ARABIAN STUDS & STALLIONS

ANNUAL 2021 • VOLUME 47 $15.00

[ INC GST]

G E N E R AT ION A F T E R G E N E R AT ION OF E XC E L L E N C E

Klass

(TS AL MALIK x KARMAA

by KABORR) Leading Sire of Australian National Champion Females WAHO Trophy Recipient Mulawa Chief Sire & Progenitor of the TS AL MALIK Legacy

Klassical Fame

MI

(KLASS x FOREVER FAME by FAME MAKER R) Fifth-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion Member of the DZINA Family Gold Champion Senior Mare | 2020 AANC

“I HAD AN INHERITANCE FROM MY FATHER, IT WAS THE MOON AND THE SUN. AND THOUGH I ROAM ALL OVER THE WORLD, THE SPENDING OF IT’S NEVER DONE.” Ernest Hemingway

C E L E BR AT I NG T H E E N DU R I NG L EGAC Y OF T S A L M A LI K

Allegiance

MI

(MAGNUM FORTY FOUR x AUDACIA

by PARKVIEW AUDACIOUS) Australia’s Leading Sire of National & International Champions Mulawa Chief Sire & Progenitor of the TS AL MALIK Legacy

Vienna

MI

(ALLEGIANCE MI x VALENTINE MI by DA VALENTINO) Fifth-Generation Mulawa-Bred Champion | Member of the VALENTINE MI Family Highest Scoring Horse of the Show | 2020 AANC

A DVA N C I N G E Q U I N E E XC E L L E N C E www.mulawaarabians.com.au Greg, Julie & Jane Farrell 61-65 Bay Rd, Berrilee NSW 2159 P: (02) 9655 1000 M: 0412 517 188 E: enquiries@mulawa.com.au

Photo by G. Gillies

FROM THE EDITOR DAV I D G I L L E T T

T

his issue of Arabian Studs & Stallions Annual comes at an unprecedented time in human history, certainly the first of its nature for the majority of us living today. For a minute there, it appeared that this much-loved publication would simply not be possible this year.

After reluctantly making this decision, we had resigned ourselves to the notion that for the first time in over fifty years, Arabian Studs & Stallions would not be going ahead in 2020. At the time, I suppose it seemed that Australians had so much more to think about, and to be concerned with…and rightly so.

And yet, through the doom and gloom of those initial autumn months came little

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glimmers of hope. For some of us, the limitations imposed on us due to COVID-19 became opportunities to spend more time with our horses, our families, our loved ones.

We had time to ‘do the things around the house’ that we had been putting off, we had time to cook dinner and sit down together and talk…we had time for each other. We had time and compassion for those who were not so lucky to have the same blessings that we have, and we reached out and offered them help, understanding or even just a friendly ear.

The Arabian horse community in Australia is as resilient, positive and forwardthinking as ever, and it is this community that pulled together and made this issue a reality…in record time! Thank you to all of the contributors, advertisers, and

anyone and everyone who has worked so hard to bring this issue to fruition.

I hope you will find the stories told in these pages as fascinating as I do. We have tales of discovery, passion and success… of lifetimes spent with Arabian horses and lifetimes just beginning. We delve into the past and discover the history of our present day, and dream of the future of our own breeding programs as we pore over the details of the magnificent stallions that are advertised at stud.

This year we are printing Arabian Studs & Stallions locally to support our manufacturing industry. We are proud to be a part of the Arabian Horse community in this country, now more than ever.

T H E

D R E A M

C O N T I N U E S . . . TA N YA

H AW L E Y

A R A B I A N S

S P R I N G D A L E FA R M , D A R N U M 3 8 2 2 V I C T O R I A . T E L E P H O N E : 0 4 9 9 8 9 6 3 8 6 E M A I L : t a n y a h a w l e y @ m a c . c o m NAADIRAH

CONTENTS

From the Editor......................................................... 4 A Complete Horse or a ‘One Trait Pony’?............ 12 RD Dynamo............................................................28 Volcom FF...............................................................53 Myth Haven Arabian Farm.....................................58 Khizmeht Arabians................................................64 Echos of Tomorrow................................................68 Chip Chase Stud.................................................... 72 A Tribute to TS Al Malik.........................................82 Mystica Abbas........................................................ 87 ‘Discovering the Arabian’ James Gillick and the Arabian Horse...................91 Russia, Arabian Horses and the Cavalry............94 SF Sir Real............................................................ 104

ABOVE: Bahrein Zambique and Lexi Webb. Photo by Sarah Sullivan Photography COVER PHOTO: Volcom FF (Crave FF x Beguine OH (US)) Bred and owned by Future Farms. Photographer: Samantha Taylor

Arreton Arabians.................................................. 108 Valinor Park Arabians............................................112 Simeon Seifan....................................................... 116 OSO Arabians...................................................... 120

DEDICATION: This issue of Arabian Studs & Stallions is dedicated to the memory of its founders, JUDITH AND HERMAN VINK

Toft Arabians.........................................................126 Hoofprints in History........................................... 130 Arabians under Saddle........................................ 139 Ray of Light.......................................................... 142 Rhythmic – An Australian Arabian Colt Exported to America................................... 146 Young Guns........................................................... 150 My Visits to Lenita............................................... 154 Brook Farm Fabian............................................... 158 Mattilda Arabians................................................. 160 Australia’s Leading Endurance Horses..............167 2020 Leading Sires of Champions.................... 169 Index.......................................................................176

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Arabian Studs & Stallions PO Box 8369, Woolloongabba Q 4102 Australia | (07) 3334 8000 Publisher: Michael Vink | 07 3334 8000 michael@interactivink.com.au Editor: DAVID GILLETT david@redmgmt.com.au Production: Lauren Lavin, Wendy Deng, Richard Locke & Karen Belik The advertising content is the responsibility of the advertisers. The price of $15.00 is a recommended price only. No part of this magazine may be reproduced by any means without the written consent of the publishers. Whilst every care is taken in the publication and preparation of the advertisements, the publishers cannot be held responsible for errors or their subsequent effects.

SIMEON SHIFRAN | SIMEON SUSULA 2017 STRAIGHT EGYPTIAN FILLY

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SERAFIN AND SHIFA WILL BE BRED TO THE EXCEPTIONAL FA EL RASHEEM SON SS DHAFER IN 2021.

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SS Dhafer MARWAN AL SHAQAB

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A COMPLETE HORSE O R A ‘ O N E TR A IT P O N Y ’ ?

BY CINDY REICH

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A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

LEFT Purebred stallion Ralvon Secret (Ralvon Mark x Ralvon Ami). Photo by Belinda Zaiter RIGHT Gwarny (Amurath Sahib x Gwara). An example of a Polish stallion in the late 1970s. Gwarny has been very influential around the globe. In Australia, he was the grandsire of Etelka, one of the earliest Polish imports and his blood is found through many other branches in this part of the world.

Photo by Tanya Hawley

W

hat do you look for when buying a horse? Breeding a horse? Are you looking for the next big show winner? An endurance prospect? A stallion that has just the right traits for the mare you want to breed this year?

The Arabian horse’s biggest function back in the day was as an improver – in other words, breeding an Arabian to another breed or type of horse generally improved many characteristics in the foal – maybe it was prettier, cleaner in the bones or joints, had more endurance, was more elegant or refined. No matter what it was bred to, an Arabian usually added more desirable characteristics in both appearance and function. The refinement as well as the toughness and work ethic of the Arabian horse made it very attractive for injecting quality into other breeds of horse.

In breeding purebred Arabian horses, ‘type’ has always been the buzzword.

However, ‘type’ can mean many different things to different people. Type can refer to simply the characteristics that make up the Arabian horse, primarily as it relates to the head, or it can be a ‘type’ of Arabian common to a certain breeder or geographical location.

Thirty to forty years ago, the Arabian horse was categorised into many different ‘types’. There was the Polish type, the Egyptian type, the Spanish type, the Crabbet type, etc. These types became stereotypical because horses were bred within smaller gene pools in more sheltered surroundings. This was before transported and frozen semen made any stallion accessible to any mare, regardless of where they lived.

In those times, there was also a sense of pride about having a ‘pure Polish’ or a ‘straight Egyptian’ horse or breeding program – bloodlines were carefully scrutinised to make sure all ancestors traced to their ‘pure’ or ‘straight’ status.

These smaller gene pools produced a lot of consistency based both on the bloodlines used, but also based on what the use of the horse was going to be.

Spanish horses were known for their excellent bodies and muscling – especially in the hindquarter. While their necks could be somewhat straight and not particularly clean, they had beautiful heads with great width between the eyes and large, expressive eyes. The Egyptian horse, naturally, was considered

the most extreme in terms of the head, with a usually very prominent dish and a small muzzle. However, they usually were more upright in the shoulder, straighter in the neck and more slight in build, as befits a desert animal.

Poland had a long history of performance testing in terms of the race track, and all horses that were to be considered for breeding had to first prove themselves athletically worthy. This resulted in horses that were powerful in the body, longer and cleaner in the neck with a more sloping shoulder and croup. They were usually more structurally correct, but also not as ‘typey’ in the head, having a straighter profile without an extreme dish to the face.

While there were many breeding programs practising this ‘strain or type’ breeding, there were others that created excellent animals by crossing ‘types’. The Russian Arabian is a great example. While Tersk, the Russian State Stud, had acquired numerous pure Polish horses in the war, and were breeding their own horses sourced from Crabbet, Spain and France, they received an Egyptian stallion, Aswan, who revolutionised the Russian breeding program when crossed on their

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Arreton Majnoun +S TRINCADA STRIKE X KIRRONG TUPPARA

PHOTOS: FOXWOOD PHOTOGRAPHY

Championships in halter and saddle over three states 2020 Australian Champion Ridden Small and Large Pony 2020 Reserve Australian Champion Novice Dressage Horse 2020 Reserve Australian Champion Bridle Path Hack

Available at stud via AI fresh, frozen and chilled. First progeny now on the ground.

Jessie and John Preece and Caroline Payne WASLEYS, SOUTH AUSTRALIA P: 0423 137 803 E: BDLHSTUD@GMAIL.COM FACEBOOK: ARRETON ARABIANS

Malleegrove Mandalla +S IF YOU ARE GOING TO DO IT ALL, YOU MAY AS WELL LOOK PRETTY TOO

2020 AHSA Arabian Ambassador 2019 Australian National Champion Versatility Award holder PHOTOS: ARRETON PHOTOGRAPHY, JENNY BARNES PHOTOGRAPHY

Available at stud via AI fresh, frozen and chilled.

Arreton Arabians

Tersk-bred mares. The result contained the best characteristics of both types – an athletic, strong bodied horse with more dish and ‘type’ in the head than many of the straight Polish horses. In that first foal crop, they produced at least two profoundly inf luential individuals; the chestnut stallion Patron (ex Podruga) who would go on to sire the chestnut stallion Padron (ex Odessa) and Naadirah (ex Napraslina), a grey mare who would go to Australia and beget an important legacy.

El Shaklan and his family would again demonstrate what could be achieved by a similar cross, in this instance another straight Egyptian stallion, but this time bred to a classic Spanish mare.

To some, there was outrage that the horses were not being bred within ‘types’ in some quarters. Yet the Russians created their own ‘type’ of which the best examples were invariably a cross of contrasting bloodlines – but it was a consistent product

that remained in the middle ground, without swinging too far one way or the other, and became a great ‘all around’ type of Arabian. It was athletic, it was also pretty. However, those great horses of all types from the 70s, 80s and even into the 90s look much different than what is being bred today in terms of Arabian type.

A common refrain heard today is ‘we have the typiest horses we have ever had, but it seems the rest of the horse is lacking’. I would agree with that statement, but why is that?

Across much of the world, there has been a push for breeding exotic heads for about 1015 years. Prior to that, the push was all about necks – horses with long, long necks were bred for single-mindedly, and were greatly rewarded in the show arena. And Arabians certainly ended up on the whole with very long necks. But always selecting for just one trait can lead to many unwanted ones.

A very famous experiment done in Russia with silver foxes, bred for the

BELOW Talal (Nazeer x Zaafaraana). An example of an Egyptian stallion in 1969 showing the influence of Nazeer. Two progeny of Talal came to Australia, the stallion The Puritain (ex Miss Floco) and the mare Talicia (ex Hoda). Photo by Tanya Hawley

fur trade, was started in the 1950s. The scientist selected for only one trait – a docile temperament. Every baby fox was tested, beginning at one month of age and only those with the most docile temperaments were chosen to be bred.

Over 40 generations later, they had produced foxes that were as docile as your household lap dog. But by selecting for just that ONE trait, and IGNORING all others, they had indeed produced a very docile fox – but there were foxes that were pinto in colour, foxes with droop ears, foxes with curled tails and other hidden traits that only came out by breeding over and over again for just one characteristic.

In Arabian horses, I can conclusively say that breeding for long necks really worked – we have consistently long necks, but we also got something else that came with it – long backs. If you think about it, it would be almost impossible to have a horse with a short back and a long neck – it would tip over!!! And to prop up those long bodies and backs came long, long cannon bones.

So long backs became extremely common as well as long cannons and still is in the Arabian breed. Hands up anyone who learned early on that one of the defining characteristics of the Arabian horse was a short back? That Arabians in general had one less vertebrae than other breeds of horse? So whether or not the majority of Arabians had one less vertebrae in their spine (the argument continues to this day – with examples of both over the centuries), certainly a short back WAS a defining characteristic of the Arabian horse. However, modern breeders decided that a certain trait was more desirable than any others, and as a result, the breed was fundamentally changed within a few decades.

Unfortunately, the obsession with extreme dished faces is producing horses that are not functional – they have trouble breathing and eating due to the deformity caused by an extreme dish to the face.

Don’t confuse good type with ‘extreme’.

The desire to breed for super exotic heads has resulted in horses that are extreme, but not functional. When the sinus passages are so narrowed that the horse has trouble breathing on exertion, or the teeth are misaligned to the point

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that the horse cannot graze or chew properly, the horse is profoundly affected in a negative way. Rewarding this in a show ring or breeding program is very detrimental to the breed as a whole.

A horse with a straight profile can still have excellent type, if it has large eyes set out on the sides of a broad, f lat forehead whereas a horse with a ‘dolphin head’ and small inset eyes and misaligned dentition should never be considered desirable simply because of a deep dish to the face.

The better horse is the more complete horse, not the one exotic trait individual.

People determine and define how breeds develop over time. Breeders, trainers, judges, riders and owners – all bring their individual wants and dislikes to their breeding decisions. And, as a result, there are both variety AND a huge similarity in the Arabian breed at the moment. The variety comes about in terms of horses used for performance. More on that later. The similarity comes about by the fact that the same bloodlines are being used throughout the world in the halter show arena, creating a ‘cookie-cutter’ type of horse that is interchangeable no matter what country you are in.

The great writer and Arabian journalist Betty Finke wrote an extraordinary article on this topic in the Arabian Horse World magazine in America in January of this year, called ‘A Brave New World’.

The days of the ‘pure Spanish’ or ‘pure Polish’ horse are over except for small breeding colonies. Breeders of Egyptian horses have been the only ones for the most part to fiercely maintain their ‘pure’ status. Whether that is good or bad is not going to be known for some time. Right now it just is.

So let’s talk about the goals of the ‘halter horse’. In the current atmosphere of exotic heads, those horses with the most extreme, even including ‘too extreme’ are being rewarded. This is driving breeding to those stallions and mares that can produce an extreme head – often to the detriment of other parts of the horse. However, breeders will breed what wins, because people buy what wins. With unequal emphasis put on one or two points, we end up with a population of animals who have beautiful heads but often less optimal croups, hips, feet and legs, etc.

Since they are in most parts of the world, seldom ridden, undesirable faults are not held accountable and thus, continue their march through the gene pool.

Australia is one of the rare countries that has always ridden their horses and

ABOVE Moftakhar (Enzahi x Kateefa). An example of an Egyptian stallion in 1969 without the influence of Nazeer in his pedigree. Moftakhar’s influence in Australia is through his grand get, the full siblings El Sherif Nazir and El Sherif Kasminia, both from Yasmina.

He is also the great grandsire of Rusima (Ruminaja Ali x Nasima).

Photo by Tanya Hawley RIGHT Bright Shadow (Radi x Pale Shadow).

An example of a Crabbet stallion in 1968. He is the grandsire of Odessa (RU), dam of Padron.

Photo by Tanya Hawley

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this has been a great advantage to the Australian gene pool of Arabian horses.

One of my great personal joys in judging in Australia is seeing a horse that was Supreme in halter come back into the ring under saddle and oftentimes winning Supreme under saddle as well. That is the complete Arabian horse! Even if it were never in a show ring, but was ridden daily, gathered cattle, or went on trail rides, or was raced – the correctness of the conformation would be tested over time. There has always been plenty of ‘pretty’ in Australian Arabians, but you knew they could perform as well. While breeding horses simply for halter showing has crept into the Australian psyche, it is hoped that they don’t lose their general soundness of conformation over time. I have no problem with people breeding only for halter – IF the horse is structurally ABLE to provide a function if needed. It COULD be ridden after cows or driven or raced or what have you. It has to be structurally sound enough to do it if required. That’s it.

Pretty simple. Breeders that ignore the ‘complete horse’ for one exotic trait – consistently – do it at their peril. And often to the detriment of the gene pool.

of individuals. Our ‘f lat saddle’ horses were copied from the 19th century when high stepping horses were a status symbol and Arabians were ridden in the same way American Saddlebreds (a gaited horse) and Morgans and Hackney horses were ridden. So the exaggerated motion became a trait that was selected for – consistently.

Now, an Arabian horse was not built like an American Saddlebred or a Hackney – they evolved for completely different jobs.

Arabian horses evolved to do ONE thing really, really well. Go long distances very efficiently and quickly. The conformation required for that is very different from a high stepping saddle horse. But the Arabian horse was really good at being

In the United States, we now have two types of Arabian horse – the halter horse and the performance horse. And they can be two very different looking types

ABOVE Jacio (Tabal x Teorica). A Spanish stallion photographed in 1978. His influence is more often found through his grandson WN Dasjmir, however his blood is available through several of his progeny. Photo by Tanya Hawley LEFT Naadirah (Aswan x Napraslina).

One of the first foal crop at Tersk by Aswan. Pictured at ten years old, she was the 1980 Supreme National Champion Mare and foundation of an influential family. Photo by Tanya Hawley

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under Saddle division, head type became a factor after being on the sidelines for decades. Many of the best performing bloodlines were of Polish origin. While these horses were very athletic, they were not generally exotic. But they certainly were identifiable as ‘Arabian’. Now, the horse in the western bridle or hunter bridle has to be as typey as their halter compatriots. Good moving and structurally outstanding horses have been given the gate at shows because they weren’t ‘typey’ enough!

It is a bit of a roller-coaster. Somewhere there needs to be a healthy balance of type and structure. At the end of the day, the horse must be typey enough to be clearly identifiable as an Arabian horse. It should have good enough structure and conformation that it COULD be ridden, even if it never is.

We need to be careful about trying to ‘makeover’ the Arabian into something it was never intended to be. The Arabian breed is extremely versatile and can do many things well. But as breeders we must be aware that there is a delicate balance in producing a horse that is capable of doing the job at hand. Whether it is driving, going cross country, gathering cattle or just going on a nice trail ride – the horse must have correct enough conformation to be able to do the job.

a jack of all trades. It couldn’t jump as high as a Thoroughbred, but it could jump pretty well. It couldn’t cut cattle as well as a Quarter Horse, but it could cut cattle pretty well. It wasn’t as high stepping as a Hackney, but it could trot pretty well. Over time, breeders started selecting for horses that could bridle and trot in a certain animated way. And the horses trotted higher and bridled higher – because the conformation started to change to allow for that type of look.

While a long, laid back shoulder is an advantage for a race horse or an endurance horse – because it resulted in a longer, lower, more ground covering stride, a straighter shoulder with a straighter humerus was actually advantageous to an animated trot. So

the shoulders started changing. The upright neck with a hinge made it easier for the horse to draw its shoulders up through the barrel and elevate the front end, whereas the Arabian neck usually had more of an arch than a straight up out of the withers carriage.

As the attention and focus continued on the ability to have more animation, all other traits took a back seat. This resulted in Arabians that can sit higher in the bridle and trot higher than ever before.

But the ‘Arabian type’ got lost along the way. Saddlebreds and Hackneys are very noble looking horses. But the Arabian has a very distinct ‘type’ particularly to the head, and that type is now very rare in the English division. However, in the Western division and the Hunter

Furthermore, the Arabian must always look like an Arabian. It doesn’t have to be an extreme example – but you should never look at it and have to think about what breed of horse it is. The ‘authentic’ Arabian horse was readily identifiable by the traits that make up the characteristics of the breed; a slightly concave or straight profile, a triangular shaped head with a small muzzle, a broad

ABOVE Padron (Patron x Odessa).

One of the most influential sires of modern times, being the sire of US National Champion Padrons Psyche. In turn, Padrons Psyche is the sire of Magnum Psyche, who sired WH Justice, who sired Shanghai EA.

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Berry, NSW, Australia | P: +61 244 641549 | info@valinorparkarabians.com | merindahequine@gmail.com

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Valinor Park Arabians

OTHER STALLIONS AVAILABLE: Saracin UK Platoon NL x Scandalier AHR VP El Jakarta A Jakarta AHR x VP Elation [Saracin] & VP Khalil Gai el Jullyen x Judal’s Kiss of Jamaal

forehead with large, dark expressive eyes, an arched neck, a highly carried tail, a nearly level croup and a short back.

Add to that a balanced appearance, short cannon bones, wide tendon and ligament attachment, large, round hooves and a joyful carriage. All these characteristics were inherent in the breed regardless of where it was bred or what country it came from. While bringing in an ‘extreme’ trait from time to time to improve a program is not a bad thing, breeding only for ‘extreme’ will at the end of the day, give you ‘extreme’ but not necessarily a good, functional animal.

Decide what it is you want in your program and be true to yourself. Beauty without function is doing a disservice to the Arabian’s long history as an endurance horse without equal. That is what it evolved to do better than any other breed of horse. However, a functional horse that looks nothing like an Arabian also will negatively affect the breed over time as well.

Keep in mind always – correct type and function – they can and do exist simultaneously – with those breeders determined to preserve the inherent characteristics of the breed while also using it in new ways. Australia has always been the leader in this regard. Continue to show the world that correct type and function can and must exist in the same animal.

ABOVE Magnum Psyche (Padrons Psyche x A Fancy Miracle). A profoundly influential sire. His sire was predominantly Russian, but what is not widely known was his dam was a pure Spanish mare, thus once more ushering in a new ‘type’.

LEFT WH Justice (Magnum Psyche x Von Sher-renea). WH Justice is one of the most influential and beloved stallions of our time. His pedigree features several of the stallions mentioned in this article and he has sired many successful offspring. Photo by Emma Maxwell courtesy of Aljassimya Farm

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A SELECTION OF BEAUT IFUL FIL LIES OUT OF OUR IMPORTED MARES ARE FOR SALE

ENNIS

IMP POLAND

(GANGES X ELLADA) AT S T U D V I A F ROZ E N SE M E N $1650 PC: Nicole Emanuel

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Toft Arabians has available for purchase or lease a beautiful group of black purebred Arabian Mares.

PHOTOS: Sharon Meyers

sired by Desperado and Opus Comet JP from $4,000 +GST

BREMERVALE DARK PRINCESS

sire Desperado dam Centre Babble On DOB 26/10/09

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TOFT ARABIANS contact David Toft p 0412 629 930 e toftarabians@bigpond.com www.toftarabians.com ‘Roseburg’ 688 Rosewood Marburg Road, Tallegalla QLD 4340

GREAT THINGS NEVER CAME FROM COMFORT ZONES R D DY N A M O & S A B B L E FA R M

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alk about exceeding our expectations!

We loved RD Dynamo the first time we saw him and being lucky enough to bring him home to Australia was just so exciting. After watching Rae-Dawn Arabians’ Shirley and Murray Popplewell interact with his sire Bey Ambition, we hoped the apple wouldn’t fall far from the tree, and Dynamo would become a loving member of our family too.

In the USA Dynamo had already proven himself to be a talented stallion that could

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do both halter and western pleasure, so when he arrived we planned for him to compete in both for his first season.

He had been trained and shown by Jay Strand in Western who says, ‘I had the pleasure of having RD Dynamo in training early on in his performance career. He made an exceptionally beautiful picture in the ring with his quality and movement, which truly made him special! He had a great work ethic, and was always very willing. I thought very highly of him...

so much so, that I bred two mares to him, had two foals and am thrilled with both.’

And we agree…Dynamo does everything with great energy and enthusiasm. He is one of the barn favourites because he’s ‘such a dude’, so easy to do anything with and adores being pampered and fussed over, but also has an ‘up for anything’ work ethic. He is such a pleasure to watch as a Western horse and draws a large crowd to watch him do his thing, with Doyle Dertell of Future Farms up in the saddle.

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

His first Australian show season started with winning Champion Western Horse and Champion Senior Stallion Halter at the National Stud Show. Later that season he was awarded East Coast Senior Champion Stallion at halter, however he was being a little cheeky in the Western Pleasure class, thus giving a well-deserved win to his stable mate Dream Fever (Gai El Jullyen x The Palms Uptown Girl).

It wasn’t until the COVID-19 lockdown that Kate and Jessica Dertell of Future Farms suggested we give him a try at being an English ridden stallion. As we were all locked away, I couldn’t be there for his first few rides but Kate kept us updated, sending plenty of video updates which aside from being exciting, became a regular part of the day that we all looked forward to.

He was a little confused with his paces at first, but it wasn’t long before it all clicked in. I remember so well the video I received the day that he nailed it. He looked so fancy, relaxed and I could tell that he loved it. He is always up for the challenge, ears forward and willing to give everything a go.

I look at Dynamo in his sexy red leg boots, as Jessica calls them, cantering around the arena and making Jess laugh when he stops and asks for a sugar cube, code for when he thinks he’s done something truly awesome.

LEFT RD Dynamo (CA) (Bey Ambition x TF Falconsimprint) ABOVE Bella Mirelle SBA (US) (EKS Alihandro x Martini Thyme RTA) with the Sabble Farm Family BELOW Bella Mirelle SBA competing under saddle

‘The transition of taking RD Dynamo from Western to English has been a funny and exciting journey’, says Jessica Dertell. ‘After my initial ride on him we instantly connected. If you ask this horse to do something, even something he isn’t sure about, he’ll ask you when, where and how much…he’s definitely a pleaser.

‘The very first ride was just trying to get Dynamo at a forward trot and canter in an English head set which was new for him and quite different to Western.

This was a challenge to start with but by the third ride he had it down pat.

‘Dynamo is very intelligent, learning by the click of a finger. He’s been doing English work for about three months now and I have him learning flying changes, as well as shoulder in, leg yield and half pass.’

We believe in riding all our horses, and Dynamo is exactly how we wanted to

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MARIAN DUNCAN www.maduncan.com original paintings giclée prints

commissions

Breeding Purebred Arabians for nearly 30 years

Liz Christensen, Brisbane, Australia P: +61 408 726 227 (Intl. / WhatsApp) 0408 726 227 (Domestic) E: liz@zuhra-arabians.com www.zuhra-arabians.com

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represent Sabble Farm. He is a truly versatile Arabian, and not just a horse that does halter and ridden events… he is now able to do both Western and English. We are really looking forward to the next show season, whenever that will be, so we can share everything that RD Dynamo has learned with the world.

Like many others, we have used this lockdown time to not only give our horses extra training and skills, but also to make breeding plans for our small group of mares to be bred to RD Dynamo. Joining him on his trip from the USA was our impressive grey filly, Bella Mirelle SBA (EKS Alihandro x Martini Thyme RTA).

Keeping with our focus on versatility, at her first show under saddle, Bella Mirelle SBA was Supreme Ridden Purebred! I cried…she has that effect on me. There were many more tears as she continued her winning ways with Supreme Newcomer at the East Coast Championships and Silver Champion Silver Snaffle at the

Australian National Championships, beautifully ridden by Jessica Dertell.

Jalilah FF (Crave FF x Mystica Jamarlee) has excelled in her ability to be a halter horse, winning back-to-back Gold Australian National Champion Purebred Breeding Exhibit NPTH. Of course, she needs to have beauty and brains, and so she can also boast multiple championships in both English and Western Pleasure, sometimes at the same show.

The Australian National Championships was a fantastic way to finish the last show season. Our team came home with 18 Gold or Champion trophies, a Silver in the Purebred Versatility and a Bronze in the Ultra Challenges. Our API Gladstone M.H. (NL) (Bordeaux x Widdalisto M.H.) won Gold Champion in both the Ultra and Versatility Challenges. In the Derivative Ultra Challenges our very clever Crave FF daughters, Butterfly FF and Gleniph Tiramisu were Silver and Bronze respectively,

BELOW Purebred mare Jalilah FF (Crave FF x Mystica Jamarlee) is winning at halter and under saddle RIGHT RD Dynamo loves his ridden work

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while in the Versatility Challenge it was Gold for Gleniph Tiramisu for the second year running, and Butterfly FF was Bronze.

It’s just so exciting seeing everyone shine, but I am so excited about Gleniph Tiramisu. We have had the most unbelievable season, not only in the Arabian and Open show ring but she is proving to be an exceptionally talented dressage pony. I don’t think we have seen what she is fully capable of achieving just yet, and I feel very lucky to be able to ride her and enjoy everything she offers.

We can’t thank Future Farms enough for making it all possible, presenting and showing our team at an exceptional level.

We have had such an enjoyable season.

A-Vitoria FF (Vitorio TO (US) x Audrey H JCA (US)) and Princession FF (Obsession FF x Princess of Passion FF) are expecting our first RD Dynamo foals in November this year and we can’t wait.

P.C. Dana Russo

www.ff.org.au

www.ff.org.au

Sabble Farm

Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@ff.org.au

Where Dreams Become Reality

www.ff.org.au Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@ff.org.au

Breeding horses for all disciplines.

Join the Future Farms Family today!

Photos courtesy of Sharon Meyers, Jennifer Ogden, Samantha Taylor, Stuart Vesty, Lisa Gordon and Javan

www.ff.org.au Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@ff.org.au

P.C. Samantha Taylor

Bella Mirelle SBA (imp USA)

Supreme Saddle Horse - Melbourne Summer Show Supreme Newcomer - East Coast Championships Silver Australian Champion Ridden Purebred Young Horse National Arabian Stud Show Champion Mare East Coast Reserve Champion Led Mare Reserve Scottsdale Champion Filly Multi Regional Champion US National Top Ten Filly Owned by Sabble Farm

EKS Alihandro

Marwan Al Shaqab

Gazal Al Shaqab

OFW Psylhouette

Padrons Psyche

Pyro Thyme SA Martini Thyme RTA Martina Van Ryad

Little Liza Fame

Hafati Julianna Pryme Thyme Holly Onfire JW Ryad El Jamaal Barbara Van Kaset

Sabble Farm Brett & Samantha Thomas | 124 Flemings Lane Tylden VIC 3444 | M: 0413 592 850 | E: contactus@sabblefarm.com

RD Dynamo (imp USA) SCID/CA/LFS clear National Stud Show Champion Stallion East Coast Champion Stallion US National Champion Canadian National Champion Las Vegas World Cup Champion Producer of Multi Champions

P.C. Stuart Vesty

Available at stud Owned by Sabble Farm

Bey Ambition

Regal Actor JP

Encore Ali

Bey Shahs Lady

Bey Shah

P.C. Samantha Taylor

Falcon BHF TF Falconsimprint Padrons Imprint

More Pretty JP

Elegance of Taask Bey Shah Bey Serenade SF Padron Woodhills Ebony

Sabble Farm Brett & Samantha Thomas | 124 Flemings Lane Tylden VIC 3444 | M: 0413 592 850 | E: contactus@sabblefarm.com

Volcom FF Bay Purebred Arabian Stallion SCID/CA/LFS and OAAM clear Australian National Gold Champion Junior Stallion Australasian Breeders Cup Gold Champion Junior Stallion Sire of multi championship winners at the highest level Bred and Owned by Future Farms and available at public stud

P.C. Samantha Taylor

Crave FF

Mash

Simeon Sanegor (Exp US)

Bremervale Charmed

Desperado

Versace (US) Beguine OH (US) Clio Belize (BR)

Dynasty Jamin

Bremervale Spellbound Fame VF (US) Precious As Gold (US) Don El Chall (BR) Borgatta El Jamaal (BR)

www.ff.org.au Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@ff.org.au

Crave FF Bay Purebred Arabian Stallion SCID/CA/LFS and OAAM clear Multi State, Royal, National, East Coast and Australian Championship winner both led and ridden Winner of the Leading Sire for Purebred and Derivative stock multiple times WAHO trophy winner Bred and Owned by Future Farms and semen available world wide

Simeon Sa’ar (GB)

Dynasty Jamin

Baskhan (US)

Desperado Bremervale Charmed Bremervale Spellbound

Simeon Shirli

Dunwingeri Farhlima WN Dasjmir (US) Bremervale Aquarius Rave VF (US) Bremervale Conquita

www.ff.org.au Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@ff.org.au

P.C. Stuart Vesty, Samantha Taylor

Mash

Simeon Sanegor (Exp US)

Gleniph Tiramisu Buckskin Partbred Arabian Mare by Crave FF Multi State, National, East Coast and Australian Championship winner in both led, ridden, BPH and Show Hunter (open and non pro) Triple Crown winner Reserve Australian Champion 6yo Dressage pony at Dressage with the Stars Champion FEI Pony at Tatura Dressage Championships Multi Royal winner in Show Hunter, Buckskin and Arabian classes Owned by Sabble Farm

Crave FF

Mash

Simeon Sanegor (Exp US)

Bremervale Charmed

Desperado

P.C. Dana Russo

Edenvale Artic Snow Gleniph Bombe Alaska Brandy Creme Pussa

Dynasty Jamin

Bremervale Spellbound Edenvale Golden Sega Kim-Dande Carissa Anniversary Prelude Illaroo Cream Caramel

Sabble Farm Brett & Samantha Thomas | 124 Flemings Lane Tylden VIC 3444 | M: 0413 592 850 | E: contactus@sabblefarm.com

Jalilah FF

Crave FF

Mash

Simeon Sanegor (Exp US)

Bremervale Charmed

Desperado

National Stud Show Champion Ridden Mare National Stud Show Champion Snaffle Bit Maturity Twice Australian National Champion Led Purebred NPTH East Coast Champion Young Horse

Marwan Al Shaqab (QA) Mystica Jamarlee Mystica Jameelah

Owned by Sabble Farm

Dynasty Jamin

Bremervale Spellbound Gazal Al Shaqab (QA) Little Liza Fame (US) Focus Onme FA (US) Windella Precious As Gold

Sabble Farm Brett & Samantha Thomas | 124 Flemings Lane Tylden VIC 3444 | M: 0413 592 850 | E: contactus@sabblefarm.com

P.C. Holly

Fever FF Black/Brown AWB/ISSA Stallion Multi State, National, East Coast and Australian Championship winner both led and ridden Sire of exceptional progeny winning at the highest levels Bred and Owned by Future Farms and available at public stud

Crave FF

Mash

Simeon Sanegor (Exp US)

Bremervale Charmed

Desperado

Penmarric Killarney Double TT Fevia Baxters Sensation

Dynasty Jamin

Bremervale Spellbound Irish Dandy Beaufield Shariya Northern Commander Northern Bellina

www.ff.org.au Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@ff.org.au

Concherto FF Brown 15.2hh Anglo Arabian Stallion Multi State, National, VIC Classic, QLD Challenge, Royal, East Coast and Australian National Champion led and ridden Open log book endurance horse with exceptional heart rates

P.C. Holly

Bred and Owned by Future Farms and available at public stud Semen available in Australia and New Zealand

Manning Kadabbra Burren-Dah The Wizard (Exp NZ)

Burren-Dah Alirah

Arabian Park Desert Dashar Aloha Symphony Aloha Serenade

Iraki Abbra Arabian Park Sharima Nob Hill Santarabia Tushana Arabian Park Egyptian Magnetic Desert Queen (Exp US) Marrakesh (NZ) Lady Serenade

www.ff.org.au Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@ff.org.au

Zanzibar (Imp NL) 17hh Dutch Warmblood Grand Prix Stallion Available at stud to approved mares by frozen semen Owned by Sabble Farm

P.C. Samantha Taylor

San Remo

Wolkentanz I

Weltmeyer

Valente

Volturno

Montecristo Reska Bea

St Pr Lovely

Azira El Corona Ipolita Nimmerdor Loesje

Sabble Farm Brett & Samantha Thomas | 124 Flemings Lane Tylden VIC 3444 | M: 0413 592 850 | E: contactus@sabblefarm.com

Gladstone MH (Imp NL) P.C. Samantha Taylor

Multi Championship FEI Dressage winner State, National, East Coast and Australian National Arabian Championship winner both led, ridden, BPH and Show Hunter Barastoc HOTY and Royal winner as an Open Show Hunter Owned by Sabble Farm

United (NL) Bordeaux (NL)

Venna (NL)

Montecristo (NL) Widallisto M.H. (NL) Idallisto (NL)

Krack C (NL) Nessica (NL) Gribaldi (DE) Leandra M (DE) El Corona (NL) Ipolita (NL) Casanova (NL) Dallisto (NL)

Eskara De Jeu (Imp NL) 2012 KWPN Champion Mare Multi FEI Championship wins including Victorian State FEI Y Champion and Willinga Park Dressage by the Sea FEI Y Champion Owned by Sabble Farm

Jazz (NL)

Cocktail (NL)

Purioso (DE)

Charmante (NL)

Ulster (DE)

Jetset-D Okara (NL) Jonkara (NL)

Ulissa (DE)

Warmante (NL) Zirkoon (KWPN) Escansan (KWPN) Rubinstein I (DE) Jonkalla (NL)

Sabble Farm Brett & Samantha Thomas | 124 Flemings Lane Tylden VIC 3444 | M: 0413 592 850 | E: contactus@sabblefarm.com

Emerald J (QR Marc x Emandoria) | SCID/CA/LFS clear Owned by Jadem Arabians and available via frozen semen through Future Farms

BruMarBas Future (Imp USA) (Opalo x Shais Honey) | SCID/CA/LFS clear

P.C. Samantha Taylor, Lisa Gordon

Available at public stud

Enzo (Imp USA)

Spades LRA

(Padrons Psyche x RD Bey Shahmpane) SCID/CA/LFS clear

(Imp USA/exp CN)

Chestnut Purebred Arabian Stallion available via frozen semen through Future Farms

(DA Valentino x Serenata El Jamaal) SCID/CA/LFS clear Black Purebred Arabian Stallion owned

by Dynasty Arabians and available via frozen semen through Future Farms

Fearless FF (SF Sir Real (Imp USA) x Double TT Fevia) Available via frozen semen through Future Farms

www.ff.org.au Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@ff.org.au

P.C. Samantha Taylor

Kilimanjaro (Imp NL)

17hh KWPN Warmblood Stallion With a family filled with Grand Prix horses, we welcome Kilimanjaro to Australia! Already having scored exceptionally in Europe in his 4yo season qualifying and competing at the World Young Horse Championships, we look forward to continuing his career both breeding and competing here in Australia Owned by Future Farms and available at public stud this season

United (NL) Bordeaux (NL)

Venna (NL)

Westpoint (NL) Darabel (NL) White Spot (NL)

Krack C (NL) Nessica (NL) Gribaldi (DE) Leandra M (DE) Jazz (NL) Jerlinda (NL) Blue Hors Don Schufro (DE) Kwebbel (NL)

www.ff.org.au Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@ff.org.au

HF Moon Dancing (Imp USA) Black Quarab Mare US National and Canadian National Junior Horse Western Top Ten Scottsdale Reserve Champion Junior Western Horse Multi US Regional Champion Western Horse P.C. Samantha Taylor

Owned by Sabble Farm

Sols Blackfoot Moon Lucky Sol Moon

Lucky Portico

Sundance Kid V Dancing Solo HH Lady Lorelei

Sols Ah Wah Cos Suwanee Moon Port Of Glory Cookie Chick Desperado V Sweet Shalimar V Ga Hal Psyche Lorelei Lady

Sabble Farm Brett & Samantha Thomas | 124 Flemings Lane Tylden VIC 3444 | M: 0413 592 850 | E: contactus@sabblefarm.com

Shayala (Imp USA) P.C. Javan

Watch out for her in the show arena this year!

