Sheila Varian - A Tribute To A Legend, printed in Arabian Horse Times

severa photo

No story about an unusually accomplished woman and a 62-year-old breeding program that has influenced the Arabian industry not only in North America, but in pedigrees worldwide, will fit in one issue of a magazine. For that reason, a fuller account of Sheila Varian’s life, her breeding program and its impact will be published this fall in book form by ARABIAN HORSE TIMES. This tribute is only a taste, and since the history of her work and her top horses is well known, we focus here on the personality behind the remarkable achievements.

by MARY KIRKMAN Long before Sheila Varian became an icon in the modern Arabian community—as a breeder and, back in the day, as a trainer—she was a media darling who wowed the equestrian world at large. The “media darling” part (surrounding her Cinderella win at the Cow Palace in 1961) lasted only a few days; the wow factor, while it may have faded or intensified as the years passed, never really went away. That was rooted in her horsemanship, which, as formidable as it was from early in her life, did nothing but increase as time went on. By the time she died, on March 6, 2016, her 62-year-old breeding program had long since been recognized as a landmark in the Arabian industry, and as importantly, her single-minded regard for the animals in her care had attracted new generations of enthusiasts to horses.

Glancing over the bare facts of Sheila Varian’s accomplishments, it would be easy to conclude that she was St. Sheila, the golden girl who opened doors with her extraordinary ability. But nothing could be further from the truth—or more boring, when stacked up against her real experience. There is no question that she did a lot of things right, but over the course of her life, she also knew tragedy, loss, loneliness and fear, and had to fight to overcome all of them. How Sheila Varian, the child who threw herself off of horses in a misguided attempt to be a “real cowgirl,” became Sheila Varian, the world-recognized Arabian horse breeder (and member of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame) is not a simple tale. She was not a simple woman.

Who Was Sheila Varian—Really? continued ...

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Sheila & Don Severa, Scottsale 1993

Bay El Bey (Bay-Abi x Naganka)

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Behind the scenes, who was the person, not the icon? How much time have you got?

Clearly, she was a horsewoman. But she also was other, less well reported things. She was a trombone player in her high school band, a tomboy who loved dressing up, a natural (and trained) teacher, and an inspired, but educated, breeder who doggedly resisted barn blindness.

She was incredibly sensitive with animals and liked people, but she also could be very impatient, and sometimes bossy, with humans (several of her friends observed that after one particularly trying period of her of life, she emerged noticeably more compassionate about those around her). And later in life, realizing that she had “girl friends” for the first time in her memory—just casual, day-to-day reading and riding buddies—she marveled at the joy they gave her.

She was the product of a small California town named Halycon, which was founded as a center for theosophy (kind of a combination of the best of philosophies, she once described it). For practical purposes, it was a tolerant, inclusive community with a great appreciation for nature, and it attracted artistic types: poets, musicians, painters and writers were at home there. She grew up in a family where conversation challenged the mind, and the discipline, responsibility, honesty and fairness she learned there would be mentioned throughout her life when associates described her.

From her early adulthood, she functioned in a man’s world, running her own ranch and supporting it with her own efforts, and she knew what it was to be solely accountable for not only herself, but a business with several other living beings. “One time when I was showing Ronteza, I had a guy tell me I should go home and cook and clean and be a girl,” she remembered in a 1995 Arabian Horse Times profile. “That absolutely stunned me

… I was so astonished. I couldn’t breathe … I really felt awful—he had no idea how badly he made me feel. At the time, I was making my living just like he was making his living.”

It is sometimes forgotten now how stressful some of those early times were.

Her recollection of the period mentions that for five years, she borrowed $5,000 annually from an aunt to stay afloat, paying it off promptly each time. But that doesn’t cover the uncertainty and thrift that marked her business plan. Stories of the intern program she instituted at the ranch during those years rarely include that the interns were unpaid—their compensation was the experience of learning from her already-vast equine knowledge—and everyone, Sheila included, ate generic brands and day-old bread.

During that time, the Varian horses were hauling home a lot of hardware from shows, which was critical promotion for the program’s growth. In 1977, when Sheila took Bay El Bey to the Canadian Nationals, she needed to win as many trophies as possible, and counting the various disciplines, she had seven contenders available. The trouble was, she had only a sixhorse trailer. So her 8-year-old stallion, Bay El Bey, rode the entire trip from the central coast of California to Calgary in the open storage area near the front of the trailer, secured only by cross ties. Horsewoman Christy Egan, who was caravanning with Varian on the trip, remembers the surprise of the Canadian customs agents who opened the forward door to peer in—and came face to face with the tall bay stallion who gazed obligingly back at them. It was worth the effort; Bay El Bey was named Canadian National Champion Stallion a few days later. And to the end of his life, he was trustworthy about standing. He routinely greeted ranch visitors by posing un-tethered in the open doorway of his stall, his front feet planted firmly on the sill, never offering to walk out into the aisle. A dozen feet away, Sheila enjoyed watching him do it. continued ...

I first met Sheila, much like I meet most people, over the phone. It was 2004 and I had been assigned a magazine photo shoot on Bridle Horses with this gal named Sheila Varian. So I called her up; struck up a conversation; and a couple of weeks later I was a guest at her home and my life was changed forever.

To say I loved hearing Sheila’s stories of past horses and people would be an understatement; I could listen to her for hours and never tire! Some other important things about Sheila were honesty, dependability, and keeping the things that worked, but not necessarily having a lot of ‘stuff.’ I personally valued that Sheila kept the bits from her childhood and that her favorite belt buckle was the small one with the reining horse that was dull with wear since her youth.

She was totally at home in the saddle, adored her life, loved what she had; used what she loved on a daily basis; and took immense pride in adding to her chosen breed. And while I never got to speak with Angela much, you knew that these two were peas in a pod—where one left off, the other one picked up, and I feel the ranch and breed are both in excellent hands.

Fibelkorn photo

Happy Trails, Miss Sheila. ~ Photographer & friend Sharon Fibelkorn

With Audacious PS (Fame VF x HAL Flirtatious) 2015, photo by photographer and friend Brandon Bessey.

Varian was never a conventional beauty, but with her height (six feet in her prime), long legs and narrow hips, she was a clothing designer’s dream, and as time went on, she knew her own attributes as well as she knew those of her horses. Or in other words, she watched what she ate and didn’t take the level of exercise in her daily life for granted. For much of the first 20 years in her career as a breeder and trainer (roughly 1960-1980), she had little time to devote to her appearance, so jeans and tee shirts were the order of the day. When she teamed up with Don Severa, who would be her partner for more than two decades, he recruited Jerry Sparagowski to “rebrand” her image for their advertising campaign. The noted photographer shot a series of pictures of her wearing a silk shirt while interacting with her foundation stallion, Bay-Abi. Ironically, such was her relationship with Bay-Abi—and such was Sparagowski’s talent—that viewers may never have noticed the soft, feminine blouse. The overwhelming image was of a woman and a horse who loved each other.

