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CIRCULATION/MARKETING-PJS: Circulation Director: Dennis Bednarski: Circulation Manager: Marcia Jackson: Assistant Circulation Manager: Nancy Godsey K-lll MAGAZINES: Chairman: William F. Reilly: Vice Chairman: Charles G. McCurdy; Vice Chairman: Beverly C. Chell, Vice President: Curtis A. Thompson; Vice President & Chief Financial Officer: Linda C. Jenkins: Vice President, Financial Planning & Analysis: Jennifer P. Chu: Vice President. Controller: David W. Whitwell: Vice President. Consumer Marketing: William I. Barber: Vice President. Systems: Robert M. Cummings: Vice President. Manufacturing: Edward J. Egan: Vice President. Single Copy Sales: Mark A. Peterson. K-lll Magazines Special Interest Magazine Group President: Steven R. Elzy PJS Publications Inc. A K-lll Communications Company. JIIV Address all advertising and non-subscription related queries to: ARABIAN HORSE WORLD 1316 Tamson Drive. Suite 101. Cambria. CA 93428 Phone: (805) 927-6511 • Fa*: (805) 927-6522 SUBSCRIPTION RATES (NO REFUNDS): All residents of the U S. and possessions $40.00 per year. $70.00 for two years. Canadian $65.00 per year ($115.00 two years) in U S. funds. Foreign $80.00 per year ($145.00 two years), bank draft in U.S. funds must accompany order. F or all subscription inform ation contact 1 -8 0 0 -9 5 5 -9 4 2 3 . Send new subscription and change o f address inform ation to Arabian H o rs e W o rld . P .O . Box 5 6 7 5 0 , B o u ld er. C O 8 0 3 2 2 - 6 7 5 0 . RENEWALS: Send to Arabian Horse World. P.O. Bo* 56750, Boulder. CO 8 0 3 2 1 -6 7 5 0 . Allow six weeks for processing. ARABIAN HORSE WORLD (ISSN 0003-7494) is published monthly by PJS Publications. Inc.. 2 News Plaza. P.O. Bo* 1790. Peoria. IL 61656. Phone (309) 682-6626 or fa* (309) 682-7394. Periodical postage paid at Peoria. IL. and additional mailing offices. All rights reserved. Reproduction of contents, either whole or in part, not permitted without written consent of publisher. Copyright 1997 by PJS Publications. Inc. Postmaster: Please send address changes to Arabian Horse World. P.O. Bo* 56750. Boulder. CO 80322-6750. Interim copies must be forwarded at own expense. ARABIAN HORSE WORLD'S WORLD WIDE WEB ADDRESS: http://www.ahwmagazine.com Arabian Horse World reserves the right to edit all written materials submitted for publication.
Here at Arabian Horse World, we love working on our annual “Around the World”issue — the sneak preview of show winners from exotic locales, a chance to walk the bam aisles, if only in our mind’s eye, of stables from Majorca to Doha and Sao Paulo, the colorfid stamps, the beautiful arid lilting accents on the telephone, the many languages that converge in our offices to express the one thing we all share: that the Arabian horse has a place in our lives. Sometimes a lovely gem like the package we received from Amir Ali Sardar arrives at our door. From ancient Persia his simple tale unfolds. Through generations of a family, across the vast geography of earth and soul, the Arabian horse moves to connect memories with dreams. We wish all of you the happiest of holidays.