Proudly owned by Sabble Farm

Ansata Shaamis (US) Shael Dream Desert (IT)

Elettra (IT)

Odyssey SC (US) Cassiopeia BPA (US) LC Mon Amie (US)

Ansata Halim Shah (US) AK Faressa (Exp SA) (US) Hadidi (US) Afrodite (IT) Versace (US) Latoura Echo (US) Padrons Psyche (US) WN Mona Lisa (US)

Sabble Farm Brett & Samantha Thomas | 124 Flemings Lane Tylden VIC 3444 | M: 0413 592 850 | E: contactus@sabblefarm.com

A-Vitoria FF P.C. Samantha Taylor, Dana Russo

(Vitorio TO (USA) x Audrey H JCA (Imp USA))

Princession FF (Obsession FF x Princess of Passion FF)

Dream Fever (Gai El Jullyen (Imp USA) x The Palms Uptown Girl)

Fahrenheit FF (Sir Charmed FF x Double TT Fevia)

Sabble Farm Brett & Samantha Thomas | 124 Flemings Lane Tylden VIC 3444 | M: 0413 592 850 | E: contactus@sabblefarm.com

Rivoli Magic FF (Fever FF x Romance FF)

Joi El Jiuliusz (Imp USA) (Jiuliusz De Wiec (BR) x Enjoi E (USA))

Dicavalli Royal Gustav (Royal Gregor (Imp DE) x Romantic (Imp DE))

Butterfly FF

P.C. Samantha Taylor

(Crave FF x Krystal Park Buckwheat)

Sabble Farm Brett & Samantha Thomas | 124 Flemings Lane Tylden VIC 3444 | M: 0413 592 850 | E: contactus@sabblefarm.com

Our Facilities Future Farms is set on a 70 acre state-of-the-art equine facility just 30 minutes from the Melbourne International Airport in the quiet area of Bolinda, Victoria in the beautiful Macedon Ranges.

THE FARM INCLUDES  48 boxes over 3 barns  Many indoor hot and cold washes / tack / feed rooms  24m x 6m glass enclosed viewing / entertaining area  Indoor Arena  All weather outdoor Show Arena  18m round yard  8 bay hot walker  Equine treadmill  Post and rail foaling paddocks with individual shelters  Large number of 60m x 20m post and rail turn out yards  1.5km exercise track  Access to great trail riding areas  Fully functional indoor breeding / vet lab  Many large paddocks for broodmare care  Machinery shed / hay and feed storage  2 houses and 2 staff apartments for 24 hour care

www.ff.org.au Kate & Doyle Dertell | PO Box 482, Romsey VIC 3434 | M: 0412 304 500 or 0411 756 683 | E: info@ff.org.au

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

THE HEIR APPARENT VO L CO M F F

‘W

hen I think of Volcom FF, I think of exquisite type, a look that just draws you in and screams undeniably Arabian!’

Kate Dertell is naturally very proud of the young bay stallion currently in her barn, a stallion that has been garnering admiration from all corners of the globe. Bred by Kate

and husband Doyle Dertell, Volcom FF was the proverbial icing on the cake after a series of fortuitous events that led to the breeding of this wonderful young sire.

ABOVE Volcom FF (Crave FF x Beguine OH)

‘The journey started in the USA whilst looking for mares with a great friend Lusia Abbot from Alphalea Arabians’, says Kate.

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‘We looked at so many horses on that trip, and the beautiful Versace daughter Beguine OH was one of the incredible group that Lusia purchased on that trip.’

At the time, Beguine was only a young mare of three years, and she had been a very successful show filly in the USA before her trip to Australia. Beguine OH is sired by the well-known stallion Versace (Fame VF x Precious As Gold) and out of the stunning Brazilian mare Clio Belize (Don El Chall x Borgatta Al Jamaal).

‘When she arrived in Australia she came straight to us from quarantine, where we leased her from Lusia and showed her the first year to great success’, says Kate.

Beguine OH was an East Coast Champion Broodmare, as well as a Top Five at the Australian National Championships.

Kate and Doyle also put her in foal to Crave FF (Mash x Bremervale Charmed), another bay stallion bred by Future Farms who has proven to be one of the most enduring and successful Arabian sires of the last decade. He is the sire of many Australian National Champions, and is himself an Australian National Champion and WAHO Trophy recipient.

‘We thought Crave would be the perfect husband for her, and we most definitely were not disappointed in the result.

‘Volcom was incredible right from when he was first born. He had a wow factor that instantly reminded us so much of his father, and yet his dam Beguine OH had given him even more size and stretch. After he was born, we put an offer in to purchase Beguine from Lusia, and she is still one of our most precious broodmares here today.

‘Volcom was extremely hard to name, we went back and forth so many times on different ideas. When you have babies that look like him, you know they need a special name. Our mare families all start

with different letters, and as we already had a “B” family, we had to think what letter we would use for the progeny of Beguine OH. We decided to use the letter V (for Versace) and then started trying to decide on an actual name for the colt!’

As Kate and Doyle operate a training farm, they have had other clients’ stallions to show the past two seasons, and so Volcom has not been shown as a senior. ‘We are planning on showing Volcom again this coming season once shows start up. He has matured into an incredible stallion and we are ready…so is he!’ says Kate.

Although he may not have entered the show ring in recent memory, Volcom FF has not been sitting idle at home. The promise he has shown since the day he was born is being replicated in his progeny. ‘Volcom has a few trademark points that he has been passing on to his foals. His gorgeous type and face structure, with huge liquid eyes, and a beautiful shape to his body and neck set. They also have his flagpole tail and lots of spunk and movement!

LEFT Premiere FF (Volcom FF x Shimmering Princess FF) BELOW Volcom FF, now a towering 15.2hh, is a very sweet stallion who is easy to be around

ALTHOUGH VOLCOM IS ONLY JUST FIVE YEARS OLD, HE HAS AN ENVIABLE SHOW RECORD FROM HIS OUTINGS AS A JUNIOR HORSE. HIS MAJOR WINS INCLUDE: Gold Australian National Champion Junior Stallion Australasian Breeder Cup Gold Champion Supreme State Champion Entire National Stud Show Champion Colt

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Tariq RR

Khareem Al Saba x J’adore Nizette

Lea-Ma Park

Bey Shine

Rave VF x Promised Land Jaimilla

Simeon Shinui Asfour x Simeon Seda

TH E S TAL L I ONS O F RE I D RI VE R Keith & Melissa Reid, Woodford QLD Keith: 0418 715 193 | Melissa: 0418 765 661 | E: reidriver@bigpond.com

w w w.r ei dr i ve r. c o m . au

His babies definitely all have a certain “look”, and with the eldest only being two years old at this time, he already has produced multiple National champions.’

Indeed, both Volcom FF and his sire Crave FF each sired two Triple Crown recipients in 2020, meaning that horses sired by these stallions were awarded Champion at the NSW State Titles, National Stud Horse Show and East Coast Championships.

Reality Arabians’ Half Arabian Colt Tahvo FF (Volcom FF x Future Farms Tinkerbell) had a stellar season, and he was awarded the Triple Crown for Junior Half Arabian. His stable mate Premiere FF (Volcom FF x Shimmering Princess FF) won Junior Purebred Gelding. Both Tahvo FF and Premiere FF continued their undefeated 2020 seasons with a Gold Australian National Championship the following month.

ABOVE Javalia FF (Volcom FF x Mystica Jamarlee) RIGHT Tahvo FF (Volcom FF x Future Farms Tinkerbell) BELOW Beguine OH (US), dam of Volcom FF, has had a successful show career in Australia and the USA, and is an Australian Champion at Halter Shown By A Youth

The Volcom daughter Javalia FF, from Mystica Jamarlee (Marwan Al Shaqab x Mystica Jameelah), has had a solid show season culminating in a Bronze Junior Filly win at the 2020 Australian National Championships.

Now a towering 15.2hh as a mature stallion, Volcom FF is a very sweet stallion who is easy to be around. ‘He has a great love of cuddles and attention.

He is a total sook really who often falls asleep getting groomed…and he will do anything for a carrot!’ laughs Kate.

Over the past two years Volcom FF was broken to saddle and is carefully being groomed towards a ridden career. ‘Volcom FF is a beautiful saddle horse. My son Kody Dertell rides him and says he is the comfiest horse he has ever ridden. Whether it is working in an arena or just hacking outside on the trails, he loves life and loves to work.

His beautiful shape and big balanced movement make him flashy to look at as well. He has a beautiful look under saddle, and is so naturally gifted and athletic, yet so balanced and comfortable to ride.

‘Everyone that sees Volcom FF is in awe of him. He has a presence that is undeniable, he gives me goosebumps and he gives me so much hope for what we can achieve with him. The future of Future Farms is looking decidedly good with Volcom FF on our team.’

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Velveteen FX AI

Pogrom x Funkia imp Poland

Pop Art FX AI

PC: Jennifer Ogden

Pogrom x Elomina imp Poland

Titanium FX

IIU POLAND

Ekstern x Funkia imp Poland

E N Q U I R I E S W E LC O M E O N T H I S S E A S O N ’ S FOA L S Funkia (imp Pol) x Epic FX (iiu Pol) - Equator Chanel MI x Extravagance VO (imp USA) Fantasize FX x Extravagance VO (imp USA) Teles A Story (Quarab) x Extravagance VO (imp USA)

Lisa Smith | Foxridge Farm 1199 Coramba Rd, Karangi NSW 2450 M: 0419 225 633 | E: foxridgefarm@bigpond.com

www.foxridgefarm.com.au

Breeding pure Polish horses

WHERE DREAMS AND TRADITION COMBINE M Y TH H AV E N A R A B I A N FA R M

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A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

countries became incredibly exciting for a young Aussie country boy.

Before I found the aforementioned books in the school library, my first interaction with an Arabian was at our local Pony Club. A teenager a few years older than myself trotted past on a real-life Arabian mare – the first I had seen. A few years later, while working as an apprentice gardener and earning my first wage, this little grey mare became my first Arabian and soon after another mare from the same breeder followed. Both had charming faces, good structure and superior movement. At local shows we collected many prizes in led and saddle classes but the best fun had to be the relationships made and pleasure riding with friends.

T

he great Oliver Wendell Holmes wrote: Man’s mind, stretched to new ideas, never goes back to its original dimension.

During the early years of secondary school, wandering through the school library in search of horse books, I chanced upon an idea that would become my life’s passion.

Two very important books stood out from the rest, Naadirah – The Arabian Dream and The Arabian Horse in Australia Book Volume 2. I continually read these books from cover to cover. The first book featured photographs of the stallion Hadban Enzahi and somehow, I could never get this classic stallion out of my head. There were many important horses in those books, and my initial idea turned into a dream of breeding Arabian horses.

The more I read, the more my admiration for purebred Arabians consumed me. These

MAIN IMAGE (LEFT) Simeon Sefa ABOVE Simeon Shaina and Greg.

Photo by Carmel Rowley

fascinating horses appeared to have athletic movement, classic form, good structure and balance. At that time, the trainers for whom I rode trackwork thought I was crazy. They did their best to discourage my Arabian horse obsession, however I had already decided that it was time to turn this obsession into practical reality… that breeding Arabian horses was going to be my contribution to the future.

I soaked up any information I could, and I quickly learned there were many different viewpoints, opinions and ideas about breeding Arabians. During those late nights of reading and searching for information, I eventually connected with breeders from all around the world who inspired me. Thank goodness for the internet. I loved and appreciated everything these breeders shared, especially the robust discussions on StraightEgyptians.com. This site became my go-to, such was the knowledge of its editors. I poured over every new article day and night. Today, I am thankful for this period and it not only educated me on Arabian horses, it also offered a new view of human behaviour.

Connecting with breeders from other

I describe myself as a ‘realistic optimist’.

I now know it’s not what happens to you that counts but how you react to what happens. Not long after my first purchases, I noticed an advertisement for a reduction sale at Simeon Stud and decided to make contact. When I spotted a very attractive bay yearling colt in the stable it was love at first sight. His pedigree included a long list of the famous horses I’d seen in magazines and books, including Asfour, Simeon Shai, Simeon Safanad, Ramses Fayek and Hadban Enzahi. I quickly understood that if you want something enough you can make it happen, and within a week Simeon Safsal became one of the most important purchases of my life.

Safsal certainly set a high benchmark on many levels, with his ideal type, movement, show ability and a cheeky yet respectful temperament. Expectations were set, so the horses that followed had to be horses who would match Safsal’s beauty and ability in disciplines such as dressage, pleasure riding and racing.

During these early years at Myth Haven the horses were shown with great success.

However, my feelings remained fairly non-competitive. I have always considered that being a successful breeder enables you to assist others achieve the same.

My main motivation is to do what I loved; breeding, handling the foals, and riding the stallions or young mares at the picturesque beaches around the local shire. Watching my dreams unfold every

59

year as new foals were born became far more rewarding than show winnings.

Having limited land and working full time as a Biosecurity Vegetation Officer for the local Council area, it became important to focus purely on horses that set my heart racing.

Straight Egyptians of specific families, along with Pearsons Valeeah (by Simeon Stav) for Simeon Safsal, both being Egyptian related.

In a strange quirk of fate, it was StraightEgyptians.com that led me to Pearsons View Arabians, owned by Don and Carmel Rowley, then situated in Queensland. Both were important mentors and today, they are classed as

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family. Now retired from breeding, I am incredibly thankful for their contribution to the history and the progression of Myth Haven. Horses, breeding plans and varied experiences were, and are still, openly and honestly discussed.

My first visit to Pearsons View nearly twenty years ago confirmed the type and standard of Arabian horse I wished to preserve. Their stallion Simeon Stav (Asfour x Simeon Safanad), the first foal of this extraordinary cross, proved he was not only an exceptionally beautiful individual but a magnificent sire. His beautiful daughters here at Myth Haven are mares of the highest calibre.

From the time of that visit, the Myth Haven program moved forward with some of the finest daughters from Simeon Stav, Asfour, Salaa Sihr (imp USA) and Thaqib Al Nasser (imp Qatar). Seeing the resulting foals from these mares by our own stallions rewarded all the years of hard work. Myth Haven is today at one of the most exciting times of its twenty-five years. The youngsters of our finest Straight Egyptian mare families demonstrate enormous promise for the future.

The family of Simeon Sima (Asfour x Mohema (Kaisoon)) is one I am very passionate about, and we have four direct daughters from her. For me, it made sense

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

The Simeon Shaina (Asfour x Simeon Safanad) family includes her daughters Soura Sihr (x Salaa Sihr) and Azzurri Al Saba (x Thaqib Al Nasser); both mares are excellent producers.

Simeon Silpa has a superstar filly called Sumaya MH by Ashquar Sihr, rising three years old and her potential for the future looks bright.

Our Straight Egyptian stallions Ashquar Sihr (Salaa Sihr x Simeon Shaina) and Simeon Sadakah (Asfour x Simeon Saada) are stallions with brilliant movement, good shape and stunning breed type. They breed true to their pedigrees allowing the attributes of both sire and dam to come through in their foals. We also used Maarhir (Salaa Sihr x Maardassa) and Gazardiel El Dine (Salaa El Dine x AR Bint Ghazala) for a time, and they each added to the success story of the farm.

In 2015 Maarhir was sold to Jude and Stuart McDonald of Golden Age Arabians while Gazardiel El Dine was gelded and sold as a riding horse. Worthy of mention is Abiebi (imp USA) as her family was a significant part of Myth Haven. I understand that breeding is a work in progress, so as the other families grew it was decided to allow Abiebi and her family go. This difficult decision was made much easier when Hettiah Arabians expressed an interest. Hettiah is owned

by Julia Garcia, a young, astute breeder from southern New South Wales. This choice has proven ideal, and there is a special joy to know your horses are loved and appreciated by their new owners.

LEFT Simit MH ABOVE Simeon Safsal TOP RIGHT Sourouk MH RIGHT Azzurri Al Saba

to focus on a family where the progeny and grand progeny are horses which represent the fairytale Arabian horses of my dreams. I felt a strong need to build on this special family of horses as their numbers are dwindling. These horses are now becoming rare as the world concentrates more on show horse bloodlines. I would be devastated to see these horses simply fade away as others have done before them.

The flamboyant moving mare Stavs Simbel (Simeon Stav x Simeon Sima) is fulfilling all expectations. She is a firm favourite, her foals are consistent and as tantalising as their dam. Her daughters Simit MH (x Gazardiel El Dine) and Simmina MH (x Simeon Sefa)

offer that unique European Egyptian type and refinement to be found in their dam.

Mu’nisah Sihr (Salaa Sihr (imp USA) x Simeon Sima) is a tall, elegant mare and we look forward to her producing a daughter or two in the future.

After the retirement of Pearsons View Arabians, Myth Haven was incredibly fortunate and grateful to add their remaining mares to our unique program.

They included two daughters of Simeon Sima, being Stavs Simri (by Simeon Stav) and Simoonah Sihr (by Salaa Sihr), as well as granddaughter Siteyah Sihr (Salaa Sihr x Stavs Siare).

Opportunities often arise just when one thinks of possibly reducing horse numbers.

Out of the blue, I was offered Simeon Sefa (Safeen x Mussallah (imp Germany)) on lease. It wasn’t long before it became apparent that he could never leave. Sefa is a stallion with a balanced, smooth shape and that look at me attitude. He joined the stallions as a partial outcross to produce fillies from the mares who could then be used within the program.

With the generosity of Gregory and Marysia Keyes in Queensland, their sensational Ashquar HM (NK Hafid Jamil x NK Asila) visited last breeding

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season to be bred to a select number of the older and younger mares. I think this exceptional stallion will prove to be an ideal cross with our mares. I have had the pleasure of viewing his foals and believe him to be the best of his breeding in Australia. Ashquar HM’s characteristics match the Myth Haven stallions. He moves powerfully, has lovely structure and his temperament is a pleasure to be around.

Myth Haven is located on the fertile flood plains of the Mid North Coast, New South Wales, in a small area known as ‘Seven Oaks’, which is close to some of the most extraordinary beaches of the eastern coast. The horses thrive and enjoy the luxury of being out in the pasture each day of the year.

Walking around the farm in 2020, the older mares are what I consider the personification of all I love to see in the Straight Egyptian horse, while the youngsters heighten expectations as they mature each year.

ABOVE Stavs Simbel BELOW Sumaya MH

When I allow myself to relax with my Arabian horses, they communicate a sense of fulfilment through what I call a spiritual level of caring. I can’t help but be enveloped by internal peace wherever I happen to be out and about on the farm. For therapy, I often meditate out in the pasture. The horses regularly surround me, not only the mares but also the youngsters, several with only basic handling. In many ways they mirror my own vulnerability and I remember times when they would lay down as I practised mindfulness. Their calmness, support and unconditional love helped my own personal healing. The role Arabian horses play in my life makes a world of difference; they assist me to learn who I am as a person. I’m forever grateful for their contribution to my authenticity.

I love watching the joy they bring to their owners and admirers, how they light up all of our lives. It is truly something to be very grateful for. I believe we must live life with as much love and trust as we can and live the adventure you were meant to have.

Myth Haven always welcomes visitors to our farm but with several conditions: kindness, appreciation and loads of laughter.

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AN ITALIAN ADVENTURE S TE V E A N D S A R A H M U CO K H I Z M E HT A R A B I A N S

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A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

K

hizmeht Arabians is a small farm of ten acres, approximately 25 minutes from the Perth CBD and surrounded by suburbia. Our farm is family based so we all do our part including our two children and ourselves of course, Steve and Sarah Muco.

Both Steve and I have been involved with horses all our lives, with Steve’s family breeding Arabians since he was 13. I come from a family who is involved in racing.

My grandfather and father were training, breeding and racing Thoroughbreds, and today my mother raises Thoroughbreds and also has a few palomino Arabian derivatives, along with two purebred mares.

Like many great breeders before us that have said ‘the most important part of any stud is the quality of your mare’, we believe this is especially important today as through frozen semen we have the ability to use some of the world’s greatest producers. But if we don’t have the right mares, these stallions can only do so much.

With this thought and property size, we currently only own three mares, however we have always tried to keep one step ahead when it comes to frozen semen.

Ajman has proven to be not only an amazing sire, but his progeny and grand progeny are producing time and time again. It seems nine times out of ten if I find a horse I love, I look through its pedigree and I will always find Ajman somewhere in there.

We bred some really incredible colts by Ajman Moniscione including Xanaphon, who was sold to Veronica Mortimer, and Zeus NS, who now resides in New Zealand.

We bred only one filly by Ajman Moniscione, Arielle KA (ex Khizmeht Do You Love Me), who is four generations of our breeding. When bred to Trussardi (US) she produced a colt, Truly Ajman, who was exported to New Zealand.

Owned by Bonni and Aaron Harrison, he has since been awarded New Zealand National Champion Colt.

Our second Ajman Moniscione daughter is Goddess of Ajman MA, who is out of Challina LL (US) (Magnum Chall HVP x Mardie Gras). She was bred

by Nieves Maylor with the Ajman Moniscione semen we sold in Australia.

Nieves has been a long time close friend of ours and when she was winding down her stud, we enquired if she was willing to sell Goddess. The answer was no, as Goddess was Nieves’ forever horse. Over time we somehow worked out an agreement for us to purchase a half share in the mare and she now lives at home with us.

Goddess is now a forever horse for both Nieves and us! Along with the half share in Goddess we also purchased the Marwan Al Shaqab daughter, HRA Unique imp, from Nieves who we had admired from the day we first saw her in Australia.

In 2012 I purchased Emerald J and Van Gogh AM breedings, and not long after I bought RFI Farid semen and brought it to Australia. We bred the Emerald J semen to HRA Unique (US) and the resulting filly is Emeeliah KH who is now owned

by Jayne and Trevor Bellchambers. We had not planned to sell our only filly, however when presented with such a

The Italian stallion Ajman Moniscione (WH Justice x Anthea Moniscione) has been a massive influence on our breeding program, and the process of this initial frozen semen import taught us so much.

It all started by seeing him in Tuttu Arabi magazine, after which I made the phone call to see if his semen was available for Australia. I was lucky enough Luca Oberti, who was Ajman’s breeding manager at the time, helped us through the process of organising semen for Australia and the import. I was later asked if I wanted to be the Australian agent, as they had a lot of interest in him in Australia after we purchased breedings to him.

In 2009 we travelled to Europe and after Menton, we first met Ajman Moniscione.

He was at Osterhoff Stud in Germany, and we also were lucky enough to see his sire WH Justice, Marajj and the great Kubinec, who passed a few years later. Ajman Moniscione was one of the prettiest stallions we had ever seen. He had refinement, beautiful big eyes and nice high hips, a stallion we felt would cross beautifully with our mares at home, and that he did.

LEFT Capecci Arabian Centre in Italy ABOVE Sarah Muco and Ajman Moniscione

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LEFT My first memory of Dhafer, a quick photo with my phone!

ABOVE Donna Diva, dam of SS Dhafer RIGHT Hotel Fortebraccio in Montone, Italy

good show home for one of your foals, it is an opportunity too good to miss.

We don’t show often due to time restraints with a young family and work, but we recognise success as seeing our breeding program coming together, our foals being born and going on to show with other people. Emeeliah has since gone on to win the 2020 Australian National Bronze Champion Junior filly.

We also produced the colt Emeelio KH out of Arielle KA. Emeelio has made his way to Victoria with new owners Ben and Myra Kelly.

We have found that importing frozen semen into Australia isn’t as easy as it seems.

We will see many stallions advertised as ‘available worldwide’, but in actual fact they haven’t been quarantined and collected for Australian standards, as Australia and New Zealand have the highest regulations.

Still, even with all the risks of frozen semen, we had bred some pretty incredible foals that people seemed to like, and so it wasn’t before long that I was looking for my next adventure. I had followed FA El Rasheem

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(FA El Shawan x Virtuosa MLR) for many years, after receiving a phone call from an excited Bianca Douglas saying she had seen the most exciting colt in a long time at a viewing in Vegas. She described him as ‘the next big thing’, and after we saw photos and footage we agreed. FA El Rasheem was sold to Dubai and we had tried many times to see if frozen semen was available for us in Australia but unfortunately it wasn’t.

Blu Hotel, we met Paolo and Susy Capecci at Dubai Stud. We saw some of the most beautiful horses in the world including FA El Rasheem himself and a number of his progeny, including World Champion filly D Shamkhah. Until seeing these horses in the flesh, you don’t realise how truly beautiful they are and we can’t thank Paolo, Susy and everybody at Dubai Arabian Stud for making this visit one we will never forget.

After all these years of using international frozen semen, we had still only bred a handful of fillies and this has been starting to play on my mind. Perhaps it was time to buy a colt, give us more foals with less risk, however we were doing so well with the process we had in place. I decided to place no pressure on myself, and to simply see what was out there.

We also saw the beautiful Straight Egyptian stallion Royal Colours, and a very special son of his that was extremely beautiful. We were able to walk through the barns of Dubai and every horse was exquisite. Seeing progeny by FA El Rasheem, D Seraj and Royal Colours was something we will treasure forever.

It certainly helped that my close friend Colleen Jackson wanted to join me for a girls’ European vacation, with a sidenote of ‘project search for a colt’ while Steve stayed at home working and looking after the kids and horses.

We landed in Dubai first, where soon after checking into the beautiful Dubai Raddison

Next stop was Italy, and we caught up with Ajman Moniscione’s manager Laura Grassi and did a trip to Giancarlo and Rosanna Buzzi’s farm who are the breeders and owners of Ajman Moniscione. They are always so welcoming, such lovely people. Laura Grassi has been Ajman’s manager for around the last nine years, so we have kept in touch often, and it was a thrill to finally meet in person.

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were also very welcoming and so very good with the handling of the horses. We finished off the day having a traditional Italian lunch with the Capecci team.

Colleen and I visited farms that ranged from extremely large, successful training establishments to family run, owned and operated. The one thing they had in common was that they all had barns with heating, as it was so cold, and everyone had covered arenas to display and work their horses. We are so lucky in Australia with our climate.

One thing we noticed was everyone was always very complimentary and supportive of each other. As you can imagine, the Italian hospitality is second to none.... lots of wine and beautiful food!

Ajman Moniscione himself was not there, however we saw many of his close relatives who were exquisite. It is so lovely looking at horses in Italy, the farms are so picturesque and proudly show their Italian heritage. It is easy for anyone to get lost in the romance of it all, and even easier when such incredibly beautiful horses are involved.

While in Italy we also visited the picturesque Capecci Arabian Centre, catching up with Susy Capecci who we had last seen in Dubai the week before.

We stayed at the Fortebraccio in Montone which was just up the road from Capecci, and were able to really experience this incredible part of the world and its unique culture. Once again, we saw so many of the beautiful Arabians that us Australians only usually see at the big shows via live stream. To see them in the flesh was a great experience, and all the team at Capecci were wonderful.

Capecci Arabian Training Centre is a very impressive establishment with first class facilities. The horses were extremely well looked after and happy, enjoying the very best of care. All the trainers

On our Italian travels we came across a look-alike son of FA El Rasheem, SS Dhafer, who is bred by Irina Stigler of Stigler Stud, who has travelled to Australia to judge. Stigler Stud is a picturesque stud, located not far from Lake Como. We saw some beautiful mares and fillies sired by WH Justice, Kahil Al Shaqab and Pogrom.

It was the middle of winter, he was only nine months old and had his full winter coat, but both Colleen and I fell in love with him. SS Dhafer ticked all the boxes. He had great length of rein, hip to buttock, leg, correct legs and feet with a beautiful chiselled face like his sire, with the biggest eyes we had seen. To top it all off, when Irina let him loose in the arena, he could move as well.

He was exactly what I was after. I was also lucky enough to see his beautiful dam, US National Champion Donna Diva (Ekstern x La Diva), unique for us in Australia and the rest of the world.

We thought this was a great outcross.

His name means ‘The Winner’ in Arabic.

I am not sure what better name could befit such an extraordinary colt. I had to make this happen, he had to come to Australia.

The next step was to come up with an agreement to buy him. After many weeks communicating with Irina we came to an agreement, however we needed extra funds to purchase him. My parents

helped fulfil the agreement and finally the colt of our dreams was ours.

SS Dhafer will reside in Italy and will cover some beautiful mares to continue his legacy in Europe, then he will arrive on Australian soil at the end of 2021. Irina Stigler has been amazing to deal with and has made this experience so far very positive.

Until his arrival, we will continue to experiment with frozen semen and this season coming we have two foals due, both by Westbury Park’s Ghianni WPI (Ajman Moniscione x Ghazala El Jamaal), who devastatingly passed at the young age of two. One is an embryo transfer out of Goddess of Ajman MA and the other out of Arielle KA, and both Westbury Park and ourselves are extremely excited to see the resulting foals.

Next for our breeding program we will try the RFI Farid semen we purchased a few years ago. We saw RFI Farid back in 2009 at Luca Oberti’s farm in Italy and thought he had many attributes we liked.

When his semen became available we purchased breedings for Australia. We also were extremely lucky to purchase from Lisa Bargain the only frozen semen doses of QR Marc in Australia, as unfortunately he isn’t quarantined anymore for Australia.

I have found three key factors using frozen semen; the first is using quality semen, the second is to get your mares cycling well and the third is to make sure to use a good vet that uses frozen semen regularly. Using frozen semen has given us bloodlines and quality foals that we could only ever dream of. However using frozen semen does add more elements of risk and there have been many disappointments along the way. The joy of the delivery of that special foal makes it all worthwhile.

Arabian horses are such a huge part of our family life. They bring us much enjoyment, but even greater is the special friendships with like-minded people. My closest and dearest friends are those I have met through the Arabian horse, and without having people to share and talk about what we think will work, what we love and what we are planning for our next exciting step...what would life be?

Enjoy your Arabians, and your friends!

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E V E RYO N E G E T S TH AT O N E SPECIAL HORSE IN LIFE

ECHOS OF TOMORROW B

raveheart Arabians is situated in the beautiful Hawkesbury district and is owned by Robyn Rogers and her partner Steve McCurley. Their lovely property is a little over three acres in size and is set up as a horse property, complete with stable complex and floodlit arena.

Both Steve and Robyn have been riding and showing horses for over 30 years.

‘I started off with Arabians on the show circuit,’ says Robyn, ‘complete with weekly lessons and so on and enjoyed learning the art of training and riding. Steve actually started with Quarter Horses, and he also studied with an array of top instructors

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learning groundwork, breaking and of course riding. Today, we break all our own horses to saddle, doing all the training ourselves.’

Braveheart currently owns two Arabians, the first of whom is a gelding by the name of Regent MI (Guiliano (US) x Rimaraa (US)), Steve’s saddle mount. This gelding has been a multi champion at the highest levels in halter and under saddle. ‘He is an extremely intelligent horse to ride and very trainable…the sky is really the limit when it comes to what this horse can do.’

After selling her saddle mare Bremervale Loreal (Bremervale Ultimate x Bremervale

Inspiration), Robyn became determined her next saddle horse would have a similar level of talent as Regent MI, and so set out to find a filly of similar bloodlines. ‘I had been looking for around six months when I decided to go to the open day of an Arabian stud. Walking through the stables, I saw this beautiful baby colt sleeping, not really paying attention to all the noise around him. He was later brought out and put on display for the crowd and I knew in that moment I had found what I had been searching for.’ This colt had the type, conformation, presence and movement that Robyn was looking for, and best of all, he demonstrated a

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

most engaging temperament. ‘I enquired about his breeding and was thrilled to discover he was double Marwan Al Shaqab (the grandsire of Regent MI) through his sire Echos of Marwan. Bred by Vince and Karen Falzon of Falzon Arabians, his name was Echos of Tomorrow, and although I had gone to that open day in the hope of finding a filly, I went home with a nine-month-old colt!’

The young colt arrived at Braveheart that July and was put into show preparation for the upcoming show season. His first season was a phenomenal success, being awarded Champion Yearling Colt at the NSW State Titles, NSW National Stud Show and East Coast Championships, under both Australian and International Judges. He was awarded the Triple Crown and NSW Arabian Halter Horse of the Year. The season was topped off perfectly when he was named Unanimous Gold Australian Champion Yearling Colt, with Cameron Bonney on the end of the lead.

Junior Colt. Echos of Tomorrow is only the second horse in Australia to ever win three consecutive champions at the prestigious East Coast Championships.

‘During his downtime between shows we broke Sammie, as we call him, to saddle. He was extremely easy to train and thoroughly enjoyed being ridden. On that first ride I knew he was special under saddle and was excited for his future. He was ridden very lightly for the next year, just a ride or two a month and he was not shown at all except for an appearance at the WAHO Parade.’ Handled by Mitchell Taff,

Echos of Tomorrow absolutely loved being back in the ring, as anyone in the audience would attest. ‘Wow ... did they have fun!’ says Robyn. ‘They played and wowed the audience with fire and excitement, and then walked casually out of the arena!’

As Echos of Tomorrow turned towards his fourth year, it was decided he would step into the ring under saddle. His education was going well, and everything that was asked of him he would do with ease. ‘As I was still showing Regent MI, we looked for a show rider for Sammie, someone whom was a great rider and had a gentle

During his second season, Echos of Tomorrow was only shown three times and again he was awarded Champion Junior Colt at all three of the major NSW shows. The following season he was shown twice, for an appearance at the East Coast Championships and the Australian National Championships. Again, he came home with the goods winning Champion for the third consecutive year at East Coast, and Silver Australian Champion

FAR LEFT Echos Of Tomorrow – type, conformation, presence and movement ABOVE ‘Sammie’ has the most engaging temperament LEFT On that first ride I knew he was special under saddle and was excited for his future.