It was, perhaps, an unnecessary project anyway. Varian’s childhood had equipped her with an appreciation for beauty, and friends later noticed that when given the opportunity offered by more success, her taste in fashion

included beautiful fabrics and flattering cuts. In later years, although she usually chose stylish western outfits when she dressed up, her statement was always of taste and elegance.

Early in her career, Sheila lost her beloved father, and later her mother and sister. Those were dark times; she remembered the pain and the gloom, especially after her mother, her closest confidant in her fascination with Arabian horses, died in 1973. She had no option, however, except to keep going. “It’s a tough thing to go alone,” she later said succinctly.

“That’s the hardest of anything. Family is everything.”

As the 1980s dawned, however, things changed. After two decades of working 24/seven, Varian Arabians was easing into more financial security and Sheila decided to reward herself with a more feminine bedroom. On the recommendation of a friend, she hired architect Don Severa to do the work, and with that, launched an important period of her life. It was a personal as well as business relationship, and with Severa’s input and encouragement, she honed business, management and promotional skills to augment her equine resume.

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“The two of them were whirlwinds,” Marty Shea reflects. “They syndicated [Huckleberry Bey], they traveled all over the country, they went to Tahiti for three weeks. Don opened up a whole new life, a new world, for her.”

When the partnership ended painfully, Sheila was crushed and nearly broken—but she didn’t know how to give up and even if she had, it wouldn’t have been an option. Quitting was not in her vocabulary. “I’m a person who puts one foot in front of the other,” she would say. Nor did she, after she recovered, revise history. Although they emailed rather than spoke, she and Don would remain connected through business, and she acknowledged the role he had played in her life. “She was always fair,” Shea says.

“He was a big part of that whole situation and she in no way would ever have excluded him from that. It would have been wrong; it would have been unfair in her eyes.”

“Karma,” Sheila would chuckle when asked why she didn’t engage in other common but questionable practices. She was serious. When she was growing up, the Golden Rule was alive and well in the Varian household.

That sort of broadminded commitment to a principle did not mean, however, that she was naïve or a Pollyanna. In a lifetime of earning her own way, she had to market the difficult sale candidates as well as the easy ones. Still, she always told the truth, one early associate noted, even in extreme circumstances. He recalled one instance in which he and a friend had looked at a horse who was not, to put it mildly, one of Varian’s stars. “This one is very tall and very stretchy,” she told them as horse

stood up for inspection. They looked him over but passed on buying him, and as they drove away, the friend remarked, “That was an ugly horse!”

“Sheila never said he was beautiful,” the man telling the tale pointed out.

“She never lied. She told us he was tall and stretchy, and he was.”

That her clients were pleased with their horses was evident in the strength of her sales record. “She was very good with her customers,” Gene LaCroix says. “When she sold horses, she followed up. Obviously, she was doing it to promote success—there’s nothing wrong with that—but I always got the feeling she treated her customers well. She had a lot of repeat business.”

Sheila loved animals with a practical ferocity, going so far as to refuse to sell if she thought a buyer wouldn’t treat the horse well, but once was surprised when someone referred to her horses as her friends. It was an easy mistake to make; her relationships with some of her favorites were unmistakably close and heartfelt.

But as much as she cared for her animals—and went to great lengths in training her youngsters to interact well with humans and function in society—she refused to anthropomorphize them. She had too much respect for who they were as horses. Some of that was her rancher’s mentality, which was rooted in an understanding of life that didn’t look at the world through rose-colored glasses, and some of it was just her respect for nature.

And that may have been the key to the success of Varian Arabians: breeding Arabian horses was not a game for her. It was a real, important and lifelong mission. continued ...

Aboard Jullyen El Jamaal (Ali Jamaal x Jullye El Ludjin)

MENTORS ~ Sheila didn’t have mentors in the conventional sense.

She didn’t work under a well known breeder or trainer, or learn from a university professor who specialized in any one equine subject. Her knowledge of Arabians grew over years of experience, as well as, in common with many young horsemen of the era and even now, spending hours watching accomplished horsemen school and present horses at shows. She did, however, learn much about her approach and her priorities from four especially important people in her life.

MENTOR ~ SID SPENCER The first was local rancher Mary Forsyth “Sid” Spencer, who owned a ranch about 10 miles from Halcyon, and when Sheila was 13 or 14, Spencer not only recognized the young teenager’s potential, but importantly, offered guidance and support. Sheila, whose skill with horses up to that point was self-taught and born of her love for animals, began her real education as a horsewoman and cowgirl with Sid.To the end of her life, she never spoke of her first mentor without admiration and respect evident in her voice. Sid, she said, did everything that male ranchers did—she could shoe, geld, and train horses, as well as repair fences, bring in hay, and more—and from her, Sheila learned how to do much of it as well. It was here also that she inherited a love of working cow horses and an affinity for the Vaquero method of training.

MENTOR ~ MARY ALICE MANKINS Nearly all who knew Varian well comment on her love not only of learning, but also of teaching.

It was a Varian trait, something the founders of Halcyon had shared at the turn of the 20th century and characteristic of how she was raised. For Sheila, learning was not just a habit; when she chose a profession, it was as an instructor in physical education. She graduated from California Polytechnic University San Luis Obispo in 1960, and accepted a position at her old high school on staff with the teacher who had most inspired her, Mary Alice Mankins. As Sid Spencer had shaped her horsemanship and her dedication to ranch life, Mankins influenced her affinity for teaching, offering Varian guidance and the freedom to explore her own ability to engage students’ interests and mental faculties. From Mankins, Sheila would comment, she learned that the best way to educate was to make learning fun.

Years later, Sheila’s friend Marty Shea would smile when she recalled how reflexively that need to teach would kick in. “We would be riding and she would say, ‘Now, Marty, let’s try this …’ She was always the teacher and you were always the pupil.”

As of March 1, 2016, Sheila Varian was the breeder of nearly 1,300 registered Arabians and Half-Arabians, estimated to influence more than 70 percent of pedigrees today.

Sheila stories ... there is NO WAY only one!

s on rides that amazed me, There where so many times Sheila would do thing bled me. She rode with such a intimidated me, educated me, and above all, humition of it actually. quiet confidence, the original “Yahoo!” The defin but after many fun rides and Like everyone, I was in awe of her at the beginning,rable she was. An icon no doubt, shoots together, I realized just how soft and vulne ience great friendships! but Sheila was also just a girl who wanted to exper aways reached to earn it!

