the breed.
The Second Republic (1931-1936) I
n 1931 the Cria Caballar and the SSB were placed under the direction of the Department of Agriculture. During that corrupt administration, several sales of irreplaceable breeding stock occurred, including the loss of most of the desertbred mares that had been imported only four years before. By 1930 the breeding programs of the Guerreros and Domecq had been dispersed, their herds having been incorporated into the yeguadas of Veragua and Ybarra. The only positive development from an equine point of view that occurred during that tumultuous period was the exportation of four mares and one stallion to the United States. That small group would have a tremendous Desertbred and long-term beneficial effect stallion Marouf upon the American segment of
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the breed. Eventually it prompted other Americans to return to Spain for Arabians; however, three decades would elapse before a second importation came to pass. In the meantime, Spain and its entire equine industry would endure their harshest ordeal since the War of Independence.
The Draper Imports (1934) E
dna and James Draper, while residing in Valencia, purchased from Domecq two mares of exceptional merit, Meca (Ursus x Siria), chestnut, 1923, and Menfis (Egipto x Siria), grey, 1927. Together with their grey filly foals, Nakkla (Fondak x Menfis), 1932; Barakat (Fondak x Meca), 1932; and the grey colt, Rasel-Ayn (Axdir x Meca), 1933, they imported these five to the California in 1934. Collectively, the Draper imports established a dynasty of champion descendents that continues to have a profound impact upon the American sector of the breed.
The Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) T
he civil war was devastating to the nation’s Arabian horse industry. Many horses that were requisitioned from the National Stud and private breeders were never returned or did not survive the conflict, including Sawah-the-Second, who was gelded and sent to the Remount and most, if not all, of Korosko’s sons. In the latter case it was a great loss to the “Spanish family” considering that he was the grandsire of Nakkla and Barakat. For the next 30 years Spain’s Arabians, while certainly not forgotten, were widely assumed by foreign breeders, even by Edna Draper, to have become extinct. The Duke of Veragua was murdered, his breeding records were burnt or destroyed and his stallions that were kept at his palace in Madrid were killed and eaten by the nearly starving Republican militiamen that were trapped inside the encircled city, which lay under siege by Franco’s army for three years. Veragua’s mares remained at his farm Valjuanete in a no-man’s-land until they were rescued by the Nationalist army at the beginning of the war. They were sent to Moratalla, but three years elapsed before the Duke’s niece La Marquesa de Avella and his faithful groom Vicente Largo, had the opportunity to see them. In the interim their foals matured, and 10 fillies and two mares sired by either Razada or Sirio III could not be positively identified. Several are believed to have been the progeny of the Skowronek daughters. Recognizing their inestimable value, the SSB made a special exception and inscribed them under names beginning with the prefix of “Vera.” That honest disclaimer inadvertently cast a dark shadow of doubt upon (top) Agata III (Malvito not only their descendants, but also the entire “Spanish family,” which x Famula) the autocratic President of the AHCR used as a pretext to ban all (bottom) Barquillo of Spain’s Arabians from entry into (Eco x Rabina) the American studbook.
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The Dark Ages Of The Spanish Arabian Horse (1956-1965) F
or a variety of complex reasons following the civil war and World War II, the commercial market for the nation’s Arabians fell to dangerous levels, and the entire “Spanish family” was in grave peril of extinction. By the early 1950s Spain’s military was completely mechanized. The rapidly approaching obsolescence for the cavalry horse was clearly obvious to everyone. The only reason that the Cria Caballar was not eliminated at that time was that much of Spain’s antiquated agricultural economy continued to rely on horse-drawn machinery; throughout the nation more than one million mules remained in use. Although exceptional stallions such as Barquillo (Eco x Rabina), grey, 1938; Aboukir (Gandhy x Odalisca II), grey, 1937; Damasco III (Gandhy x Novelera), grey, 1941; Fabuloso (Nana-Sahib x Beni-Amer), chestnut, 1942; Malvito (Gandhy x Egina), chestnut, 1949; Congo (Ilustre x Triana), grey, 1941; and Maquillo (Gandhy x Famula), chestnut, 1949, were used during the late 1940s and/or throughout the 1950s, most of their sons serviced only grade mares at its Paradas. While a few new breeders established small programs during this era, Spain’s Arabian sector fell on extremely difficult times. Lacking commercial markets, the National Stud and the YM used many of their finest horses to produce crossbreds. Private breeders followed suit or chose to sell all or part of their herds to slaughterhouses.