Photo by Glenys Lilley

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touch. We found that in Matt Snell, and the first time I saw this duo together I knew this was going to be a special pairing.’

Matt Snell remembers, ‘Robyn and Steve have always made sure he had the best possible start and a good experience with whatever he did. Although very green at the beginning, he always gave his best and tried so hard for me, I feel he trusts me a lot. I would always mix the training up from long and low to sitting up pumping out the big trots and then galloping around for some fun, and then always finishing on a loose rein.

He now knows his job and he loves it too.’

Sammie was taken to Matt once a week so they could bond, and Robyn and Steve did the training during the week. The system worked, as demonstrated by their first outing together where they came home with Supreme Purebred Under Saddle.

ABOVE ‘Sammie’ and handler Mitchell Taff at the WAHO Parade

‘At his first AA grade show under saddle, our only expectation was for Sammie to enjoy the experience.’ And while he did enjoy himself, he was also named NSW State Titles Champion Young Horse, Champion Ridden Stallion, Supreme Novice of Show and Supreme Saddle Horse of Show. ‘We were on cloud nine’, remembers Robyn.

At the NSW Nationals he was Champion Bridle Path then at East Coast he competed in Non Pro for the first time with Viv Motbey riding him. Together they won Champion Ridden Stallion Non Pro. Then after this, with Matt Snell he was awarded Champion Ridden Stallion and won the East Coast Cup. Matt Snell says, ‘Sammie is very calm at the shows and easy to prepare but stepping into the ring he is a true show horse.

He sits up and loves to motor around. I usually jump on about 15 minutes before his class and always start with my home training, so his mind is always on the job straight away. To be honest, in the ring he is just like riding at home.

‘My experience has been nothing but great. I love the horse; I love everything about him. Not many can do what he has done in less than 12 months of competition. I mean, how can you not love him, he is so happy and loves to please.’

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LEFT When ‘Sammie’ (pictured with rider Matt Snell) steps into the ring, he is a true show horse. Photo by Samantha Taylor

The Australian National Championships is often a daunting experience for owners, and after such a great lead up, the team was naturally a little nervous to see if that kind of high could be maintained at the country’s most prestigious event. ‘The weather was absolutely miserable as we headed out to the ring, however Sammie did his job just as he knows how, and the ribbons started to fly our way. First it was Champion Silver Snaffle with a foot perfect workout, followed by Gold Australian Champion Ridden Stallion. I was so proud of the way he stood there for the judges’ inspection, and his workout was absolutely perfect…our superstar stallion!

‘I truly believe that everyone gets that one special horse, their unicorn in life that leaves a mark on you forever, and for me, Echos of Tomorrow is that horse.’

Since that time, Echos of Tomorrow has been spending his days out with his toys in his paddock, simply doing what he wants to do before being stabled at night.

‘He has a big chaff bag hanging in his stable which he flicks up then quickly gets under, we think he is using it as a security blanket. He has used his “blankey” from day one, and he still stands there with it over his back when he’s in the stable.’

The next adventures for this marvellous team consist of dressage, costume and perhaps even open western. ‘We will of course be back in the Arabian saddle rings, and maybe some halter with Steve. And there is also the business of breeding…Sammie has no foals to date as we had been concentrating on his saddle work, however we are hopeful he will have some foals in the near future.’

CHIP CHASE STUD A B R I E F H I S TO RY

BY PAM ROYDHOUSE

G

rowing up in suburban Sydney, I owned and rode ponies of assorted sizes and shapes. My parents indulged my passion, all the while saying, ‘She’ll grow out of it’. How wrong they were!

My love of Arabians was born as a very young girl when I was taken to see the stallion Zadaran, who was owned by Teddy Locke in Bowral. I next saw Arabians at Sydney Royal Show in 1957, where I was captivated by the recent UK imports of Mrs Mary Leicht. The stallion Silwan (Dargee x Silwa) and

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the ethereal mare Silver Magic (Indian Magic x Silver Fire) infected me with an incurable case of ‘Arabianitis’.

I soon acquired several more horses, mostly gifted to me by friends. The block grew to 25 acres and more horses were acquired.

I married my husband John in 1952.

It was a matter of ‘love me, love my horse’, so we moved to a suburban block at Avalon with my riding horse La Ronde. John established a horse f loat manufacturing business, Ranch Trailers. The business outgrew our block and in 1962 we moved to five acres at Rouse Hill on the outskirts of Sydney.

I was first and foremost a horse rider – a pleasure rider, not a competition rider. My mounts over the years ranged from little fat ponies to rangy off-thetrack Thoroughbreds. Over my teenage and early adult years I dreamed of breeding my own riding horses. Until John and I moved to Rouse Hill it could only be a dream. The space at Rouse Hill let me realise that dream.

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LEFT (MAIN IMAGE) ‘Small but beautiful.’ Pam’s words in a telegram to husband John after her purchase of Cherokee Mecca as a yearling in 1970. Cherokee Mecca photographed at Rock Forest as a mature stallion.

ABOVE Chip Chase Meccali (x Silala) competing with Trevor Bonney to take out the 1984 Australian Arabian Harness Horse Award. Born in 1971, he was Mecca’s first Pure Arabian foal and the first Pure Arabian bred by Chip Chase. Photo by Andrew Roberts TOP RIGHT Chip Chase Kaiema – by Mecca from Kai (Rapier x Browne Anne).

Kai was one of Chip Chase Stud’s foundation mares.

RIGHT Born running! Chip Chase Sadaqa as a foal. Sadaqa notched up 4208km of successful completions in endurance rides over a career that spanned 14 years. He has 237 progeny recorded with AHSA, the majority of which were bred by dedicated endurance studs.

Shortly before our move to Rouse Hill John gave me as a birthday present a sweet unregistered filly by the Hawkesbury College-bred Salacia (Sala x Mira). Her name was Chiquita and we were later able to have her registered with AHSA. She became Chip Chase Chiquita and was the first horse to carry the Chip Chase prefix.

In early 1969 I saw an ad for a drought sale of Pure Arabians at Rokeby Stud in QLD. John and I agreed I would attend the sale, taking a horse trailer with me.

At the sale I purchased the Colonial-bred mare Tarney (Zarney x Tatima) in foal to Grand Regent and the pretty filly Lisa by Argent, a son of Silwan and Silver Magic.

The striking black liver chestnut colt Cherokee Mecca (x Cherokee Royal Sarong) came into the bull ring ridden bareback in only a halter – no bit. A green broken yearling! At the end of bidding he was knocked down to me. I had my future breeding stallion. I sent John a telegram which simply said, ‘Small but beautiful’.

Chiquita was also my fledgling stud’s first broodmare. I bred her to Ralvon Stud’s Rikham and in December 1966 she foaled a colt I named Chip Chase Cadence. Chip Chase Stud was born.

Tarney and Lisa along with Coronet, Tarney’s filly born later that year, were the foundation mares of the Chip Chase Pure Arabian breeding program.

In 1970 and 1971, while waiting for Mecca to reach breeding age, I searched for Pure Arabian mares to add to the stud. I acquired seven and in 1972 added Mecca’s full-sister Cherokee Nile Queen to the band.

Correct, beautiful saddle horses were my ideal and that ideal kept taking me to Pure Arabians. At this time Pure Arabian mares for sale were ‘as scarce as hens’ teeth’ and when they did come on the market they were fetching ‘king’s ransom’ prices. There was a waiting list of buyers for fillies bred at nearby Hawkesbury Agricultural College.

My next ambition was to have my own stallion. Again, QLD provided the answer.

In 1970 I saw an ad for a Brahman Cattle Company sale. Tacked on to the end of the cattle list were three yearling Arabian colts by Silwan. I decided to attend the sale. Fate was knocking.

I didn’t search out mares on the basis of their pedigrees. Back then, I had very limited knowledge of Arabian pedigrees and bloodlines. I selected mares that showed correct saddle horse conformation and movement (and which I could afford!).

I flew to Yeppoon for the sale. At the end of the cattle sale the colts were presented.

Mecca was bred to four mares as a young two-year-old in the 1970/71 season.

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Two were outside mares – an Australian Pony and an unregistered mare. They produced Mecca’s first foals. The Arabian Pony colt, Gradell Prince Mecca, went on to have an outstanding show career.

For Chip Chase, I bred the Pure Arabian mares Lisa and Silala (Silver Spot x Rossala). Lisa foaled Chip Chase Meccali and Silala Chip Chase Hannibal. Meccali was to go on to be named 1983 Australian Champion Arabian Stallion and 1984 Australian Champion Harness Horse.

Mecca himself was only shown very lightly.

In the early days of Chip Chase time and finances just didn’t allow for showing.

Two show victories I do recall are him being named Champion in 1970 or 1971 at Castle Hill Show and Supreme All Breeds Champion at Sofala Show in 1976.

Mecca was a prolific colt producer and many of his sons found their way to outback stations in QLD, the Gulf Country and NT. To this day much of his Arabian blood remains in the background of station work camps.

He was also an endurance sire of note. His son Peppersfield Nabucco (x Peppersfield Mustine) won the Tom Quilty Gold Cup Ride in 1997 and 1999, the latter win being

an equal placing. Perhaps the best known of Mecca’s endurance progeny is Chip Chase Sadaqa (x Silala). ‘Wings’ had an impressive endurance career in his own right, including winning the 1983 Tom Quilty Gold Cup Ride, but it is as a sire of outstanding endurance horses that he has excelled. His daughter Kurrajong Concorde (Yamamah) (x Franklin Rajul) won the Quilty in 2011 and went on to have an impressive career in UAE ownership, including taking out the endurance individual gold medal at the 2014 World Equestrian Games.

Mecca’s Pure Arabian fillies mostly remained in Chip Chase to breed on for the stud. I showed several with success over the years but I was never much of a ‘showie’, preferring to use my horses for work on the farm.

By the time Mecca’s first foals were of working age there was plenty of work for them. Chip Chase quickly outgrew its 25 acres at Rouse Hill and in 1972 we moved to Rock Forest Station, just west of Bathurst. Three thousand acres was too big to outgrow and there was plenty of cattle work for the horses. The hilly country and large open paddocks provided the ideal environment in which to raise the strong, healthy, athletic horses that I wanted Chip Chase to be known for.

Mecca was truly the heart of Chip Chase. He spent his entire life with me, siring wonderful Pure, Anglo and Part Arabians. They excelled in so many fields – endurance, the showrings, as working stock horses and as pleasure horses for adults and children alike.

By the mid-1970s Chip Chase was in need of another stallion to breed over the Mecca daughters. In 1976 the colt Sardis (Sirocco x Que Que) was purchased at the Gatton Agricultural College Sale. He was a tall, elegant, leggy chestnut with a wonderful length of rein. I believed he would be an ideal horse to put to the smaller, compact Mecca mares and in coming years this proved true.

Sardis nicked particularly well with Mecca’s full-sister Cherokee Nile Queen. This mating produced the magnificent Chip Chase Nile King, who was a showring super star under saddle ridden by the superlative horseman Jim Delamont. Some lovely Sardis daughters were retained in the stud one of which, Chip Chase Saraya (x Sh’raya), is the last remaining Chip Chase horse at Rock Forest.

As the 1970s progressed I felt the need to introduce an outcross bloodline into my rather tightly Crabbet-bred group of mares.

To this end, in 1977 I imported the Blue List Egyptian stallion Sindbad. A Hadban Enzahi son, he was bred at the worldfamous Marbach Stud in Germany. He was a fairytale horse: pure white, with dark lustrous eyes and flowing mane and tail.

But the fairytale had substance. Sindbad was a true saddle horse type and competed successfully in Germany under saddle on the flat, cross country and showjumping.

Sindbad fitted wonderfully into the Chip Chase breeding program, producing very typey, beautiful horses with correct saddle horse conformation. Several

LEFT Sindbad (DE) (Hadban Enzahi x Sahmet) as a six-year-old, photographed shortly after his arrival at Chip Chase in 1977.

Photo by Peter Pond

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Mystica Santosa with Kylie Wall

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TOP LEFT Sindbad (DE). Photo by Peter Pond ABOVE Sindbad competing cross country in Germany. At Chip Chase he became Pam’s pleasure riding horse.

FAR LEFT Chip Chase Tajar. Photo by Gary Jameson LEFT Chip Chase Nasareth (Sindbad x CC Nasrani (by Cherokee Mecca)) (1979) had a successful breeding and show career in QLD. Photo by Peta-Anne

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of his sons went to established studs throughout Australia and were shown with success. Indeed, in the same year his sons Chip Chase Nile Consort and Chip Chase Tajar were Supreme exhibits at their major State shows: Consort in WA and Tajar in VIC and NSW. The two stallions were full-brothers out of Mecca’s full-sister Cherokee Nile Queen.

After an epic bidding duel Silwan was knocked down to me for $11,000. It was an Australasian record price for an Arabian at auction – for a 21-year-old stallion! It was far more money than I could afford but I didn’t care. I’d solve that problem tomorrow. Silwan was mine! The horse that had stoked my passion for the Arabian breed had become a member of my family.

In 1977 Mecca was senior stallion, Sindbad was commencing his duties as the 2nd generation sire and Sardis was the junior stallion. I had a solid mare base and complementary breeding stallions. I was content. I was looking forward to years of growing Chip Chase from its existing stock. Nothing more needed to be acquired.

Silwan was bred primarily to my foundation mares and their PIU daughters.

He was also bred to the Mecca daughters CC Angel Tears (x Camilla), CC Tarnecca (x Tarney) and CC Flamenca (x Boomerang Magic Flame) to produce four fillies and a gelding. One of the fillies was retained, while the others went to established endurance breeding studs.

Fate slipped its hand in again. In Winter 1977 I saw an ad for the dispersal sale of the Cherokee Brahman Stud. At the end of the listings was the 21-year-old stallion Silwan.

From 1977 to 1982 Silwan shared the role of senior stallion with Mecca. In all, he produced 37 foals for the stud – 21 fillies, eight geldings and eight colts.

This was my chance. To raise funds Sardis would have to go. I flew again to Yeppoon and sat as a bidder outside the bull ring.

In 1978, while in the UK, I had visited the stud of Dr and Mrs Rumsey in Sussex. I fell in love with and purchased the weanling

filly Fad-Jehane (Fadli x Amira Gina). I visited the Rumseys again in 1980 and on that visit was smitten with Jehane’s fullbrother, the weanling colt Fad-Jamal. He was the last male bought in to the Chip Chase breeding program. ‘Fadji’ nicked well with Mecca daughters in particular, producing very feminine, correct fillies.

In 1994 I was able to bring Sardis back into the stud as an aged stallion to live out his life on Rock Forest. He bred four more foals for the stud after his return.

By the mid-1990s John and I were seriously reviewing the future for Chip Chase. Like so many others, Chip Chase was clearly going to be a single generation stud. Our children John and Amanda were married with their own families, responsibilities and interests.

Silwan had died in 1986, Mecca and Sindbad in 1994. We looked carefully and felt that we could not find a future sire to meet, and improve on, the standards those stallions had set for the stud. John and I, although not ancient, were beginning to

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TOP LEFT Silwan photographed shortly after his arrival at Rock Forest.

ABOVE Chip Chase Desert Emerald (Silwan x Desert Gem) in the showring with Bob Morris.

LEFT Lorraine Howarth and Chip Chase Abu Bakr (Silwan x Coronet). In 1987 the pair took out the AERA National Rider, National Horse and National One Rider One Horse Pointscores. Throughout her career Lorraine also campaigned Abu Bakr’s full-brother Chip Chase Nobility and the Cherokee Mecca grand-get Peppersfield Maestro and her homebred Billywillinga Kihi. Photo courtesy of Western Advocate

ABOVE Silwan at age 21. Photo by Geoff Martens BELOW Fad-Jamal (GB) photographed at Chip Chase as a late yearling in Winter 1981, shortly after his importation.

Photo by Gary Jameson

age and I was beginning to experience some mobility problems. We made the very careful and considered decision to bring the Chip Chase breeding program to a close.

It was a very difficult decision but one I believed at the time, and still do, was the right one. The last Chip Chase-bred horses were foaled in the 1995/96 breeding season.

There was no Chip Chase dispersal sale.

The size of Rock Forest allowed me to let my mares live out their lives securely and peacefully in the paddocks where they had been born and raised and from where they had given me so much pleasure and satisfaction themselves and through their foals.

The stallions of Chip Chase lie buried alongside each other on the banks of the creek that flows on the flats below

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the Rock Forest Station homestead. I often sit enjoying my morning coffee looking over ‘the boys’ and wandering down ‘Memory Lane’. The memories are mainly pleasurable ones.

Chip Chase Stud was relatively short-lived – just 30 years – and has been disbanded for 25 years. My hope is that in the overall fabric that is the history, present and future of Arabian breeding in Australia, Chip Chase will be seen to have contributed some strong and valuable threads.

THANK YOU! I have had so much help in compiling this brief history of Chip Chase Stud.

I want to thank long-time friends and fellow breeders Jan Clarke, Chris Ros, Mark Findlay, Coralie Gordon, Peter McIntosh and Christine Haigh for their support and contributions.

I couldn’t have done this without you.

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TOP LEFT Chip Chase Jehane+S at age 25.

Photo by Chris Ros ABOVE Chip Chase Desert Wind (l.) and his daughter Cameo Windsprite (x Kalila). Photo by Pat Slater ABOVE Chip Chase Nile Consort+S. Photo by Pat Slater

ROS ARAB STUD

NANKEEN AR ABIANS

THE CAMEO STUD

Chris & Bill Ros, WA

Mark Findlay, NSW

Coralie & Ken Gordon, QLD

Chris and Bill Ros acquired the twoyear-old colt Chip Chase Jehane+S (Cherokee Mecca x Lisa) in 1975.

Jehane was the first WA Arabian to attain Supreme status in the Australian Arabian Roll of Merit (AARM). His daughter Ros Starfire+S (x Scimitar Sharina) also gained AARM Supreme status, as did two of her daughters – Ros Starglow and Ros Jewel.

In 1983 Malcolm Gillies, a friend of Chris and Bill, purchased the rising two-year-old colt Chip Chase Nile Consort+S (Sindbad (DE) x Cherokee Nile Queen) and gave them a half share in him. In 1986 they were able to purchase him outright.

Like Jehane, Consort proved himself in the showring, in hand and under saddle, and as a breeding stallion. He too achieved Supreme status in the AARM. In 1988 he was judged Supreme Champion of All Breeds at the WA Autumn Show. On the same weekend his full-brother Chip Chase Tajar was judged Supreme Champion at the Victorian Arabian Classic.

Jehane and Consort were valued in Ros Arab Stud for their classic beauty, correct saddle horse conformation and movement and their wonderful temperaments, all of which were passed on consistently to their descendants.

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LEFT Chip Chase Nadjenka.

Photo by Mark Findlay

The Pure Arabian foundation of Mark Findlay’s Nankeen stud were the fillies Chip Chase Serenity (Cherokee Mecca x Chip Chase Angel Tears) and Chip Chase Nadjenka (Sindbad (DE) x Chip Chase Nile Princess), purchased in 1979 and 1982 respectively.

Nankeen Arabians currently comprises 34 Pure Arabian females in four mare families. Of these, 27 trace back in the tail female line to those two foundation mares.

Mark believes that it is through these mares that he has been able to maintain good feet and legs, large hearts, great working ability and good saddle horse conformation. Their easy to train temperaments have also been passed down through the generations.

In 2012 Mark re-introduced Cherokee Mecca blood into the stud through his grandson Littlebanks Troubadour (Chip Chase Sadaqa x Hillbrook Desert Silver).

Since then Mark has retained homebred colts descending from Serenity and Nadjenka to reinforce their valued traits on the male line of his families.

After some eight generations of breeding Mark is satisfied with and rewarded by horses that are beautiful, athletic, easy to live with and which have retained the dryness and type of his early mares.

Coralie Gordon purchased Chip Chase Desert Wind (Cherokee Mecca x Chip Chase Desert Joul) at the Gatton Agricultural College Sale in 1977.

Coralie says, ‘I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He was just so right for us.’

The young colt found his lifetime home in The Cameo Stud. He became a very successful show horse in hand and under saddle, competing with Ken Gordon and Katherine Sharman. At the 1983 Australian Arabian Championships he gained two Reserve Champions and two Top Tens in performance classes.

‘Windy’ sired 149 registered foals and his Purebred and Derivative direct progeny made their mark in the showrings of the 1980s and 90s: his descendants continue this success. His maternal great grandson Marshawan (Echos of Marwan x Chelleason Wind Fortune) was the 2020 Australian Champion Arabian Colt 2 & 3 years.

The Cameo Stud now has its breeding focus on producing top notch endurance horses.

Windy’s Anglo son Cameo Prospero (x Flange) is retained as a sire in the breeding program and several Windy daughters and grand-daughters have produced outstanding endurance horses competing in Australia, New Zealand and UAE.

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A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

A TRIBUTE TO TS AL MALIK 09 D E C E M B E R 1992 – 15 JA N UA RY 2020

T

he destiny altering relationship began in Scottsdale, Arizona, a mecca of the Arabian breed with which so many of the essential equine connections that have come to define the Mulawa programme – Ambition, Dzina and Karmaa, to name just a few – over five decades share as a prolific and positive origin. The year was 1996, nearly a quarter of a century earlier, when Greg, Julie and Jane Farrell returned once again to the centre of the Arabian horse universe, with the ambitious intention of finding the next Mulawa chief sire to advance the programme at home. ‘Phenotypically, we knew the type of stallion we felt could benefit our mares, especially after the addition of GLF Apollo,’ Jane recalls assuredly, ‘but finding that right stallion had proven to be a patient, diligent and ever ongoing process.’

All three Farrell family members concur on the major draw card at the top of the list of potential sires that Scottsdale: United States & Canadian National Champion Futurity Colt Fame Maker R (Fame VF x Inschallah El Shaklan by El Shaklan).

‘Greg had loved Fame Maker since the very first time we had seen him as a yearling,’ Julie remembers fondly. ‘When the news was released that he would be available in the Arabco auction, we knew we had to go back to Scottsdale and see him again!’ The initial impressions of

LEFT TS Al Malik at Ambition

a now mature Fame Maker R did not disappoint the Farrells, reassuring them all that he would ‘complement the majority of the Mulawa mares beautifully’ with his pleasing modern phenotype, according to Greg, with the added bonus of ‘appealing to a vast majority of the Australian market’ with his popular pedigree, an insightful recollection from Julie.

Content in their assessment of Fame Maker R, the Farrells clearly understood the challenges still ahead to secure him at public auction. Taking advantage of the unparalleled availability of quality breeding stock that is inherent in the annual global gathering at Scottsdale, Greg, Julie and Jane, in close consultation with Greg Farrell Sr. back home in Australia, took the time to visit several other leading trainers and breeders to enlighten themselves on the other choices and possibilities of breeding stallions on offer, and to hedge their bet should Fame Maker prove unobtainable in the unpredictability of a live auction.

At Midwest Training Center, they were introduced to a young recently imported National Champion from Brazil: TS Al Malik. Having just turned three in December, Malik was in Scottsdale to compete as a mature stallion in the four year old stallion class on behalf of his owner and breeder Toni Salloum, the source of the ‘TS’ in his namesake. ‘We were immediately impressed by him,’ shares Julie. ‘He just had this immense presence about him, with great length of leg and wonderful stature coupled with very correct movement.’ Jane remembers them all being overwhelmed by TS Al Malik at that first viewing, especially Greg ‘which was very clever on Malik’s part!’ Jane expounds on Malik from that first viewing

as a horse of ‘impressive size, elegance, balance, structure and masculinity’ with a ‘distinctly Arabian appeal that was different to the “norm” present in the breed both at home and abroad’.

The pedigree of TS Al Malik was, at first glance, also out of the ordinary, with a Brazilian-bred sire Hello Barich ELS (Espana Tiempo x BG Koronation by Kobalt) and an exported American-bred dam BF Tiffany Select (BF Rageymazon x BF Bint Scimitar by RHR Scimitar).

On closer examination, the Farrells began to appreciate the common threads to the Mulawa foundation stock with Polish connections to both Bask and Naborr, as well as numerous ancestral links to the best of the Crabbet bloodlines. In the more immediate generations of his pedigree, TS Al Malik essentially represented a pleasing blend of Spanish, Gainey and Raffles lineage, genetics that had proven themselves as amongst the most influential and esteemed for decades, and which most importantly, provided the right amount of reliable ‘outcross’ for the Mulawa breeding vision. ‘We took a risk with TS Al Malik,’ Julie reminisces, ‘on a horse with a unique look and a very different pedigree.’ Jane remembers the decision as ‘the logical next step’, a testament to Mulawa’s commitment to ‘utilising the right horse, not necessarily the “now” horse’, with the intention of ‘building on the success of previous generations’.

Within a few days of purchase, TS Al Malik would reward the Farrells with his first major win outside of Brazil, triumphing in the four year old stallion class and as Scottsdale Reserve Champion Senior Stallion. After a successful show career in

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North America with David Boggs at the lead, during which TS Al Malik achieved several Regional Championships, a Reserve Championship at the prestigious Ohio Buckeye Sweepstakes and two hotly contested United States National Top Ten Senior Stallion titles, Malik finally arrived to his adopted homeland in July of 1998.

As fate would have it, Malik was welcomed to the stable in which Fame Maker R, having been recently named Australian National Champion in 1997 with Greg Farrell, was already in residence. The blending of these two stallions throughout the Mulawa breeding programme and the Australian industry at large would evolve to raise the standard of breed excellence in the new millennium, an inspiring full circle story of inevitable good fortune.

Before TS Al Malik began full-time siring duties at Mulawa, he embarked on the final stage of his life as a show horse with Greg at the lead. Jane remembers the bond between the pair as ‘incredibly special and unique. There was such trust between the two of them. It was so rewarding for everyone to watch the transformation of TS Al Malik with Greg, and with Kathryn Morgan behind the scenes ensuring his transition to life in Australia was as stressfree as possible’. Greg recalls ‘the privilege of showing TS Al Malik’ as ‘amazing’, smiling when remembering just ‘how much horse was on the end of the lead!’ ‘Malik would get so excited in the show ring,’ Greg elaborates, ‘his energy and enthusiasm rising with the excitement of the crowd.’

While the two National Stud Show Senior

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Stallion Championships earned by TS Al Malik are fondly remembered by everyone on Team Mulawa, it was the final show ring appearance in Canberra that stands out as the pinnacle. ‘Jubilant is the best word to describe Malik at the Aussies in 2001,’ shares Greg. ‘He had a sense of anticipating something good was about to happen, snorting and prancing on the spot, with a “smile” on his face that matched our own.’ It was smiles all around in the winner’s circle later that blustery day, as TS Al Malik was named 2001 Australian National Champion Senior Stallion at nine years of age, surrounded by a euphoric team of supporters, carers and fans.

multi-Australian National Champion sons: full brothers Sovereign Wings and Mulawa Bronze Wings (by Magnum Psyche), as well as Gold N Wings (by Fame Maker R), all superlative breed ambassadors.

The ascendancy of TS Al Malik as a sire was already in progress, as his eldest Australian-bred progeny, On Angels Wings (x M Angelique by Vision), earned her first Australian National Championship title at the same event in 2001, sashed as Australian National Reserve Champion Junior Filly the day earlier. ‘Right from the very first foal,’ Jane recalls with great satisfaction, ‘Malik contributed to the programme exactly as we expected, adding length of leg, substance, great structure and correct movement. His best foals had the special “presence” that was uniquely Malik, an ethereal elegance and refinement that is so unmistakeably Arabian.’ On Angels Wings, for whom Jane still holds a ‘soft spot’, would most certainly mature into one of the most beloved and invaluable of the TS Al Malik progeny, earning Aristocrat Dam status prior to her premature loss with three

Jane also mentions Mae Marie and Melody MI as two other extremely special Malik daughters. ‘Melody (x Fames Harmony by Fame Maker R) is one of the youngest Malik daughters in the herd at just ten years of age, a great-granddaughter of my favourite mare Mulawa Chance,’ Jane affirms. ‘She has already blessed the breed with four beautiful daughters, all with a second dose of Malik influence through Allegiance MI, including Canadian National Champion Madora MI and Australian National Bronze Champion Milan MI.’

The full brother to On Angels Wings, Mulawa Angelus, has also proven to be a banner carrier for his sire, excelling as an endurance athlete on the global stage for Team Thailand. ‘There is nothing quite like the thrill of cheering on a homegrown athlete amongst the international crowd at the World Equestrian Games,’ enthuses Jane. ‘We have Malik to thank for that special privilege.’

Julie shares the story of Mae Marie, a daughter of her beloved ‘Queen of Mulawa’ Karmaa (Kaborr x AN Marieta by AN Malik). ‘Our very first impression of Malik had us convinced he would be an ideal cross for Karmaa. The first result of that cross was Mae Marie, a multi-champion mare who is still considered one of the

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

most ethereal mares ever bred at Mulawa.’

Like Melody, the Mae Marie influence at Mulawa continues through another double-Malik descendant: her gorgeous daughter MI Marie (by Allegiance MI).

The Farrells were indeed correct in their assessment of TS Al Malik as an ideal cross for Karmaa as the pair produced four successive progeny in total, all of whom matured into significant National Champion achieving show horses as well as breeding horses of lasting impact. While Mae Marie proved to be the most important daughter, the final product of the ‘golden cross’ proved to be the most revolutionary and the most enduringly impactful son: the aptly named Klass. His accolades in the show ring are legendary and unprecedented – four-time undefeated East Coast Champion in every halter age division, as well as three-time successive Australian

OPPOSITE PAGE (LEFT) On Angels Wings OPPOSITE PAGE (RIGHT) TS Al Malik | Scottsdale 1996 BELOW LEFT Melody MI BELOW RIGHT Parkview Audacious

National Champion as a Senior Stallion (2009), Ridden Arabian Stallion (2010) and Working Stock Horse (2011). ‘Klass is the horse that put Mulawa firmly on the worldwide map in the new millennium,’ Jane observes, ‘not only because of his show ring accomplishments, but especially for his achievements as a sire, and his role as breed ambassador.’ ‘The daughters of Klass have captivated breeders the world over,’ Greg proudly shares, ‘several of which are now owned by the leading breeding programmes in the Middle East and Asia.’

The record setting achievements for Klass are now also attributed to his siring prowess, recognition which has elevated Klass to all-time leading sire status of Australian National Champion females.

His status as ‘Greg’s favourite horse from birth’ has been justifiably proven time and time again, culminating in the ultimate honour of WAHO Trophy Recipient for Australia in 2015, for significant contribution to the Arabian breed both at home and abroad. A classic Stuart Vesty photograph of Klass hangs in the Arabian Horse Galleries at the Kentucky Horse Park to symbolise the presence of the Arabian breed in Australia, another monumental honour for the Mulawa programme that could never have been realised without the inclusion of TS Al Malik.

The close relationship of the Farrells with the Bonney Family of Parkview Arabians proved instrumental in adding another essential TS Al Malik influence to the Mulawa breeding programme. Born in the very first foal crop after Malik’s arrival to Australia, the tall, elegant, bold moving Parkview Audacious, out of Australian National Champion Aliha Bint Nizr (Anaza El Nizr x Warrayna Baskette by Baskeri), proved to be an outstanding nick with the Mulawa broodmares, resulting in a host of invaluable daughters that have impacted the breed globally. ‘It was incredibly rewarding to stand in the winner’s circle with Impressa MI (Aria Impresario x Mulawa Alexa by Parkview Audacious) in Scottsdale,’ effuses Jane, ‘when she was sashed International Gold Champion Mare. Her trajectory was upward from that moment, later becoming a twice Canadian National Champion, as well as a United States National Reserve Champion Mare.’

All this was happening while at the same time, back on Australian soil, the premier Audacious daughter, Audacia (x Mulawa Aria by Arrival), was exponentially expanding her influence and worth, with her own host of sensational daughters and one essential son: Allegiance MI (by Magnum Forty Four). ‘Audacia was extra special to me,’ discloses Jane, ‘as she was out

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of my favourite Karmaa daughter, Mulawa Aria, who traces directly to our earliest Polish foundation of Ambition (Bask x Bint Ambara by Comet) and Euni (Bandos x Eunice by Comet). To witness her influence continue to grow in every successive generation is immensely rewarding.’ That influence is now poised ‘to eclipse the impact of Klass’, according to Greg, ‘in both the Mulawa breeding programme and the breed at large’. Greg, Julie and Jane all agree that the ‘significance of Allegiance MI as a sire is just beginning to be realised. Both his sons and his daughters are proving to be competitive at the highest level of competition all across the globe, while their own progeny are defining the next generation of excellence.’

No tribute to TS Al Malik would be complete without mentioning two of his most iconic sons: Fire Alert and Aamahni.

The flamboyant Fire Alert (x Fire Flame) was not only an early testament to the genius of combining the bloodlines of TS Al Malik with Fame Maker R, but like Klass, he has been an incomparable ambassador for the Arabian breed. The Bonneyowned and bred Aamahni, the younger full brother to Parkview Audacious, has carved out a record setting niche of his own with Cameron at the lead and Jayna in the saddle, and is now recognised as the most successful Arabian stallion of all time at the Australian National Championships in both halter and performance.

The physical presence of TS Al Malik at Mulawa is something everyone misses following his passing in January. ‘Since his retirement in 2003, Malik lived in the two largest paddocks at Ambition,’ Julie recounts, ‘in full view from both sides of the Mulawa property, and clearly visible from the main residence. Greg’s office overlooks these paddocks, as well as the one just closer, in which Klass lived before his relocation to the Hunter Valley. It was always a special thrill for Greg to look out and see both father and son at play, twirling long reeds in their mouths while galloping and rearing, taunting each other across the fence.’ The annual Mulawa Open Day always provided the opportunity for the greater Australian equine community to enjoy these unique antics, ‘when Malik would welcome guests with an entertaining session of twirling

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ABOVE The Vesty Portrait of Klass, representing Australia in the Arabian Horse Galleries, USA

“rope ball”, or tossing around a witch’s hat’. ‘Malik truly enjoyed his retirement at Ambition,’ expresses Greg, ‘often chasing cars up the drive way. He was also somewhat of a contradiction – on one hand, the ultimate alpha-stallion, effortlessly intimidating other horses and people with his power and presence, yet extremely kind and intelligent, eager to learn and always ready to work. He loved trail riding with Pete Partridge, a crucial element of his conditioning regime for the show ring, learning to trust people both on the ground and on his back.’

‘That unmistakable Malik presence, athleticism and intelligence is readily apparent in all the best of his descendants,’ reflects Greg. ‘Twenty five years later, we cannot imagine Mulawa without his presence and influence.’ Earlier, in February of this year, just a few weeks after

the patriarch was laid to rest, the story of TS Al Malik arrived full circle back in Scottsdale, with the crowning of his greatgreat-grandson Advantage MI (Allegiance MI x Valentine MI by DA Valentino) as 2020 Scottsdale All Arabian International Gold Champion Senior Stallion. ‘A fitting tribute to “the King”,’ the literal translation of Al Malik from Arabic, muse Greg, Julie and Jane, ‘in the special place where his journey with Mulawa began.’

For Mulawa, there will never be another stallion quite like TS Al Malik. ‘We are grateful every day that he repaid our trust in him, far exceeding our ambitious expectations for him both as a horse and a sire. Our lives are infinitely richer as a result of every moment spent in his presence, and for the enduring legacy of excellence he has left behind for the Arabian breed.’

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE M YS TI C A A B BA S & B E L I N DA O ’ CO N N O R 87

ABOVE & PREVIOUS PAGE Mystica Abbas and Belinda O’Connor at the 2020 Australian National Arabian Championships LEFT Mystica Abbas as a yearling

M

y first moment with Mystica Abbas was as a yearling, watching him playing in his paddock. He was playful, somewhat cheeky and cantering around a round bale. I was impressed with how balanced he was, and he was so light on his feet. Before even knowing his pedigree, I asked if in the future he would be standing at stud, however inside I was plotting how I could make this impressive young colt my own.

The plans at that time for Abbas were that he was destined for France, and he would not be available for Australia. Bred

by Jeff McGlinn of Mystica Arabians, this beautiful bay colt was sired by the stunning Magnum Psyche son LC Prince Magnum, out of one of my all-time favourite mares Princess of Marwan who is sired by the living legend Marwan Al Shaqab. Truly a world class pedigree that is sure to breed on.

I saw so much potential for him as a breeding sire and future show horse. He was the image of his mother’s beauty, with a smooth body and an amazing hip and hindquarter and good movement that I admired from his sire’s pedigree. He stayed in my mind and several months later he was home with me in Kilmore.