She gave respect to those who earned it ... and I ed to me when I told her my Sheila let me make art with her stallions, she listen“current” mattered to her, I loved Being ons. opini my crazy ideas and she asked for was a buddy and a mother at the that about her! As I write this, I ache inside; sheof my life. e cours the d altere same time, she enriched and a different flavor without her.

My world, and the Arabian world, will forever beI miss her every day. it.

But both are rich and full from having her in Photographer and friend, ~ April Visel

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SHEILA VARIAN Winner of U.S. and Canadian National championships in English, hunter, park, stock, western and halter Member of the Cowgirl Hall of Fame (A personal favorite, given her background.)

Arabian Horse Trust Breeder of the Year four times Arabian Professional & Amateur Horsemen’s Association Breeder of the Year four times Arabian Horse Breeders Association Lifetime Breeders Award Ellen Scripps Davis Memorial Award for breeding excellence, presented by the U.S. Equestrian Federation, addressing all breeds and disciplines USEF/Performance Horse Registry Leading Breeder Award Chosen by her peers as AHT Readers’ Choice Breeder of the Year three times Leading breeder at the U.S. Nationals and Scottsdale on numerous occasions Member of the APAHA Hall of Fame Arabian Horse Breeders Association Lifetime Ambassador Award Monty Roberts Equitarian Award for trainers in the western discipline who choose to train in the absence of pain and violence

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Over the years, Sheila’s horses and experiences made for countless colorful stories. One of her all-time favorites tales, and one which says much about her and the horses who were special to her, was of how she and Ronteza took San Francisco’s Cow Palace by storm.

Ronteza: The Fairytale Story Of Winning The World

In her lifetime, Varian had many “personality” horses (Farlotta, Bay-Abi and Huckleberry Bey all were noteworthy characters), but in the beginning, Ronteza, her first headliner, was not one of them. “[S]he was just a very serious, kind and sweet horse that didn’t beg for treats and didn’t come when called,” Sheila recalled of those early days in one of her “A Lifetime With Horses” AHT columns. “She would have gotten the good citizenship award of a town because she was so conscientious. I suppose ‘conscientious’ was Ronteza’s middle name.”

From the time Sheila began training Ronteza and first realized the filly’s talent, she dreamed big—really big. In her world, that meant winning the Reined Cow Horse Championship at the Grand National Rodeo, held every fall at the Cow Palace. She didn’t talk about it to others; in the beginning, it might have sounded delusional, or worse, arrogant. But she dreamed, and step by step, over a period of five years, she schooled Ronteza through the stages of her training, from the hackamore all the way to the spade bit.

By October 1961, she and her mare were ready. It is true that she was not particularly well known in the reining world at that time, but she was not unknown. Riders on the west coast circuit where she showed were aware of Ronteza; one, celebrated horseman and judge Jimmy Williams, as accomplished in an English saddle as he was in a western, had complimented the mare. But probably the Cow Palace was not prepared for her. She was, after all, a girl and an amateur, and she was mounted on an Arabian mare, not a Quarter Horse. At best, she would have been a novelty—which is what attracted the newspapers and television crews, although they didn’t catch on until she won the Light Horse competition on Friday night.

Sheila and her mother, who had driven up with her, were unaware of the hoopla. Their barebones, chilly and rather damp hotel room

had no television, and at the arena during the day, they were in their own world.

Sheila exercised and groomed Ronteza and battled nerves, and Wenonah simply kept her daughter company. Other competitors, Sheila later said, enjoyed the camaraderie of their world and they were perfectly nice to her, but overall, it was her first time in that atmosphere and she was too focused— strung too tightly—to think of anything but showing Ronteza.

On Thursday morning, she and Ronteza competed against about 30 other Light Weight entries to win one of five slots in Friday night’s final. So uninitiated was she that she did not realize that when her number was called first, it meant that she and her mare had scored the highest of the five horses who moved on to the Friday class. Describing her emotions that opening day of competition—the moments when her tension transformed into a joy that resulted in a nearly flawless performance—she later wrote, “Riding a good bridle horse has always been like a song to me. The movements my horse and I make together are the melody that floats through the air.”

On Friday, they were back, and Ronteza was sharper than ever, so tenacious as she battled her steer that when she hit a slick stretch of dirt and lost her footing, going down heavily on her side, she scrambled right back up and kept going. It was all so seamless that Sheila, who had been jolted up from the saddle, simply stood still and her mare rose under her, avoiding the automatic disqualification that would have resulted had she been thrown off. Again, she and Ronteza scored highest. That’s what put the press onto the hottest story at the Cow Palace: the tall, thin girl from nowhere, riding her spunky little Arab mare, was suddenly nose-to-nose with the best reining riders in the world.

The final competition, where the top three horses from both the Light Weight and Heavy Weight divisions rode for the championship, a $1,000 prize and a Bill Maloy saddle, was almost anticlimactic.

Before an audience of 10,000 people, Ronteza was so in the zone that for years afterward, photographer George Axt used a shot of her that afternoon as an example of a classic sliding stop.

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MENTOR ~ TOM DORRANCE

In reining parlance, scoring the highest in the Grand National Rodeo’s Reined Cow Horse Open Championship was called “Winning the World,” and the news about Sheila and Ronteza reverberated across the horse world. In Scottsdale, a 13-year-old Gene LaCroix, not yet the household name in Arabians that he would become, heard it. “It was huge,” he remembers now, and because she was riding an Arabian, it had special significance.

“I identified with it.”

In San Francisco that evening, the magnitude of the achievement had not yet set in for Sheila and Wenonah when they loaded up an exhausted Ronteza and headed down the coast for Halcyon.

They didn’t know that there was a party going on that the winner traditionally attended (and where plenty of people were prepared to celebrate them), but it wouldn’t have mattered anyhow. Sheila had to teach school the next morning, and what is a four-hour trip now was even longer then, particularly when pulling a horse trailer—a horse trailer with a horse in it who was worth the world to her young owner.

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A few days after Sheila arrived home from her transformative win with Ronteza at the Cow Palace, her next mentor drove onto the property.Tom Dorrance, who in years to come would be recognized as the original “horse whisperer” (the inspiration for the individuals and training systems that later would be well known), came looking for her. He had seen Ronteza’s performance and he felt that Sheila had potential. He remained for a few days, teaching her methods he had developed after watching horses in the wild, a “soft approach” that was based on his observations of their body language and herd behavior. It was the first of many such consultations; Dorrance’s techniques fit with her approach not just to horses, but to all animals, and they would be dear friends until his death in 2003.