S iiaii A r a b i a n s By Amir Ali Sardar Looking back, I suppose, the passion for horses, and in particular Arabs was a natural outcome of my family life and background. Being Iranian and descending from the nomadic Qajar tribe, atavism may have had much to do with my resurgent passion for horses. Persians have always been great breeders of horses and right up to my early adolescence the pride and joy of my family was their horses. Some of my first memories revolve around the annual summer camp of my family. Fleeing the torrid heat of Tehran, under the snow-covered peaks of the towering Alborz mountains, cool, cavernous tents, decorated with exuberant tribal motifs, would be set up under the shade of the verdant plane trees and within earshot of some murmuring stream. The chaffing and neighing of horses tied up under delicate poplar trees aligning the crystal-clear waters of the stream, the galloping hooves as the horses disappeared into the arid mountain passes for the day’s hunt, or their tired and dusty return at sunset, were ever-present sounds, which ordained the blissful rhythm of those summer months. 6 • ARABIAN HORSE WORLD ■ DECEMBER 97
Around the flickering fires of evening, members of the family would nourish our love of horses by narrating stories of untamed horses, mastered by brave riders whose skills were unmatched. First and foremost were the stories of Rostam and his horse Raksh. Rising from the mists of prehistory and made famous by the poet Ferdowsi in his great epic poem the Shah Namah, (Book of Kings), the tales of this national hero and his accomplice Raksh were an unending source of awe and delight. No other horse was strong enough to carry the allpowerful Rostam. After a lifetime of heroic adventures together, when Raksh falls to his death in a well studded with spears, laid out for Rostam by his enemies, Rostam, this man of formidable strength, lies down to die beside his mortally wounded friend and companion. Raksh is almost always depicted as an Arab in the many hundreds of Persian miniatures (pictured at right). Thus the history of art bears witness to the unwavering love and esteem for the Arabian horse. Recent historical accounts (late 18th century) tell how an ancestor, living in captivity at the court of the rival Zand dynasty, upon the death of the Shah, Karim Khan Zand, escaped from captivity, in order to join his tribe the Qajars, living around the Caspian Sea, and to claim the throne of Persia. Legend has it that furnished by his partisans with fresh horses he covered some 1,000 kilometers in about two days. Another story recounts, how, one moonlit night, my grandfather, caught in an ambush, had his life saved by the intelligence of his faithful Arab mare. There were many types of horses at the camp, but the Arab was the most precious and best regarded. In the diaries of Prince Zeleh Soltan Qajar he tells of having received four horses as gifts for his father the Shah — two TurKmenes and two Arabs. He recounts, “the TurKmenes are marvelous but there is nothing to compare with the Arabs.” He invokes the displeasure of his royal father by keeping the two Arabs for himself. No one taught us children to ride. We were on and off horses almost as soon as we could run, avidly imitating the hero of the day, a father, an uncle or a cousin. I cherish a photo I have of my father, around the age of five, dressed in TurKmene garb, sitting proud and erect on his horse (pictured at left). He would never have guessed that the love and understanding he instilled in me would enable me to settle in another country, far from the land of my ancestors, there to renew my roots as vigorously as before. 7 ■ ARABIAN HORSE WORLD ■ NOVEMBER 97
(continued on page 340)
W h a t in th e W orld — c o n tin u e d f r o m p a g e 7