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For 35 years now my aim has been to produce outstanding Arabians, with the intention of being great saddle horses that are known for their incredible movement, style and temperament. The stud’s breeding stock is carefully selected for temperament, type, conformation and purity of paces.

This last point is particularly important to me as I am a rider, always with the intention of producing my next saddle horse.

In the early days I was heavily involved in training and showing Arabian horses for clients as well as my own Arabian show horses for numerous years, travelling to all the major interstate shows to compete. A host of many Championships and Supremes were won under saddle and in halter.

cremello stallion Aratahnes Excalibur and I was judging. Pete’s love for Arabian horses started only a few years before we met and he already had a collection of lovely young fillies who have served us well as show horses and now proving to be valuable in the broodmare band. Combining our horses together, acquiring Mystica Abbas and purchasing some selected mares along the way was only the beginning to a fresh start and a new stud together at South Serenity. Located at Kilmore, we are close to the Northern Highway which gives us easy access to Victorian and interstate Arabian horse shows.

The stallions we had back then were El Shafie (Lyrian Lyric x Carol J), his son Mikinda Mr Bojestic (from Woodlyn Sanadu) and the imported stallion Mhamid (Melchior x Armira). During this time I was very active in all three Arabian clubs in South Australia and involved in the combining of these clubs, running shows and conducting seminars.

Now normally one would start off with a young stallion having a halter career, however we had great visions of Mystica Abbas being a super saddle horse. With this vision in mind, he was allowed to grow and mature at home, and he was not shown. Just before he was three I commenced the breaking process with ground work under the watchful eye of his future rider Elouise Lando. With ease, he was backed and ridden for his first ten rides

by Elouise then once again turned out.

Since 2014 home is Victoria, with my husband Pete, whom I met at the East Coast Championships while showing his

At the start of this show season we planned to take Abbas slowly and enter him in only a few shows. From his very

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

first show he was a champion, then at the Victorian Classic he was Champion in all four divisions; Newcomer, Novice, Intermediate and Open and then won all three Supreme awards. I believe he is the only horse to ever take a clean sweep!

With Elouise, he has twice been awarded Australian Arabian Champion Ridden Stallion, twice Winner of the East Coast Cup and is the winner of several Grand Championships and many memorial awards…all before the age of six.

Over the years during his training, every now and then I would have a ride after his session with Elouise. It gave me the opportunity to feel what it is like to ride such a talented horse, and I liked it.

During the week between his training I began to trail ride him to keep a fresh mind and positive attitude.

From the very start he was supposed to be my riding horse for the future, however I wanted him to be the best he could be, and I did not have the confidence that I could do that for him once he started to win. The plan

had always been for Elouise to be his rider to start off his saddle career, but never did we expect this combination to be so successful.

Abbas has always been such an over achiever and has so much to give, he loves his work. In 2019 Elouise had an amazing opportunity to work with Arabians overseas, and I turned Abbas out after their second Australian Championship win. A few months went by and I noticed he was becoming bored in his paddock, so I felt it was time to learn to ride him to a different level.

Ever since, I have had weekly riding lessons with Jenny Brae, who had also been Elouise’s coach for almost two decades, working with Abbas and Elouise regularly.

This gave me a lot more confidence, and the feeling of riding Abbas myself was so rewarding, it was not long before I had my sights set on entering the ring myself.

The Victorian Classic was our first show and together we went Reserve Champion Purebred Arabian Under Saddle and Champion Senior Rider. The next show

BELOW We planned to take Abbas slowly and enter him in only a few shows ... from his very first show he was a champion!

we competed at was the Australian National Arabian Championships and I am proud to say we went Reserve Champion Show Hunter, Reserve Champion NP Show Hunter, Reserve Champion NP Purebred Ridden and Bronze Champion Ridden Purebred Stallion.

I love that he is such a safe mount and such an honest horse with an amazing temperament. Most of all I love his little quirks. Before he is ridden, he has his equissage and some lucerne hay. When doing up his girth we get a little squeal, and just before we get on his back, he has to have a pee. We always warm up for about ten minutes, and then it’s time for him to blow his nose which happens every single time, he is so predictable. During lessons while doing canter work, if he gets a little tired he grunts at me when asking for him to canter. He really does make me laugh as he is such a clown.

Now that we have foals on the ground

by Mystica Abbas, I see so many of his qualities being passed on to them. Not only physically, but they also have the great temperament and their own quirky little ways that are unique to each. He stamps a certain look, an incredible hip and hindquarter as expected, short heads with beautiful eyes and incredible fine skin. We are excited to get his babies out in the near future.

We haven’t stood Abbas to outside mares, and due to his demands as a ridden horse, we have only been able to use him for short bursts on our own mares at a specific time in the season. We have recently collected frozen semen from him and we have it stored away for safe keeping.

I loved being his greatest fan on the sidelines while Elouise was competing on him but also nervous watching on.

Having the opportunity for us to own such a special horse like him is pure joy and one of our greatest pleasures. Riding Abbas myself is just another level up from there, I ride around and cannot wipe the smile off my face. For me, it is a very personal achievement that I take great pride in and gives me the confidence to compete simply for enjoyment and pleasure. It’s not about winning, it’s about the journey that he has taken me on.

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A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

‘DISCOVERING THE ARABIAN’ JA M E S G I L L I C K A N D TH E A R A B I A N H O R S E

BY JUDITH WICH-WENNING

Highly respected as a painter of still lives, portraits and numerous equestrian subjects, James Gillick is now also making a reputation with his Arabian horse paintings. During a visit to Kuwait, James Gillick fell in love with Arabian horses and has been deeply fascinated since then.

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J

ames Gillick comes from a British family of artists and artisans. He was born in Norfolk, Great Britain in 1972 together with his identical twin who works today as a sculptor. In 1993 James received a degree in Landscape Architecture from Cheltenham and Gloucester College.

Today James lives and works in a quiet, idyllic village in rural Lincolnshire, England. Here he also maintains his busy studio. In the last 20 years, James Gillick has created around 400 paintings which can be admired in collections around the world. His motifs range from fascinating small still lives of, for example, f lowers to game paintings, portraits, and life-size equine subjects. He produces portraits of striking individual horses but also immortalises groups of animals.

ABOVE Arabian Mare and her Newborn Foal, painting, oil on linen

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Sometimes he paints several depictions of the same individual in one work of art. Furthermore, James is famous for his church restoration work, which includes building reordering and gilding. James Gillick had numerous joint and solo shows.

He has exhibited regularly at Jonathan Cooper’s Park Walk Gallery, London since the year 2000 and his artworks were presented in numerous mixed exhibitions and art fairs including the famous Olympia Fine Art and Antiques Fair as well as the London Art Fair. Moreover, his paintings were shown in the Royal Box during Her Majesty the Queen’s birthday celebrations at Windsor Castle.

‘I use a modified painting technique that includes elements dating back to the 17th century,’ James Gillick explains. ‘I am handcrafting all the materials within my studio.’ From oil paints, waxes and glues to varnishes, canvases and stretches – all are hand-made by James himself. ‘I prepare the colours from the purest pigments, deliberately keeping to a limited palette as used by painters from 1600 to 1750. Colours are flake white, iron oxide yellow, raw

sienna, burnt sienna, burnt umber, French ultramarine, Alizarian crimson and ivory black. French ultramarine and Alizarian crimson came later than the others. The paintings in my recent exhibition were in oil on linen. The drawings were in silver point (metal points or styluses in gold, silver, copper and lead were used

by European artists and apprentices before the invention of graphite pencils) and sepia crayon.’ The limited use of a coloured palette gives James’ paintings their unique look. In James Gillick’s opinion this limitation results also in a more luminous effect when the painting ages.

James Gillick has received notable commissions including portraits of the Rt. Hon. Margaret Thatcher and Pope John Paul II. James’ equine portraits are clearly in the tradition of the legendary painter George Stubbs (1724 – 1806). George Stubbs was the first artist to set the image of the horse against a plain background so that the spectators’ eye will not be detracted by any details in the backdrop.

James uses the same method in many of his equestrian paintings. His passion for horses

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

is very deep and it is his absolute goal to capture not only the outer form but also the character of a horse. Therefore, at the beginning of a new artwork, he invests a lot of time in studying the horse in person in order to recognise the specific traits of his four-legged subject. When James starts a new commission, he normally spends a lot of time sitting in the stable with the horse. Here he executes detailed pencil or chalk drawings. Later on, he backs them up with photos which capture colour.

Up to a certain point in time, most horses depicted by James Gillick were Thoroughbreds or Polo ponies. Not long ago, a new chapter started in James’ life.

‘I travelled to Kuwait in November 2015 where I immersed myself at Bait Al Arab, and through introductions to Sheikha Sarah Fahad Al Sabah and Mohammed Jassim Al Marzouq of Ajmal Arabian Stud,’ James explains. ‘Then I was able to experience the true personality of the Arabian horse. I met the courageous author Judith Forbis who has added so greatly to the understanding of the bloodlines, especially through her book Authentic Arabian Bloodstock, called the “Blue Book”.’

not just in their own family group but to people at large. The Arabian horse speaks so very clearly – and maybe that is why some people find them difficult to control, as they cannot listen. The way that the Arabian horse communicates is quiet and strong. They have a great boldness, coupled with an intelligent mind. One of the key pieces in my forthcoming exhibition is called Young Arabian Stallion. It shows an Arabian stallion standing on a precipice, with a storm coming up behind him. The stallion is bold – you can see that he is strong, but he is also still.’ James has also his favourites amongst Arabians. ‘Take for

example the Ansata lines, in particular those of the late Ansata Hejazi (Ansata Halim Shah x Ansata Sudarra). Ansata Hejazi’s is such a potent blood that his lines and the Ansata look in general is difficult to ignore in any artist’s work.’

Regarding his plans for the future, James hopes to return to the Middle East as soon as possible where his inspiration as an artist will continue.

James concludes: ‘To see Arabian horses naturally, in their native Arabian environment, far from the show-ring, is how best to capture their true spirit.’

Asked about the role Arabian horses and art play in his life, James responds quickly: ‘The sheer effervescence of the Arabian horse is one of my great joys. Horses are faultlessly everything they were designed to be. I describe myself as an empty vessel, attempting with my brushes to convey the dignity of the horse. I come to horses from the angle of a painter.

For me, painting an Arabian horse is almost an empirical study of the breed.’

James Gillick is deeply fascinated by Arabian horses. When he talks about them, he starts to become enthusiastic.

‘For me the Arabian horse is a phenomenal creature. They are the most eloquent horses that I have ever seen, they are incredible communicators. They talk

RIGHT Young Arabian Stallion, painting oil on linen

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RUSSIA, ARABIAN HORSES A N D TH E C AVA L RY WORDS BY SHARON MEYERS

R

ussia, being such a vast and sparsely populated country, has for centuries depended upon the horse for its transportation needs. Enormous numbers of quality, sound animals were required by the population for farm, carriage, military and general-purpose saddle work. The Russian people were connoisseurs of the horse and had a great passion for horse breeding, so it comes as no surprise to find the Arabian horse has long been admired by the Russians for their endurance, soundness, thriftiness and harmonious form.

Many Russian breeders in the 1700s and 1800s had the necessary expertise and huge resources to use the Arabian horse as a foundation for the creation of many breeds. In fact, the Arabian heralded in

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a new era for these astute breeders. They utilised these wonderful animals to increase the endurance, movement, working ability, soundness and thriftiness, as well as beauty of their native stock. It was noted the Arabian had the amazing ability to transmit these outstanding characteristics onto their descendants for several generations. In fact, the Arabian had a phenomenal effect on Russia’s horse breeding activities.

The Orlov Trotter (and Orlov Riding Horse) is one of Russia’s most famous breeds and was founded by the Arabian stallions Smetanka and Saltan I. The grey Smetanka, reputed to be a magnificent horse, was purchased by Count Alexis Orlov-Chesmenskii from a Turkish pasha in 1774. Smetanka travelled to Count Orlov’s Khrenovoya Stud in Russia with a military escort, the journey taking two years to complete. Smetanka only stood

at stud in 1777 and was crossed with a Danish mare to start the foundation of the Orlov Trotter breed. The chestnut stallion Saltan I came to Russia from Arabia in 1775 and died in 1776, leaving three sons (confusingly named Saltan) and one daughter to carry on his influence as co-founder of the Orlov Trotter. Count Orlov also imported many other horses of Oriental blood to his Khrenovoya Stud.

By 1866, the Orlov Trotter was used for the upgrading of local stock and to produce horses for the Russian army.

The Arabian stallions Rishan, Kaimak and Kadi were imported from Arabia to Russia in 1802 by Count Fyodor Rostopchin.

He crossed these Arabians with English, Persian, Kabardin, Karabakh and Don mares, creating a new breed of horse which was aptly named the Rostopchin.

The Rostopchin breed were selected on

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

their working ability and conformation for breeding purposes. After the death of Count Orlov, the Orlov and Rostopchin horses were crossbred and initially called the Orlov-Rostopchin Horse, eventually evolving into the Russian Riding Horse (also known as Russian Warmblood).

These horses were used for International Competition in the late 1800s and were most successful in French and American equestrian events. Actually, many Russian horses made expeditions to European horse shows. In 1873, 44 horses were sent to compete at the Vienna Horse Show, and it was stated eight of these were purebred Arabians and many of the remainder were of Arabian descent.

Two purebred Arabian stallions founded the Streletsky (aka Streletski) breed which was formed in the mid-1800s. Begri Begrein was a grey stallion born in 1826 in the Bahrain Islands and exported into Russia in 1835, where he stood at stud for six years.

The grey Obejan Serebrni was born in 1851 at the Polish stud of Count Rozwadowski and was registered by the Poles as Obejan Srebrny. It’s fascinating to note Obejan Srebrny (Obejan oa/Kobey-Han oa) was an ancestor of the legendary Skowronek

on his distaff side. Obejan Srebrny was originally sold to Slawuta in 1855, where Prince Roman Sanguszko considered him to be lacking in type and was sold in 1857 to the Russian stud Streletz. Whether Obejan Srebrny lacked type or not seems to be irrelevant, as he certainly had the pre-potency to pass on the necessary characteristics required to co-found such a significant line of horses as the Streletsky.

This breed was primarily used to upgrade other Russian stock. The Streletsky horses were exhibited at the 1900 Paris Exposition where the entire team received gold medals.

ABOVE Stroganov’s horses were watered twice daily. Arabians at Tersk Stud photographed by Alexia Khrusheva.

BELOW Arabians were ideal light cavalry horses.

Artwork by Karen Hodges

One of the breeds which the Streletsky horses helped create was the Tersky.

This breed is one of Russia’s youngest and was originally used for both saddle and harness work. The Tersky was formed by inbreeding to the Arabian Obejan Srebrny and then crossing the progeny to the Rostopchin horses, later incorporating the bloodlines of the Kabardin, Don and selected Hungarian horses. The Tersky was officially announced as a breed in 1948. Having many of the Arabian horse’s excellent qualities, the Tersky was well suited as a sport and long-distance riding horse.

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Emperor of Russia’s private stud, eventually moving to the Russian Government stud, Derkoul. It’s noteworthy that the Blunts enquired about repurchasing him in 1891. Colonel Alexandre de Sdanovitch attended the Crabbet Park Summer Sale in 1899 to purchase horses for the Russian Government. At this sale the Colonel bought the bay stallion Naaman (Mesaoud/ Nefisa) along with Dinarzade (Rataplan/ Dahna), Dijleh (Ashgar/Dahna), Jeyneyna (Azrek/Jerboa), and Fezara (Merzuk or Mesaoud/Ferida). He also purchased the lovely grey 1879 mare Sobha (Wazir/ Selma) for 200 guineas. Sobha was originally imported into England after being purchased from her breeder Mahmud Bey in Cairo. The celebrated chestnut stallion Mesaoud 1887 (Aziz/Yemameh), purchased from Ali Pasha Sherif by the Blunts in the winter of 1888/9, came to Russia via Poland in 1910. He sired many influential horses at Crabbet Park and a large percentage of these horses went on to create a substantial impact on the Arabian breed throughout the world. It was indeed a tragic loss for Russia and the rest of the world that none of these horses or their Russian descendants survived the ravages of World War I and the Russian Revolution.

ABOVE Syrian steppes are rocky and hard underfoot – their Arabians needed good legs and feet.

Photo by Sharon Meyers RIGHT Pharaoh, purchased in Syria by Mr Skene for Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt eventually went to Russia.

Archives of Rosemary Archer

By the mid 1800s there were over 40 studs breeding Arabian or Arabian-bred horses.

Numerous desert-bred Arabians arrived in Russia during this time. The Imperial Studs Khrevovoye, Derkulsk, Limarev and Streletz bred very few purebreds, but all were supplied with Arabian and Oriental stallions for cross breeding. Other Arabians arrived from Poland, including the chestnut stallion Hussar oa. He had been presented to the Prince of Wales (Edward VII) during his tour of India in 1875 and was shipped to England where he was sold in 1878 at the Islington Agricultural Hall in London and then travelled to Poland.

While in Poland he stood at the studs Janiszowka, Uzin and Szamrajowka before being sent to the Russian stud Streletz.

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At Streletz, Hussar sired the chestnut stallion Gouneiad (from Egoistka), and Gouneiad was exported to America in 1893, where he held the distinction of being the first Russian horse registered in the American Arabian Stud Book.

Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt, owners of the Crabbet Park Stud in England, exported a considerable number of horses to Russia. The bay 1876 stallion Pharaoh was purchased in 1878 by Mr Skene in Syria for the Blunts and sent to England in 1879. He was then sold at their first sale to Count Jozeph Potocki for 525 guineas in 1882 for the Antonin Stud in Poland.

Count Potocki sold him three years later and he became the principal stallion in the

Two prominent Russians who were fascinated by the Arabian horse in the 1800s were Prince Aleksandr Grigor’Evich Shcherbatov (Sherbatov) and Count Sergei Aleksandrovich Stroganov. They had a great love of horses and after reading about the Blunts’ account of Arabia they decided to travel there together. The Stroganov Family originally came from Novgorod in Russia and had developed vast commercial empires encompassing salt mines, iron mines, fur trading and farming interests, northeast of Moscow. In 1558 the Stroganov Family were granted virgin lands along the Kama River with rights to establish their own independent province.

Eventually, wishing to enlarge their empire, the Stroganovs financed a Trans-Ural expedition in 1581 with their own private army, which was led by Ermak Timofeev, and mainly consisted of Cossacks and a few hundred mercenaries. They defeated Kuchum, the Siberian Khan, and the army claimed the area for the Stroganov Family and the Tsar. The Tsar rewarded the services of the Stroganovs with further land grants for opening up the vast Siberian

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territories. A couple of centuries down the track the Stroganovs were still strong supporters of the monarchy in Russia.

ABOVE The Streletsky horses helped create the Tersky, one of Russia’s youngest breeds.

Photo by Karina Voski BELOW Prince Sherbatov and Count Stroganov visited the Anaza Tribe to buy horses – Managhi Sbeyli stallion from the best desert lines of the Anaza.

Photo by Sharon Meyers

From such a famous and wealthy family emerged Count Sergei Stroganov, who joined with Prince Sherbatov and his wife Princess Olga Aleksandrovich (Stroganov’s sister), to travel to Syria and the North Arabian Deserts in 1888, during the reign of Alexander III. Their journey was organised along the same route the Blunts had travelled six years earlier.

I love the fact that the travel agency Thomas Cook organised their trip and the agency supplied an interpreter as well as a Bedouin guide. The guide was Shaikh Nasr Ibn Abdulla. Both Sherbatov and Stroganov wanted to study the Arabian horse in its natural environment in Arabia. During their journey they met many people who remembered the Blunts and they also came across Shaikh Mohammed of the Ibn-Arouk Tribe who had travelled with the Blunts throughout their journeys. On this trip Sherbatov purchased two purebred Arabian stallions and Stroganov purchased two purebred Arabian stallions in Damascus and nine purebred mares were obtained directly from the Anaza tribe (also known as Anezeh and Anazeh). Two other stallions were purchased by Count Stroganov, a three-year-old Kehilan Ajuz and a twoyear-old Maneghi Lagra, but they were mated almost exclusively with Kabarda and Kabarda-Arabian mares in Russia.

In 1899, both Stroganov and Sherbatov visited Wilfrid Blunt at Crabbet Park in England. They made recommendations to the Russian Government to purchase horses from the Crabbet Stud. Their next joint venture together to Syria was in 1900. They were fortunate in being able to acquire horses of Oriental breeding from both journeys to Syria.

Count Stroganov founded his Arabian horse stud in 1889 at the foot of the Caucasus Mountains in the Stavropol District of Russia (the present site of the Tersk Stud) with the horses purchased from his 1888 journey. Their guide, Shaikh Nasr Ibn Abdulla, visited Count Stroganov in Russia two years later and presented him with two grey Arabian stallions. Visiting Damascus again in 1895 Stroganov purchased three more purebred mares for his stud with the

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(AWBL – ISSA) 17.1hh 50% Supreme Exhibit multiple times Will be competing under saddle This stallion has great bloodlines including Winterkoenig (Germ) – Herr Dominator – Royal Domino (IID GB) – Zenith II (imp) and General Grant (GB).

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ALOHA STUD have had great sales in the last 12 months, selling 28 horses – 5 colts going to SPAIN & FRANCE; 3 broodmares in foal to ALOHA THEE DESPERADO; 1 Purebred stallion (ALOHA DESERT DWELLER) going to MALAYSIA; and 14 going all over AUSTRALIA.

We are aiming to disperse and still have broodmares and young stock for sale – all offers will be considered.

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help of Shaikh Nasr Ibn Abdulla. When attending the Paris International Horse Show in 1900, he bought the grey mare Makbula (Wazir/Makbula) from the Blunts. Wilfrid Blunt took several horses to Paris to exhibit them at this show.

Count Stroganov had great success when he crossed the young Kehilan Ajuz and Maneghi Lagra strained stallions he purchased in Syria with the Kabardin and Kabardin-Arabian mares. These horses found a ready market with the Russian Army. Count Stroganov believed Arabians had to be bred close to the conditions of those in Northern Arabia, which included a dry continental climate with hot summers, stony soil and, if possible, good quality ground fodder. He

suggested horses bred in stud conditions should be subjected to speed tests on racetracks so as to preserve the Arabian’s main qualities of speed and endurance.

Count Stroganov’s horse management techniques were quite advanced for his era as he fed oats all year round to his purebred stock, except for when grass was plentiful. The horses were shepherded out onto the Steppe at dawn to graze, then brought back at dusk and were given access to water twice daily. The mares were usually ridden at three-years and frequently had their first foals at four.

As with many of the earlier importers of Arabians, he found they achieved greater height in future generations than their desert-bred parents.

He wrote, ‘In selecting the sires and dams, the following should be borne in mind: their over-all leanness, especially lean and strong tendons; a good bone-structure with properly set legs; a good hoof; sound lungs; and lastly, harmonious lines with a proportionate development of each part of the animal: in other words, overall beauty.

Then its movements should be correct, powerful and vigorous. On the other hand, the stud does not seek to produce any particular type of Arabian, so that no special attention is paid to such points as the shape of the head or the size of the eye.’

Prince Sherbatov’s horse stud was established in central Russia, and he crossed his purebred Arabian stallions with half-Arabians and Don mares. He wrote an informative booklet entitled ‘The Arabian Horse and its Importance’, which was circulated to studs of that era by the Russian Main Administration for Horse Breeding for feedback about the publication. Prince Sherbatov was connected with the International Society for the Preservation of the Arab Horse, which was formed in 1912 in Egypt. The patron was H.H. Abbas Pasha with H.H. Prince Mohammed Ali as president of the society and Prince Yoressef Kenial as vice president.

Prince Sherbatov also supplied partbred Arabian horses to the Russian Army.

The breeding of superior cavalry horses was most important during the turbulent seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as the army horse was an essential component of the military power of a country. The ideal light cavalry horse was required to have the qualities of soundness,

ABOVE Stroganov’s Arabians were shepherded out onto the Steppe at dawn to graze, returning of an evening – this tradition continues today at Tersk Stud.

Photo by Alexia Khrusheva RIGHT Arabians heralded a new era for Russian breeders – Syrian mare.

Photo by Sharon Meyers

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hardiness, agility, great constitutional strength, a harmonious but utilitarian build, and, hopefully, a good disposition.

These horses were required to carry 265 pounds (120.45 kilograms) or more in weight and had to be capable of safely carrying a rider at all paces over very diverse terrain. The cavalry horse had to remain sound under adverse weather conditions that included cold, rain, mud, snow, heat and humidity, often suffering great hunger as well. Many Russian horse breeders considered the Arabian to be the ideal light cavalry horse due to its excellent temperament, soundness, endurance and frugality with feed and care. To cope with the problem of Russia’s severe climatic changes and enormous distances, it was

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felt their saddle horses had to be extremely resilient. Due to his vigour and desirable size, the Arabian was considered the perfect horse for these arduous conditions.

During the Crimean War (1853/1856) the English Cavalry lost the majority of their Thoroughbred horses due to the privation and miseries of the campaign.

The French Light Cavalry rode Orientalbred horses and they easily outlasted the English cavalry. This helped to substantiate the fact Arabian-bred horses were much more capable of withstanding the rigours of war than the Thoroughbred. Captain Lewis Edward Nolan, a noted author on cavalry training and tactics who was killed in the tragic Charge of the Light

Brigade, wrote in 1852, ‘For ages the finest cavalry in Europe was undoubtedly that of the Turks.’ The Turks rode horses which rarely exceeded 14 hands and these horses were ‘nimble, spirited, and yet docile’ and were of obvious Arabian descent.

Russian breeders were not the only people who considered the smaller size and agility of the Arabian horse to be advantageous for their light cavalry.

The famous Hungarian Hussars as far back as the 1700s rode horses with more than a fair dash of Eastern blood and these horses were small and lively.

The Arabian was favoured by the Russian, Turkish, Hungarian and Polish aristocrats for hundreds of years.

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

LEFT Stroganov wrote, ‘No special attention is paid to such points as the shape of the head or the size of the eye’.

Photo by Anastasia Vetkovskaya

TOP RIGHT The Orlov-Rostopchin horse evolved into the Russian Riding Horse, known as Russian Warmbloods.

Photo by Anna Vlasova

ABOVE LEFT Count Stroganov’s stud was founded on the present site of the Tersk Stud.

Photo by Alexia Khrusheva

ABOVE RIGHT Sherbatov and Stroganov purchased Arabians in Damascus, Syria.

Photo by Sharon Meyers

During the invasion of Russia in 1812, Napoleon’s Grand Army lost between 130,000 and 175,00 horses. Even with these horrendous losses many horses survived this wretched ordeal. Hundreds were captured

by Russian peasants, who eventually used them to help improve local breeds.

Interestingly, many of these horses were of Arabian bloodlines. Both the French and Russian cavalry were similar in most respects including quality, organisation and tactics. Perhaps the main difference was the Russian horses on a whole were smaller. These horses were robust animals that had a distinct advantage over the French horses, as the bulk of these were incorrectly shod for the appalling weather conditions they encountered during the

retreat from Moscow. A great number slipped on the icy roads, never to rise again. The bigger and heavier animals of the French Cuirassiers suffered cruelly as hunger, thirst and bad weather killed them off like flies. It is perhaps a little ironic that many of the French Cuirassiers either walked out of Russia or rode the incredibly hardy little Russian ponies they begged, borrowed or stole. The heroic French horses that survived the 1812 campaign comprised of many Arabians. These noble animals were greatly prized by their owners in recognition of their valiant efforts in reaching the safety of their homeland.

Russian breeders also stated the breeding of Arabian and Arabian-bred horses was not

as expensive as breeding the Thoroughbred horse. The Thoroughbred required more feed and care than did the Arabian, and this made them a costly animal to produce.

The cost of supplying war horses for armies was quite expensive and each cavalry trooper may have required in excess of three horses per year in peace time. While under battle conditions and on the campaign trail, the loss of horses could be quite staggering. For example, horses became a rare commodity during the English Civil War (1642/1649) and the ‘quartermasters on both sides resorted to theft, confiscation and compulsory purchase in order to mount their troopers’. The King imposed the death penalty for anyone found trying to reclaim their horse from his army. Such was the value of the humble cavalry horse! During the Battle of Assaye, Western India in 1803, every mounted field and staff officer serving with Major General Arthur Wesley (whom became The Duke of Wellington) lost a horse, and one officer had three of his horses killed. Marshal Ney, a principal member of Napoleon’s army, had five of his horses slaughtered in a matter of hours during the battle of Waterloo (1815). The Spanish had several thousand horses killed each year in the wars against France and Portugal. The Prussian Army lost over a million horses in eight months in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Maintaining a reserve of horses for military use was imperative in those troubled times.

As can be seen, it was not beauty alone that drew the Russian horse breeders’ attention to the incredible Arabian horse.

It was certainly due to the foresight and dedication of these Russian breeders in the Nineteenth Century that the Arabian horse was instrumental in both the development and improvement of so many breeds. As Russia marched forward into the Twentieth Century many of these marvellous horses vanished as a result of the death and devastation of World War I and the Russian Revolution. Fortunately, due to the indomitable character of the Russian people, they were able to rebuild their studs and breeding programs in the 1920s and 1930s. The renowned Tersk Stud was established during this period and exported its purebred Arabians worldwide. These remarkable Arabians have contributed their own unique qualities to the gene pool of many countries.

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AUSTRALIA IS FALLING IN LOVE ALL OVER AGAIN SF SIR RE AL

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ver the last decade, the stallion SF Sir Real has certainly made an impact in his adopted home of Australia.

Originally imported from the USA, on lease by Kate and Doyle Dertell of Future Farms, this impact is all the more profound when one considers the short period of time the stallion was a resident in Australia.

Now, thanks to his new owners Christian Marchetti and Gabriel Baldemerra, Australia now has the chance to fall in love with SF Sir Real all over again.

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(IM P U S A )

‘I looked around the US and Europe and saw many lovely stallions’, says Christian. ‘They each had great bloodlines, but none of them had produced the quality of stock that SF Sir Real already had on the ground.’

Bred by Patti and Mike Scheier of Scheier Farms in Scottsdale Arizona, SF Sir Real first hit Australian shores in July 2011, when Kate and Doyle Dertell of Future Farms leased him for a three year

arrangement. This arrangement was cut short in 2012 when SF Sir Real was sold to Palmetto Arabians in the USA. It is not usual that imported stallions who have had major success in Australia are reimported again, however it is not without precedence. The Straight Egyptian Hansan (El Hilal x Hamamaa) was first imported by Peter Pond of Forest Hill Arabians in 1973, returning to the USA in the 80s. David Westbrook of Nihal Arabians brought him

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back to Australia in 1992. Bremervale imported their stallion Rave VF (Bey Shahh x Raffoletta-Rose) in 1991, before he too returned to the United States five years later. In 2005 he returned to Bremervale, having proven himself an outstanding broodmare sire. Interestingly, the great grandsire on both sire lines of SF Sir Real is Fame VF, full brother to Rave VF. ‘My search led me to the US and Europe, and many lovely stallions, all with great bloodlines, but none had produced the quality of stock SF Sir Real had with such regularity. There has been so many imported stallions that have not bred on, so to buy a proven horse was really important

to me. I thought to future clients thinking of breeding to Sir Real, placing myself in their position, thinking “What has he produced over the years?” That’s what I asked myself as if I was someone thinking of adding him to their breeding program.’

Christian and Gabriel did not actually see SF Sir Real in the flesh until he arrived in Australia in early 2020. ‘We purchased him based on the videos sent, and his show and production history. I spoke to Kate and Doyle Dertell from Future Farms as they had previously leased Sir Real, and asked them for their opinion on him and what he can produce. Obviously they said “go for it”!

‘When I first saw Sir Real at Future Farms, I was very impressed with his body, large open shoulder and huge length of hip. I was also taken with his height, he is a big 15.1h and his movement is amazing. He has such a showman attitude under halter but in the stables or in his paddock he is a gentleman who just loves being around you. He has a calm and gentle nature and is a big softy.

‘We used IRT to import him and the service was fantastic. They always called with updates and sent photos of Sir Real through transit which was very reassuring throughout his trip and quarantine stay.

MAIN IMAGE (FAR LEFT) SF Sir Real with Christian Marchetti and Gabriel Baldemerra LEFT (ABOVE + BELOW) SF Sir Real offers size, a well balanced body, strong legs, upright long well shaped neck, and of course his show ring attitude.

Images by Samantha Taylor ABOVE SF Sir Real with Kody Dertell

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‘He is a very correct horse and has height, both of which he passes on. A strong hindquarter and correct feet were a must when searching for a stallion plus he also has an amazing neck. I really love the Egyptian bloodlines, and Kate and Doyle were very helpful in sourcing options from around the world for me to consider.

However, most of these stallions on offer had issues with their legs which was a concern. I wanted to import a stallion that would improve conformation, not add more problems to stock here in Australia.’

Owners and breeders of SF Sir Real stock have enjoyed numerous successes both in Australia and abroad. Sir Charmed FF,

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from the matriarch Bremervale Charmed, bred by Kate and Doyle of Future Farms and now owned by Valerie Dethlefsen, was awarded Australasian Breeders Cup Gold Champion, National Stud Show Champion and East Coast Champion before being exported to the USA where he was Reserve Scottsdale Champion, Bronze Champion Stallion at the Las Vegas World Breeders Cup and US National Top Ten Stallion.

Another daughter from a Sheila Varian-bred mare, PA Real Laetitia (from Lily Dancer V), was Champion Western Pleasure and PL Real Marielle (from May Dancer V) was top five in Junior Western Pleasure.

At the recent Region 14 Championships in the USA, SF Sir Real’s get were very successful. A daughter, WGA Miss Bently, was Region 14 Reserve Champion Yearling Filly. She is out of WG Baladancer (Sundance Kid V x Balakardika V).

In Australia, SF Sir Real’s elegant bay daughter Gab’reala (from Gameelah KA) has been awarded Australian National Gold Champion Purebred Mare Under Saddle, amongst many other wins.

PA Real Martina (from PA Mariscol Dancer) was Champion Western Pleasure 40 & Over.

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SF Sir Real has proven to be an outstanding sire of Arabian derivatives, as demonstrated by the success of the Arabian Warmblood Fearless FF, from Double TT Fevia. This stallion has been Gold Australian National Champion as well as East Coast Supreme Champion Arabian Warmblood. He has also won at Barastoc Horse of the Year and the Sydney Royal as an open hack.

An Anglo daughter, Dreaming FF, has been a Supreme East Coast Champion Led Anglo Arabian.

‘As a breeding sire,’ says Christian, ‘we believe SF Sir Real offers his size, well balanced great body, strong legs and his very upright, long, well shaped neck, and of course, his show ring attitude.’

Christian has a long history with Arabians.

‘Growing up, my parents bought me three Tarong Shahgig geldings from Chris and Meg Moyles’ Dowling Park Arabians. Dowling Houdini, Dowling Jelabi and Dowling Saood were the sweetest horses. They were all very different in personalities but each would always seek human attention, and they saw you, they would bolt from the other side of the paddock to spend time with you. Since then I’ve always had an interest and affiliation with the Arabian breed.’

LEFT Fearless FF (SF Sir Real x Double TT Fevia) and Jessica Dertell at the 2020 Barastoc Horse of the Year. Photo by Lisa Gordon ABOVE Sir Charmed FF (SF Sir Real x Bremervale Charmed)

Today, SF Sir Real is the only Arabian horse at the stud, and as yet Christian has not purchased any mares to breed to him.

‘I was looking for a stallion in particular, however our inability to part with horses means we have no plans on breeding ourselves. They become part of the family.

RIGHT Gab’reala (SF Sir Real x Gameelah KA)

SF SIR REAL’S SHOW CAREER National Stud Show Champion Stallion

Scottsdale Top Ten Signature Auction Colt

East Coast Champion Stallion

Las Vegas Champion Stallion

Canadian Reserve National Champion Junior Colt

Scottsdale Signature Stallion

Scottsdale Champion Signature Futurity Stallion

Region XII Spotlight Futurity Stallion Minnesota Medallion Stallion AWPA Stallion Futurity

‘All of our horses we ride, and Sir Real is broken in and enjoys his workouts. Sir Real won’t be shown again as he doesn’t need to continue proving himself. He has had an amazing show career and can now enjoy his years as a sire.

‘He is loving paddock life and has his own five acre field where he looks over the other horses. He is a horse that loves routine, and by 4:30 pm he will start to walk the fence line, letting us know he is ready for dinner and bed. I’m not sure what he thought of the cold Melbourne winters after life in Arizona, but he has a cosy stable each night to help take the edge off.’

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ARRETON ARABIANS IMAGES BY ARRETON PHOTOGRAPHY

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rreton Arabians is a small, family owned and run stud located on the edge of the Barossa Valley in South Australia. Breeding purebreds and high percentage derivatives since 2008, Jessie and Pom ( John) Preece and Caroline Payne place emphasis on performance, and require outstanding temperament and conformation, without loss of that Arabian spark.