“Probably the most fascinating thing to me about animals is their language,” Sheila commented in 1995.

“I was a shy kid who was always good with animals, so I spent tremendous amounts of time with them. I find them ultimately fascinating. I understand: I can look into their faces, can look at their ears, at how their bodies move … I really enjoy that. I never look at an animal that I don’t see some little sign in its behavior, and in my subconscious I’ll say, ‘Oh, I never noticed that before, oh, I get what it means!’”

Huckleberry Bey (Bay El Bey x Taffona) Sheila with Peter Cameron and Gene LaCroix.

Bay-Abi (Errabi x Angyl)

The Significance Of Sheila Varian In The Arabian Breed “Sheila had her definite convictions about her breeding program,” says Gene LaCroix, who knew her for much of her life (she once informed him that she saw him at his first big show, in Santa Barbara in 1959, and he remembers her early-1960s visit to Lasma in Scottsdale after *Bask’s initial national championship). “The last time I was at the ranch in 2011, we walked through the herds as we had previously. Now we’re into 10 or more generations of breeding, and she’s injected some lines that maybe I wouldn’t have, but she made it work for herself and she produced really good horses.

“It reminded me of going to Poland when you could see generation after generation of horses,” he continues, “and they may have changed in type, but they didn’t lose structural integrity. She was breeding for the market, and there is nothing wrong with that, but she did not compromise good, basic conformation. If something was going to take her in that direction, she wouldn’t do it. She’d stop using it in her program. She produced a beautiful horse, and obviously, the record speaks for itself.”

Like many others who commented, he noted that her rigorous devotion to conformational excellence is an increasingly valuable resource in today’s industry. “You can see now where some breeding programs are going for a certain type of horse, which can be a saddle horse, a halter horse, or whatever different type,” he says. “And they are going so much for that look that conformational integrity is lost, and you see club feet, straight hocks, things like that. People don’t seem to be concerned about that.” He shakes his head. “Sheila was concerned about it.”

The progression of the Varian breeding program is well documented—old news at this point—but bears repeating. A study of her sire line, coupled with the performance of her most successful mares, reveals a blue chip strike rate of national champions and national champion producers (as well as winners and accomplished participants in most other equine disciplines, including Sheila’s own beloved cattle gathering and trail riding).

In 1959, Varian acquired her first stallion, a 2-year-old colt named Bay-Abi, at the first Arabian auction held at San Francisco’s Cow Palace. As she told the story, the catalyst was that when she looked at Bay-Abi, she felt an instant connection to him. He had the essentials of what she liked: balanced conformation (he was a three-circle horse), beauty and a willing temperament. She was with her mother, Wenonah, at the time and it is likely that the pair found his pedigree to their taste as well.

Two years later, they purchased their foundation mares. The first Arabians since General Patton’s World War II rescue were beginning to emigrate from Poland, and the Varians were among the earliest to participate.

Wenonah researched pedigrees and, through British horsewoman Patricia Lindsay, selected three mares to import.

“It sounds strange now,” horsewoman Christy Egan says, “but back in those days, it was more expensive to transport horses from Poland than to purchase them in the first place. You bought them ‘by the [shipping] crate.’

That was more practical than buying one or two.”

Wenonah’s choices were *Bachantka (Wielki Szlem x Balalajka, by Amurath-Sahib), *Naganka (Bad Afas x Najada, by Fetysz [and out of Gazella II]) and *Ostroga (Duch x Orda, by Omar II). It is interesting to note that *Bachantka’s dam, Balalajka, also produced *Bask and *Bandola—but when Wenonah selected her daughter, *Bask had not yet been imported to the United States. No one had ever heard of him outside of Poland.

Over the years, the headline horses at Varian Arabians have been the stallions, who received the bulk of the ranch’s promotional efforts. From Bay-Abi would come one of the iconic dynasties in the Arabian breed. The first generation out was his son Bay El Bey, born in 1969 from *Bachantka. A tall, stretchy stallion for the era, Bay El Bey was a Canadian National Champion Stallion and twice reserve in the United States, but by far, his contribution to the Arabian breed was as a sire, particularly of stallions. His three most famous sons—Huckleberry Bey (retained for the Varian program), Barbary (sold to Mike Nichols), and Bey Shah (bred by Lester and Jennie Walton)—had a profound impact on the breed in both halter and performance from the 1980s to the present, at first directly in some of the most successful competitors of all time, and now as strong pedigree influences.

Huckleberry Bey was Varian’s next sire, and while the ranch was a source of horses for all disciplines of the ring, in the 1980s it was particularly well known for Huck’s English horses. He dominated the division, and sired Afire Bey V (sold to Maroon Fire Arabians), who is its strongest influence now.

The next stallion in the line was the Huckleberry Bey son Desperado V, who polished the farm’s presence in western disciplines. Today, the line has extended to Desperado’s sons (such as Maclintock V, at Varian, and Sundance Kid V, who was sold to Palmetto Arabians) and grandsons, currently represented by the young Maclintock V son, Major Mac V. Through the years, Sheila was never afraid to add other lines and even complete outcrosses. She was an early patron of *Bask, and in 1969, she leased a newcomer named Khemosabi. For a time, she was a part-owner of Sanadik El Shaklan, and later, her best known additions were Jullyen El Jamaal and Audacious PS. Both introduced new influences (Jullyen especially, with his double infusion of Ali Jamaal), but both also reflected a line of Varian heritage.

Jullyen counted Bey Shah as a great-grandsire, while Audacious’ sire, Fame VF, was a Bay El Bey grandson.

MENTOR ~ WENONAH VARIAN Both of her parents were highly intelligent; stimulating conversation was a hallmark of the Varian household. And Eric Varian fully supported his wife and daughter in their growing equine venture, often serving as the anchor who cared for the horses when they traveled to farms or attended horses shows.

But it was Wenonah who studied the breed itself, pursuing Arabian pedigrees all the way to the desert and selecting the family’s foundation mares. Early in her life, Sheila was more focused on her hands-on work with the horses, learning to care for, ride and train them. As she grew into herself, however, her mother’s encyclopedia knowledge of bloodlines fueled her own education in the Arabian breed around her.

The fame of the Varian stallions notwithstanding, the secret to the program’s success lies just as much in the long and proven history of its mares.

All three of the original Polish mares made their contributions in an unbroken procession, as did select additions over the years did as well. Ten generations down now, their descendants are the backbone of a broodmare band that has fielded not only winners and bloodstock for Varian, but also in other programs as well.