learn in g alm ost im m ediately. Its g e n e ro sity is u n b o u n d ed . T h re e h o rses w ere at first p u rc h a se d — a p ro u d an d playful c h e s tn u t stallion, V alery A1 M aury (D iarex x V andella) an d tw o m a re s, a grey Polish m are, G ro jk a by Figaro, a n d a R ussian m are, Kajgala, by K om plekt. A lm ost w ith o u t realizin g it m y deepro o ted p assio n for h o rse s w as rek in d led a n d ow ning h o rses ju s t for leisu re riding was n o t en o u g h to satisfy m e. My busy c a re e r as an a rc h ite c t in T eh ran h ad b u rie d th e in n a te callings of m y ro o ts b u t now allev iated of fo rm e r c o n stra in ts, living in Sologne a n d w itn essin g th e b e a u ty of its m y ste rio u s co u n try sid e , old urges re tu rn e d . My wife, Leila, w as Amir Ali Sardar with the mare Grojka (Figaro x Grandessa) hap p ily cau g h t u p by m y e n th u sia sm an d has re m a in e d m y acco m p lice ev er sin ce, so m etim es b eco m in g even m o re involved Now, I am tra n s p la n te d to th e h e a rt of Sologne, a n d eager th a n m yself. situ a te d 2 00 k ilo m e te rs s o u th of P aris in a region of L ittle by little new h o rses w ere p u rc h a se d , foals ru s tic beau ty , n e a r th e ro m a n tic L oire River, w h ere w ere b o rn a n d su d d en ly I realized th a t d e stin y h a d wild boar, stag a n d d e e r ro a m a t will a n d m istcau g h t up w ith m e a n d I h a d b e c o m e a b re e d e r and co v ered lakes h a rb o r d u ck s, h e ro n a n d m a n y o th e r th u s S hah A rabians w as b o rn. sp ecies of w ildlife. In th is h a v e n of p eace, b ro ad S hah A rab ian s now c o n sists of a b o u t 60 h o rses, p a s tu re s a n d w oods of oak, a c acia a n d p in e offer a for th e m o st p a rt of R ussian origin. T he c h o ice of th e se ttin g w o rth y of th is m o st n o b le of an im als, th e The stallion Abakan (Balaton x Amunitia). A rab ian h orse. A t first, I w an te d a few h o rse s to ride. My wife a n d c h ild re n w ere eag er co llab o rato rs. F o r th is, of c o u rse , I re a so n e d th a t th e A rab w ould be th e b e st su ited . F or m e th e re w as n o h o rse th a t cou ld m a tc h it. T he A rab, th o u g h h o tblo o d ed , is noble an d sober. It is o n e of th e e a sie st h o rse s to ride. O n e c a n guide it w ith little effort an d as a c o m p a n io n it is gay, vivacious an d e x tra o rd in a rily b eau tifu l. It is in tellig en t an d is cap a b le of u n d e rs ta n d in g an d 340 ■ ARABIAN HORSE WORLD ■ DECEMBER 97
origin of o u r h o rse s was, in th e beginning, n o t a d e lib e ra te decisio n . It w as m ore b y c h a n c e e n c o u n te rs , o r th e q u ality of th e su b ject. Leila an d I b o th being a rc h ite c ts, th e p ro p o rtio n s, h arm o n y , a n d fu n ctio n alism n e c e ssa ry in a rc h ite c tu re seem ed relev an t w h en ap p lied to th e A rab h o rse. T h e w ar of th e “p u re ” or “stra ig h t” A rab was u n k n o w n to u s a t th a t tim e an d o u r selectio n s w ere b ased on th e in trin sic q u a lity of th e su b je c t. T h e ju d ic io u s and co m p le m e n ta ry m ix tu re of b lo o d lin es fo u n d in th e R ussian A rab, se e m e d to have p ro d u c e d w h at we w ere looking for: type, c o n fo rm a tio n , a n d stren g th . T he arriv al of A b ak an , a b e a u tifu l c h e s tn u t stallion b y B alaton a n d o u t of A m u n itia by A ntey, ab o u t th re e y ears ago, c h an g ed th e d ire c tio n of o u r b re e d in g p rogram . A b ak an arriv ed in H olland from T ersk a t th e age of th re e in 1991. He h a d excelled on th e ra c e tra c k in R ussia an d in th e show ring, w inning R eserve C h am p io n b e h in d his fa th e r B alaton. In 1992 he g ain ed th e h ig h e st sco re in th e stallion c o m p e titio n , in 1993 h e w as D u tch N ational C h am p io n an d in 1994 he was Top Ten at th e W orld C h a m p io n sh ip s in Paris. We follow ed th e ev o lu tio n of th is y o ung stallion carefully, an d saw h in t a t th e E u ro p ean C h a m p io n sh ip s in H erto g en b o sch w h ere he p laced
Ali and Leila Sardar with Amalgama (Mascat x Mechta).