A small operation, the day to day running is handled by Jessie while Pom and Caroline work to support the program. Pom works for a pastoral company at Clare, managing the sheep, maintaining the heavy machinery and performing general cropping duties. Caroline is an immunologist and cell biologist who currently works as a personal care assistant.

These skills have become transferable

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to the stud, as Caroline dons her lab coat to perform faecal worm egg counts on the horses at the farm, and teaches other horse owners how to do the test.

Arabian performance is our passion and proving this takes up most weekends, in or out of the show ring we are usually found doing something horse related.

Pom’s passion is in handling and training the youngstock. All of our young horses get a large amount of exposure to set them up for success as ridden horses in the future. As well as attending shows in hand, they are taken to groundwork clinics, obstacle days and on other adventures including beach trips. With two stallions competing in different areas we are sometimes found dropping one at dressage and heading off to another event with the other – ie. harness or cattle work.

For us the enjoyment is not in the awards, but rather in the training, learning and skill picked up along the way. At the end of each show and season we look at what we have achieved and make a plan for what we need to improve on for the next one.

Our foundation derivative mare Kirrong Tuppara (Levi x Bellbowrie Tuppence) left a strong impact on our derivative program. She is the dam of our Junior stallion Arreton Majnoun+S, and our two Arabian pony mares, Arreton Malakeh (by Trincada Strike) and Arreton Nabilah (by Malleegrove Mandalla). All three have placed in very strong classes at a national level and have been awarded multiple state level championships. Majnoun and Nabilah are both under saddle and doing extremely well. Before joining us, Kirrong Tuppara had proven herself as the dam of

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performance ponies such as Kentonvale Charlie Brown, a successful child’s mount, and Malleegrove Ladakh (by Taywoona Qariim), an endurance competitor ranked second 2019 NSW Middleweight horse/ rider combination, and 10th nationally.

Kirrong Tuppara was an unassuming mare, with a big set of lungs, who was always there to greet her people. She had the kindest heart, and particularly loved little blonde girls, and whiffling their hair.

She is so very missed, and we are blessed to have such a strong legacy to continue.

Her first daughter for us, Arreton Malakeh (by Trincada Strike) was quite the firecracker as a filly, which made her ‘fun’ to show. She still did exceptionally

well, with multiple supreme awards, state championships and strong placings at the Australian Championships. She has been brought along under saddle slowly, attending pony club and doing lots of trail rides. She attended her first show as a ridden horse this January with a junior rider, coming home with a very happy rider and a handful of champion and reserve ribbons. It was her rider’s first Arabian show, hopefully the first of many! COVID-19 has caused us to reassess this year’s goals for her, so we have been competing in costume and fancy dress in online shows.

The youngest daughter from Kirrong Tuppara is Arreton Nabilah (by

LEFT Arreton Jameelah (Sadiks Psyche x Fairview Amira Shaklan) ABOVE Jakassa Serabi with her foal Arreton Nadeem

Malleegrove Mandalla+S). She was orphaned at seven weeks, and our wonderful purebred Serabi raised her as her own. Nabilah really didn’t look back after her mother’s death, and we are so grateful for Serabi’s wonderful mothering.

Taking Nabilah interstate on her own for her first show was a huge ask, but her father’s temperament really shone through, and nothing phased her. At the Australian Championships we really wished we had an extra day for her to settle after her exhausting trip, yet we couldn’t fault her behaviour as she competed in very strong classes. In fact, we were thrilled with her!

She is going to be a fabulous performance pony and has already begun that journey by being very lightly backed. As far as she is concerned, this means that she is ready to do everything her siblings do under saddle.

Having Nabilah and Malakeh maturing together is a joy, and you may see them out in harness as a pair in the future.

At home, our broodmare paddock currently consists of a small, select group of purebred mares. Our senior purebred broodmare is

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Jakassa Serabi (Mirrakh Hajjal x Temula) who has blessed us with two foals to date, Arreton Farah (by Coolinda Park Kolzyk) and Arreton Nadeem (by Malleegrove Mandalla+S). Nadeem sold to a fabulous endurance home, where he is surrounded by relatives sired by his grand sire Taywoona Qariim. We look forward to following his career. After the loss of our retained filly Arreton Farah, we are now trying for another filly out of Serabi, to ensure her bloodlines stay with us for the future.

Glen Eden Lara (Desperado x Yemarah Bint Nzir) has only been with us a few seasons. We have matched her with El

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Chall WR (US) (Magnum Chall HVP (BR) x Major Love Affair (US)) and are so incredibly excited to see the result of this pairing. Not only has Lara been a cover model on the Arabian Horse News, she has been very successful in the showring. In 2002 she took out Reserve Champion Filly in a class of over 40 entries at the QLD Arabian Challenge show, under the International Judge Dr Nasr Marei. She was 2004 SA Arabian Championships Reserve Champion Junior Filly, and at the 2004/2005 SA Arabian Championships she was Champion Mare 4 Years and Over. At this stage Lara has only attended one show with us, the

2017 SA Arabian Showcase where she was awarded First Purebred Senior Mare and Reserve Champion Purebred by International Judge Debbie Cain. Lara is the dam of the successful saddle gelding Ah’kem Hussar (by Simeon Sirach).

Our third purebred broodmare is the exceptional Philadelphia KEI (Sarajevo KEI x Phonecia KEI). She too has only been with us for a short time, which has been full of adventure! We are thrilled to announce that, after a rocky start, she is in foal to Vitorious KA (Vitorio TO (US) x Breathless). We are extremely grateful to Daitan Equestrian for generously

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the last foal by the incredible Amir El Shaklan (El Shaklan x Sascha). As with all our youngstock, Jameelah has been shown at a state and national level, and has been busy at home recently, maturing, and going well as Pom’s saddle horse.

FAR LEFT (TOP) Ralvon Gift (Ralvon Vintage x Pasadena Angelina) FAR LEFT (BOTTOM) Glen Eden Lara (Desperado x Yemarah Bint Nizr) LEFT (TOP) Arreton Majnoun (Trincada Strike x Kirrong Tuppara) LEFT (BOTTOM) Malleegrove Mandalla (Taywoona Qariim x Maricol Narelle) ABOVE Arreton Malakeh (Trincada Strike x Kirrong Tuppara)

allowing this mare to join our herd, after having bred for them an Australian Champion, Daitan Wanted Crown (by Chelleason Crown Jewel) and the Reserve Australian Champion, Daitan Vanity Fair (by Vitorio TO). We are excited to see what she produces for us, and she is a much loved member of our herd who often makes us laugh with her quirky antics.

Our Half Arabian mare is Arreton Jameelah (Sadiks Psyche x Fairview Amira Shaklan). Amira was kindly leased to us

by Trincada Stud, offering us an amazing opportunity to add some outside lines to our herd. Amira is also very special, being

Also on lease from Trincada Stud we have a young purebred filly Ralvon Gift (Ralvon Vintage x Pasadena Angelina), the last purebred bred by Ralvon Stud. We are honoured to have her in our paddock. We have shown her lightly at halter, and her temperament is superb. At her first show we unloaded her in the middle of a storm, and as she stepped off the ramp of our float, the awning on the truck next to us took off in the strong winds. She stood calmly and watched the chaos as people ran around trying to secure the broken awning. We cannot wait to get her under saddle, she is a true performance and ‘doing’ horse, she is all that is good about the Arabian breed. She has big shoes to fill as our next purebred saddle horse, but we are confident that she will be more than capable.

We stand two stallions – a purebred stallion Malleegrove Mandalla+S (Taywoona Qariim x Maricol Narelle) and our Arabian Pony stallion Arreton Majnoun+S (Trincada Strike x Kirrong Tuppara). Both are being shown, consistently proving themselves in halter and performance, and both have multiple state and national championships to their name, covering all aspects of competition.

Malleegrove Mandalla+S joined us at 12 years old, and since then has done everything and anything we put in front of him, all with the most amazing acceptance and enjoyment. Mandalla has competed in every AHSA class made available to him and has state or national championships in all but two of them, all of which has been achieved with non pro handlers and riders. Sally Gould-Hurst is his rider on most adventures and is a wonderful, smiling addition to every event.

We also compete in open harness, both in the showring and in performance events, including cones, obstacles, driven dressage and so on. Mandalla also attended the 2019 Lower Lakes Stockman’s Challenge, which is an event that consists of cattle work, cross country, obstacles and whip cracking

events. He and Sally had an absolute blast and are eagerly awaiting the next one!

One can never really be sure what you will find this stallion doing…archery, garoccha, working equitation, rossfetchen (mounted sword fighting) or even just giving pony rides. He has been multiple State High Point Champion over a number of seasons, taking out the overall awards in halter, performance (combined pure and derivative) and hack sections. He was the 2019 AANAC Versatility Award Holder and will be back in 2021 to contest it again, after missing 2020 for veterinary reasons.

This doesn’t mean that 2020 has left him with nothing to talk about! Mandalla is the 2020 AHSA Arabian Ambassador, which we are over the moon about. And while COVID-19 has affected his Ambassador duties, including planned school and event visits, and meet and greets that have had to be postponed, he will make up for lost time once restrictions are lifted.

His rider Sally is also the proud breeder of ‘Soda Pop’ (Malleegrove Mandalla x Shakeefa), another youngster showing her sire’s fantastic temperament and stamp. Soda was shown as a foal at foot under Graham Smith for a Reserve Champion Junior Filly.

Arreton Majnoun+S achieved his AHSA ROM Champion in halter as a junior horse, and he has worked hard to achieve his working and performance. We were thrilled that he did so this season, achieving his supreme ROM as well as being awarded his first Australian Championship.

As with all our youngstock, performance is of extra importance for us with stallions, as we believe that they need to earn the right to serve mares. Majnoun is now competing Novice in Dressage, and training for Elementary. He is well behaved in company, and particularly loves a beach trip. He has his first foal on the ground, ‘Macy Gray’, an Arabian Riding Pony out of the Thoroughbred mare Manhattan Lights.

We have a very exciting new addition planned for later this year, a big decision as being a small stud we carefully select horses to join us. And have big expectations for them!

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BEAUTY THAT ENDURES VA L I N O R PA R K A R A B I A N S

BY SARAH BARRIE

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ith such a long and consistent record of proven successes both in Australia and Internationally, it’s impossible to cover the true scope of Valinor Park’s four decades of breeding, raising and competing with Arabian horses in a couple of thousand words. Valinor Park Arabians have won Australian Championships in Dressage and Halter, two Tom Quiltys, multiple NSW State Championships, and Best Conditioned Horse Awards at prestigious endurance rides throughout Australia. Internationally, Valinor Park has produced and bred horses that have successfully competed in Europe, the Middle East and Australasia, and have successfully represented Australia overseas

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at the World Championships as well as in the UK and Canadian teams at WEG, along with many other successes.

In a sense, the dream that was to become Valinor Park began when Helen was still a child, after pouring over, and mostly memorising, the book The Arabian Horse

by R H Summerhayes. Though Helen had always been around horses and took up more serious equestrian sports in her teens, she didn’t immediately own an Arabian. During the 1970s, Arabian horses were being imported into Australia in unprecedented numbers from all over the world. Demand for purebreds was high, and so were their

prices. However, in 1978 Helen was able to purchase an unregistered Anglo Arabian by the name of Tiffany, and the desire to put her in foal sent Helen on a search for a stallion that was to chart the course for the next four decades.

In that search for a one-off sire, Helen instead found a young Arabian stallion brimming with exuberance and very little training, who quickly leapt and snorted his way permanently into her heart. The vivacious yet gentle-tempered, fairytale white stallion, Oasis Desert Song +S (Abyad x Caithness Walzaway) was to become her ‘heart horse’, and went on to become the foundation sire for Valinor Park Arabians.

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Helen was soon to discover Oasis Desert Song had an incredible talent for endurance. He completed three Tom Quilty 160km Endurance Rides (which later became the Australian Championships) for a 3rd and a 5th place, before placing second in the Shahzada 400km race in a time of 27 hours and 11 seconds. At the completion of his endurance career Oasis Desert Song then went on to be successful in multiple shows, including what was then the largest Arabian Show in the Southern Hemisphere, The National Arabian Stud Show, where he was Reserve Champion (the equivalent today of Silver Champion).

This was a particularly incredible result in those days of high demand, when Australia saw classes of over 60 entries.

Of course, Oasis Desert Song required a mare band. The mares Helen picked in the early days of the stud were chosen not only to complement Oasis Desert Song but to represent the best bloodlines available in Australia at that time. Many were

daughters of Ron and Val Males’ legendary International Champion, Ralvon Pilgrim, and all possessed strong performance mare lines. This was an expensive pursuit but it was to be a successful one, with the progeny of the mares bred to Oasis Desert Song inheriting the blend of qualities required to dominate in both endurance and the show ring, counting Australian Championships and East Coast Championships amongst their many awards.

In 1993 the unthinkable happened and Oasis Desert Song was lost to complications from an injury. His untimely death was devastating, and the search for a replacement stallion for Valinor Park was not an easy one. Helen eventually looked to Shirley Watts’ Halsdon Stud in the UK, where she fell in love with an iridescent chestnut colt line bred to Gondolier and Palas through both his sire and dam. Saracin (UK) (Platoon HT x Scandalier) wasn’t immediately for sale, but Helen’s persistence paid off, and after winning Reserve

Champion British Colt in 1994, Saracin finally arrived in Australia to become the next step in her breeding program.

Saracin UK’s bloodlines added an infusion of Polish and Russian to her previously predominantly Crabbet-bred horses, complementing the daughters of Oasis Desert Song perfectly. Like the Valinor Park horses before them, Saracin’s progeny were successful in both endurance and the show ring, breeding true to Helen’s vision without sacrificing the performance virtues which the stud held integral.

The straight Russian stallion Barabas (NL) (Nadejni (RU) x Barhatnaja (RU)) was the next stallion to contribute to the Valinor Park breeding program. His cross to the remaining daughters of Oasis Desert Song and Saracin produced outstanding progeny who won at the highest levels in Australia before making their mark in Europe and the Middle East in endurance.

In September 2009, a Barabas son won the Junior International World Endurance Championships in Bablona, Hungary and Barabas progeny continue to be highly sought after, prized not only for their soundness and athletic ability but also for their outstanding heart rates.

Adras UK (Adres (NL) x Arina (PL)), who grew into an iridescent silver stallion, was imported as a weanling and was selected for his Russian/Polish performance pedigree, being a grandson of Drug, and also to introduce more height into the breeding program. He remained at Valinor Park for nine years, before being sold to allow him to continue his legacy, with his daughters being retained for the breeding program.

The Adras progeny have already made their mark in the UAE and Europe.

FAR LEFT Helen Rutland during a visit to the Middle East LEFT Valinor Park Gem (Coltura x VP Gamileh) ABOVE Judals Kiss of Jamaal (GB) (Ruger AMW x Kkiss of Gold).

Photo by Jennifer Ogden

Today, the stud boasts bloodlines unique to Australia, with Botswana AHR, A Jakarta and Tehama Na Sidaqa represented, stallions that are recognised worldwide for their ability to sire outstanding offspring. All are bred to breed on, with progeny who can hold their own in any international arena, and all are aligned with Helen and Bronwyn’s goal to produce ‘horses that are beautiful, unmistakably Arabian and sound with outstanding athletic ability and low heart rates’.

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Though Valinor Park has been overwhelmingly successful, no long-term endeavour is without its difficult times.

Breeding Arabian horses is not a onedimensional life. Along with the highs and lows, successes and tragedies of horses and competition, is a human element: relationships, health, work, finances, friends, life lessons. Challenges such as struggling on through a difficult divorce, raising children and everything that comes with it, making ends meet and making hard decisions, are all elements that can impact sometimes considerably on what can be achieved.

In challenging years, the best measure of success is often in our ability to simply keep going, or as Helen puts it, ‘Having a dream and sticking to it. Believing in yourself and the horses you breed. Making mistakes’, which Helen sees as often being the best way to learn. Much of Helen’s initial knowledge was learned ‘the hard way’ but these lessons have been invaluable.

‘In the beginning, with two small children, a farm, an absent husband who travelled and horses – things would always go wrong when I was by myself!’ she says. ‘But this was countered by happier memories like those of sitting on a chair in the paddock with a glass of wine whilst admiring the first foals bred at Valinor Park.’

Later came the challenge of a divorce. This saw her faced with selling valuable breeding stock and land, together with working long hours in order to fund a hefty mortgage and retain the remnants of the stud. Four years on, when Helen met Mark, her life and her Arabian breeding goals were re-ignited.

‘The ability to bring in extra bloodlines from overseas which came with Mark’s support was a gamechanger and a dream come true.’

However, another heavy blow was to come in 2012, when Helen was faced with ‘the utter despair of discovering both Barabas (NL) and Saracin (UK) were CA carriers, as was El Badoura (UK)’ along with ‘the horror I felt when I realised that I had unknowingly bred carriers, resulting in two CA/CA mares’. (Both of whom were asymptomatic and are still alive and well).

‘Although I was devastated at the time, I have come to understand and appreciate how lucky we are to have access to testing for these genetic markers. Some of the

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greatest horses in the world were CA carriers, or SCID or LFS...as long as we breed knowingly, I have no issue in using these horses in a breeding program.’

The most recent difficult decision was to downsize Valinor Park when Mark became ill, which resulted in selling the farm. ‘The challenges of maintaining 240 acres with more than 40 horses was simply a bridge too far, so in 2014 the farm was sold, together with the majority of the horses. However, Bronwyn has retained the nucleus of the breeding herd and will continue the program into the future.’

Today, as daughter Bronwyn continues to run Valinor Park (even though she is currently stranded in Canada due to COVID!), Helen looks back over some of her most treasured achievements.

‘One of my greatest achievements as a breeder is to see my homebred horses succeed in their fields.’ In endurance, this has meant seeing the progeny from Balfron Marbella (Neyran x Mitty), who Helen rode for her two Tom Quilty wins, go on to also be successful in their own right, and watching her two children, Bronwyn and Tristan, successfully

gain Shahzada buckles on homebred horses sired by Oasis Desert Song.

Helen is rightfully proud that Valinor Park endurance horses have performed so well overseas in the UAE, Europe and UK, winning rides in all areas.

However, she notes that recent concern regarding horse welfare issues means in future she would be ‘loathe to sell there until we can be confident that these issues have been resolved’.

With regards to showing, Helen remembers the joy of winning her first show with a homebred horse, then the climb up the show ladder and the excitement of winning at National level, taking out Purebred Yearling Filly from a class of nearly 40 fillies. ‘I’d always been around horses, but when those you bred did well, it was something special.’ Another source of pride is the East Coast Champions and Australian Halter Champions Valinor Park has produced and the ‘gratification that comes from the success of your own breeding program and seeing your ideals rewarded’.

Yet another incredible achievement was that of Valinor Park Ghazal being the only Australian Arabian stallion accepted by

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Valinor Park Ebony, the multi-award winning, Reserve Australian Champion, East Coast Champion and Supreme Derivative Queensland Challenge mare has become an irreplaceable and much-loved child’s allrounder.

LEFT Valinor Park Sakim (Barabas (NL) x Wybalena Lodge Silk-N-Ice). Photo by Sue Crockett

I will always be grateful to Helen and her family for breeding such a beautiful, kind, fun and gentle little pony. From the day she came to live with us, we all fell in love with her. We attended pony club, lessons, trail rides, jumping and showing. I knew when Calum jumped on her that she would take the best care of him.

There was nothing we couldn’t do with her, and every task we gave her, she tried her heart out.

She is worth her weight in gold and is a horse that could never be replaced ...

Rachel Monaghan

ABOVE LEFT Valinor Park Kahlua (El Sidaqa x Kylangra Tiawanna) ABOVE RIGHT Valinor Park Ebony (Saracin (GB) x Kylangra Tiawanna)

the North American Shagya Association into their very tightly held Stud Book, following evaluation in Australia by two European assessors, scoring 85%. His first purebred Arabian foal has now been born in North America and is an outstanding colt from a Monogramm daughter.

For all the debate over halter versus performance Arabians, Valinor Park is one of those studs that has proven time and time again that an outstanding Arabian is more than capable of being both a breathtaking halter horse and superior saddle horse, both in competition and at home.

So much is read into performance records and career highlights of the great horses our incredible Australian studs such as Valinor Park produce, and rightfully so.

Outstanding horses and bloodlines must be recognised, preserved and immortalised.

But what is the real measure of that once-ina-lifetime Arabian to the everyday owner?

Helen says, ‘The absolute joy and pleasure I feel from seeing horses whom I’ve bred bringing their new owners joy, pleasure and success is immeasurable’, and though they’ve won countless awards, the true and lasting success of Valinor Park horses goes beyond the show and performance arenas.

Valinor Park Sakim, the multiaward winning, East Coast Reserve Junior Champion gelding, found his true calling as a trusted riding partner for his nine-year-old rider.

Sakim has become a loved part of our family.

His kind and caring personality made him a trusted horse for my son Isaac. At the time Isaac became Sakim’s main rider, he was nine years old. Sakim took care of Isaac in many endurance rides and training rides all over NSW. Isaac is now 15 years old and loves his horse ... Monica Majerowski

Valinor Park Kahlua, with amongst other impressive wins, two Australian Championship wins in hand and a National Champion Novice Arabian Pony title, has safely brought on two young beginner riders with kindness and patience.

From the moment my girls walked towards the herd, Valinor Park Kahlua stepped forward to claim her rider. She looks after her little rider as if she is her own. She is an outstanding product of Helen’s knowledge of breeding and training champion Arabians ...

Samantha Vassallo

And then there’s Valinor Park Eclipse, who is described by her owner as the greatest gift she has ever been given.

Eclipse is without a doubt the kindest and most reliable mare I have ever come across.

She has taught many children the joy of being able to trust and connect with a horse and enjoy their riding. Eclipse is a gentle soul who truly tries her heart out to do her best. I have no doubt she will be etched in many childhood memories as that first ‘special’ horse.

What a legacy ...

Jo Broad

Whilst accolades are often short-lived and ribbons fade, we can see from these testimonies that the bonds experienced between special horses and their owners become treasured memories that remain in hearts and minds for a lifetime.

From the Valinor Park Arabian destined to become a beloved child’s companion, to those succeeding internationally at the highest levels of competition, Valinor Park horses have left an eternal hoofprint on the path of Arabian horse breeding in this country.

The motto Beauty that Endures continues to be represented in current Valinor Park horses and the legacies past horses have left for owners, breeders and everyone who’s ever loved or continues to love, a Valinor Park Arabian.

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SIMEON SEIFAN S I M EO N S T U D

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‘I

hadn’t planned to keep a son of Simeon Shifran just yet’, says Marion Richmond, owner of Simeon Stud.

‘Both Asfour and Imperial Madaar were over twenty before I thought to keep a son from each, and thanks to the wise counsel from my good friend Nasr Marei, I have two of their finest sons who have been wonderful sires for our farm.’

Indeed, it does seem like only yesterday that the legendary sire Asfour (Malik x Hanan) passed away, and his son from Simeon Shavit (Anaza Bay Shahh x Simeon Safanad), a tall, grey stallion with tiny, curled ears, Simeon Shifran, took his place as head stallion at Simeon. And yet, only three years into his breeding career, Simeon Shifran has already produced a worthy heir, Simeon Seifan.

Simeon Seifan’s dam is the German import CM Moussameh, sired by Mulayh Ibn Maareesa (Ansata Amir Zaman x Maareesa) from Moussah Bint Moussameh (Messaoud x Moussameh). Marion chanced upon this mare in the wilds of Germany, as she hurried to the ladies room after many hours of driving. With all else forgotten, Marion gazed into the huge, black eyes that seemed to be inspecting her in return…

the mare would come to Simeon! As would her sire, and several of her near relatives.

As Marion tells it, initially she was reluctant to retain Simeon Seifan as he was chestnut!

Now we all know that a good horse is never a bad colour, a fact Marion is more than aware of, and so this chestnut colt with the flaxen mane was given the opportunity to see if he could produce better than himself.

Simeon Seifan’s first foals were born in 2018 … five extraordinary foals who have cemented his place as one of Simeon’s all time best sires.

was gelded and shown extensively in his first season. Amongst other wins, Simeon Shazar was awarded Champion Weanling Gelding at the Young Stars Of The Future Championships, Unanimous Emerald Champion at the Double Diamond Showcase, East Coast Reserve Champion Yearling Gelding and Australian National Bronze Champion Yearling Gelding.

A smooth bay colt, Simeon Shem Tov was born to Simeon Susula (Simeon Samech x Simeon Sanaa). A future sire for Al Munawar Arabian Stud, he has been

Simeon Seis (Imperial Madaar x Simeon Se), an East Coast Reserve Champion Filly herself, produced an exquisite grey filly of the highest calibre, Simeon Shivah.

This filly has contributed to the recent resurgence of Simeon in the showring by winning Reserve Champion Yearling Filly at the NSW National Championships, her only outing. She now has a younger full sister, Simeon Rosalie, named in honour of Marion’s grandmother and just as delightful as her elder sibling.

Simeon Sefanyah (Asfour x Simeon Shekinah) produced a lovely grey colt who

MAIN IMAGE (FAR LEFT) Simeon Seifan (Simeon Shifran x CM Moussameh) LEFT Marion Richmond with Simeon Seifan.

Photo by Stuart Vesty ABOVE Simeon Shagah (Simeon Shifran x Simeon Shoshana).

Photo by Glenys Lilley

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shown to East Coast Reserve Champion Yearling Colt and Australian National Bronze Champion Yearling Colt.

The remaining two get of Simeon Seifan’s first season are yet to be shown. Simeon has retained the filly from Simeon Stella (Anaza Bay Shahh x Raffaalaa), and the lookalike chestnut colt Simeon Shadan, from Simeon Shatkin (Anaza Bay Shahh x Simeon Simona) has joined the Myth Haven breeding program, owned by Greg Egan.

ABOVE Simeon Rosalie (Simeon Seifan x Simeon Seis) BELOW Simeon Shivah (Simeon Seifan x Simeon Seis).

Photo by Stuart Vesty

In his premier season, Simeon Seifan has debuted at number 14 on the Arabian Studs & Stallions Leading Stallions chart, and is the highest ranking Straight Egyptian, an incredible achievement by any view. ‘We do not show our horses in specialty Straight Egyptian classes’, says Marion. ‘Every good quality to be found in the Arabian horse can be found in the Straight Egyptian bloodlines, one must learn how to blend it. If our horses are not able to compete against all Arabians, then what is the point? While the intent is positive and worthwhile, specialty classes are in my opinion giving some breeders false confidence in their stock.’

To that end, Seifan’s sire Simeon Shifran also had a stellar season and can be found at number 20 on the Leading Stallions chart.

This result is due in no small part to the performance of his outstanding daughter Simeon Shagah, from Simeon Shoshana (US) (MB Talmaar x MB Masaleena).

Simeon Shagah has been Champion Junior Filly at both the 2020 East Coast Arabian Championships and the NSW National Championships. She was also awarded the Peoples Choice Award at the latter.

‘While it has become somewhat of a cliché, Simeon Seifan really has surpassed all our expectations’, says Marion. ‘He produces large, dark eyes, black skin and a good square hip which I like. He is not a large horse himself, however each of his progeny thus far have been quite tall.’

‘Seifan is just a great horse to be around’, says Farm Manager Tracey Garrison. ‘He is relaxed and cool in all situations, and has never been a problem. I look forward to seeing him each day, I think he looks forward to seeing us coming with this breakfast!’

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Talika Arabians

– Breeding classic Arabian horses for over 40 years – consistent with the standard

PC: Sharyn Ruskey-Fleming

The gorgeous, correct Fairytale

Talika Fairytale Bint Sidirah Fayrid (Imp. USA) x Talika Sidirah

Visitors welcome by appointment Sharyn Ruskey-Fleming | 73 Storey Road, Logan Village Qld 4207 Australia | M: 0428 320 051 E: talikaarab@bigpond.com | Talika Schomann Stud Fee: $1200 | Mares and geldings for sale

OSO ARABIANS A L I F E L O N G PA S S I O N

BY OSO ARABIANS. ADDITIONAL CONTENT DAVID GILLETT

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D

riven by a life-long passion for the Arabian horse and a long-held desire to see the bloodlines of Kelkette Park and Al Marah (USA) stay intact, Linda Mars has been both proud owner and dedicated hands-on breeder since she founded OSO Arabians in 1995.

Drawing an interesting and appropriate parallel with the Arabian, ‘OSO’ is the Spanish word for bear – most notably revered by native Americans for their courage, strength and wisdom.

Our beautiful 4,000-acre Australian stud farm, situated in the foothills of the Table Top Range, just off the Hume Highway and 20 minutes north of central Albury in New South Wales, is wonderfully undulating hill country that is littered with shady gum trees

LEFT Sunset at OSO. Photo by Sharon Meyers ABOVE The OSO front gate welcomes visitors to the farm. Photo by Andrew Kettlewell

and dams as well as a farm and the homestead. It is a magnificent estate that comprises four properties that together combine to make OSO Arabians Stud and Mintor Cattle Farm.

The design of our property is geared towards the safety of the broodmares, foals, stallions and cattle, with strategically fenced paddocks which make the workability of the farm extremely practical. We strive to keep our farm as natural as possible to protect the vegetation and native flora and fauna, ensuring our livestock has the opportunity to grow, develop and thrive both mentally and physically, in this beautifully natural environment.

Over 25 years ago, inspired by the master-craft and breeding successes of Bazy Tankersley (Al Marah) and Margaret Bohm (Kelkette Park) – both leaning to certain predominantly Crabbet lines such as Raff les, Indraff, Silver Moonlight, Silver Vanity, Dargee and Grand Royal – who utilised the bloodlines of the Indraff/Raff les and Silver Moonlight/Silver family lines to produce their own version of a truly versatile Arabian, renowned for its conformation, temperament, stamina and versatility – Linda decided to combine the unique bloodlines of Kelkette Park and Al Marah (USA) to create the very foundation blocks on which the OSO Arabians legacy is built.

All our mares run together as a large family herd, and this continues on with all the different age groups and sexes. Our stallions are content in their own large paddocks with views of the other horses.

Since then, through the bloodlines of Kelkette Park and Al Marah (USA), the majority of our breeding formula has remained the same.

Our cattle equally benefit from the same formula, raising their young from the clover paddocks to the foothills, to raising the weaners on the rolling hills of a nearby property, and with 109 mares and fillies in residence, as well as 21 stallions and colts and 35 geldings, OSO really is a true utopia for our livestock to breed and raise their young.

From this lineage Linda found what she considered to be our foundation stallions and mares of today, in the greats of Zarak (Zadaran x Scherzade), Iolia (Silver Moonlight (GB) x Deirdre), La Dalliance (Crystal Fire (GB) x Dalma), Blue Dominance (Kelkette Park Izak x Dalma), Sakhan (Kapehr (US) x Sariah (GB), Silver

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Eclipse (Kefir (GB) x Electra) and his dam Electra (Crystal Fire (GB) x Silver Magic (GB)).

sport overseas, and to enable them to gain as much experience and knowledge as possible.

To realise our over-arching goal of versatility, at times we make use of outside genetics to refine and complement the evolution of each generation. This also includes our newer derivative program, recognising the qualities that purebred horses can offer other breeds, enabling us to continue breeding some of the best quality derivative horses in Australia.

Our Endurance team follow a training program from the very beginning. In the early days, with a strong emphasis on being professionally broken in, then gradually getting a leg up into their first endurance rides, benefitting from the amazing countryside we have around our stud farm.

By experiencing all terrains, this ensures our horses are fit enough and in top condition.

Whilst we have the pedigree, we certainly don’t allow our horses to rest on the laurels of their genetic strength alone. Through a carefully managed training program, our horses are given the opportunity to prove their athletic ability that goes hand in hand with their heritage.

Amanda Kettlewell, our Equine Stud Manager and Head Trainer oversees all facets of training and conditioning of our endurance horses with the support of our Endurance Team Supervisor, Kylie Jonkers.

As a well-respected and competitive endurance team, for the past 12 years our Endurance team of horses and riders have gone from strength to strength. Whilst predominantly competing in Australia, with horses also based throughout Europe, we are now reaching across the world to enable young Australian riders to experience the

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Our specific training program depends on whether we are training our junior or senior horses, however the process always begins with legging up (walking) which can take up to a fortnight, and which is then increased to trotting and cantering. This is then followed by longer rides with increasing altitudes and throughout a variety of terrain and on to variations of our 20km and 40km training loops.

This also all varies dependent on age, experience, rider and level of previous training and specific goals for the horse and rides in the future. However, our primary goal is soundness and fitness in all our athletes – both horse and rider.

In 2015, our OSO stallion Cap Braveheart (USA) (SDA Silver Legend x Al Marah Cap Gaybrilla) crossed the line first at the 50th Anniversary of the iconic Tom Quilty Gold Cup endurance ride, winning in ten hours and 16 minutes. This stallion then went on to win two FEI Championships and a NSW State Title. In 2018 OSO Nicholas (Kelkette Park Legend x OSO Noelle) was awarded the AERA Top Distance Endurance Horse of the Year and in 2019, all five of our Tom Quilty competitors finished with a buckle (bringing our total Quilty buckles to 25), with a first and a fourth in the Lightweight section and a Best Conditioned.

Our much-loved mares have also added to these wins, with OSO Edith (Kelkette Park Debonair x Kelkette Park Silver Eyre) and OSO Lee (Kelkette Park Silver Excelsior x Lorraine) winning the Australian FEI Championships, and OSO Ngaire (Kelkette

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LEFT ‘The Rock’ at OSO ABOVE Amanda Kettlewell and Brag Ngood.

Photo by Sarah Sullivan Photography RIGHT Amanda Kettlewell, Heath Rowbottom and OSO Xannya. Photo by Glenys Lilley

Park Legend x OSO Naileeni), OSO Lulu (SDA Silver Legend x OSO Lyrebird) and OSO Diamond Dazzler (Kelkette Park Fernandez x Al Marah Danae) all bringing home Victorian State Titles.

In 2013, we introduced Polish stallion Hun (Gazal Al Shaqab x Hula) to our breeding program, and he was shown with success upon arrival into Australia. After this initial foray into the show ring, Hun’s daughter OSO Xannya was our next OSO horse campaigned at Halter, making her debut at the 2017 East Coast Arabian Championships. She entered the ring with an effortless and ground covering trot that had the audience holding their breath and left with a Champion Broodmare sash. A beautifully balanced mare with type and movement, she was then awarded a Bronze Australian National Championship the very next month. Since then, her show career has blossomed, not only at Halter, but as a ridden mare in a variety of disciplines. At the 2019 NSW State Titles, OSO Xannya was awarded Champion Purebred Mare at both Halter and Under Saddle.

OSO Xannya was born in the USA to the mare Danaes Xenia (AM Power Raid x Al

Marah Danae), whose pedigree is dominated by Al Marah-bred horses for several generations. Like Xannya, Danaes Xenia has since been imported to Australia where she has produced several foals, with her contribution to the breeding program at OSO getting off to a very positive start. OSO Xannya herself has produced a beautiful filly by Bacchante Stud’s bay stallion Renaissance, and she is also very handy at moving cattle around the property.

Our chestnut gelding OSO Leonardo (Aloha Kaaba x OSO Lockett) has enjoyed several outings this past year, coming home with Champion Novice Dressage at the National Stud Horse Show, and winning the Nicole Kullen Versatility Award. At the East Coast Championships earlier this year, he was Champion Purebred Show Hunter and was also awarded two Reserve Championships in Novice Dressage and Freestyle to boot! His pedigree includes several of our important foundation horses in the first few generations of his pedigree, Sakhan, Electra and Blue Dominance.

Here at OSO, the realisation of our horse’s ability to become the ultimate all-round

athlete, enabling them to compete in a wide and varied arena of disciplines, was inevitable. Already proven in the Endurance field, and with a heritage littered with Sport Horse, Reigning, Halter, Dressage and Showing champions, show ring performance was naturally going to be our next step.

To truly fulfil this dream, it was essential that we found the right person to mentor our Performance team and who would be able to select the horses that would best promote our breeding program. In early 2019, we were delighted when Heath Rowbottom, renowned Queensland trainer, joined our OSO family and from there on, OSO Performance finally became a reality.

In under a year since its formation, our Performance team have already claimed titles at both State and National level, including Champion Led and Ridden Purebred Mare; Supreme Youth Anglo; Champion Led Derivative Gelding; Champion Stockhorse; and for us, the most coveted of prizes, numerous versatility awards that encompasses everything we are striving for.

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For our breeding program, a good proportion of our current stallion line up remains true to our original foundation stallion. Whilst today many are advanced in years, from time to time they are still breeding, including our 1993 stallion Kelkette Park Silver Implication, one of the last living sons of Mustafa (DE) (Hadban Enzahi x Masarrah) from the Silver Eclipse daughter Silver Bint Iolia.