One good example would be the line which began with *Bachantka. Bred to Bay-Abi, she produced Baychatka, who when crossed with Khemosabi, offered Moska. From Moska came generational history that fired out national champion after champion—glittery names like Magination V, Melody V and more— and decades down the line resulted in such stars of today as Zefyr, Onyx A and Monticello V. continued ...

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Jullyen El Jamaal (Ali Jamaal x Jullye El Ludjin)

And that is just one line. *Naganka and *Ostroga made their marks, as did such additions as the *Bask daughter Autumn Fire, dam of Afire Bey V, who was purchased by Varian in 1981. These days, the Sanadik El Shaklan and Jullyen El Jamaal daughters are flexing their muscles, and individuals such as Misti Morn V (by Audacious PS), the Ali Jamaal mare Sweet Shalimar V (dam of Sundance Kid V), Sweet Klassique V (by Fairview Klassique), and the Desperado V mare Khantina Girl V, among others, are focused on the future.

If the youngsters out on Colt Hill and in the filly pastures are any indication, visitors to the ranch lately report, there remains a lot of story to come for Varian Arabians.

Happy Trails, Sheila “There’s one thing you have to make clear,” says Sheila’s longtime friend, Kathie Hart. “Sheila Varian has died, but her program hasn’t. It is going on, and it is beautifully set up to do that.”

For Sheila’s many followers, the end came too soon for her. And even she might have said that her 78 years was more like a beginning than an entire journey. In 1995, when asked what she planned for her program after she was no longer there, she replied, “I never gave it much thought. Ask me in 30 years.” Sadly, she didn’t get 30 years, but given the passion with which she lived, it probably would not have been enough anyhow.

Her death was the end of an era of horsemen. Like so many of her mid-century contemporaries, she occupied a place in the equine industry that has begun to disappear from view. It’s true that she was only one owner, one breeder, one trainer, one horsewoman in the Arabian breed—but as much as anyone could be, she was one of a kind.

Vesty photo

Varian’s mission in life was her breeding program. “From the time I was a little kid, really little, I’ve never wondered what I was going to do,” she said in the 1995 AHT profile.

“I had a fairly straight path to follow and I followed it. I’ve wound around a little bit, but I’ve never had to sit down and say, ‘Now, in my life, what am I going to do?’”

In the past few years, she may have realized that six decades would not be enough. She had depended on her right-hand person, Angela Alvarez, since 1986, and it was to Alvarez that she passed her trust for the future.

(What most Arabian enthusiasts may not have realized is that in all that time, much of Sheila’s freedom to travel the industry, to keep up with the horses in it, form friendships and acquire bloodstock, directly related to having Alvarez at home. She could leave Arroyo Grande secure in her mind that the farm was running as she specified.) For the final few years that she had left, she worked even more closely with Alvarez, and established a panel of trustees so that when the time came, the transition would be as smooth as possible.

Afire Bey V (Huckleberry Bey x Autumn Fire)

12 | Sheila Varian

Watch for the full story coming this fall ...

Pictured above: Dave & Gail Liniger, Afire Bey V (Huckleberry Bey x Autumn Fire) Tim Shea, Allen Zeller, Sheila and Marty Shea.

I had just gotten off the plane and headed over to Sheila’s farm to ride four horses I was going to use in a clinic the following day. I get on the first one, and it’s wild. I mean, I’m having a serious time coping. I ride about five minutes; Sheila tells me to get off. I get on the next one; it’s even wilder. She gives me five minutes, tells me to get off. The next two, it’s the same deal. I’m in serious fear of my life. At this point, I’m having serio us concerns; here I am, a supposed big-time horse trainer from the East … now a dude-horse trainer from the East. I’m extremely worried about getting dumped the next day, thinking all the cowboys and cowgirls will love to see this. A little while later, the groom tells me those horses hadn’t been ridden in five days. The moral of the story ... Sheil a didn’t care if they were perfect, she just wanted them to be beautiful.

If any of you knew Sheila, she was like a lot of ranch girls; she didn’t throw money around and she could stretch a buck as far as anyone I knew. One day, Marty and I were out at the farm, and we went into town for lunch. We drove this big four-door Mercedes into town to get sandwiches, and after getting them, we drove another 10 or 15 minutes to the other side of town because we could save 25 cents on each can of pop. This Mercedes was a big gas-guzzling vehicle, and probably burned $2 worth of gas to save that 75 cents on pop. ~ Tim Shea

MAROON FIRE ARABIANS & SHEA STABLE

for Tim and their lives, and been great in le p eo p t n had porta dividuals. We a few really im Everyone has as definitely one of these in history, but our personal se nw I, Sheila Varia ce stepping into Arabian hor ed at her ranch during a p n si op s st er e h w of d it was the when fans se that day, an arted in 1986 relationship st . Of course, we bought a hor at changed our lives. tion ip th California vaca an association and friendsh of g in n n fairytale begi tic. Hers was a mplished en th au is er h co ibes her lap. She ac d that so descr To us, the wor use anything was dropped in a reminder for us all. y— beca story, but not emendous effort and tenacit tr h it w l al it e, and I am horsewoman w orse and d n ou ar lal g in kh orld class stoc most outstand Sheila was the ave ever known. From her w s in the English and Park ip ,h sure all of you her National Championsh ved and did it all. to lo e k, or Sh . w d t le bi e lle spad unpara is la ei Sh s, n io divis e horses qualities of th ped e th e se to as from her w ude that hel gs we learned e It was this attit One of the thin ed by their imperfections. e history of our industry. Sh d in th e bl in th be er d on ot ee n and er took tial br them. If you ev e most influen d her become th horses and saw the best in e well aware that she wante er ad h m d e truly love e, you wer of acquiring on EST FOR THEM! responsibility the B ories sitting s have our mem good points ay w al ill w e W out all of the osed minded.

She was not cl se show, hearing her talk ab open mindedness, that a hor her next to her at ’s horses. It was because of her program. She figured of other people many different bloodlines to requisites: trainability, so r pre she brought in ose individuals had her fou bian type. It seemed that ra th A of d h an ic h ion breed her out w und conformat center and allowed her to so , ty ili ab c ti to le ath close a that kept her around horse. was the mantr alll hope for new life, we al to the greatest gs in br ar ye of t e While this tim ok. Foals that are a testamen lo n Varia all time. foals with that horsewoman of emories. tunities and m or p op , es m ti eat for so many gr e you proud.