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Spain’s Arabian population dwindled to alarming levels in the early 1960s. Only about 80 purebred foals were being produced each year, a ratio of only 24 percent to the number of purebred mares in the country. In 1956 the Yeguada Militar was moved from Moratalla to Cortijo Vicos. That action precipitated a major reduction in its herd, and several irreplaceable bloodlines were completely lost. Following the death of Ybarra in 1964, his stud was divided between his children, and it seemed probable that the largest privately owned bastion of the breed was also doomed. Fortunately, before that transpired, an international market was established, his herd was reconsolidated into three different yeguadas belonging to his heirs and they continued to breed Arabians.
The Count of Benalcázar D
on Francisco Zuleta y Queipo de Llano, a cavalary officer of Jerez de la Frontera, was a devoted and sagacious student of the Spanish Arabian horse linage who truly understood the subtle nuances and importance of preserving the unique bloodlines that the Cria Caballar had taken such pains to acquire. During the mid-1950s when the YM’s herd was drastically reduced, he bought about 30 horses that were sold desecho, despite the fact that there was virtually no commercial market for them. It is to him and him alone, that credit must be given for the perpetration of the third and fourth patriarchs of the “Spanish family,” because, just in the nick of time, he saved the sire lines of both the Razada and Bagdad from dying out.
Miguel Osuna Escalera D
on Miguel Osuna was a kind and gracious farmer of Ecija, Córdoba, who in the late 1950s began collecting Arabian mares of the most elite qualities and rarest bloodlines. Among them were Taifa II and Talia III, the only daughters of Dante, who traced to Wan Dick through
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the rare Oman branch of that line. He also owned Famula and her two daughters by Malvito: Agata III and the consistent producer of champions, Arilla, as well as two daughters of Barquillo: Sabiduria, who was among the most influential mares ever exported from Spain, and the particularly lovely Vera-bred, Uyaima (ex Imelina), bay, 1956, the dam of the intoxicatingly beautiful Estopa (by Tabal), grey, 1965, who, for a time was widely regarded as Europe’s finest broodmare.
Closing the Book D
ue to the obsolesce of the horse as an implement of war, no stallions and only two desertbred mares were imported after the Spanish Civil War. One of them, Saklauia Yedran, a chestnut, foaled in 1946, which was given to Generalisimo Francisco Franco by King Abdullah of Jordan, established a sub-family. Thereafter, the “book was closed,” so to speak, and no new bloodlines influenced the nation’s herd. As a result, Spain’s six remaining ganaderos had no choice but to closely line-breed (and on occasion inbreed) their horses. Thus, the unique characteristics, traits and genetic composition of the nation’s herd became firmly fixed and remained consistent for more than three decades. When they were eventually exported to foreign lands, their out-cross potential was explosive.
