INTERVIEWED BY SONJA SMALDONE
For the Dubai issue 2020, I had the chance to interview Mr. Federico Lapunzina and his girlfriend Ms. Federica Calistro from Sicily, Italy. They have known each other since 2009. Federico’s massive involvement in Arabian horses takes him to the United Arab Emirates for six-months a year as he works for different Studs down there. He is now in Dubai and his girlfriend constantly goes find him in the genuine homeland of the Arabian horse.
message from him in my Inbox. I found it hilarious that we had the same na-me… To me, it all seemed like a planned trick, I even thought it was one of my best friend’s typical found. But, I soon realized that she had nothing to do with that. One day, I found Federico right outside my house. I had completely ignored him on the si-te for quite a while. Now, he was standing in front of me and I could not believe my eyes…
Hello Federico. Hello Federica. How are you? How and when did you first meet exactly?
What are in your opinion the key elements for a good and long-term relationship today?
Hi Sonja! We are fine thank you. Federica: We met about 10 years ago, in February 2009. We were so young! I was 15 and Federico 19. Federico: Actually, we first met by pure chance. I noticed Federica during a Carnival parade, I didn’t know anything about her, neither who she was nor what her name or age was. But, I soon liked her and wanted to get to know her. We live in different to-wns, both very small so it was not difficult to reach her out.
Federico, when and how did you ask Federica to be your girlfriend?
Federico: It has never been there an express request from my side. It all happe-ned spontaneously. I wanted to meet her as I realised that my interest in her was quite strong. We have built our relationship day by day, doing everything with calm and enjoying every single moment. Our relationship has kept growing over-time. At some point, we must have mutually felt that that something was turning in-to a special and much deeper feeling.
Federica, what was your first reaction?
Federica: My first reaction? Well, in one word I just could not believe it! I remem-ber that one day, as I got home from school, I went on a famous social network and found a
We have always thought that trust, mutual respect, honesty and dialogue are the fundamentals of whatever relationship, and such must be never taken for granted if you want that relationship to be a solid and long-lasting one. Especially when two people are brought to face distance as in our case. We now see each other very little and we are forced to cope with time and distance constraints, but, we believe that di-stance got us stronger and brought us even closer in some ways, maybe because the foundation of our relationship is truly solid and sincere.
Federico, we would like to know everything about your lifetime involvement with horses. How did it all start?
My mother and my father always tell me I have been fascinated by horses since I was a kid. Other children would stop in front of toy stores and wanted some; me, I would want to go to the countryside spending hours and hours watching the horses. They would just enthralled me and still do. One of my first gifts was a horse, my first horse: Phryda. She was my adventure mate and my strength in endurance races. With her, I started a journey that brought me even closer to the world of horses, with all the commitment it required. I would look after her, I would take care of her, and, I would train her for first competitions. I have shared most of my childhood and adolescence
with her. Phryda passed away few years ago, and for me, as well as for my family, it was a great loss. Gradually, I started approaching the world of Arabian horses, first as a spectator, then as a protagonist. I also bought my first Arabian horse, a small stallion named Said. Then a mare, Adisha who bore little Jamila. I got interested in breeding and wanted to train my horses by myself for the small shows that were organized nearby my house. Initially, I did it at an amateur level then at a professional one. This was when my great passion turned out to be my lifetime job.
Federica, to what extent has Federico’s passion for Arabian horses influenced your life? Do you like Arabian horses yourself? Why?
To be honest with you, I had never been interested in horses before I met Federico. But, I could not say I fully know Federico if I did not know his passion for horses. It is something visceral, overwhelming, spontaneous. I always get fascinated when I see Federico en-
gage with a horse. The love and dedication he has for these animals is truly special. He is a real horseman, determined and tenacious. I am very sensitive to this. I have become myself a lover of the Arabian horses, it is impossible not to love them, they are so beautiful, expressive, charismatic, elegant. Today, I try to reach out to Federico whenever and wherever it is possible. I strongly believe that sharing things with your ‘other half ’ is very important and I always try to support him, espe-cially before any show or competition he must go to.
Federico, tell us something about most memorable victories and champion horses at beauty competitions. I started presenting horses in my beautiful country, Sicily. In 2017, I took part in the show of San Vito Lo Capo where the mare Lady Elisir won gold medal, while Pha-vez (by Imperia) took second place in her class and was crowned silver medal in the final championship. 2018 is a year that I cherish very much because it was full of victories: at Palermo Shi-rhai show, a beautiful black filly won her class and grabbed bronze medal in the final
championship; at Roccalumera show, the mare Kore (by Ashiraf) won gold medal while Shakira De Jeanpaul got silver medal. The beauty and charisma of these two mares encouraged me and their respective owners to participate in the Italian Cham-pionships in Cattolica. This was a great experience as we got top-five with Kore (by Ashiraf), while getting second place with Shakira de Jeanpul. 2019 was unique, full of emotion and satisfaction. At Ambelia show, the Sicilian mare Farah PC got gold medal, while AT Aphrodite was crowned bronze medal winner. After many shows in Europe, and for some years now, I have moved to the United Arab Emirates. My first show on the Arabian circuit was a crucial test for me. I used to cooperate with Aljoharah Stud at the time. In the Straight Egyptians International Championship, the stallion Nasser Fana, son of multi-champion Al Adeed Al Shaqab, won his class getting the highest score and gold medal in the final championship. La-ter, at Abu Dhabi National Championship, I presented a 2-year-old daughter of ES Harir who won gold medal; and the 3-year-old filly Rak Pharida who also won gold medal. The show season in the Emirates is quite long, shows come one after the other in rapid succession, and work gets franzy. However, having the opportunity to work
in the genuine homeland of the purebred Arabian is my biggest luck ever as well as a continuous opportunity for personal growth and professional advancement.
Federica, what do usually do when you are in the United Arab Emirates? I try to catch up with him whenever I can. What do I do when I go there? Well, I try to spend with him as much time as possible, we do most things together to recaptu-re all the moments in which we are far apart. I go to work with him, I support him du-ring the shows because I am well aware that it is very important for Federico to see a familiar face in the public; staying away from all the people he loves for many months must be so hard for him. We usually take a lot of pictures when we are together in the United Arab Emirates. We like discovering new things and visiting new places. After all, how not to be curious about and electrocuted by the grandeur and beauty of Du-bai? It is a city that never ceases to amaze me.
Would you like to have any children in the future? Will you educate them to love and respect horses?
We would love to have children. Inshallah, as Arabs say. We will certainly educate them to love and respect animals in general, and, as far as horses are concerned, we believe that it will be almost impossible that our children may not love them. They will breathe the ‘love’for horses. It is inside of the family.
How and where do you see yourselves in ten years?
We still have no ideas about the place though… Whether in Italy or in the United Arab Emirates, what we really hope is to be together as a family.
Federico and Federica, will you please leave one last message for our readers?
An aphorism says that the basis for effective communication between man and horse rests upon trust, respect and connection. Only when these three elements come together, the maximum understanding is fully pursued. Such an aphorism is not so far from describing what the relationship between a man and a woman is. Trust, respect and always be there for the ‘other half ’ is essential. After all, this is the true essence of our relationship.
Thank you very much Federico and Federica. Speaking to you today was very inter-esting and so inspiring. On behalf of the entire Arabian Horse Magazine Team, I wish you the very best in your future life together with your amazing horses.