Sheila, thanks will work diligently to mak We ~ Marty Shea

Gail & David Liniger Tim & Marty Shea St. Clair, MI Sheila Varian | 13

When you think of Varian Arabians, it is Sheila who comes to mind and all of the amazing horses she has bred. It does not matter if it is a halter, saddle seat, western, hunt, or working western horse, in some way or form, the Varian name is in the pedigree, and we have been lucky to have some of her breeding program in our pedigrees at Cedar Ridge.

Credit must be given to Sheila for all of the years that she has contributed to the Arabian horse breed. Some people come and go, but Sheila was always consistent. She had a product that she believed in and so did others—when she spoke, you listened.

We wish Angela Alvarez the best of luck in carrying on the Varian tradition. There is no one better who knew how Sheila would want to continue.

Sheila, we hope the Arabian community does you proud, and the “V” is carried on for years to come.

Love, Dick, Lollie & Lara Ames

CEDAR RIDGE FARM

Dick, Lollie & Lara Ames Jordan, MN

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egionals. y $150 horse at R m g in d ri d an I was 13 ... Yup, 13 id: m up ring and sa ar w e th in e m y rb de b Sheila Varian ro that horse I might tighten his cu e on th as n, tightened “I think if I w .� I climbed dow e ring. I placed a ch ot n e on p u n chai in th ck up and went chain, climbed ba Pleasure. ish Top Five in Engl over ndship that grew ie fr a of g in in eg That was the b er stopped learning from her! ev decades. And I n ons she she bred, the less ngle s se or h e th r fo l Every si So thankfu ories we shared. em m e th d an t gh tau one of them! ~ Brett Becker

ferrara photo

Lightning Strike V with Marjie (Audacious PS x Lalique V)

Prairie Juell V with Hayden (Jullyen El Jamaal x Precious V)

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janson photo

BECKER STABLES

Brett & Marjie Becker Grass Valley, CA

Justin Mac V with Brett (Maclintock V x Jortalia V)

Pictured right: Huckleberry Bey.This was my first shoot with Sheila and a very important session for my then early career. I was a bit intimidated. Sheila was gracious and welcoming, however, and looking for new images of Huckleberry Bey.This shoot ended up with one of the classic all-time action shots of Huck and the one that was used to make his Breyer® statue.

From photographer and friend, Scott Trees

Sheila’s great broodmares … and a difficult shot in terms of getting them all to look with their ears up at the same moment. In a final desperate effort, I had a tractor with a bucket raised high with a large tarp flapping come flying around the corner of the barn.This briefly startled the mares, they all looked up, I got my shot, and right after I took it, they broke position, but I had what I wanted.

Sheila gave me some important career enhancing opportunities to photograph some exceptional horses and was instrumental in helping my career move forward and grow. I was always forever grateful to her for those opportunities, and more importantly, for her friendship. She was a talented horsewoman, one of the true exceptional breeders in the Arabian horse industry, and she will be greatly missed by many. ~ S cott Trees

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Agracie Girl V +++// with Nan Walden, Multi National and Scottsdale Champion in Western and English Trail, USEF Champion Working Western Arab Horse of the Year and more importantly, a treasured and beloved member of our family. She has been our ambassador to thousands at our events ranging from ranch tours for school kids to the annual Pecan Festival at our farm attracting 25,000 visitors.

d made a our expectations, an Walden. d se as rp su ve ha es ck rs All of our Varian ho formerly loyal Quarter Horse man, Diour Arabians, loyal Arabian fan of e his fellow ranchers by roping off of at the Dick loves to surprisRanch Trail Competition and Halter rses and polo winning ribbons in es, and out-striding their Quarter Ho Rancheros Visitadorrides in the hills! ponies on long trail rse, and buy my first ho the chance to select breeder in the world d ha y all fin I e, lif ly the only When late in for his u. You were probab I was lucky to find yoinced Dick Walden to buy an Arabians another nv wa co na ve me to Arizo that could ha ging Kay Pasa V ho e learned greenhorn wife. Brinth. We were amazed at how quickly sh rn, that is the bo lea d us ul entually wo education for conformation was to please. We ev and how eager she Arabians, in addition to their glorious n ria Va hallmark of and athleticism. d Regional titles many Scottsdale an d an er, lat s on pi 20 National Cham g more fun than kids! to boot, we are havin med us from the ateful that you welco and the business of gr en be s ay alw ve d ha t the bree Dick and I little we knew abou Jaime, Mike, very start, given howand showing. Your staff, Angela, Riyah, u are always Yo g o. in to in us kind to breeding, tra rahim, have been so Micki, Israel and Aber time of day or night. there for us, whatev r training methods, consistently to bette to the horses, and teach ed rk wo ve ha u yo are kind We know the freely out techniques that spread the word abneed to be turned out and treated like es rs ho at people th d made them to be. moving animals Go eved true ur dreams and achi and tough times. yo of ss pa m co e th You have followed stayed the course through the good ber most of all excellence. You have ve achieved are well deserved. Rememwho share our The accolades you hagiven to us, the owners, and to those the delight you have horses with us. ain in our hearts dinaire. You will rem or tra ex irl wg co a, Thank you, Sheil ever! and in our horses for rd Love, e Rancho Soñado He Nan and Dick & th

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Dick and Nan Walden with Romance V (Maclintock V x Ravven’s Skylark) and Agracie Girl V (Sundance Kid V x Amazing Grace V)

RANCHO SOÑADO

Dick & Nan Walden Amado, AZ & Santa Ynez, CA

Sara and I first met Sheila at the 1998 Scottsdale show. We were looking to get into the Arabian horse world and knew very little about how to start. We visited one barn of a prominent breeder and told them that we were looking to buy an Arabian horse. They obviously didn’t know us and didn’t give us the time of day. Fortunately the next barn we went to was Varian’s. Sheila couldn’t have been more welcoming and informative. She spent 2 hours w/ Sara and I. We didn’t buy a horse from her at Scottsdale, but set up a trip to her Spring Fling event 6 weeks later.

At the Spring Fling we bought 3 horses from Sheila and bought 3 more at her Summer Spectacular in August. We developed a lasting relationship that went from client to dear friends. Sheila, more than anyone, is responsible for getting us into Arabian horses and advising and mentoring us thru every step of our wonderful journey. Decades later, there has still been no one more instrumental.

Continued ...

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PA Lucchese Always (Always A Jullyen V x Lily Dancer V,

by Sundance Kid V) and PA Dream Dancer (Sundance Kid V x Dreams Of Gold)

PALMETTO ARABIANS

Frank & Sara Chisholm Breeding Manager Melissa Bradshaw Timmonsville, SC

ferrara

Always A Jullyen V (Jullyen El Jamaal x Amazing Grace V by Huckleberry Bey)

ALWAYS A JULLYEN V Jullyen El Jamaal x Amazing Grace V

by Huckleberry Bey Sire of National Champions

Sheila at the Cow Palace with Ronteza.