The Rediscovery U
pon the death of Francisco Zuleta, his widow, Maria Paz Murga Igual (La Condesa de Benalcázar), found herself the owner of approximately 70 Arabians with no means of disposing of them. She was a woman of great charm, determination and courage who was also not at all hesitant to tackle enormous undertakings. As it happened, an American solider from New Mexico stationed in Germany named James Hopkins, who spent his leaves from duty touring Europe’s breeding farms, arrived in Spain in the summer of 1962. In the company of Maria Paz, he visited the National Stud and the few remaining privately owned yeguadas, all of which were selling their Arabians to slaughterhouses for roughly 4,000 pesetas each. Appreciating their qualities and aware of the pandemonium that the first newly arrived Polish imports had provoked, he convinced her that the Spanish breeders could also establish an international market for their horses. In November of 1962, he penned an article that was published in one of the breed magazines, which for the Desertbred stallion first time revealed that, contrary to popular belief, Spain continued to Bagdad, whose produce purebred Arabians. sire lines were Naturally, the revelation that a preserved by the new, untapped source of Skowronek Count of Benalcázar bloodlines existed aroused the
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interest of several American breeders. The first to burst on the scene was billionaire Patricia “Tish” Hewitt, the inheritor of the John Deere tractor empire. She had entered the Arabian industry (such as it was at the time), by buying the remnants of Roger Selby’s famous stud and continued breeding his inbred Raffles horses at Friendship Farms, in East Moline, Ill. A.M. Work, the owner of the Seahorse Stock Farm in Oregon, was likewise intrigued by the prospect of refreshing his Raffles bloodlines for the same reasons. In the summer of 1963, Hewitt persuaded Dan Gainey, the President of the AHCR, and his young bride, together with equine zoologist Dr. Byron Good and his spouse, to travel to Spain in the hopes of acquiring some of those exotic bloodlines. In the meantime, the Countess had met with the five other remaining breeders and fixed a price of $1,000 per head, which was 12 times as much as a precious few could fetch as tourist-taxi horses or from the slaughterhouses.
Vested Interests (The Naked Truth) B
ecause of the phenomenal success that the first two waves of Polish imports had created, the last thing that many American breeders of domestic lines wanted was yet another foreign source of imported breeding stock depriving them of championships and, above all, sales. Long before the first Spanish Arabians arrived to American shores, a not-so-silent conspiracy to exclude their acceptance by the AHCR became firmly entrenched.
In Dubious Battle D
and any which had already been spoken for by Hewitt and Work, were eliminated from consideration. Charles A. Steen (1919-2006) sympathized with the plight of the Countess and the endangered horses that she was trying to save. On Jan. 3, 1964, in the salon of Madrid’s Castillana Hilton, he made a commitment to buy 10 mares, despite the high uncertainty that they might never be accepted by the AHCR. Shortly thereafter, Hewitt, having become a Director of the Registry, bowed out of the complicated enterprise. United with A. M. Work, a three-year battle with the AHCR and the entrenched opposition to gain acceptance in that studbook began in earnest. In the interim, despite supplications made to the Spanish breeders to “hold-off on the killing,” around 100 horses, including Malvito’s fine-looking daughter Zambra, were sent to slaughter. Titanic obstacles, infighting between the Spanish breeders and interminable delays had to be overcome. Following Work’s death in the summer of 1964, the Steen Arabian Ranch acquired both Alderbaran II and Agata III, which had been chosen by Dr. Pesi Gazder, PhD. on his behalf. Lest there be any doubt, the selection of all of the mares and the Spanish sires (Zurich, Bahram and Tabal) to which they were bred, was a joint decision made between Smith and Charlie’s son during their various trips overseas. At the last minute, Rogers, fearing that he would miss out, had rushed to Spain, while the horses were literally standing on the tarmac of Seville’s airport, and bought two mares that the Steens had rejected.