Kelkette Park Fernandez (Kelkette Park Diplomat x Fyrene) mixes the blood of Silver Eclipse, Zarak and Iolia through different descendants to Silver Implication, and like his stable mate, also incorporates Mustafa bloodlines through his son Boomerang Desert Lancer.

Our chestnut 1994 stallion Kelkette Park Debonair is a son of Sakhan (Kapehr x Sariah), a full brother to celebrated mare Sarika. Debonair has sired several of our most admired endurance horses.

ABOVE Poppy Kettlewell and Al-Marah Heyho Silver. Photo by Sarah Sullivan Photography BELOW OSO mares. Photo by Nicole Emanuel

Our bay 1995 stallion, Kelkette Park Legend (Kelkette Park Izak x Kelkette Park Lysa) has a very interesting pedigree, and this powerhouse of genetics has proven to be a very useful sire. Only three generations back, one can find such legendary horses as Zadaran, Scherzade (GB), Silver Moonlight (GB), Deirde, Royal Domino and Cyrasa (GB). Kelkette Park Legend is the sire of OSO Nicholas, the 2018 AERA Top Distance Horse of the Year.

The imported stallions include Al Marah Star Cascade (AM Good Oldboy x AM Dream Raid) from the USA – currently out on lease to Star Park in New South Wales. SDA Silver Legend (Silver Magic x PR Silver Dream), also imported from the USA, is 99% Crabbet and offers interesting and close-up crosses to Oran through his sons Silvadoris and Silver Vanity, inf luential stallions from the Silver Fire daughters Silver Magic and Silver Gilt respectively. SDA Silver Legend is the sire of 2015 Tom Quilty Gold Cup Winner CAP Braveheart, a stallion who won a total of ten endurance races.

We’re also delighted that we have a few exceptional colts up and coming that we feel are in true type of our versatile OSO Arabians.

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Today, our unwavering commitment and primary objective remains unchanged; to further develop the diversity of the Arabian breed through our first-class breeding program, in order to continue improving, expanding and refining the

capabilities and versatility of our horses; and proudly, we are truly achieving our ultimate goal of diversity through versatility, by evolving and continuing our quest to breed the ultimate versatile Arabian.

Celebrating 25 years’ breeding excellence in Australia

PC: Nicole Emanuel Photography PC: Sarah Sullivan Photography

PC: Sarah Sullivan Photography

Check out our brand new website!

OSO ARABIANS 387 Knox Road TABLE TOP NSW 2640 Australia | m: +61 (0) 428 849 720 | www.osoarabians.com.au

NEW BEGINNINGS TO F T A R A B I A N S

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ne of Australia’s most influential and enduring breeding programs, the Tofts’ Bremervale Arabians has been breeding, exhibiting and exporting quality Arabian horses for just over fifty years. Recent events have seen the stud withdraw from operating at its full capacity, but now family member David Toft has taken up the challenge and begun his own enterprise, Toft Arabians.

‘Toft Arabians came about in March 2020 with the purchase of the majority of Bremervale horses by myself. I wanted to call the stud Toft Arabians in recognition of the dedication and hard

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work of my family…my parents Gordon and Jill Toft and my five siblings.’

David is the third child of six born to Gordon and Jill Toft (the first and only girl Carolyn, followed by five boys).

During their early years, their father was a mushroom farmer in the Kellyville area of Sydney. At that time, Kellyville was very much a rural area, dotted with dairy farms, and serving as a gateway of sorts from the suburbs of Sydney, through to the rural wonders of Windsor, Richmond, Ebenezer and Colo, areas that were also flourishing with the beginnings of Arabian horse studs.

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‘In 1963, when I was six years old, my father took a trip to Queensland in search of a property to purchase.’ That property would be a 1000 acre farm situated on the banks of the Bremer River between Rosewood and Amberley. The name on the gate was ‘Bremervale’ and with the purchase of their first Arabian, Lord GoldN-Glo (Crystal Fire (GB) x Lady Blunt) in 1964, thus began Bremervale Arabian Stud.

This two-year-old Crystal Fire (Dargee x Rosinella) colt was first used as a sire to breed to the family’s studbook pony mare.

Soon afterwards, Gordon and Jill purchased three purebred mares from Dr Youngman and two mares from Dr Leggett, of which Zena (Diomedes x Zateyma (GB)) and Electric Ray (Electric Silver (GB) x Nasifa) made a huge impact on the Bremervale breeding program. Both of these foundation mares feature in the pedigree of Bremervale’s Australian Champion Desperado (WN Dasjmir (US) x Bremervale Aquarius).

Growing up, all five brothers showed Bremervale horses in halter classes at local

agricultural shows, Arabian breed shows and the Brisbane Royal. ‘During the 1970s and 80s we attended up to 12 Ag shows a year,’ says David, ‘plus the breed shows.

All of our time was spent with the horses.’

Sparkling Vanity (Fabulous x Silver Sparkle) was the first horse that

Bremervale took to an interstate show.

‘When I was 19, I talked a couple of mates into coming to Sydney with me. I borrowed my brother Michael’s car and we had Sparkling Vanity in the f loat.

I was thrilled to get fourth in a pretty large class, but not too thrilled to get the spotlights pinched off Michael’s car.’

LEFT (TOP) David and Leandra Toft with the classically beautiful mares Bremervale Lyric (left) (Desperado x Bremervale Bey Accolade) and Australian Champion Bremervale Arwen (right) (Bremervale Hercules x Bremervale Bey Accolade). Photo by Sharon Meyers LEFT Myself at 13 years old with weanling Bremervale Electric Lord. I’d like to say that the reason I am barefoot is that it’s a great way to make sure horses don’t crowd you or walk on top of you. You work it out pretty quickly!

ABOVE Sparkling Vanity and full siblings by Oxford Decimus from Bremervale Phaedra – Bremervale Katische with filly foal Latische, Bremervale Fernanda and Bremervale Emperor pictured wearing their champion ribbons. From left the Toft brothers Warwick, Richard, Peter, Michael and David. Bremervale Katische went on to produce one of the world’s great endurance horses Bremervale Justice. Bremervale Emperor was exported to the Foxbury Stud in England, and Bremervale Fernanda and her sister Katische produced some great broodmares. Fernanda is the dam of Bremervale Andronicus who is renowned in the sport horse industry in the USA. Both Katische and Fernanda’s blood are in many of the present horses at Toft Arabians today.

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sold back to the USA in 1996 and again repurchased by Bremervale after winning US National Championship in performance in 2005. ‘Rave VF went on to become one of the great broodmare sires of our time, and so our mother just had to have him back. He was a great horse, very easy to do anything with and a great horse to ride.’

WN Dasjmir (GG Samir x Arawiszja) was purchased from Aramus Arabians in the USA, owned by Las Vegas entertainer Wayne Newton. ‘Dasjmir was one of my all time favourite stallions, and had many admirers. He won Junior Champion Colt at Scottsdale before his importation to Australia, and here he won Australian Champion Stallion. I believe our family was privileged to own this horse. He possessed such beauty and athleticism and was a sire of many great champions including Desperado.

Over time, David began competing in saddle classes at shows, and also in costume classes, with the fabulous and colourful costumes made by his talented mother and sister. He was also a Pony Club instructor and, along with his brothers, was a founding member of the Ipswich and District Trail Riders Association in the early 1970s.

A game changer for the stud was uncovered when Oxford Decimus (Risaldar x Oxford Sunset) was purchased as a six-monthold colt in 1970. ‘As a two-year-old he smashed his jaw whilst playing and rearing up in our round yard. His teeth had to be wired shut and he was tube fed for two months. In the process he ended up foundering and so led a very restricted life. It was a huge family commitment to keep him alive of which each family member has their own special memories.’

Oxford Decimus went on to reward Bremervale with his progeny of outstanding broodmares. To this day his blood flows through the veins of every horse at Toft Arabians with the exception of two.

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In a bold move at the time, Bremervale purchased six horses from Spain in the mid 1970s, with the beautiful mare Polaca (Hacho x Batista) being the jewel of the group. Polaca’s half sister Piconera (Hacho x Veleta), also imported from Spain, left the farm with only one foal named Bremervale Conquita, by Oxford Decimus. The Bremervale Conquita daughter Bremervale Spellbound (by Rave VF) has produced outstanding broodmares including Bremervale Deserree, Bremervale Charmed, and the two beautiful mares retained by Toft Arabians, Bremervale Bey Mississippi and Bremervale White Diamond. All of these mares are sired by Desperado.

The Rumbosa daughter Gual Boukra (Galeon x Rumbosa) makes up the trio of imported Spanish mares. ‘Gual Boukra went on to produce 20 foals with one of my favourites the beautiful Bremervale Spanish Princess.’

Rave VF (Bey Shah x Raffo-leta Rose) was purchased from USA in 1991, then

‘Desperado, bred by myself and my four brothers and sister was a beautiful baby.

My mum had a huge passion for this colt and we as a family decided to transfer him back into her name as he meant so much to her. He has been a once-in-alifetime stallion for Bremervale. As a sire of show horses, he has left his mark in the Arabian industry, however his contribution may not as yet have been fully realised with his progeny producing yet another generation of superstars. Desperado may have the never-ending story,’ says David.

When asked about the process of purchasing the Bremervale herd and setting his own path, he replies, ‘It was not something I had planned for, but my mother always wanted Bremervale to continue if family members wanted it to. I have always had the passion for the horses and have been heavily involved.

I have worked full time at Bremervale since the close of my stock feed business in 2011, so when the opportunity came up to purchase the Bremervale horses, together

ABOVE Desperado (WN Dasjmir (US) x Bremervale Aquarius) photographed in his old age.

Photo by Sharon Meyers

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

with my wife we were excited to take on the challenge. With large amounts of help from my brothers, we relocated the stud horses to our newly purchased Marburg property over a two and a half day period, without a scratch on any of them.’

Life has been very busy ever since. The intention is to get the horses back into the show ring, in the future when there is more time available. A major priority for David is to get every horse registered, with approximately 50 that are currently waiting to go through that process. He is also concentrating on downsizing horse numbers so is busy photographing and filming horses for clients, and a number of quality broodmares are for sale.

‘My wife and I are full time with the horses, and we are fortunate to have our children, their partners and even our grandchildren come help when they can. It is very rewarding to watch the children having fun, and good for the horses also. There has been a backlog of paperwork and farm improvements on our new property, but most importantly

selling horses so we can move forward and start our own breeding program.

‘I have had a lifetime with these horses, seen most of them born, and I do have more than a few favourites. A Toft Arabian will need to be good Arabian type, have good temperament with a kind eye, soundness with strong athletic ability.’

Endurance will also be a major focus for the stud. ‘The Arabian horse should be purpose built for this sport and for Toft Arabians it is one of the first criteria that all foals born in the future have the ability to compete in endurance sport. We are fortunate to have a head start with a number of the purchased horses presently getting broken in for this sport. I enjoy handling and teaching the youngsters and breakers. I find it rewarding and satisfying. The Arabian horse never ceases to amaze me, their beauty, their stamina, the pleasure of riding them and their intelligence.

‘We will not be standing any stallions at stud this year, some have been sold,

some out on lease and a few young colts we may geld and turn into endurance horses. For the 2020-2021 breeding season we will be using WN Majestic Sumara (US) (Monogramm x WN Samsara) before his lease agreement begins. We will also be using frozen semen of Desperado and Bremervale Signature that we have in storage.’

Moving forwards, Toft Arabian-bred horses will carry TA after their names.

‘Recently I found a rather ironic photo of myself with Sparkling Vanity taken in the late 70s by Pat Slater who was renowned for her horse photography of course, and also her quirky photos.

The photo has the sign “FLY TAA”.

This made me wonder if it was a sign of the future for Toft Arabians.’

David experienced a serious car accident in July 2018, with a recovery period of six months giving him time to start writing a book about Bremervale and his mother Jill Toft. ‘I am about halfway through.

It has been a very interesting challenge with a lot of time for reflection.’

ABOVE Bremervale Spanish Princess with my wife Leandra soon after we were married in 1980.

LEFT WN Majestic Sumara (Monogramm x WN Samsara) is an important part of the Toft breeding program going forward.

Photo by Sharon Meyers

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HOOFPRINTS I N H I S TO RY

O

ver the past five decades, Marion Richmond has amassed an extensive photo library of Arabians from across the world. In this edition of Hoofprints In History, she shares with us a select few.

When Imperial Madaar (above) arrived from America, I thought I had made a mistake. His Neanderthal-like tooth bumps changed his look for several

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years and so I did not use him in my program as extensively as I should have. Madaar was from the first foal crop of Imperial Madheen in the United States, and was the colt they intended to keep to show his progeny.

Madaar was awarded Australian National Champion Stallion, yet I still did not use him so much. It was when I saw his sire in

Egypt, just before he died, that I realised my mistake. He gave me goosebumps. I spent the rest of his life playing catch up. He offered such size and stretch, but also beauty which developed as his progeny matured. I loved him so much, and I love this photo as he looks so much like his son Simeon Sahron in it.

I travelled to Tersk Stud in Russia six times in the 1970s, and fell in love with two Aswan daughters. The chestnut Novina (left) was ‘the pick of the litter’ as they say. She was divine and after many hours of drinking, merriment and tears (mine), she was a part of Simeon Stud along with her grey half sister Nadira.

I believe that without Aswan (middle left), the Russian horses could never have been what they became. Aswan gave refinement, he gave tiny muzzles and finer skin with great beauty. In the Russian pastures you could always pick out the Aswan progeny, they were just outstanding. They had herdsmen for the different groups, no fences. I went once in April and had to be carried across the paddocks by Alexander Ponomarev – it was the same mud that stopped Napoleon. Aswan’s dam Yosreia has been important in our program, Galal was a granddaughter and Rafaalaa had three crosses to Yosreia.

If you take a look at these photos, one can see that although Nemezida (below left) was a good, strong mare, it took the Egyptian blood of Aswan and Nazeer to push her progeny to the next level.

Novina gave us an Australian National Champion Mare, Simeon Savion (above) who was also my riding horse. She was sired by Ansata Abbas Pasha and is pictured here with my husband Paul and daughter Antonia during Simeon Stud’s 30th Anniversary Open Day.

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This photo of Hanan (top) was taken in the late 1970s. I was so taken with her son Jamil (below) and tried to buy him. He was not for sale, and so I waited for Hanan to have another colt, which she did several years later, Asfour (middle).

I went to see him as soon as I could. It had been snowing heavily when I went to the farm to see him. Asfour means ‘little bird’ and Dr Nagel named him this for the delicate way Asfour seemed to fly across the snow. Here is a photo I took that day.

Asfour was a turning point at Simeon, and here he is pictured as an adult with one of the mares he would create a dynasty with, Simeon Safanad. Asfour and Simeon Safanad (bottom right, photo by Pat Slater) gave us iconic, world famous offspring like the incomparable Simeon Sadik, Egyptian National Champion Simeon Safir and Australian National Champion Simeon Salome. This photo is especially precious to me as it was taken by the wonderful Pat Slater, who presented me with a beautiful photo album full of images she took at the farm that day. She was an amazing lady.

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Conformation digitally unaltered. No conditioning, products or preparations were used for the image of Armageddon, which shows him in all his natural glory in 2019

PHOTO: Karsten Scherling, Gestüt Al Tair, Germany.

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After I purchased the Hadban Enzahi daughter Damirah from Marbach in Germany, I bred her to an up and coming young colt named El Shaklan (below), who was in England at the time. I had to wait two months for him to be two years old and licensed for breeding. I also later used his full brother Ibn Estopa with two of my Russian mares, and I saw their dam Estopa (right middle) after she had been exported from Europe to America.

Damirah (grey, below right) gave birth to a flashy chestnut colt named Simeon Sa’ar (top right, photo by Pat Slater).

He was so different to anything else in Australia at the time, and when he started winning he really did upset some people’s apple carts. He won many championships in his time with us, and sired beautiful foals including Simeon Sanegor from Simeon Shirli (bay, below right), who later became a US National Top Ten Stallion.

Letting Sa’ar go was one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make in my life. One of my proudest moments as a breeder was watching him win the National Stud Show Stallion Championship, many years after he had left Simeon. Anaza Bay Shahh was Reserve to Sa’ar that day...but my heart was soaring with Sa’ar’s win.

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Eskdale

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Australia’s first Australian National Champion Mare, 27 Ibn Galal 5 (right) was first seen by my mother and I in Babolna pulling a huge dray.

Her mother 10 Hosna (middle right) was a large, grey mare of good proportions, and although a Nazeer granddaughter herself, her foals by Ibn Galal were a lot more refined than their mother. I have often thought that this elegance comes through from Yosreia, dam of Aswan and granddam to Ibn Galal.

The recipe seems to work, and I find Yosreia is featured in the pedigrees of many horses that I like.

She gave me some truly wonderful fillies, Simeon Safanad by Sankt Georg, and the full sisters Simeon Simona and Australian Champion Simeon Sukari (below right, photo by Pat Slater) both by Asfour.

Bint El Bataa (Nazeer x Bataa) (below) was one of three sisters, all with the same name. She was the only black and was at that time the most exquisite black mare I had seen. She was the dam of Sankt Georg RSI, the sire of Simeon Safanad. Tanya Hawley and I chose Sankt Georg for his owner David Kemp while we were on a trip to the USA together. Bint El Bataa is pictured here in old age with her owner at the time Norton Grow, at a clinic where they were trying to get her in foal. She had the most incredible skin, she was a beautiful mare.

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Ghazaal M

(Laheeb Al Nasser x Ghazala Al Saba)

Congratulates his son, Star of Ghazaal LP (x Lavender Park Stardust), on his success at the Winter Classic Show, where he collected Reserve Champion Junior Colt, Champion 1 Year and under shown by a Non-Professional, and Champion 1 Year and under Natural Pose.

Expressions of interest are invited on this extraordinary colt.

Ghazaal M is an exciting straight Egyptian stallion with a one of a kind pedigree available to Australian breeders. He is standing at stud this season to limited mares.

Contact Lisa Whitehead on 0402 291 548 lavenderparkarabians.com

LAVENDER PARK ARABIANS

I first saw Raadin Royal Star (middle left) on a visit to America and suggested to David Kemp that he buy him. When he arrived in Australia I bred Galal and Safanad to him for two very important horses. Galal produced Simeon Sheba, who would go on to give the world Simeon Sehavi by Asfour.

Simeon Safanad produced an incredible bay colt Simeon Shai (right). He would become a Scottsdale, US and Canadian National Champion Stallion, all in one year, before becoming one of the leading sires in the USA. I love this photo of Shai, he really did have such a fun-loving nature...everybody loved him.

German Stallions (middle centre) – One of my fondest memories of Europe is attending one of the first German Egyptian Events where three beautiful grey stallions by Hadban Enzahi were paraded – Malik, Madkour I and Moneef, the last of whom was owned by Marbach Stud.

As a child I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to sit on the back of the influential stallion Sala (Grey Owl x Hama) (above right) at the Hawkesbury Agricultural College. We bought our first purebred mare Fuewasa from this stud and she was in foal to Sala at the time, producing a chestnut filly with loud white markings, Shoshanna (far left, with Fuewasa).

Shoshanna’s grey daughter Sharon was my riding mare for many years, and she produced an outstanding bay filly Simeon Shirli (left, with colt Simeon Sanegor), by Dresden. I remember a friend and I drove Sharon from Dural to the middle of the desert in South Australia where Dresden was on a farm in Peterborough. It took several days and I remember clearly thinking just how much I had underestimated the journey. We had to sleep in the car on the way by the side of the road, it was awful. The filly was worth it, and she became the only link to our early bloodlines for many years.

Shirli created a lasting legacy with winning progeny around the world such as Simeon Sanegor and Simeon Shifrah.

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A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

THE ARABIAN HORSE B O R N TO R I D E We asked a selection of Australia’s photographers to share some of their favourite images of the beautiful Arabian horses to be found in this part of the world.

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A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

PREVIOUS PAGE (TOP) 2019 Tom Quilty Gold Cup ride start Photo by Sarah Sullivan PREVIOUS PAGE (BASE) Mulawa Bronze Wing Photo by Belinda Zaiter FAR LEFT (TOP) Bella Mirelle SBA (US) ridden by Jessica Dertell Photo by Samantha Taylor FAR LEFT (BASE) Veronica Mortimer riding Rose Gum Diamantina Crown Photo by Sharon Meyers ABOVE Pevensey Flamingo (25-year-old gelding) and Mecedes Kallo age 13 at Jindivick, Victoria Photo by Nicole Emanuel LEFT RHR Heir of Marwan Photo by Glenys Lilley

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RAY OF LIGHT H E H A S TH E M I DA S TO U C H

BY TANYA HAWLEY

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

‘A

nother standout stallion was the striking cremello Partbred Stallion, Ray of Light. I was particularly taken by this stallion’s outstanding balance, length and squareness of hip and croup and extreme type. Combined with his sensational cremello color he was simply a delight to watch.’ Cindy Reich, 2009 Australian National Arabian Championships Ray of Light is certainly one of, and perhaps could be the most successful Arabian derivative sire of the last decade.

According to the yearly Leading Sires Chart published by Arabian Studs & Stallions, Ray of Light has been in second place to the purebred stallion Crave FF (Mash x Bremervale Charmed) each year since the chart was first released five years ago, meaning that (as Crave FF is a purebred) he is the Leading Arabian Derivative Stallion in Australia, based on the performance of his progeny…what better indicator for a stallion than the success of his offspring.

Wishlist was from the third foal crop of Ray of Light, and he is the only produce of Escarda Spozobella (Fames Presence x Perestroika). I have often asked David why he does not breed this mare’s full sister to Ray of Light, as she is sitting in his paddock and has been for some time… he promises he will one day! Interestingly, their dam Perestroika (Sarajevo KEI x Summer Love) is in foal to Ray of Light for 2020 for Espirit Arabians.

Ray of Light was born in 2004, and shares his birthday with David. He was born at King Estate in Ebenezer, where his mother was stabled at the time. He was a tiny foal, somewhat over cooked and born to an aged mother who foundered not long after his birth.

Ray of Light himself was shown as a young horse to win championships at East Coast, NSW State Titles, NSW National Championships and he is twice Australian National Reserve Champion, once as a junior colt and once as a stallion. Interestingly, he was first on points on both occasions.

It was at the 2009 championships in Melbourne where I first saw him and like judge Cindy Reich, I was taken by the excellence of conformation that Ray of Light exhibits.

He is such a solid, well-balanced horse with type and elegance in abundance and it has been a joy to watch the continued success of his progeny over the years.

My world has been filled with purebreds for as long as I can remember, however I have known his owner and breeder David Gillett of Diamond Road Arabians for some time now, and over this time I would often find myself drawn to these magical golden horses that he would share images of.

With somewhat extraordinary regularity, these beautiful animals of various shades of buckskin and palomino were winning championships at the highest levels, and they caught my eye. The spark of my initial interest was stoked by the palomino Wishlist, who started his show career as a yearling, winning Reserve Champion Derivative Entire at the Sydney Royal Easter Show.

From there, he was the NSW National Champion Junior Colt, which he won again in 2014, followed by an East Coast Junior Champion Colt win, then his first Australian National Championship. Wishlist won the same award a year later, before being gelded and beginning a ridden career. Together with owner Viv Motbey, Wishlist has since amassed multiple Australian, East Coast and National Championships and in 2020 alone, won the Anna Shaw Memorial in both Halter and Ridden, and was also awarded the Triple Crown for his Champion Ridden Part Arabian Gelding wins at the NSW State Titles, East Coast Arabian Championships and NSW National Stud Show.

FAR LEFT & ABOVE Ray of Light (Amaki’s Impressionist x Amaki’s Golden Imp) LEFT Wishlist (Ray of Light x Escarda Spozobella) and Top Model (Ray of Light x Faith in Kate)

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At the time of writing, Ray of Light is the sire of five individual Australian National Champions, some of whom have won several times. The first two were awarded in quick succession, one class after another in fact, at the 2013 championships. Both buckskin, they were full brothers from the mare Badet BGA, who was the first mare purchased by David to breed to his then young and promising colt.

Sired by Bremervale’s US import Destinado (Barich de Washoe x Zlabiya), she is out of a mare whom I admired greatly for her beauty Nah-Rehle (Nahda x Nahdia). These first two Australian Championships, the gelding Diamond Road Identity and stallion Diamond Road Heart of Fire, were quickly followed by the aforementioned Wishlist a year later. 2016 saw the tall and willowy Kinful Simply Delightful (from Kinful Aqua) take out her first Australian National Championship, and the latest winner has been Light It Up, who won his first Australian National Championship in 2019.

Light It Up has also been awarded Supreme at the 2018 Victorian Classic, and Reserve Champion of Champions at the 2016 East

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Coast Championships. His dam Porsha (Ibn Bataara x Our Choice) foaled a filly

by Ray of Light in 2019, who is set to follow her brother into the show ring next season.

Now with close to 70 progeny it would be impossible to list the wins of every individual sired by Ray of Light. Indeed, within the confines of this article it is not even remotely possible to mention horses that in most circles would be described as extraordinarily successful. There are the East Coast Champions, National Champions, Royal Show Champions and of course QLD Challenge and Victorian Classic Champions…the stallion has a knack for producing horses that win.

Of special mention is the mare Top Model, who is from a Thoroughbred mare Faith In Kate. Owned and campaigned by her breeder Summa Crockett, Top Model is shown under saddle in open company, including Barastoc Horse of the Year. She has been the East Coast Camelot Challenge Winner, and Grand Champion Exhibit at the NSW Palomino Championships.

It is perhaps not so surprising that Ray of Light is so prepotent for producing such well conformed, high quality animals. His dam, Amaki’s Golden Imp was a classy palomino mare with a perfectly balanced hindquarter and high set neck, coupled with excellent legs and feet and powerful movement. I saw her as an aged mare and she was still at that time very impressive.

Golden Imp was a National and East Coast Champion, and she produced several champion progeny including the stallion Amaki’s Impressionist, who is the sire of Ray of Light. This concentration of her blood, married with the outcross sire line of Skowronek (PL) through international champion Ralvon Pilgrim (Rikham x Trix Silver), makes for a remarkably potent and predictable genetic powerhouse.

Ray of Light is not only producing foals for Diamond Road, he is also making his presence felt across the country. Several of Australia’s most well-known breeders have incorporated Ray of Light into their breeding program. Ally Hudson of Quartz Hill Farm bred QHF Puss In

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

Dressage is a sport where a small number of Ray of Light progeny have been trying their hand, spearheaded by the wonderful Wishlist who has won the Prelim at Clarendon Winter Festival, and Novice at Sydney Dressage. The buckskin gelding AP Time Stands Still has also been competing successfully in dressage, in both Arabian and Open competitions.

At home, Ray of Light spends his days in his shady paddock, and even at fifteen years old is full of beans, always with one eye on ‘his’ mares.

LEFT Ray of Light’s progeny from L to R: Diamond Road Heart of Fire, Diamond Road Look At Me, Wishlist, Diamond Road Identity, Diamond Road Evening Light ABOVE AP Time Stands Still (Ray of Light x Manning Park Trystin Rose). Photo by Glenys Lilley

Boots (Eastwinds Ovation x QHF Elusive Star) for a buckskin filly QHF Kit Kat, 2017 Victorian Classic Reserve Champion Mare. Gleniph Arabians bred Monarch Park Angelina (Unforgettable ERA x Paro Minstrel’s Glory) for an extremely beautiful palomino colt, Gleniph Light My Fire, Champion Stallion at the Victorian Extravaganza. His beautiful full sister Diamond Road Amoreena is now at Kalody Park in Tasmania, after producing a quality cremello filly for Allyndah in Northern New South Wales.

Well respected judge Nell Marshman has bred to Ray of Light three times, and each of these foals has won a championship, the most successful being Fire Fly. This exquisite palomino from Nyora Cameo (Nahdaan Ben Ben Selam x Kurrajong Topaz) is a QLD Challenge Champion and is now winning under saddle.

Ray of Light has spent some time in Queensland, and while stabled there, breeders such as Lee-Ann McClelland of Sierra Lodge took advantage of the

proximity of the stallion and bred two mares to him for a colt and a filly. This filly from Evangeline VA (Odyssey White Tiger x Simeon Astarte) is said to be very beautiful and high hopes are held for her future and the colt has been sold to a show home.

Most interestingly, while Ray of Light was domiciled in Queensland, Diane Wright of Bacchante Arabians bred one of her best mares, Bacchante Evangeline (Espakhan x Briarwoods Nataalja) to Ray of Light, who in 2019 foaled a very promising palomino colt. Additionally, this mare is also the dam of the East Coast Champion Purebred Stallion Renaissance, sired by Chelleason Crown Jewel.

Ray of Light progeny are also competing in endurance, with two of the most successful being All Aglow At Webbs Creek, chosen mount for the veteran endurance rider Jennifer Gilbertson, and Diamond Road Sterling, a 2014 gelding from Fortissima KEI (Sarajevo KEI x Phylecia KEI) who is successfully competing as well.

‘Most of the mares here now are not here for Ray of Light. Even though they sell very quickly, we have only bred one mare per year these past few years, as I don’t like to have too many foals at once’, says David. ‘I do however get so much joy from seeing what others produce, he usually has six or seven foals per year.

‘We did breed a palomino filly by Ray of Light from the exceptional palomino mare Shan-nelle, dam of Legends of Excalibur and I am quite excited by her. She will be two this spring. Last year we bred a colt from Exotika (Valor x Tarlea Ellabrandi) who was sold before he was born, and this year we have one coming from Exotika’s sister Essafa (Vesuvio x Tarlea Ellabrandi) which I am really looking forward to.’

As Ray of Light is now creeping forward in age, I ask David about his succession plan.

‘Years ago, we bred up to five foals a year

by Ray of Light, and one day I realised that we had not kept a single one…and I had to buy one back! Her name is Diamond Road Blond Ambition and has had one foal, a palomino colt who I think could be amongst the best palominos I have bred. I will keep him for now to try and breed a replacement for Ray of Light.’ This colt, Diamond Road Picasso is the current Australian National Bronze Champion Part Arabian Entire.

‘I have been concentrating on getting a daughter from Ray of Lights sister, Amaki’s Impre’vu, and in 2018 it finally happened.

She is buckskin, and sired by Australian National Champion Vesuvio (Azteq LBA x Valouria), and together with Picasso, if they produce something who has been half as good to me as Ray of Light has been, I will count myself a very lucky man.’

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AN AUSTRALIAN ARABIAN COLT EXPORTED TO AMERICA! R H Y TH M I C

BY NICOLE EMANUEL

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A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

T

he story of ‘Rhythmic’ began a long time before he was even thought of. As a horse-mad child, my passion for Arabians was nurtured by regular visits to nearby Arabian studs.

One I frequented was Henley Farm Arabians, owned by the Stephens family, on the outskirts of my home town of Tumut in New South Wales. I have fond memories of visiting the farm and remember their stallions at the time including Henley Farm Sikhan (Royal Domino x Firefly), their senior stallion. I had never seen a horse with so much pride and so much presence. An imposing, tall iridescent chestnut with four even stockings and blaze. When he moved, he floated.

I would spend hours wandering the paddocks, spending time with mares and foals or youngstock. If the weather was unkind on my visits I would sit inside with Tracy and her mother Marty on bar stools in their kitchen, while their boxer dogs lay snoring on bean bags at our feet.

Sometimes Marty would let me into her office, which was covered from wall to wall with Arabian Horse Magazines (including decades of publications of Arabian Horse World magazines). With each issue being at least an inch thick, I would drool over glossy colour pages of Arabian horses, fuelling my early love of photography!

I would sit cross-legged on the timber f loor and lose track of time! Hours would pass and I always got pins and needles in my legs and feet! Each time I went, Marty would let me borrow a magazine from her expansive library. For a 10-year-old kid, I was in my element!

A house full of dogs and horse books and paddocks full of Arabian horses!

What more does one want in life?

LEFT AND ABOVE Rhythmic (Robali Dargeeling x Solitairey Dancer)

I learned a lot from the old breeders of the era, they were so strict on conformation particularly correct legs and feet. At the time, I didn’t realise how imperative the old phrase ‘No hoof no horse!’ is in breeding, yet little did I know this ‘text book’ first rule of breeding would, in the future, help seal a groundbreaking sale of an Australian Arabian horse to America.

I witnessed the best colt produced at Henley Farm being born and watched him develop into a mature stallion.

Henley Farm Difda was foaled in 1981, out of the Banderol daughter Kumaree, and by the exceptional Henley Farm Nasan, who was by Ralvon Pilgrim, out of the Crystal Fire daughter Firefly. I was photographed with him as a two-year-old colt when I was just 11 years old. This connection I had with him lasted many years and I also used him as the subject in my major High School Art Photography project. Tracy Stephens always said he was by far the best they have bred.

Almost 30 years later I would breed a spectacular filly, the best I have ever bred – Solitairey Dancer, by the Kyremi Illustraa son Lord Charles of Seven Oaks, and out of my best mare Inshallah Bay Solitaire (Tommie x Inshallah Pirouette).

I particularly wanted to do the Pilgrim/

Banderol cross, this being (unknowingly) very closely related to Henley Farm Difda.

It wasn’t until some years later that I noticed the similarity in not only facial features and big kind eyes, but also white markings, movement and conformation.

My Ralvon Pilgrim/Banderol greatgranddaughter looks uncannily like the Pilgrim/Banderol grandson Henley Farm Difda who I fell in love with as a child.

My passion for these old Australian Crabbet lines has not changed in over 40 years. New imports and strains came into Australia towards the end of the last century, and the trend shifted to follow a very different style of horse which was lighter framed, finer boned and with dishier heads. We started to look for outcross blood and imported from all over the world to satisfy our desire for ‘perfection’.

Our style of showing followed the USA halter ring and stallions had to be even prettier, with more showring presence and pizazz. The older Crabbet lines were often referred to as being too coarse, or too plain. However, I felt that prettier heads becoming a priority was leading to the gradual decline of soundness of legs and feet. Marty Stephens always said, ‘You can’t ride a cardboard cut-out!’ and I eventually understood exactly what she meant!

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So I’ve stuck to my small Australian-bred Crabbet stud. Some friends would joke and say I was stuck in the 70s and 80s with my bloodlines, and I kept saying that I felt bone, substance and feet were better in these types. While I can appreciate the modern style of Arabian, especially to photograph, I still preferred the old style of Crabbet horses I grew up with; big kind eyes, long arched necks, backs built to ride, and legs and feet to carry you all day – anywhere.

I even had someone ask why I still bother breeding something that no one wants, it won’t be a halter horse, and if you don’t want it exported for endurance, then why breed? I actually asked myself the same question numerous times especially when breeding is fraught with bad luck, but it was important to me that these lines were preserved for the future.

I would spend hours researching photographs and sourcing very old bloodlines up close. When an opportunity came up to lease the precious old stallion Robali Dargeeling for the 2015 breeding season I jumped at the chance. Foaled in 1993, Dargeeling is by the renowned performance sire Chip Chase Desert Wind and out of the decorated, beautiful mare Jadara (Argent x Miraya).

Although the stallion settled in well, sadly 2016 resulted in no foals for me. When his owner Jane Lovell rang to say he was going to stand in South Australia for the 2017 season I knew I had to act fast and get something in foal. I particularly wanted to cover my very special Solitairey Dancer (Lord Charles of Seven Oaks x Inshallah Bay Solitaire), yet I couldn’t until she had foaled, which of course in due time she did. Within days of the mare being bred, Robali Dargeeling was on a transport truck to South Australia and I had my fingers crossed for a positive pregnancy test.

In due course it was time for the foal to be born. Being an early mating I didn’t want to foal Dancer down in my steep, wet paddocks so I asked a friend, Sandra Feil in Jindivick, if she could foal down in her safer, flatter paddocks. I got a phone call around 2am on a very chilly, foggy night in October and drove around to witness the foaling of a large bay colt. I remember being amazed at the colt’s size from day

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one, he seemed to be the size of a onemonth-old foal and his legs and feet were perfectly formed. We called him Rhythmic.

Within days I knew he was special, and thanks to all the extra interaction and attention, even from the kids while in Jindivick, he turned out quite sensible even as an unhandled foal. After weaning he was turned out to grow and socialise for the next year or so with our old geldings.

Jane Lovell had been keenly watching Rhythmic’s progress and told me that in 20 plus years of breeding he was the best foal Robali Dargeeling had ever produced. Once I advertised Rhythmic for sale or half share, the phone calls came.

I could have sold him ten times over for endurance, but I didn’t want him to end up living in the desert, and I didn’t just want him to be an endurance horse.

I believed in his quality, and that he could excel in any chosen discipline. He was built to be ridden, and his height, type and wow factor would appeal to horse people of all kinds! He deserved the limelight and had to be destined for something great but I couldn’t quite work out what that was.