Sheila was the most amazing person we’ve ever had the honor of knowing. Everything she did, she did with a passion and a never-give-up attitude. Her accomplishments in Arabian horse breeding are legendary in their results. However what I admired the most, was the way she took the road less traveled and blazed new trails.

Sheila with Huckleberry Bey

Starting with Bay-Abi, then going to the dangerous lengths she did to bring in the 6 Polish mares as her foundation mares is not just noteworthy, but incredible! She went new and different directions. Huckleberry Bey was a different type of breeding stallion that didn’t have a lot of popularity until later in his life, but Sheila stuck with him and he took her program in a new direction. She made a 180 degree swing with Desperado V. He became a major breeding stallion with little to no show record. Not an easy task. I had many talks with her about the next direction of Varian Arabians as Desperado V was aging, but was shocked ( as most others were) when she chose Jullyen El Jamal. Again Sheila was right and had a vision beyond where most people would go.

Sheila decided to take Ronteza to the Cow Palace to compete for the World Championship against all of the professional rodeo riders. How many people would have the guts to even try this? The results are a big part of her legacy- 1st person to Win The World riding an Arabian horse and the 1st woman to ever win the World Championship. This would put her in the Cowgirl Hall of Fame in Fort Worth, Texas. ~ continued

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May Dancer V (Sundance Kid V x Magdalena V by Sanadik El Shaklan) 2004 U.S. National Champion Western Pleasure Futurity with Rob Bick

PALMETTO ARABIANS

Frank & Sara Chisholm Breeding Manager Melissa Bradshaw Timmonsville, SC Frank Chisholm with Always A Jullyen V and Sara Chisholm with May Dancer V

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SUNDANCE KID V Desperado V x Sweet Shalimar V by Ali Jamaal Leading sire of western pleasure show horses

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PA Kid Khan (Sundance Kid V x Kharrea PGA by Khadraj NA)

~ continued

When Sheila decided to bring in Polish blood into her breeding program, she went to Europe and crossed the border into communist Poland hidden in the trunk of a car.

Most people would be proud to have accomplished just one of the above things in their life. Sheila went places and did things that other may have just thought about. She’s been known as an incredible story teller. Those aren’t just stories.

She’s lived it!

Sheila, not only introduced us to an Arabian horse life, but to a friendship and experience we had never imagined.

Now, all of us breeders are on our own, and thankful for her example. We have based our breeding program on the legendary V horses and what they stand for, and we can only hope we’ve learned enough to make her proud.

Frank and Sara Chisholm

PALMETTO ARABIANS

Frank & Sara Chisholm Breeding Manager Melissa Bradshaw Timmonsville, SC

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suzanne

Sundance Kid V pictured at 20 years young, standing proudly at his home at Palmetto Arabians with owners Sara and Frank Chisholm, and breeding manager Melissa Bradshaw.

Yvonne Scott

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Pictured top to bottom Full siblings from the golden cross of the Varian blood and Jerland’s Khadraj NA

KHAJA J BROKEN PROMISES PGA PROMISA J

Sheila Varian’s extraordinary influence on the Jerland breeding program through the mare Promise V (Huckleberry Bey ++ x Pavane V by Khemosabi++++//) is one for which I will always be grateful. As one of our aristocratic mares, Promise V has successfully been crossed with Khadraj NA+++/ many times, creating memorableshow horses like Broken Promises PGA, Promisa J, and our newest rising star, and next breeding stallion Khaja J. These siblings’ beauty, athletic ability, and accomplishments portray the strength of the Varian/Jerland program cross at its very best. I thank Sheila for the opportunity to acquire and blend her “V” program with my own, and I thank her for the opportunity she has shown so many others to do the same. All those who have known her, admired her, and respected her, would agree that she has created a legendary program whose influence in the Arabian breed will not soon be matched. We can only strive to walk beside her footsteps in our journey to create a better Arabian with each breeding generation. I will miss my friend Sheila, and I am thankful to have the horses who will continue her spirit for generations to come. ~ Larry Jerome

JERLAND FARM

Lawrence Jerome Barron, WI

A friendship of respect, gratitude, and admiration.

Larry Jerome, Indira Van Handel & Sheila Varian with National Champion Promise V (Huckleberry Bey x Pavane V) receiving her Broodmare Elite Honors.

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SAN JACINTO JULLYEN V (*Jullyen El Jamaal x Sweet Klassique V) with Gary Ferguson up

The Sheila Varian Legacy Sheila was an individual who knew ‌ What she wanted to do, When to do it and How to do it.

And then, she did it!

Her life has been and will continue to be beneficial to all of us. ~ Eleanor Hamilton

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SAN JACINTO JULLYEN V (*Jullyen El Jamaal x Sweet Klassique V by *Fairview Klassique) 2012 bay stallion, pictured with Sheila and Eleanor.

ELEANOR’S ARABIANS Eleanor Hamilton Trainer, Gary Ferguson Rogers, MN

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VICTORIA ARABIANS

Cliff McCurdy & Michelle Watson Ocala, FL

SEVENTH SON V (Huckleberry Bey x Sweet Sanadika V) Pictured with Michelle Watson.

Photo by Cliff McCurdy

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Haras Meia Lua, Brazil in 2010

High Sierra Ride in 2012

at Victoria Arabians over 20 years ago.

The Varian horses entered our breeding program success. We are proud to say we have The Varian horses have been a huge part of our see “THE TEN COMMANDMENTS had 10 V horses in our barn. And, in our barn you Varian. Sheila had one primary comFOR BREEDING ARABIAN HORSES” by Sheila for the breed as a whole. We share the mandment - take into account what will be good Arabian horse. same belief as breeders and ambassadors for the

MIZ MARGEAUX V (Huckleberry Bey x Miz Bask) Pictured with Michelle Watson.

whether showing, riding or just looking We shared so many wonderful times together , the High Sierra ride in 2012 and at horses. Some of our favorite trips: Brazil in 2010 talk and ride, and we meant RIDE. always – riding the hills in California. We’d just when you can come our way, Sheila would always say “love to see you, let me know ~ WE WILL RIDE.” , her love for animals and We will forever remember Sheila’s wonderful smile and to us personally. the many true gifts she leaves to the Arabian breed Love, Michelle & Cliff

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MONACO JULLYEN V (Jullyen El Jamaal x Misti Morn V) 2015 U.S. & Canadian National Champion Western Pleasure Junior Horse with Joe Reser.

schatzberg photo

Owned by Shamrock Farms Castle Rock, CO

To have these two incredible stallions in our lives, takes it beyond all expectations. Their incredible quality, ability and personalities make them horses we are not only proud of, but horses we are honored to own.