rawn like a moth to a flame, a 14-year-old boy enraptured by the breed had likewise read Hopkins’ story and written a letter to the National Stud, which went unanswered for five months. Only three months before, he had become the owner of his first purebred, The Electrician, one of America’s first and most successful Arabian racehorses. Following a one-page reply from the Countess, he persuaded his indulgent father to fly to Spain. His family spent their 1963 Christmas holidays in the company of Maria Paz touring the farms, the YM and the National Stud, where they saw the colossal Congo and his sons Tabal and Zancudo, along with Maquillo and all of Spain’s now famous stallions and mares. They were accompanied by their trainer, William J. Smith, who had come to work five months after the initial contact with the Countess had been made. While employed by the owner of Serafix, he had garnered more championship trophies than anyone in America. Many of the finest mares and stallions, Bahram (Tabal x Persia) including all descendants of the allegedly tainted “Vera mares,” which were Zurich (Malvito recognized by everyone who had seen them as being among the best individuals, x Extranjera)
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The Steen Importation of 1965 L
ate in the afternoon on May 10, 1965, 22 mares and fillies and one five-day-old colt, took to the sky. They were: two bays sired by Malvito, Agata III (ex Famula), 1961, and Alderbaran II (ex Halconera), 1957. Two Maquillo daughters, Oromana (ex Sauce II), grey, 1960, and Sabiduria (ex Habladuria), ch. 1954. Three Barquillo daughters, all greys, Palabrita (ex Hacienda), 1952; Rabiosa (ex Labrada), 1956; and Sauce II (ex Farina), 1954. Three greys by Damasco III: Pagana III (ex Escala), 1952; Rabadilla (ex Beni-Amer), 1953; and Rabieta (ex Yaima), 1953. Four fillies sired by Tabal: Liata de Washoe (ex Talia III), ch. 1965; Tagata de Washoe (ex Agata III), chestnut, 1965; Taduria de Washoe (ex Sabiduria), grey, 1965; and Tafal de Washoe (ex Taifa II), grey 1965. Two mares sired by Dante: Taifa II (ex
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Katiuska), grey, 1953, and Talia III (ex Danish II), bay, 1953. Two greys, by Aboukir: Sacudida (ex Bandera), 1954, and Salina (ex Famula), 1954. Two greys by Fabuloso: Yama (ex Neyma II), 1955, and Yokohama (ex Nubia II), 1955, as well as the greys Brussa II (Uad El Kebir x Lakme), 1958, and Ventolina (Congo x Kafira), 1954. The stallions of the importation were: Zurhama de Washoe (Zurich x Yokohama), grey, 1965, and two en-utero chestnut colts, Barich de Washoe (Zurich x Alderbaran II), 1965, and Tabalia de Washoe (Tabal x Talia III), 1966. In addition, twin en-utero foals sired by Tabal that died shortly after foaling and an en-utero Anglo-Arab filly rounded out their number.
The Slow Rise to Prominence M
ost of the Steen mares were too old and/or blemished from injuries and neglect to be shown; nevertheless, Rabiosa and Oromana racked up their fair share of prizes in America’s show rings, as did some of the young horses, notably, Liata and Zurhama de Washoe. However, it would be an exaggeration to state that any of them “set the world on fire,” because the attention of America’s breeders was not only focused upon the continuous and reoccurring new arrivals from Poland, but also upon the reintroduction of Egyptian imports that had done extremely well in America’s shows. Among the horses sold at the Steen Santa Barbara Sale of June 7, 1967, was Agata III, who was bought by James Kline and bred to his Egyptian stallion Talal. Following the success of Talagato, his owner, Mike Nichols, graciously also credited the colt’s achievements to his Spanish dam. At about the same time, Rogers sold Yamina (Zurich ex Brussa II), grey, 1963, at auction, for the (once) high price of $14,000, and caused a minor sensation. It was only then that stateside breeders finally acknowledged the quality of the Spanish horses and began heading across the waters. With a commercial international market firmly established (augmented by a total of 47 that by 1970 had been exported to Holland, West Germany, France and England), the slaughter finally came to a halt. Breeders who had previously used their mares to produce crossbreds reverted to breeding purebreds, and new Spanish breeders entered the picture. La Asociacón Española de Criadores de Caballos Árabes came into being and began sponsoring horse shows. Some of Spain’s new (top and center) Steen mares criadores (the preferred term used being loaded at the by modern Spanish horse breeders, replacing ganadero, which implies Seville airport. the production of other types of livestock) stayed the course and (center) Maria Paz with bred only from the old established the Steen mares. lines, while others elected to outcross with bloodlines from England, (bottom) Rabadilla Egypt, Russia and elsewhere, (Damasco III x reaffirming the Spanish adage, “no hay nada escrito sobre gustos.” Beni-Amer )
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In 1972, the “Vera mares” bloodlines were reluctantly accepted by the AHCR, which was feeling the heat generated by breeders who wanted to import from those countries. Shortly thereafter, with sublime irony,
several of the American breeders who had been the most vehemently opposed to the acceptance of any Spanish bloodlines, imported airplane-loads of them and in their magazine ads exchanged their little American flags and slogans for Spanish catchphrases. With the passage of time, Spain’s Arabians have been universally acknowledged for their excellence, and they are now bred throughout the much of the world. Although their numbers account for roughly 2 percent of all the Arabian horses on the planet, the ratio of championships that they continue to win, is greater than any other segment of the modern industry. It has been observed, “every living creature is but the sum of its ancestors.” If so, the “Spanish family” can be justly proud of the legacy of its ancient relatives, as the Brussa II (Uad El interminable saga of the universal breed Kebir x Lakme) continues to unfold.