As a two-year-old, my friend Kathleen came to help me with him for a photo shoot. She gave him his first shampoo bath, and he was photographed ‘clean’ for the first time. I liked how she noticed him, I felt so proud and I told her that if he didn’t sell, she could break him in and campaign him under saddle. However, the resulting photos I took of him on that day did get noticed by someone very special on the other side of the globe.

Tim Shea of Shea Stables in Michigan rang me about Rhythmic and said they have looked all around the world for a colt. He had strict criteria on what they were searching for and Rhythmic ticked all the boxes.

I sent numerous videos of conformation, movement and close-up footage of feet and legs. I had many conversations with Tim about correctness, soundness and bloodlines, particularly Crabbet.

Shea Stables, in conjunction with Maroon Fire Arabians boast a 30-year breeding program and they raise, train and sell the finest and most successful English Performance Arabians in the world.

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

LEFT Rhythmic with his dam Solitairey Dancer, a high percentage Crabbet mare with a dash of Egyptian through Nile (Mustafa x Nara) ABOVE Henley Farm Difda and 11-year-old Nicole Emanuel RIGHT Rhythmic’s sire Robali Dargeeling (Chip Chase Desert Wind x Jadara)

The last stallion purchased by Maroon Fire Arabians was IXL Noble Express in 2001, and Maroon Fire now holds the current USA No. 1 English Pleasure breeding program as well as the extremely prestigious 2012 United States Equestrian Federation Breeders of the Year.

Prior to IXL Noble Express, Maroon Fire purchased the incomparable Afire Bey V, bred by Sheila Varian, the all-time leading sire of champions in the USA. Upon seeing the videos, Tim Shea’s first words were ‘WOW! His movement is very impressive! Not many can move their hocks as he does!’

When I spoke to the breeding manager Ann Hernandez, she stated that ‘he gives me goosebumps on my goosebumps!’

Ann explained that for the last decade or so breeders in the industry have been talking about outcross blood. She suggested to Tim and Marty Shea to look at Australia, and when I spoke to Tim, I said I was quite certain we had more Crabbet-bred Arabians than any other country in the world!

Tim explained that the English Pleasure and Park style of riding places a lot of pressure on legs and joints and correct conformation is imperative for soundness.

‘Everything that’s lacking in America is what Rhythmic has. He is so tall, he has amazing bone and superb feet, and a neck that goes on forever.’

I was ecstatic to read the headline this year promoting Rhythmic’s arrival in America: Can you IMAGINE if you could bring back the blood of the Legendary CRABBET PARK… WE’VE IMAGINED IT FOR YEARS and WE HAVE! Maroon Fire Arabians, Dave and Gail Liniger and Tim and Marty Shea of Shea Stables are proud to announce the acquisition and importation of the exquisite 3-year-old 93% Crabbet blood stallion RHYTHMIC!!!

This is the culmination of a WORLD-WIDE, MULTI-YEAR search! He arrived in Michigan from Australia and we are ABSOLUTELY ELATED. As he walked off the van, we were all emotionally affected. His huge liquid eye looked right into your soul. We were overwhelmed with the feeling that this was a profound historical moment in time.

Tim excitedly told me, ‘Rhythmic will be bred to some of the best mares available in America’.

As this story goes to press I received more exciting news that Rhythmic semen was shipped to Polytechnic University in California and a few select embryos have been created for the 2021 breeding season.

Rhythmic will go down in history as being the first Australian Arabian ever to be used by the historic Kellogg breeding program. In the past, Kelloggs have only ever used stallions imported from England or Poland.

It really is such exciting news for our old Australian Crabbet, proven performance bloodlines.

A FIRST for Australian bloodlines!

A FIRST for small-time breeders!

And a first for my small, passionate stud of old Aussie Crabbet lines.

Rhythmic will stand amongst the greatest stallions of all time, yet his story has only just begun!

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YOUNG GUNS

locally from non-related, yet suitable and extreme lines. We breed for extreme type whilst maintaining height and excellent movement. This is achieved by targeting particular lines and remaining highly selective with our breeds in order to ensure they cross perfectly with Heir.

My interest in competing is twofold. First, I love sharing the beauty of Arabians with the world, and shows are a great way of doing this. And second, I enjoy the thrill. I don’t enter for the win, I know the value of my horses, but I enter for the experience.

A DA M K A R A-A L I

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dam Kara-Ali of Southern Chariot Arabians is 23 years old and has been riding horses since he was seven. For the past five years he has had the privilege of working closely with Arabians, honing his skills and is fast becoming one of our leading young halter handlers.

As somebody who has a vast array of interests, I always push myself to do my best at all that I enjoy. Currently, I am studying architecture, working in the building industry, playing sports, training five days a week at the gym, and of course riding my horses at any opportunity.

Thankfully, our stud farm has always been a family dream. As such, I have always had my family’s love and support.

I am constantly in awe of the connection you can build with a horse and the allegiance that comes with that. For instance, after slipping off my mare Cha Cha (Natham Park Cha-Cha by Charming VC (US) from La Challaya) due to a malfunction with my saddle, she instantly halted and came to my side and comforted me. These are the moments that I enjoy most with my horses.

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Our farm’s journey started with the world renowned RHR Heir of Marwan (US) (Marwan Al Shaqab x Psychesheiress), who was the first member of Al Dawla Arabians.

As we purchased more and more horses, I found that building relationships with them is very much like those that you build with people. Any love, protection and care you give, is returned. My strongest connection to this date would be with Cha Cha, who allowed me to ride bareback prior to breaking her in.

Our breeding program is built on the phenomenal RHR Heir of Marwan as a stud. Heir is known to produce amazing daughters in both show and riding quality but also as broodmares.

We have collected an extraordinary set of broodmares from some of our favourite Australian as well as international producing lines. Out of these mares, we have bred our wide range of future broodmares...these are ‘the Heir daughters’. We are confident that we have included the most extreme and exotic type for our breeding program. We aspire to breed these mares back to Arabian stallions, which we have bred internationally and

Having our stud situated in the scenic area of Hawkesbury NSW has allowed our farm to become a place where many of my friends and other youth frequently visit. It started as my brothers and I going on trail rides, and over the many weekends that followed, word spread throughout my community and social circles. Many people have now bought their own horses to join us on this remarkable journey. Working with horses has never been a job for me. I plan to keep horses as an integral part of my day to day life for as long as I live.

I will never forget the day I watched RHR Heir of Marwan show at the Salon De Chuval in Paris. He won his class and was placed Reserve World Champion which was a very proud moment for us. Another memorable moment was achieving Champion of Champions in my first ever show at the Queensland Challenge with Cha Cha. But my favourite memory of all would be witnessing the birth of a very special ‘Heir’ baby who we have hope will make an impact to the Arabian breed.

I am strongly inspired by my brother Diaa, without whom we wouldn’t be where we are today. We have built this stud from the ground up, and I have him to thank for it.

A piece of advice that has stuck with me is that nothing is more valuable than the Arabian horse. Its value in life has proved to be omnipresent and losing them is something I can never foresee.

ABOVE Adam Kara-Ali with Natham Park Cha-Cha

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K R I S T Y PA R R I N G TO N

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y interest for Arabians started young. I was having riding lessons with Catherine Brown of Tathren Arabians, and through her I first experienced Arabian shows. I loved the atmosphere of these shows, and when I was nine years old, my parents gave me the opportunity to lease a show pony called Hollydale Armarni (Trently Aramis x Danjera Spangle). With him I was able to compete at my first Arabian show, the Australian Arabian National Championships …nothing like starting big!

I am a very honest person who loves the Arabian horse and I love spending time with people who share that same love. My favourite part about competitions is being around these people...we share the same passion so it is very easy to connect. My friend circle is definitely very small due to horses. Any friends that I had going through school are no longer around, we simply drifted apart, living different lives with different interests, but for the friends I do have, we all share the same love, horses and that’s all that matters.

My family have always been extremely supportive of my passion for horses both financially and physically. My mum still attends horse shows with me and we own our stud in partnership. Our stud name Trakrista Park is a combination of our names, Tracy and Kristy.

One of my greatest pleasures is sharing wins with these friends. I honestly feel great joy when they have success…we all get a turn in the winner’s circle!

I enjoy showing my horses, in particular halter showing, but I don’t mind getting out there and riding my own horses that I have trained.

I am a kind and friendly person and can be outgoing, but for those that don’t know me probably wouldn’t see this side of me while I am competing, as I am quiet and keep to myself, as I take it quite seriously. I am very much a perfectionist and this shows when I am getting my horses ready at a show they have to look perfect to hit the ring.

Diamond Road Abrax (Shakla’s Eclipse x Amaki’s Impre’vu) is definitely one who is not shy of the winner’s circle, and he has made many of my dreams come true. I purchased him as a very young foal and I feel like my show career has grown alongside his. Possibly my most memorable moment would have to be winning the Triple Crown with Diamond Road Abrax. I conditioned and showed him all by myself, and winning Championships at the NSW State Titles, National Championships and East Coast Championships, therefore taking out the 2020 Triple Crown, was a huge achievement for us.

Naakirah TK (Volcom FF x Naalirah) is my first homebred purebred filly and I just love her. She is currently having a break from the show ring as I am giving her a chance to grow into herself. She is extra special to me because she is the only daughter of our foundation mare Naalirah (Simeon Sahron x Neytiri) who won the Ambition Legacy Award for Champion Yearling Purebred Filly at the 2015 NSW National Stud Show. This memory is even more special now that we lost Naalirah to a freak paddock accident last year.

Our current show team includes the Arabian Warmblood Reminisance FF (Fever FF x Romance FF), and I have a grey purebred mare Imagine MI (Aria Impresario x Mulawa Alexa) who I have had some good wins with, including Champion Filly at the SNS State Titles. This past season she had a filly by Kavalier MI, who we have named Kaavia TK. Outside of horses I work in early childhood education, which is another passion of mine.

That said, I would love to just work with horses as a full time job. I would love to halter train and condition horses for clients as well as still enjoy training my own horses.

I have been lucky enough to learn about halter training and showing from Arabian Horse trainer Cameron Bonney. He has taught me so much and helped me adapt my own techniques. In saying this, I have often been given helpful tips by many different halter trainers in the industry, both in and out of the show ring, and I have found the competition to be very supportive in that way. I try to take in all of these pieces of advice in a bid to helping me become a better halter trainer and horse woman.

I am a big believer in that old saying ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try again!’ I have had my dark days, just like anyone, however over the years I have come to realise that nothing happens if you give up, and all great things take time! Hard work is what has got me to the horsewoman I am today, and it didn’t happen overnight. I wouldn’t have it any other way… there is no breed like the Arabian horse, their personalities are like no other creature – they will be your friend for life.

LEFT Kristy with Diamond Road Abrax

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they gelded him for me to compete with. I am currently jumping him 1.30m at home and can’t wait to compete in jumping for the first time when events start back up.

I would always suggest to anyone who was considering getting into competition with horses, to give every discipline that you are interested in a go! If you have an amazing breed such as the Arabian that is successful in all they put their mind to, why not have some fun? You never know what you might enjoy and who you might meet till you give it a try.

J E S S I C A D E R TE L L

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essica Dertell is 16 years old and has grown up surrounded by horses. Her parents, Kate and Doyle Dertell are amongst the most successful and prominent Arabian horse personalities in the country, and together with her brother Kody they run the well-known establishment Future Farms in Victoria. Jessica is known for being hard working and her gift for expressing her opinion on subjects that far belie her years are only matched by her skill as a rider.

I have tried many disciplines and I cannot pick a favourite, I love them all. In the show ring I’ve claimed multiple Australian champion titles with the horses we have in training at Future Farms, but I’ve also been lucky enough to compete internationally for endurance. It was so exhilarating riding for Al Mugheer Endurance Stables in the Middle East and coming 14th in one of the races that had over 400 competitors.

I’ve always been interested in horses, and I’ve been fortunate enough to grow up with amazing horses around me, including representatives of the Arabian breed.

My dressage journey started with a school master PSG horse called Valerious Waltermeyer who taught me so much. I’ve since been extremely fortunate that Sam and Brett Thomas from Sabble Farm have brought three incredible dressage horses from Europe that I have been lucky enough to continue my journey to Grand Prix on.

One of these, Zanzibar is my first ever Grand Prix horse to compete on and so he is very important to me. I’m so lucky to be able to ride for Sabble Farm and the journey they and these amazing horses are taking me on…it is really special.

I am also very fortunate in that I have an extremely supportive family who enjoy the horse industry just as much as I do. They have put in the hard yards to help get me to where I’m at today.

I love all horses and competition, and I do ride other breeds, but I guess what stands out to me about the Arabian, aside from their astonishing beauty, is that I really enjoy the diverse range of events Arabian horses can compete in. I think it’s a big factor for me when I am selecting a horse as I enjoy trying to excel in multiple disciplines at one time. Our Arabians seem to be able to do it all! They are extremely gifted in multiple disciplines and excel in any task normally asked of them.

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Arabian Racing was super fun. We had five race horses, all we trained at home and took to the races, even winning a few times! I’ve just started my jumping career on a retired Thoroughbred racehorse called Northeast Duke who my parents purchased from Inglis sales to ideally breed Anglos, although after seeing me bond with him

For me the most enjoyable parts of competing would be all the amazing people I've met and get to hang out with as well as getting to showcase the training you've done with the horses! I’ve met so many amazing people all involved in different disciplines, and we keep in contact outside of competitions. Some of my closest friends I've met through the horse industry, I feel very lucky. I also play basketball and other sports as I like to stay active.

I am very fortunate that my family are as obsessed with horses as I am. I really look up to my family as they have taught me so much, and it’s amazing to see what they have accomplished throughout their years in the industry. They have built an amazing farm, an extremely successful breeding program and great training program that I get to be a part of every day. I’d love to take over the family farm one day, as the horse industry is what I see my future in.

The best piece of advice, and it has really stuck with me over the years, is that it’s okay if you’re not the judges’ choice on the day.

Just keep your head up and ride on because there’s always another day and another competition to look forward to. You can only do your best, so be the best that you can be and be proud of that achievement.

ABOVE Jessica Dertell RIGHT Kody Dertell with Kilimanjaro

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KO DY D E R TE L L

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ody Dertell is currently 17 years old and like his sister Jessica, has been surrounded by the horses at Future Farms in Victoria for all 17 of those years. At only six years old, Kody won his first Australian Championship, leading the matriarch Bremervale Charmed (Desperado x Bremervale Deseree) to victory in the Purebred Shown by a Youth under 18 Years. From there, his show ring career has gone from strength to strength.

I have been competing horses my whole life. Literally, I was riding before I was born and never stopped! I’ve always loved Arabian horses because of their diversity and their exquisite appearance. I have been blessed to grow up on an Arabian breeding farm seeing beautiful horses all my life, and I just know that is what I want to continue to do in life. I would like to continue to work with horses in the future and see how far I can go. I don’t see myself working in another industry any time soon!

People often describe me as quirky, funny and laid back, and I suppose this is reflected in how I compete the horses.

I like to do anything from Western Show Riding and Working Stock Horse to horseback archery and shooting.

I do like halter showing though, and I have also competed in endurance and

I’m just getting into dressage now. It is lucky that I can do all of these events with the Arabian horses at home.

Prince Charming FF (Brumarbas Future x Bremervale Charmed) is definitely one of my favourite horses of all time.

He was my kid’s pony growing up and we did everything together. He was always good at what he did, whether it was showing, endurance, western or working stock horse. In 2018 we carried the Australian flag into the ring at the Australian Championships Opening Ceremony which was pretty awesome.

I have always loved Crave FF (Mash x Bremervale Charmed), however his son Volcom FF (ex Beguine OH) is my current favourite Arabian horse I am working with, and I’m having a lot of fun riding him. I now am also enjoying my new horse Kilimanjaro (Imp NL) who is a KWPN/API Warmblood stallion that I will be competing dressage and showing with once competitions start back up.

The thing I enjoy most about the Arab shows is the social aspect. Compared to other breeds, there is much more to do at Arab shows when the horses wrap up, like barn parties where everyone can

sit around and socialise. I enjoy the fact that most Arabian shows go for multiple days so we get to stay overnight.

After all these years of competing, the Arabian shows are like a home away from home for me, a second family. There are so many people I get to catch up with at shows. Having horses has definitely helped my social life, allowing me to meet and have friends not just locally, but nationally and internationally.

Apart from horses the only other sport I play is baseball which I have played both nationally and internationally.

I have been lucky to have many memorable moments with the horses, though winning Gold Champion Open Gelding at Equitana with Prince Charming FF would probably be best! Showing halter horses at Scottsdale Arabian Show in the USA last year was an incredible experience.

Success doesn’t come from what you do occasionally, it comes from what you do consistently, and I have been inspired by my parents’ dedication and what they have achieved with not only breeding, training and competing horses but through their passion for all things equine. I hope to continue Future Farms into the future, and so does my sister, so I hope we can make that work.

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MARIO BRAGA REMEMBERS M Y V I S IT S TO L E N ITA

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M

ario Braga is a native Brazilian, from the beautiful city of Rio de Janeiro. Horses have been his passion since his childhood. He and his family have been breeding Arabian horses since 1984. He is a certified Arabian horse judge in both Brazil and USA. His international judging includes the Arabian Breeders Finals in Scottsdale and the Ecuadorian National Show. His work as a writer includes the book The Arabian Horse in Brazil, dedicated to the 50 years of Brazilian Arabian Horse Association, as well as several articles in international Arabian horse magazines and blogs.

Neither was Ali Jamaal yet. It was probably 1985. Acácio Franco (her right hand man) along one of his lovely daughters received us. The chestnut stallion Hardun (Garbo x Orla II) was standing at the farm, recently imported from Spain. Acácio kindly let me ride him. It was such a thrill.

Mario writes ... Much has been written about Lenita Perroy for decades. There is probably very little left to report about Haras Meia Lua’s successful history over the years. Perhaps the only possible angle that could bring in a new light would be a personal testimony. And that’s what this is… reporting how much Lenita changed my life.

Then there were the magical mares: a group of recently imported females who were carefully selected to be bred to Ali Jamaal as soon as he arrived in Brazil.

They were all very similar in type, and there were twelve in total, if my memory serves me. They all had amazing bodies; were very feminine and had beautiful eyes. Mostly greys, they were daughters of El Hilal, Dalul, El Shaklan, Talal, Gai Parada, Ansata Ibn Halima, among others. Most of them (perhaps all of them) were bred to El Shaklan before they were brought to Brazil. Lenita loved El Shaklan who, by chance, was sold and imported to Brazil shortly after the mares’ arrival.

The first time I visited Haras Meia Lua I was with my father. Lenita wasn’t there.

That group founded the first mare families at Haras Meia Lua. Among

them were: Lydira El Shaklan (mother of Ludjin El Jamaal), Naharra (mother of Ninjah El Jamaal and Narah El Jamaal, both Brazilian National Champions), Bint Mokhema (dam of Miss El Jamaal, three time Brazilian National Champion), Talbreena (dam of U.S. Reserve Champion Mare Tulle El Jamaal), Rose of Cameo (grandmother to Brazilian leading sire of champions Ryad El Jamaal), SV Hileela (dam of National Champion Hilana El Jamaal) and Gai Ecstasy (dam of Eloise El Jamaal, Brazilian National Champion Mare).

At the end of the visit we were given a beautiful catalogue (I have kept all of the farm’s catalogues to this day) with all the mares’ pictures and their pedigrees. When we left that day, a part of my heart stayed.

The second time I visited was around 1987, once again with my father, and both Lenita and Jamaal were there this time.

By then, all of the breeders in Brazil were talking about Ali Jamaal’s arrival in the country. He was the first U.S. National

LEFT Lenita knew the names of all her horses by heart, as it should be RIGHT Jiullya El Jamaal (Ali Jamaal x Jullye El Ludjin) at 22 BELOW Lenita and Mario

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Halter Male Champion to be imported to Brazil at that point. He was to breed only ten outside mares for a very high stud fee, and each of the outside mares would have to be personally approved by Lenita.

It seemed like only moments after we arrived, but suddenly there he was before us: Ali Jamaal – majestic, well tempered (except when there were dogs around) and incredibly beautiful. His first Brazilian foals were about to hit the ground, and I nervously tried to chat with Lenita about her expectations. Lenita, very much like my father, was very private but also very polite.

I guess the fact that she was so similar to him made me understand and respect her way of interacting with others from the beginning. She showed us the horses in her famous manner, which was turning them loose for thirty seconds only. Over the years I learned that it was allowed to ask for extra time, which I did constantly.

Some years later I finally had a car and a driver’s licence. I would drive alone for five hours to visit her, back and forth from Rio, almost every year. I saw the first babies become national champions and the promise of Ali Jamaal as a sire became a reality. I tried to keep track of every new mare Lenita bought. The second big turn in her breeding program, in my opinion, was the addition of many daughters of Bey Shah who created a different look with Jamaal, if compared to the earlier mares.

Among them: NV Justa Dream (mother of Jullye El Ludjin and grand dam of Jullyen El Jamaal) and Perfectshahn SRA (dam of Pershahn, Perseus and Pierrete El Jamaal). This mare would be of particular interest to Australians as her son Perseus El Jamaal is the sire of Australian National Champion Stallion Saudi El Perseus.

I remember being in Scottsdale in the year Lenita bought Bey Serenade SF who became the show’s Reserve Champion Filly and then resold to Battle Hill Farm.

Many years later while walking with her in the pastures I asked Lenita if she had any regrets about selling a horse, to that she answered, ‘Bey Serenade SF’.

Throughout the years many other beautiful mares were added, including the extraordinary Elle Dorada (by Enzo out of Word Champion El Dorada), but

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perhaps the most amazing of all being the U.S. Reserve National Champion Mare Sonoma Lady, who in turn produced Dakar El Jamaal, U.S. National Champion Stallion. Dakar would go on to sire White Silkk, dam of Hariry Al Shaqab, and have a son imported to Australia, Maraj El Dakar, from Majalis (Ali Jamaal x Starilla). At my farm in Brazil, I was fortunate to have the full sister to Dakar, Dinorah El Jamaal as well as Jiuliusz De Wiec’s full sister Jinnah De Wiec.

During those times I was blessed with the possibility to travel to many places around the world to see horses. It seemed that no matter where I went, Lenita had also been there. That became a great topic for us to talk and break the silence during my visits to her. As I mentioned before the only possible subject of conversation was Arabian horses. That was her universe and mine, therefore I was completely happy with it.

Though Lenita became an internationally acclaimed breeder she never changed her ways with anyone. She was always humble, curious and authentic, and she did a lot of research. She believed that information was the greatest commodity.

ABOVE Mares at Haras Meia Lua. Photo by Marco Terranova RIGHT Saudi El Perseus (Perseus El Jamaal x Silk El Jamaal)

Every time I went to her farm she would ask my honest opinion about the horses I saw. She would do that with all her guests, and she really wanted to receive true feedback. By doing that she made me feel respected and included.

When the moment came to find a proper outcross for the Jamaal daughters Lenita travelled the world in search of the perfect choice. She was very specific with the traits she desired to add. She had a clear picture of the ideal horse she wanted to create. Before the frozen semen era, the only choice was to import a stallion, and so she imported several.

Among them were the stallions Litigator (Exelsjor x Bay Lady), Wawel (Eukaliptus x Wistula), BF Renaissance (Bey Shah

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

x BF Gaffi Silloette) and Debowiec (Monogramm x Debowka). They all left their contribution in her breeding program.

For line breeding there were always some excellent sons of Ali Jamaal, with Ludjin El Jamaal (from Lydira El Shaklan) being the undisputed favourite. He was once sold to Zichy Thyssen Arabians for some years, and Lenita bought him back and kept him as his father’s heir ever since. Then there were the breedings from international stallions in the later years, with very nice results.

After a lifetime of searching it is my opinion that she found the closest possible vision of her ideal stallion in El Jahez WH ( Jiuliusz De Wiec x Chilli Pepper V), a beautiful horse tracing to her own breeding program on both sides of his pedigree, with size and type but also with great movement and length of neck. He was named 2019 Brazilian National Champion Stallion and is now owned by a syndicate. But in any case, for me at least, nothing in over thirty years will ever match those amazing early foal crops of Ali Jamaal babies.

Despite all the normal ups and downs of life, my visits to Lenita felt like going to a different dimension, where time had its own path and I could always find tranquility. Whenever I called to schedule a visit, she would answer the phone in the same way. I could rely on the same rituals every time I went there: following the intricate map with directions and getting lost a couple of times until I finally arrived. Then I would step out of the car to open the unlocked gate myself, drive downhill to the main office and be greeted by the great gentleman, Acácio, still working at the farm after all these years.

After settling in, there was a brief welcome chat beside Lenita with a coffee pot and a tray of cookies, followed by a walk with her to the pastures. She knew the names of all her horses by heart, as it should be. We would then go back to the indoor paddock to watch the presentation of the horses, usually stallions, youngsters and sale horses.

Sometimes we would have lunch together depending on the schedule of other visits that day. That went on for thirty years.

Several years ago I wrote a book about the Arabian horse in Brazil. I dedicated

a chapter to her. She was present during the production of the photos at Haras Meia Lua and had the final word on the entire material. It felt good to be able to somehow express all of my gratitude to her through this work. It was by that time that I felt her health was starting to get frail.

A year later she called me and asked me if she could visit my farm and spend a day with me. After all those years! I could not have felt more honoured. I picked her up at the airport. We were able to talk for a couple of hours until we arrived at the farm, and then again on our way back…and we talked a lot. It felt that we caught up with those decades of laconic conversation. She spoke about her lifelong friendship with Doug Dahmen, Greg Gallun, George Z, the Roccos and Dr. Hans Nagel. We remembered our trips to Poland. She revered Dr. Ignacy Jaworoski from Michalow Stud and so did I. I was beyond grateful for the time we spent together, it felt unreal, somewhat imagined.

We arrived at the farm and went straight to see the horses. It was her turn to give her opinions. Just magic! She enjoyed very much our mare Jinnah De Wiec, a full sister to Jiuliusz De Wiec bred by her. We had lunch with my father, the three of us together once again, and then it was time to go back. I drove her to the airport, and we had coffee and chatted a bit more, and I didn’t want to leave. She said, ‘I think that’s enough.’ I agreed, and the day had already been more than I could ever dream.

I gave her a brief hug and then I left.

A year went by. I didn’t see her again, and now I realise that her visit was a way of saying goodbye. She considered me a friend after all, as much as she was for me. I felt I had earned her respect.

Today, many of the horses have been sold apart from a few older mares, which remain at the farm with farm manager Acácio, who has renamed it Monte Verde. The very fact that Lenita left the farm to Acácio, his home for many years, speaks volumes to me.

Lenita will live forever in my heart. The memory of the fields and the horses at Haras Meia Lua will always be in my mind.

There’s not much left to say, except for one thing – Thank you Lenita. For everything!

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BROOK FARM FABIAN & SUSAN HOPKINS

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usan Hopkins is an award winning teacher, writer and academic who also rides and competes on her own Arabian derivative show horses. Susan has competed successfully in Arabian saddle classes for decades and has always loved, and cared deeply for, her horses. Susan has also written many positive articles about Arabian show and endurance horses and their owners. In this article, she introduces us to her most treasured and successful partbred gelding, Brook Farm Fabian. Susan also offers some

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insightful and timely reflections on the joy and happiness Arabian horses and our caring community can provide.

Susan takes up the story ... Although I have always loved horses, I first encountered Arabian show horses at the Brisbane Royal Show, or as it was known back then, the Ekka. Like all the other horse obsessed preteen girls, I was wandering around those old stable blocks watching the glamorous show scene with wonder. ‘Do you think I will ever own a golden horse like that

one day?’ I remember whispering to my mother, as she held both my hand and mounds of forgotten pink fairy floss. It was, indeed, an impossible child’s dream, as my parents knew nothing about show horses and we lived in the suburbs. But years later, as a young adult, and with a successful career to fund me, I would ride my own golden Arabian derivative gelding at that Royal show, and many others.

I first spotted the palomino partbred Arabian gelding Brook Farm Fabian

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

(Chel-Pal-Lay Coolana Gold x Chel-PalLay Capri) at a local agricultural show. I knew nothing about him, but something about his calm, inquisitive posture and big, gentle eye really connected with me.

Forgetting my normal shyness, I marched right up and asked his owner at the time if he was for sale – he was! I rushed home to get my saddle to try him there and then.

Ironically, I did not buy Fabian to be a show pony, but he turned out to be perhaps the most fun and successful show horse I have ever owned. Brook Farm Fabian was born in 2004 and registered as both palomino and partbred Arabian. I was lucky enough to run into his actual breeder at a coloured horse show once and she was so friendly and supportive thereafter it made owning him even more fun over these many years.

What makes Fabian so special, I think, is his wonderful temperament. It is my personal belief that safety and temperament must always come first, especially in the consideration of a non-professional owner-rider who must make it to work the next day! I purchased Fabian initially as a paddock mate for my other champion derivative gelding. Unfortunately, that gelding did not much want to be friends with Fabian, and kept trying to reach over my very safe, electrified fencing to bite him!

The amazing thing is Fabian almost never puts his ears back, I can trust him to be gentle and kind with all the other people, horses and animals he meets. He never needs ‘working down’ and I cannot recall

him ever doing anything wrong or meanspirited to anyone. He is as calm in the show ring as he is at home, despite the fact I am almost always rushed and late for my ridden classes from sleeping-in! I feed my horses a lot – too much I am often told – but even on rich grain mixes and not much riding, his happy temperament never changes.

As an independent and busy career person, with an active social life outside horses, I only compete at a few shows a year – and only really to have some fun, enjoy the outdoors and stay fit. Yet over the years Fabian and I have enjoyed much success together in both Arabian derivative and palomino ridden classes. It would be tiresome to name them all, but here are some of our highlights which stand out in my memory: Champion Bridle Path Hack and Reserve Champion Hunter Hack 2014 Arabian TOTR (Top of the Range) show; Supreme Dilute under Saddle, 2013 Dilutes Australia Queensland Championships; 2014 QLD Horse of the Year Ridden Palomino, Dilutes QLD; 2014 Greater Moreton Promotion Group Champion Palomino Under Saddle 2014, Dilutes QLD; Champion Ridden Palomino 2014 Colourama show QLD; Champion Ridden Coloured Horse 2015 Ipswich show.

I don’t have time to indulge in showing as much as I used to, but my horses always live a life of luxury. As I write this, Fabian is watching me with bright and shining eyes, from where he relaxes under the jacaranda tree – he will always have a safe and

happy home here with me, on my peaceful little property in regional Queensland.

I have successfully campaigned several other lovely purebred and derivative geldings over decades of riding, including for example winning 2004 Champion Derivative Saddle Horse of the Year at the Queensland Arabian Horse of the Year Show on my Anglo. Obviously, I don’t have the paddock space to keep them all forever! But I do hope these much-loved horses and their current owners are doing well, especially in these changing times.

As I write this article, I am hearing the heartbreaking news of the many homes, lives, animals and hectares lost in the devastating bushfires – and all this comes for many Australians on top of floods, drought, feed and water shortages.

Almost everyone in our horse owning community now has been touched by, or knows someone who has been touched by, natural disasters and adversity, in rural and regional areas. It is indeed a sober reminder that we all need to continue to focus on the big picture issues – the responsible, fair and respectful way (ringside or online) – not just our own personal perspectives or obsessions.

Now more than ever, it is important for our community to prioritise caring, compassion, truth and understanding, not just for our beloved Arabian horses, but for other animals, other people and for the planet itself. How lucky we are to enjoy this life and country, let’s hope we can preserve it for future generations.

LEFT Susan Hopkins riding her much loved palomino partbred Arabian gelding Brook Farm Fabian (Chel-Pal-Lay Coolana Gold x Chel-Pal-Lay Capri).

Photo by Sue Crockett RIGHT Brook Farm Fabian is as calm in the show ring as he is at home

159

NEW HORIZONS FROM A WONDERFUL LEGACY M AT TI L DA A R A B I A N S

160

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

F

or Lynne Bunce, a serendipitous lunch time conversation has blossomed into a lifetime career and passion for the Arabian horse, taking her on a journey that most could only dream of. Well known for her involvement with legendary breeder Nola Cameron of Marbling Arabians, now Lynne is stepping forward with her own breeding program, Mattilda Arabians.

‘After leaving school I held a job in an office in Perth. One lunch time my colleagues were discussing a job advertised in The West Australian paper for help on an Arabian Stud, as there was a girl in the office looking for a new job. It probably took about ten seconds for me to decide to apply and consequently was employed by the Camerons in the spring of 1979.

My parents were away on holidays at the time, so there was no consulting with them about my decision. They were not pleased. I think the first child to fly the nest is hard on any parent,’ says Lynne.

Mrs Nola Cameron of Marbling Arabians began her purebred breeding program in 1971, purchasing a total of five fillies.

Of these fillies it was Regale (Fabulous x Renita) and Naiad (Sindh x Nejmet es Subh) who would establish the style of Arabian that would be bred at Marbling over the next five decades. The two mares were sent to a little known, yet very beautiful son of Silver Moonlight, Shermoon (ex Sherees) and not long after, his son Shahr Yagil (ex Kassida) was purchased, further cementing the Silver Moonlight influence within the stud.

‘Marbling was the perfect fit for me, I was intensely interested in the horses and enjoyed farm life very much. I was incredibly lucky in having an extremely experienced horse person in Mrs Helen McKinnon to guide activities in the first years. Helen was an English woman who had groomed and ridden for some top Australian Olympian riders, her knowledge and horsemanship were very sound.’

Lynne lived at the Marbling property, situated about 200km south of Perth in Arthur River, Western Australia, until her marriage to local farmer Kim Bunce in 1987. ‘My relationship with Mrs Cameron was from 1979 until her death in 2018. We spent countless hours together, she was

FAR LEFT Marbling Lutana (Marbling Nafara x Marbling Priscilla) ABOVE Marbling Nur (Naasser x Marbling Nicole) LEFT Naasser (Mustafa x Naadirah)

very interesting and most definitely not what those who didn’t know her assumed her to be. At the age of 13 she was expelled from school through non-attendance, so she was straight out on the machinery helping her father with the harvest. I never got the feeling that Nola was the slightest bit fazed about being expelled, she always described herself as being a “bit of a loner” and always preferred farm life.

‘There has been a lifetime of the most wonderful experiences and memories of amazing horses. A memory that has persisted and probably cemented my interest in Marbling and the Arabian horse would have to have been during the late summer of 1979, sitting on the ground out in the middle of a paddock in the orange glow of the evening with Mrs Cameron, looking at the foals

playing. There was a great interest in one filly in particular, Marbling Astara, the first foal of the home-bred stallion Simhasana. Astara was a little different from the rest of the foals, her body a little smoother, her neck lifted out of her shoulders higher and her top line level. Her descendants are still a part of our lives.

‘When Naasser (Mustafa imp x Naadirah imp) arrived at Marbling a whole new dimension of the Arabian horse came into our lives. He saw everything going on around him. He was kind, he was powerful, could move as quick as lightning and loved a quiet ride through the bush.

Nola adored him, and as his handler I had a wonderful relationship with him, he was the teacher and I the student. He is buried on a hill overlooking his sons and grandsons living in Mattilda’s stallion barn.’

161

Naasser was born in New South Wales at Hawley Arabians and went to Western Australia as a four-year-old. Nola purchased a half share in him soon after his arrival and in 1986 bought out the remaining share. Naasser was the last Arabian Mrs Cameron introduced into the stud. She used Naasser’s sons and daughters in an inspirational linebreeding program and successfully bred Naasser to his own daughters, producing horses of extreme beauty and athleticism.

As a young person Lynne was ‘mad keen’ on halter showing and lived to show the horses. ‘We showed a lot of the stud’s horses in the 80s and 90s with huge success, and always different horses.

Once a horse had won a championship award it would go back into the paddock and another would be chosen. Quite often a horse only went out once before retiring. I enjoyed riding, particularly the stallions, but only on the farm.’

162

The Australian National Championships has only once been hosted by Western Australia, in 1987. ‘From memory we presented three horses owned by Marbling, two young mares Marbling Nymph (Naasser x Naisha) and Marbling Lady Alicia (Naasser x Princess Akarna), and the chestnut stallion Marbling Rajah (Shahr Yagil x Silver Pride). The grey mare Marbling Nymph, true to her family was a bold mare who powered into the ring and the Australian Reserve Champion Mare Award. Marbling Lady Alicia was also true to her dam line, perfectly feminine and gentle. She was beautifully arched and soft in her way of going and was awarded a Top Ten Champion Mare.

‘Marbling Rajah was not only a lovely horse, he had his sire’s beautiful way of moving. He was a great show horse and had a funny little quirk which was very helpful in the show ring. I would stand in front of him ready for a stand up and

say “little bullfrog”, and he would snort and give a spectacular stand up! I have no idea how or why this started but it was pretty cool and extremely useful. He was also a Top Ten Champion Stallion.