They are special, and we thank you, Sheila, for breeding true to your standards two stallions we know will continue to carry your “V” around the ring and beyond. ~ Carolyn Lesley & Leslie Doran Sommer

MONTICELLO V (Jullyen El Jamaal x Mosquerade V) Multi-National Champion Western Pleasure with Joe Reser & Carolyn Lesley Owned by Lesley Farms Ashland, OR

janson photo

Being a part of the Varian dynasty would be a pinnacle in any Arabian horse lover’s experience.

Photographer and friend Sherry Conrads & Sheila

Sheila and I had a robust friendship. She was my mentor and teacher. I was her photographer and researcher.We complemented each other’s strengths and mitigated each other’s weaknesses.We were true soul sisters.

Sheila shared Breathless V with me 6 years ago, and ever since then, she encouraged me and taught me about breeding and training Arabian horses.This was a priceless gift and one that I will never underestimate or take for granted.

In the middle of the night, just days before Sheila died, she called me to her bedside and said to me, “Sherry, I want you to continue breeding horses … you’re ready … you don’t need me anymore.” The reader can only imagine the host of emotions that flooded over me. I’ve taken her wish to heart, because who could have had a better teacher to get me ready, nor better breeding stock to work with?

I sorely miss my dear friend and sister. I feel her presence every day and will do my very best to carry on what she started with me—breeding the finest Arabian horses I possibly can. I’ll not compromise on my breeding decisions. I’ll not lie to others or to myself about the quality of my foals. I’ll make sure they are started and trained with respect, knowledge and experience. I’ll make sure I share them with worthy people who will cherish them, as they deserve to be cherished. I can’t think of a better way to honor the memory of Sheila Varian. ~ Sherry Conrads

Sweet Shalimar V (Ali Jamaal x Sweetinspirationv) Hennessey Arabians is proud to have been given the honor of caregiver to the legendary dam of Sundance Kid V. She retains her royal status in our pastures and inspires us daily.

The mission statement of the Hennessey breeding program is to “Breed a Better Tomorrow…”

With an over 5 decade run of excellence, the Varian program has helped us strive for exactly that. With over 70% of the show horses winning today carrying Varian blood, our inclusion of Audacious PS, Jullyen El Jamaal, and Sundance Kid V has been paramount. Our second generations of these horses are instrumental in the quality we’ve been fortunate to see consistently.

Sheila took the Varian breeding program to a place every breeder holds as THE example; truly the pinnacle of breeding success. She has lead by example, and we thank you, Sheila, for giving us all this incredible gift. ~ Frank & George

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H ALLURE H (Jullyen el Jamaal x Alegoria) with H Alouette H, her 2016 filly by Jaipur el Perseus.

HENNESSEY ARABIANS

Frank & Carol Hennessey Manager George Z Ocala, FL

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THE MAGICIAN V Audacious PS x Maya V by Sanadik El Shaklan 2009 Stallion Canadian Reserve National Champion Las Vegas World Cup Reserve Champion

TAOPHINA MCX (The Magician V x Princess Grace C) 2015 Filly

A Bit of History ...

I was a novice in the Arabian horse world when I came upon Varian Arabians. I had been “researching” Arabians online as a novelty with no intent on acquiring a horse, just interested in keeping occupied during the winter months on our farm.

After viewing as many websites online as possible, Varian Arabians was at the top for various reasons—clarity of her philosophy, the Varian history, videos and photos. I had previously researched purebred dog breeds that I was interested in and ultimately owned, which allowed me to develop a clear vision on what to look for online.

It was clear that Sheila had been in Arabians for many years and that she ran a larger operation, but other than that, I had no clue how important her contribution to the Arabian horse was or had been. Yes, Sheila had decades of show wins, important, but to have a real vision in how to assess and breed a beautiful versatile Arabian was her gift.

I signed up for the Varian newsletter and one day The Magician V was featured and being offered for sale. My interest was perked and I started researching his pedigree, going back as many generations as possible and finding as many photos of his ancestors as I could, having no clue who they were but realizing the beauty and quality of most. The Magician V’s pedigree was like a finely composed symphony. As a lark, I printed this photo onto photo paper showing it to my friends, stating, “See what I just bought!” As time passed by, this lark started to turn into a possible reality.

I eventually contacted Varian Arabians. Sheila, Angela and myself had several long conversations about Magician, owning a stallion and this novice’s interest in possibly purchasing him. Sheila and I both, were hesitant for this first-time horse owner taking on a stallion. We worked together to ensure that if I purchased The Magician V, that he would have the best life going forward, and the rest is history.

Anyone who knew Sheila, knew how humble, kind, intelligent and witty she was, as well as an astute businesswoman. Sheila was encouraging and very supportive; her phone calls always giving deft and at times, humorous advice.

After purchasing The Magician V, my personal education continued into the Arabian horse and only then did I start to realize the depth of importance Sheila contributed. Her foresight with her breeding program was exemplary, such as recognizing Khemosabi as a two year old and leasing him; her purchase of Sanadik El Shaklan and her kindness selling him back to Om El Arabians; her re-discovering Audacious PS. Integrating these stellar Arabians into her program with her foundation of Bay-Abi, Bay el Bey, Baychatka and Naganka created a beautiful Arabian, The Magician V. It was Sheila’s courage—all Master Breeders like Sheila have to be courageous—of going in different directions while staying true to her principals, and her continuing to expand her knowledge that has allowed newcomers to the breed to have the opportunity to breed forward further generations of beautiful, versatile Arabian horses.

I know the privilege and responsibility I have with The Magician V and he is breeding true to his pedigree that Sheila Varian created. Thank you, Sheila, for your generosity. We miss you. I will be skidding in sideways shouting, ‘WOW, WHAT A RIDE!’ when we meet again …

The Magician V – MCX Inc. CEO Leslie Bartlett and CFO Richard Bartlett

THE MAGICIAN V — MCX INC

Leslie Bartlett Calgary, AB

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From photographer and friend, Scott Trees

Sheila was willing to trust my vision and my ideas. On Desperado V, I wanted to try something different that I had not done before, which was a blurred motion shot. Shot with film, it wasn’t possible to look immediately and see if I got the effect I wanted, but I was delighted to see the idea worked, and it turned out to be a shot that Sheila used for many years in her farm promotions. ~ S cott Trees

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