About The Author Andrew K. Steen was born in 1948 in Houston, Texas, and grew up in Moab, Utah, and Reno, Nev. His involvement with Arabian horses began in 1960 with the purchase of White Eagle, a 4-month-old Half-Arabian colt who was destined to become the first U.S. National Champion Gelding in 1964. However, his fascination with the breed began in 1962 on the Tevis Cup 100Mile-In-One Day Endurance Race where he became the youngest rider (up to that time) to finish that torturous event. For 90 miles of the trail he rode beside John M. Rogers, a man who would become his mentor and encourage his desire to breed quality Arabians. Andrew’s father, Charles A. Steen, was soon reluctantly persuaded to switch from breeding Quarter Horses to Arabians. *Mohacz, *Carmencita el Haifa (who were among the first post-World War II Polish imports to arrive to American shores) and other mares, predominately of Polish bloodlines, were bought, and the Steen Arabian Horse Ranch was founded. Steen then embarked upon a unique breeding program that had an irrefutable positive impact upon modern American bloodlines, especially Arabian racehorses. In December 1963, his family traveled to Spain to see that country’s Arabians, which were in imminent danger of extinction due to a lack of domestic and international markets. In 1965, the Steen Arabian Horse Ranch reintroduced those rare bloodlines to the United States. Among the many famous horses that Steen owned, imported, and/or bred were Imagin, *Rabiosa, *Liata, *Zurhama, *Barich and all of the other so-called “de Washoe” line. Over the years Andrew had the privilege of knowing many of the icons of the breed, including such greats as Abu Farwa, *Serafix, Indian Magic, *Bask, Ofrika, Congo, Maquillo and Galatife. He regards *Arwistawa, 1965 U.S. National Champion Mare, as the most perfect Arabian that he ever saw and considers Skowronek and Kuhailan Haifi to be the most influential stallions of all time. His lifelong obsession with the authentic history and heritage of the breed has motivated him to directly seek out an abundance of lost and forgotten information, drawings and photographs from
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the descendants of some of history’s most illustrious breeders. Distrustful of second-hand, often erroneous accounts, whenever possible Steen collects his data directly from original documents that are safeguarded in archives and libraries throughout the world. Among the authorities that he finds most reliable are Sir Austin Henry Layard, Francisco Laiglesia, General Tweedie and Gladys Brown Edwards. In 2001 Steen published Count Josef Potocki—The Man Who Bred Skowronek and In Search of the Arabian Horse, an annotated translation of Captain Luis Azpeitia de Moros’ classic 1905 book, En Busca del Caballo Árabe. In 2004 he published and annotated Al Kamsa And Journey to Najd, which was derived from two long-forgotten manuscripts written by Carlo Guarmani in 1864 and 1866. It contains an abundance of primordial information about the origins of the Arabian horse. In 2006 he wrote A Glorious Task—The Eighteen Dukes of Veragua And Their Horses. His most recent book in Spanish was published in March 2007. Titled Anthologia de la Cría Caballar y El Caballo Árabe en España, it includes a wealth of extremely rare photographs and long-forgotten articles dealing with the foundation, evolution and history of Spain’s horses and the Spanish Arabian in particular. At the present time he has five manuscripts in various stages of preparation: All the Queen’s Horses—The Saga of Nicolás Gliocho’s Last Ride into the Najd, Bloodline—The History of the Spanish Arabian Horse, Legends of the Lost and Found and The Origin and Evolution of the Arabian Horse. He is also writing a biography titled Charlie Who? which portrays the true saga of his famous father’s triumphs, tragedies and disasters.
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