seco n d to h is b ro th e r K ubinec by only 1.2 points. We w ent, also, to see his first foal crop. A lthough only five in n u m b e r th ey w ere all m ark ed by his elegance a n d harm o n y . Two of th e se foals, a co lt an d a filly, w ere ta k e n to th e W orld C h am p io n sh ip s in P aris, e a c h w inning R eserve C h am p io n sh ip s. His 1994 foal cro p co n firm ed his ex cellen ce as a sire. He seem ed c o n siste n tly to be passin g on h is q ualities, am o n g w h ich is an in cred ib le fineness of m uzzle, b eau tifu l ch iseled ears, a d ry h ead , co m p a c t body, stro n g h in d q u a rte rs and m o v em en t, a n d a c h a ra c te r of gold. In 1995 we w ere fo rtu n a te to be able to p u rc h a se him a n d h e a rriv ed in F ran ce after m a n y sad farew ells in H olland since his w onderful c h a ra c te r h ad m ad e h im th e favorite of th e sc h o o lch ild ren in th e n e a rb y village w ho te n d e d him adoringly. I ca n say w ith o u t any h e sita tio n th a t h e has fulfilled all o u r e x p ectatio n s. He h as b een b re d to a v ariety of m ares, n o t alw ays th e b est, b u t th e re is alw ays h a rm o n y an d type, a n d b ecau se of his in c re d ib le co n siste n c y you can alw ays tell an A b ak an foal from afar. In only five y ears his get, in H olland, G erm any, F ran ce, Jo rd a n an d E ngland have g ain ed 50 c h a m p io n an d reserv e ch am p io n titles. He h a s n e v e r h a d an y g reat c h a m p io n m a re s to cover as h av e o th e r fam ous stallions, b u t alread y th e resu lts h e h a s o b ta in e d as a sire are alm o st u n iq u e. L ast y e a r we w ere very h a p p y to receiv e two visiting m ares from th e Royal S tu d of Jo rd a n . ILR.IL P rin cess Alia told us it w as th e first tim e sh e h ad ev er se n t any m a re s specifically to be b re d ou tsid e h e r c o u n try . T his m ade us p ro u d b u t equally an x ious. T he m ares w ere d e se rtb re d an d q u ite d ifferen t from th e m ares A bakan h ad prev io u sly
341 ■ ARABIAN HORSE WORLD ■ DECEMBER 97
covered. You c a n th e re fo re u n d e rs ta n d o u r jo y w h en th is y e a r in A m m an , Jo rd a n , a t th e In te rn a tio n a l Show th e tw o A b ak an foals b o th b e c a m e c h a m p io n s (m ale a n d fem ale), co n firm in g th e ir w ins a t th e N atio n al S how in May. We h av e a c q u ire d som e new m ares in th e la st tw o y ears. A b e a u tifu l M ukom ol daughter, w ith a n ex o tic h e a d an d fa n ta stic m o v em en t, a G w izd d a u g h te r o u t of an A sw an d au g h ter, a *M om ent d a u g h te r o u t of N evesta, a n d o u r p rid e a n d joy, a lovely A sw an d a u g h te r w ho gave u s a v ery h a n d so m e B alaton co lt th is year. We a re looking forw ard to seein g w h a t sh e will p ro d u c e n e x t y e a r by A bakan. Every' b re e d e r’s aim is to p ro d u c e th e ideal h o rse — tvpey, c h a ris m a tic , solid of co n fo rm a tio n an d good te m p e re d , n o t o n ce, b u t co n siste n tly . E very b re e d e r’s d re a m is to h av e a c h a m p io n in th e sho w rin g o r o n th e ra c e co u rse. W ith in fin ite p a tie n c e p e rh a p s so m e of th e se d re a m s m ay b eco m e
a reality. In th e m eanw hile I do n o t re g re t for one m o m e n t th e a d v e n tu re on w hich I have em b ark ed . T h e re a re of c o u rse tim es of a n x ie ty b u t n e v e r regret. My' h o rses give m e su c h love th a t I feel a lm o st in d e b te d to th em . In m o m e n ts of agitatio n th e y calm m e a n d revive m y energy. E very seco n d of th e day th e y im p a rt a sen se of w o n d er an d com fort. T hey m ak e m e a happy' m an w ith o u t asking a n y th in g in re tu rn . W hat m o re c a n o n e ask?
342 ■ ARABIAN HORSE WORLD ■ DECEMBER 97