‘We travelled twice to compete at the Australian Championships on the east coast, once to Sydney with the Naasser son Naathanael AP (out of Veronica imp) for a Top Ten Champion Stallion. The second time to Victoria with the stallion Marbling Nafara (Naasser x Marbling Naomi) and a colt Marbling Nicos (Naasser x Marbling Nicole). Marbling Nafara picked up some sort of skin mite at the showgrounds and although we cleared up the rash, he was not his bold, charismatic self on show day – a pity since he was a magnificent show horse. The young Marbling Nicos was awarded Top Ten Colt. Nicos matured into an almost replica of his great grandsire Aswan (Nazeer x Yosreia). Mrs Cameron bred some magnificent Arabians.’

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

Lynne decided exceedingly early in her employment not to have her own breeding program while working at Marbling. ‘There was too much of a conflict of interest to have a separate goal, and to be as successful as possible my focus must be Marbling. I did have riding geldings at times, and Nola gave me the Fenwick-bred mare Rigolette (Sindh x Renita) which I bred on sparingly and produced a lovely line of chestnut Arabians, but I always put the stud first.’

In the year 2000 Nola Cameron and the horses left the property called ‘Marbling’ and went to live with Lynne and Kim on their property ‘Billinga’, approximately 5km west of the original Marbling property.

‘She was with us for about five months before moving to the property called “La Sars”. She took most of the mares and some of the stallions with her but from that point Marbling Arabians essentially operated out of two different locations. As time went by all the stallions came to live with us and as

the foals born on “La Sars” were weaned, they came to us for handling and stayed.’

Over 25 years after the purchase of Naasser, Lynne introduced the next outcross bloodline into Marbling with Ralvon Pilot (Ralvon Pilgrim x Cathay). He was purchased in February 2009 as a paddock stallion for the older Marbling mares at La Sars and sired eight colts and three fillies.

Of those colts, Marbling Padulla (ex Marbling Penelope by Naasser) has been retained. ‘But for a slight mistake I made at the time of his registration that would not allow the horse to leave until all was in order, he would now be a resident of Queensland…I think it was fate. His sire line links directly to Skowronek (PL) and phenotypically he resembles his Silver Moonlight lines, the lines that are of course where Mrs Cameron started her breeding program, so Padulla is very important to us.’

LEFT Colts of Mattilda Arabians BELOW Marbling Padulla (Ralvon Pilot x Marbling Penelope)

From that time, several new mares were carefully interwoven into the breeding program, the first of which was Al Shama Nefertiri, sired by Simeon Stav (Asfour x Simeon Safanad) from Simeon Smadar (Imperial Madaar x Damirah). ‘She was leased specifically to visit Marbling Nur, a stallion by Naasser out of the Naasser daughter Marbling Nicole. Nur at that point did not have a key role in the breeding program and I was worried time would get away, he is such a magnificent horse.

The resulting filly Bibi’Arna is superb and fits with the style of horse we breed.

She injured herself as a youngster and I mentally wiped her as a broodmare prospect, and upon recent veterinarian investigation she has been deemed in excellent health and will be bred this year.’

In 2011 the straight Egyptian mare Joda Alise ( Joda Aly Dhahr x AR Bint Ghazala) joined the herd. ‘She was an exquisite mare and as Nola said, “could be especially useful within the breeding program”.’ Alise’s story has yet to unfold.

Her son Nejiv by Marbling Nejm (Naasser x Marbling Priscilla by Naasser) has been retained as a future sire and Lynne is confident he will be held in high esteem.

The last new bloodline to be incorporated into the Marbling program was the imported mare Rusleema (Rusleem x Sunne in Silver). Rusleema was leased in September 2015 and brings another set of genetics to the breeding program, being of predominantly Crabbet bloodlines and a dash of Estopa through her son El Shaklan and daughter Estasha. She has produced a colt by Marbling Nemo (Naasser x Marbling Nicole) and two daughters by Marbling Nur (Naasser x Marbling Nur).

‘Nola and I would talk for hours about horses. As for advice, there was always plenty flowing, even at the last we had lengthy discussions on which of the young stallions to keep and what they would do for the stud. She lamented the fact that she would not see the next generations.’

As with many Australian breeders, the new millennium brought dryer times and a little more instability to their local district.

Although Lynne kept the stud together and her enjoyment never wavered, her focus at that time was her family’s farming enterprise.

163

‘It is now time for the horses,’ she says.

Upon the death of Nola Cameron in 2018, Lynne inherited the entire Marbling herd. ‘Most of the horses were with us on “Billinga Farm”, and Nola had six mares with her at “La Sars” when she passed away. I had already mentally called these six “retired” a few years ago, as it was physically impossible for me to care for aged mares in foal or with a foal at foot in a proper manner as it would mean a 160km round trip each day. Neither was I prepared to suggest to Mrs Cameron the mares move to “Billinga”. After Nola’s passing, and with the help of a friend, we loaded them onto a cattle truck as none of the mares had ever floated and brought them home to “Billinga”, then

walked them 3.5km through the property to join their daughters at “Myrtle Hill”.’

When asked about her new stud name, Lynne candidly replies, ‘I had no idea what stud name to carry on with and chose Mattilda in honour of two German friends Jule Porath and Minte Poppel, who have been constant supporters since the mid 2000s. Mattilda is a very Australian name with its origins in Germany. The double T was simply because that was the only way I could get the name.’

Today, Mattilda Arabians has descendants from the three mares Nola Cameron based her stud on, Naisha (Shahr Yagil x Naiad), Princess Akarna (Shermoon x Regale) and Sarai (Shermoon x Regale),

LEFT Marbling Ningaloo (Marbling Nur x Marbling Amanda) combines the blood of Naasser with Ralvon Pilot.

Photo by Karsten Scherling BELOW Marbling Adora, Bibi’Arna and Marbling Neva.

Photo by Karsten Scherling

and continue to guide each family. Each individual family, although sharing a similar phenotype, bring their own special attributes to the breeding program, for example Sarai’s descendants all share a practically low resting heart rate.

‘There are three pieces of advice I adhere to; “the mares are the stud”, “the way forward is not always simple in a breeding program, sometimes you have to take a step sideways to be able to move forward” and “a slightly longer back is acceptable in a mare, but never in a stallion”. These pieces of advice have guided me through my journey and I have found each to be profoundly important,’ says Lynne.

In May this year Marbling Padulla’s first filly out of Marbling A’Mala (Naasser x Marbling Amelia) was born. ‘Nola never got to see these foals; I think she would have been quietly pleased.

‘Nola Cameron has left a wonderful legacy for Australian Arabian breeders, horses of extreme athletic ability without any loss of Arabian type and an added bonus of being free of the three genetic diseases (LFS, SCIDS, CA). In a recent conversation with a potential client it was said to me that this breeding program is possibly one of the best genetic pools within Australia, maybe even the world,’ says Lynne.

‘At the inception of Marbling Arabians it was Nola’s intention to breed a horse capable of traveling 100 miles in winning time or to compete and be triumphant at Arabian shows at the highest level Australia has to offer. It is my vision and undertaking to continue producing the same qualities in the Arabian horse under the banner of Mattilda.’

Where once Lynne delighted in the fun of the show ring, she now spends her time researching pedigrees and studying horses. ‘I have had the reins of this breeding program for a little while now, but since Nola’s death I have become a lot more cautious in my decisions. The introduction of the four outcross horses over the last years has provided us with the way forward, and I am so excited about the future of this Arabian breeding program and so very blessed to be able to share the rest of my life with them.’

164

NA ASSER x MARBLING NICOLE

MATTILDA ARABIANS AUSTRALIA Young Stock Available LYNNE BUNCE | 289 Cuthbert Road, Bokal Western Australia, 6392 | 0429 939 937 | mattildaarabians@bigpond.com

MATTILDAARABIAN.COM

g n i t a r eC leb

OUR BELOVED ARABIAN HORSE Journey through the 230 year history of Australasia’s Arabian Horses C OPIE S AVA IL ABL E

Contact ARABIAN HORSE SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA P: 02 4577 5366 E: receipts@ahsa.asn.au

Hoofprints in History STUART VESTY

Hoofprints in History PETER POND

Hoofprints in History

SPARAGOWSKI

ofprints in History

M Angelique when shown.

Ansata El Shahwan (US).

27 Ibn Galal-5 was the first A

PETER POND

The celebrated stallion Shahzada.

Karmaa with Greg, Julie and Jane Farrell.

Hansan (US).

TANYA HAWLEY

Prince Nejd was added to Tehama Stud in 1933.

Mr. A. J. McDonald of Tehama Stud.

Forest Hill Stud imported the handsome, royally-bred Prince Fa Moniet from Ansata Arabian Stud.

Al Karim Sirhalima (US).

Shahzada’s grandson, The Shah, was a successful show horse.

The imported straight Egyptian stallion, Fayrid.

A treasured dam line is that of Mulawa Chance.

Another of Shahzada’s grandsons, Zadaran, was a notable show horse and sire.

Simeon Shuala (left) with daughters Simeon Suzannah and Simeon Shiraz.

Genghis Khan was a well-known son of Shahzada.

An early Arab imported from India in 1896 was the successful racehorse Magistrate. He was later sold to another early Australian breeder, Samuel Winter Cooke. Artwork by Jill Vanstone.

New Zealand judge Kevin Cholmondeley-Smith (left) with Dick Best of Newbridge Stud.

Mr Joseph (Jos) Jelbart.

Shareefa’s daughter Tarong Bint Shareefa (pictured) was the dam of the 1990 Australian Champion, Tarong Shahgig.

Mr Jelbart obtained the eminent Shahzada son, Sirdar.

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Omayma’s daughter Suddona with US judge Sheila Varian.

Arabian Park Egyptian Magnetic (pictured) sired Princeton, an influential endurance sire.

Simeon Shirli with Marion Richmond.

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Anaza Bay Shahh was a celebrated Simeon stallion.

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

AU S TR A L I A’ S L E A D I N G

ENDURANCE HORSES COMPILED BY DAVID GILLETT

LEFT Diamond R Turbo at Shahzada with rider/owner Lainie Ray. Photo by Jo Arblaster ABOVE Henley Farm Islah ridden by Gina Thompson.

Photo by Sarah Sullivan Position

Horse

Sire

Dam

Sire of Dam

Sex

Breed

Arabian %

Distance

HEAVYWEIGHT 1

Unreg. Part Arab

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Gelding

Part Arab

N/A

1020

2

Unreg. Anglo

Abbeywood Montague

Ramoor (ASB)

Stride Easy

Gelding

Anglo Arab

50%

923

3

Diamond-R Turbo

Donmana

Diamond R Casey

Unknown

Gelding

Part Arab

50%

880

4

Aloha Dash

Arabian Park Desert Dashar

Aloha Kalili

Aloha Rostrum (Aloha Zar x Aloha Rosalia)

Mare

Purebred

100%

724

4

Arabesque Abdul

Win D Fortitude

Arabesque Bronze Medallion

Solid Gold (AQHA)

Gelding

Arabian Stockhorse

15%

724

6

Fonda

Brujo MF

Sugar Rain

Unknown

Mare

Andalusian

0%

720

7

Redline Heaven Can Wait

Andaman

Cashaan Elnika

Barabadeen Fortune (Talisman (DE) x Fama (DE)

Mare

Arabian Warmblood

50%

651

8

Owata Park Amirah

Windella Wings of Gold

Ja-rob Shaarness

Eastwinds Monsaar (Simeon Sa’ar x Eastwinds Monietta)

Mare

Purebred

100%

640

9

Ausden Nile Prins

Ausden Picasso

Ausden Nile Princess

Linden Nile Star (Ansata Ibn Sudan x Ansata Nile Joy)

Gelding

Purebred

100%

604

10

Peppermint Park Neo

Marbling Nejm

Albeja Mystique

Kahawa (Masafi Melachi x Santarabia Alenha)

Gelding

Purebred

100%

563

Gelding

Purebred

100%

1372

Mare

Part Arab

50%

969

MIDDLEWEIGHT 1

Unreg. Arab

Eleazar Ashaar

Eleazar Serenity

Karumba Viceroy (Ralvon Traveller x Faraway Vega)

2

Unreg. Derivative

Dyarah Park Astarh

Unknown

Unknown

3

Gray-Gun Vanharlen

Khadi

Aradean Fantasia

Royalund Jameel (Al Borg Jarim x Colmarem K Charisma)

Gelding

Purebred

100%

964

4

Macrocarpa Red Bull

Chip Chase Sadaqa

Razorback Blue Rhapsody

Milora Park Blue Fire exp FR (Tallangatta Silver Domino x Linden Lady Di)

Stallion

Part Arab

75%

900

5

Arabika Cue Tee

Westhope Park Shakaan

Arabika Bonus

Salich Nahida (Classic Prince x Yamegi Ninmah)

Gelding

Anglo Arab

88%

885

6

Unreg. Part Arab

N/A

N/A

N/A

Mare

Part Arab

N/A

884

7

Creswick Magdaleenah

Trystan Bobbi Dazzlah

Creswick Martinique

Fenwick Regal Glow (Sindh x Renita)

Mare

Arabian

100%

862

167

Australia’s Leading Endurance Horses (contd)

Horse

Sire

Dam

Sire of Dam

Sex

Breed

Arabian %

Distance

MIDDLEWEIGHT continued 8

Veloce Finale

Centre Braveheart

Veloce Orlando

Unknown

Gelding

Part Arab

50%

840

9

Wongawol Legend

Shartan

Diamond Tale Desert Rose

Unknown

Gelding

Waler

0%

808

10

Halo Rhapsody in Blue

Mount Sunrise Shimmer

Niarla Elia Shaklan

Abu Shaklan (SK Shakla Khan x Joda Excitation)

Gelding

Purebred

100%

803

Stallion

Purebred

100%

1168

LIGHTWEIGHT 1

Duo Park Royal Son

Shamaria

Fahyritzih

Tempest (Razaz x Floralia)

2

Henley Farm Islah

Henley Farm Kudra

Henley Farm Kislan

Khemo Royalty (Gai Fortune x Princess Amadiyah)

Mare

Purebred

100%

1101

3

Everon Park Apollo

Everon Park Debonaire

Everon Park Calamara

Eviron Excalibur (Dominaxy x Talmia Taminie)

Gelding

Purebred

100%

1045

4

Kholonial Farrington

Abrock Maestro

Mandala Femme Fatale

Scimitar Zardan (Scimitar Rudan x Zadita)

Gelding

Purebred

100%

960

5

Greywood Magenta

Shades of Grey

Rhamon-Peatite

El Sherif Nazir (Ansata El Sherif x Yasmina)

Mare

Purebred

100%

882

6

Noran Maxamillion

Mister Max

Noran Mashona

Mashour (Mehanna x Bint Shahbaa)

Gelding

Purebred

100%

880

7

Deep Forest El Kahdahr

Khardo Mordo Khassim Bey

Kargre Tiendi

Ambitious (Ambition x Sumiya)

Gelding

Purebred

100%

801

8

Dunbar Magnolia

GR Nafees (DE)

Dunbar Mahalia

Mahaan (Mahabi El Shaklan x Rashaani)

Mare

Purebred

100%

800

9

Shakari Bear

Polar Bear

Shamara

NRF

Mare

Appaloosa

0%

760

10

Marbling Galaxy

Marbling Star of the East

Marbling N'Shala

Naasser (Mustafa x Naadirah)

Gelding

Purebred

100%

720

1

Unreg. Part Arab

Santiago KEI

Duo Park Sundat

Lawes Uriah (Somerled x Harmonia)

Gelding

Part Arab

75%

1040

2

Ramalea Magnum

Linden Sarama

Ramalea Heidi

Shah-Zamir (Ansata El Shahwan x Shahrazad)

Gelding

Purebred

100%

883

3

Coolinda Park Sheeza Doll

WH Zmanor E (US)

Coolinda Park Hello Dolly

Chronicle DV (Wiersz x Cosmopollytan)

Mare

Purebred

100%

880

4

Echo Jamaal

Gai El Jullyen

De-Sharvarll Dimonds

Simeon Sayter (Anaza Bay Shahh x Simeon Setami)

Stallion

Purebred

100%

822

5

Concerto

Count Crysdafa

Cameo Coquette

Cedardell Zanzibar (Somerled x Zaria)

Mare

Purebred

100%

804

5

Nirvana

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

Gelding

ASH

0%

804

7

Silverbow Taliah

Monkey-MountainJim-Bay

Aloha Arctic Opal

Talquak Talik (Royal Domino x Quickstep)

Mare

Part Arab

93.75%

724

8

Abberlyn Park Astanna

Fen

Lindall Asta

Mephisto (The General x Scimitar Mantilla)

Mare

Purebred

100%

643

JUNIOR

9

Unreg. Arabian

Karumba Vigo

Jaroc Beautiful

Dara Bronze (Ivan x Bronzia)

Gelding

Purebred

100%

640

10

Flemingo Papilion

Eastwinds Axultation

Ramalea Salama

Summerland Silver Count (Silver Count x Jilian)

Mare

Purebred

100%

561

Mare

Purebred

100%

1182

100% COMPLETIONS (ALL DIVISIONS)

168

1

Henley Farm Islah

Henley Farm Kudra

Henley Farm Kislan

Khemo Royalty (Gai Fortune x Princess Amadiyah)

2

Veloce Finale

Centre Braveheart

Veloce Orlando

Unknown

Gelding

Part Arab

50%

1160

3

Arabika Cue Tee

Westhope Park Shakaan

Arabika Bonus

Salich Nahida (Classic Prince x Yamegi Ninmah)

Gelding

Anglo Arab

88%

1045

3

Kholonial Farrington

Abrock Maestro

Mandala Femme Fatale

Scimitar Zardan (Scimitar Rudan x Zadita)

Gelding

Purebred

100%

1045

5

Unreg. Part Arab

Santiago KEI

Duo Park Sundat

Lawes Uriah (Somerled x Harmonia)

Gelding

Part Arab

75%

1040

6

Unreg. Part Arab

NA

NA

NA

Mare

Part Arab

NA

964

7

Greywood Magenta Shades of Grey

Rhamon-Peatite

El Sherif Nazir (Ansata El Sherif x Yasmina)

Mare

Purebred

100%

960

8

Unreg. Anglo

Abbeywood Montague

Ramoor (ASB)

Stride Easy

Gelding

Anglo Arab

50%

923

9

Musical Gully Comedia

Mill Park Hale

Musical Guly Sonata

Kharine Rasim (Ruberto x Oswira)

Mare

Purebred

100%

921

10

Macrocarpa Red Bull

Chip Chase Sadaqa

Razorback Blue Rhapsody

Milora Park Blue Fire exp FR (Tallangatta Silver Domino x Linden Lady Di)

Stallion

Part Arab

75%

900

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

2020 LEADING SIRES

OF CHAMPIONS COMPILED BY DAVID GILLETT The following pages represent in numbers, an analysis of the most successful bloodlines currently on the Arabian show scene.

Based on results from leading A, AA and AAA class shows in our study, the points on the following charts are awarded as follows: Gold or Championship – 10 points; Silver or Reserve Champion – 7 points; Bronze Champion – 5 Points; Top Ten or Placing – 2 points.

Classes in this study include all age group halter classes, and excludes speciality classes such as Classic Head or Classic Trot, or any jackpot or sweepstakes events. The ridden section is calculated from Ridden Breed classes only and does not include for example Bridle Path Hack or Western, yet it does include Ridden Purebred Mare etc.

The results have been deemed correct as supplied, and we do not make any claim that the horses represented here are ranked in other systems than which we describe in these pages.

Some shows previously used in this study are absent this year due to results not being delivered, or the show being cancelled for the season.

RIGHT Allegiance MI (Magnum Forty Four x Audacia)

169

Based on results from leading A, AA & AAA class shows in our study, the points on the following charts are awarded as follows:

Gold/Championship – 10 points Silver/Reserve Champion – 7 points

Bronze Champion – 5 points Top Ten/Placing – 2 points

2020 LEADING SIRES OF PUREBRED CHAMPIONS NEW SOUTH WALES

2019 NSW State Titles, 2019 National Stud Show, 2020 East Coast Championships Champion

Reserve

Top Ten/ Place

Total

5

4

3

84

Marwan Al Shaqab (Gazal Al Shaqab x Little Liza Fame)

4

1

0

47

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Desperado (WN Dasjmir (US) x Bremervale Aquarius)

2

3

2

45

Magnum Forty Four (US)

Magnum Psyche x WH Nashahna

Bey Shah (Bay El Bey x Star Of Ofir)

3

1

2

41

Hun (PL)

Gazal Al Shaqab x Hula

Penthagonn (Pasat x Panela)

2

2

2

38

Volcom FF

Crave FF x Beguine OH

Versace (Fame VF x Precious As Gold)

3

0

2

34

MI Klassique

Klass x Mustang’s Magnum

Magnum Forty Four (Magnum Psyche x WH Nashahna)

2

2

0

34

DP Aryan El Jamal

MF Aryan El Thessa x Ella Noura

El Nabila B (Kubinec x 218 Elf Layla Walayla B)

2

1

2

31

Simeon Shifran

Asfour x Simeon Shavit

Anaza Bay Shahh (Shaikh Al Badi x Bint Deenaa)

2

0

4

28

Simeon Seifan

Simeon Shifran x CM Moussameh

Mulayh Ibn Maareesa (Ansata Shah Zaman x Maareesa)

0

3

3

27

Champion

Reserve

Top Ten/ Place

Total

Name

Sire x Dam

Sire of Dam

Allegiance MI

Magnum Forty Four x Audacia

Parkview Audacious (TS Al Malik x Aliha Bint Nizr)

Echos of Marwan (US)

Marwan Al Magnifficoo x PS Kashmir

Crave FF

VICTORIA/TASMANIA – 2019 VIC Championships, 2019 VIC Classic, 2020 TCAG

170

Name

Sire x Dam

Sire of Dam

Pshalomar (US)

Shanghai EA x MC Psynammon

Psymadre (Padrons Psyche x Tomorrows Dream)

3

2

0

44

Allegiance MI

Magnum Forty Four x Audacia

Parkview Audacious (TS Al Malik x Ailha Bint Nizr)

2

1

0

27

Taywoona Qariim

Dynasty Qatama x Samiha

Arabian Prk Faraz (Farazdac x Sabah El Kheir)

2

0

0

20

Avondale Cruise

Crave FF x Avondale Grace

Avondale Eclipse ( Jantason Cass Ibn Rish x Avondale Elite)

1

1

1

19

Boomori Kahlua

Chip Chase Kaiwanna x Dandaloo Baylanie

Boyar (Sindh x Balsora)

1

1

1

19

El Chall WR (US)

Magnum Chall HVP x Major Love Affair

DS Major Afire (Afire Bey V x SS Magnolia)

1

1

1

19

Spades LRA

DA Valentino x Serenata El Jamaal

Parys El Jamaal (Ali Jamaal x FF Pavielle)

1

1

1

19

Khozmonaut

Gai Fortune x Princess Argonaut’s Laura

Argonaut (Argos x Cheran)

1

1

0

17

Al Kha-zar (US)

Thee Asil x Infidels Princess

Thee Infidel (Thee Desperado x Bint Magidaa)

1

0

2

14

Chelleason Crown Jewel

Gai El Jullyen x Sophia WV

Falcon BHF (Bey Shahh x Bey Serenade)

1

0

2

14

Maharaja HDM

Marajj x Miss Yahsminah Elamal

Antar Elmal WN (RSD Dark Victory x Ghary)

0

2

0

14

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

QUEENSLAND, SOUTH AUSTRALIA & WESTERN AUSTRALIA

2019 Challenge, 2019 TOTR, 2020 WA Championships, 2019 SA Championships Champion

Reserve

Top Ten/ Place

Total

Falcon BHF (Bey Shah x Bey Serenade)

3

1

5

47

Marwan Al Shaqab x Pyschesheiress

Padrons Psyche (Padron x Kilika)

3

1

4

45

Allegiance MI

Magnum Forty Four x Audacia

Parkview Audacious (TS Al Malik x Aliha Bint Nizr)

1

3

2

35

Echos of Marwan (US)

Marwan Al Magnifficoo x PS Kashmir

Marwan Al Shaqab (Gazal Al Shaqab x Little Liza Fame)

2

1

2

31

Sadiks Psyche

Padrons Psyche x Serdika

Simeon Sadik (Asfour x Simeon Safanad)

2

1

0

27

DA Valentino (US)

Versace x DA Love

Padrons Psyche (Padron x Kilika)

2

0

1

22

Fames Presence

Fame Maker x Presence

GLF Apollo (Diamond Padron x Per Brio)

2

0

0

20

Trussardi (US)

Stival x Prescious As Gold

El Shaklan (Shaker El Masri x Estopa)

2

0

0

20

Crave FF

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Desperado (WN Dasjmir (US) x Bremervale Aquarius)

1

1

1

19

Renaissance

Chelleason Crown Jewel x Bacchante Evangeline

Espakhan (SK Shakla Khan x Hazeldean Esperanza)

1

1

0

17

Makers Mark

Fame Maker R X Karmaa

Kaborr (Nabor x Bint Kholameh)

1

0

2

14

Top Fancy Make My Day

Fame Make R x Top Fancy Mazahar

Ricardo (Sindh x Ringlet)

0

2

0

14

Name

Sire x Dam

Sire of Dam

Chelleason Crown Jewel

Gai El Jullyen x Sophia WV

RHR Heir of Marwan (US)

2020 AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS Name

Sire x Dam

Sire of Dam

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Top Ten

Total

Allegiance MI

Magnum Forty Four x Audacia

Parkview Audacious (TS Al Malik x Aliha Bint Nizr)

3

3

1

1

58

Echos of Marwan (US)

Marwan Al Magnifficoo x PS Kashmir

Marwan Al Shaqab (Gazal Al Shaqab x Little Liza Fame)

2

0

0

0

20

Sir Charmed FF

SF Sir Real (US) x Bremervale Charmed

Desperado (WN Dasjmir (US) x Bremervale Aquarius)

1

1

0

1

19

Magnum Forty Four (US)

Magnum Psyche x WH Nashahna

Bey Shah (Bay El Bey x Star Of Ofir)

1

0

1

2

19

Volcom FF

Crave FF x Beguine OH

Versace (Fame VF x Precious As Gold)

1

0

1

0

15

Ulysium (US)

JA Urbino x Marc of Ali CBA

QR Marc (Marwan Al Shaqab x Swete Dreams)

1

0

0

1

12

Klass

TS Al Malik x Karmaa

Kaborr (Nabor x Bint Kholameh)

1

0

0

1

12

LC Prince Magnum

Magnum Psyche x Ludy El Shahller HMR

Shahhlenger (Bey Shah x Wind Feature)

0

0

2

0

10

Simeon Seifan

Simeon Shifran x CM Moussameh

Mulayh Ibn Maareesa (Ansata Shah Zaman x Maareesa)

0

0

2

0

10

Marwan Al Shaqab (QT)

Gazal Al Shaqab x Little Liza Fame

Fame VF (Bey Shahh x Raffoleta-Rose)

1

0

0

0

10

Marbling Star of the East

Naasser x Princess Arkana

Shermoon (Silver Moonlight exp US/Imp UK x Sherees)

1

0

0

0

10

171

OVERALL LEADING SIRES OF PUREBRED CHAMPIONS Combining the overall points from each of the charts, we present the current Leading Sires of Purebred Champions in Australia

Gold

Silver/ Reserve

Bronze

Top Ten/ Places

Total Points

Parkview Audacious (TS Al Malik x Aliha Bint Nizr)

9

11

1

6

184

Marwan Al Magnifficoo x PS Kashmir

Marwan Al Shaqab (Gazal Al Shaqab x Little Liza Fame)

9

2

0

3

110

Chelleason Crown Jewel (AU)

Gai El Jullyen x Sophia WV

Falcon BHF (Bey Shah x Bey Serenade SF)

4

3

0

8

77

3

Crave FF (AU)

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Desperado (WN Dasjmir x Bremervale Aquarius)

3

4

1

7

77

5

6

Magnum Forty Four (US)

Magnum Psyche x WH Nashahna

Bey Shah (Bay El Bey x Star Of Ofir)

4

1

1

8

68

5

21

Volcom FF (AU)

Crave FF x Beguine OH

Versace (Fame VF x Precious As Gold)

5

1

1

3

68

7

14

Pshalomar (US)

Shanghai EA x MC Psynammon

Psymadre (Padrons Psyche x Tomorrows Dream)

4

2

0

3

60

8

31

RHR Heir of Marwan (US)

Marwan Al Shaqab x Pyschesheiress

Padrons Psyche (Padron x Kilika)

3

2

0

5

54

9

N/A

Ulysium (US)

JA Urbino x Marc of Ali CBA

QR Marc (Marwan Al Shaqab x Swete Dreams)

4

1

0

2

51

10

34

Hun (PL)

Gazal Al Shaqab x Hula

Penthagonn (Pasat x Panela)

2

2

0

4

42

11

2

Klass (AU)

TS Al Malik x Karmaa

Kaborr (Nabor x Bint Kholameh)

1

3

0

5

41

11

N/A

MI Klassique (AU)

Klass x Mustang’s Magnum

Magnum Forty Four (Magnum Psyche x WH Nashahna)

2

3

0

0

41

13

11

DA Valentino (US)

Versace x DA Love

Padrons Psyche (Padron x Kilika)

3

1

0

1

39

14

N/A

Simeon Seifan (AU)

Simeon Shifran x CM Moussameh

Mulayh Ibn Maareesa (Ansata Shah Zaman x Maareesa)

0

3

2

3

37

15

N/A

Bey Ambition (US)

Regal Actor x Bey Shahs Lady

Bey Shah (Bey El Bey x Star of Ofir)

3

0

1

0

35

16

N/A

DP Aryan El Jamal (AU)

MF Aryan El Thessa x Ella Noura

El Nabila B (Kubinec x 218 Elf Layla Walayla B)

2

1

0

2

31

16

4

Sir Charmed FF (AU)

SF Sir Real (US) x Bremervale Charmed

Desperado (WN Dasjmir (US) x Bremervale Aquarius)

2

1

0

2

31

18

N/A

EKS Alihandro (ZA)

Marwan Al Shaqab x OFW Psylhouette

Padrons Psyche (Padron x Kilika)

2

1

0

1

29

18

16

Taywoona Qariim (AU)

Dynasty Qatama x Samiha

Arabian Prk Faraz (Farazdac x Sabah El Kheir)

2

1

0

1

29

20

34

Simeon Shifran (AU)

Asfour x Simeon Shavit

Anaza Bay Shahh (Shaikh Al Badi x Bint Deena)

2

0

0

4

28

20

9

Spades LRA (US)

DA Valentino x Serenata Eljamaal

Parys El Jamaal (Ali Jamaal x FF Pavielle)

1

2

0

2

28

22

29

Al Kha-zar (US)

Thee Asil x Infidels Princess

Thee Infidel (Thee Desperado x Bint Magidaa)

1

1

0

5

27

22

20

Sadik’s Psyche (AU)

Padrons Psyche x Serdika

Simeon Sadik (Asfour x Simeon Safanad)

2

1

0

0

27

22

N/A

WH Justice (US)

Magnum Psyche x Von Sher-renea

El Sher-mann (El Shaklan x Gazira)

2

1

0

0

27

25

17

Jadaan Al Shaqab (QA)

Ashhal Al Rayan x Torfa Al Shaqab

Al Adeed Al Shaqab (Ansata Halim Shah x Sundar Alisayyah)

1

2

0

1

26

Position

2019 Position

1

Name

Sire x Dam

Sire of Dam

1

Allegiance MI (AU)

Magnum Forty Four x Audacia

2

19

Echos of Marwan (US)

3

13

3

For the second year running, Mulawa’s homebred Allegiance MI has topped our Leading Stallions chart. He is followed by Echos of Marwan (US), who has jumped from number 19 in 2019, and in third Chelleason Crown Jewel makes a triumphant return to the top ten. For the first time this year we are including a column that notes where each stallion appeared on the 2019 Leading Stallions chart. We have a total of seven stallions who are either new to the chart or did not feature at all during the 2019 season.

172

CHAMPIONSHIPS

A total of 133 stallions gained points in the survey, meaning they sired at least one award winner. This is up from 115 different stallions that contributed to the chart in last year’s edition. Twelve of the 25 Leading Sires were born in Australia, and interestingly there are three father and son pairs, as well as one pair of maternal siblings. Eight of the Top 25 were imported from overseas. Five of the Top 25 stallions are Straight Egyptian, one is Polish, while the rest do not belong to a particular geographical group.

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

2020 LEADING SIRES OF DERIVATIVE CHAMPIONS NEW SOUTH WALES

2019 NSW State Titles, 2019 National Stud Show, 2020 East Coast Championships Purity

Champion

Reserve

Top Ten/ Place

Points

Purebred

100%

17

3

2

195

Maf-ue Enticer x On The Table

Anglo Arabian

50%

5

1

14

85

Ray of Light

Amaki’s Impressionist x Amaki’s Golden Imp

Part Arabian

75.8%

5

2

4

72

Harmony Hill Anakin

Arundel House Armani x Harmony Hill Imagine

Arabian Riding Pony

52.59%

4

1

7

61

Trincada Strike

Pinelodge Pride x Simeon Classic

Arabian Pony

63%

2

4

1

50

SF Sir Real (US)

Sir Fames HBV x Veronica GA

Purebred

100%

2

3

4

49

Fever FF

Crave FF x Double TT Fevia

Arabian Warmblood

59.8%

3

1

2

41

Nalla Casanova

Mystica Sagali x Escarda Summer Luvin

Purebred

100%

2

3

0

41

Shakla’s Eclipse

SK Shakla Khan x Trystan Bandamira

Purebred

100%

3

1

2

41

Belvedere Watch The Paint

VP Watchs De Ja Vu x Belvedere Mega Bucks

Paint

0%

4

0

0

40

Chelleason Crown Jewel

Gai El Jullyen (US) x Sophia WV (US)

Purebred

100%

3

1

0

37

Regalbrook Royal Edition

Syon Royal Portrait x Colours of Artsworth

Arabian Riding Pony

13.78%

3

1

0

37

Gold N Wings

Fame Maker R x On Angels Wings

Purebred

100%

0

4

2

32

Name

Sire x Dam

Breed

Crave FF

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Tathren Strong Persuader

VICTORIA/TASMANIA – 2019 VIC Championships, 2019 VIC Classic, 2020 TCAG Purity

Champion

Reserve

Top Ten/ Place

Points

Purebred

100%

8

0

3

86

Karlana Say Farewell x Keira Park Amber

Arabian Riding Pony

32.7%

1

3

0

31

Spades LRA (US)

DA Valentino x Serenata Eljamaal

Purebred

100%

3

0

0

30

Aratahnes Excalibur

Aratahnes Acclaim x Aratahnes Elated

Part Arabian

62%

2

1

1

29

Avondale Cruise

Crave FF x Avondale Grace

Purebred

100%

2

1

1

29

Mister Montana

Gallymont Cee Cee Cisco x Montana Miss

Paint

0%

2

1

1

29

SF Sir Real (US)

Sir Fames HBV x Veronica GA

Purebred

100%

1

2

0

24

Trincada Strike

Pinelodge Pride x Simeon Classic

Arabian Pony

63%

0

3

0

21

Arabec Touch of Legacy

Arabec Razikhs Legacy x Sabtah Ashanti

Part Arabian

87.5%

2

0

0

20

Buckwell Park Heir Apparent

Florentijn x Buckwell Park Alabama

Arabian Warmblood

3.96%

2

0

0

20

Concherto FF

Burren-dah The Wizard x Aloha Symphony

Anglo Arabian

62.5%

2

0

0

20

Echos of Marwan (US)

Marwan Al Magnifficoo x PS Kashmir

Purebred

100%

2

0

0

20

Elusive Bey

Sunshine Bey x Dante Shahtiya

Purebred

100%

2

0

0

20

King Lodge Country Road

Kirreway Trident x Stanley Grane Pratique

Riding Pony

12.48%

2

0

0

20

Name

Sire x Dam

Breed

Crave FF

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Keira Park Cascade

173

QUEENSLAND, SOUTH AUSTRALIA & WESTERN AUSTRALIA

2019 Challenge, 2019 TOTR, 2020 WA Championships, 2019 SA Championships Purity

Champion

Reserve

Top Ten/ Place

Points

Purebred

100%

4

2

1

56

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Purebred

100%

3

3

1

53

Saudi El Perseus (BR)

Perseus El Jamaal x Silk El Jamaal

Purebred

100%

4

1

1

49

Chelleason Crown Jewel

Cranston Park Khaan x Jaytee Marquissa

Purebred

100%

4

1

0

47

Pembrooke Park Marquiss

Cranston Park Khaan x Jaytee Marquissa

Purebred

100%

2

1

1

29

Andaman

Prince Dinnie x Merinda

Purered

100%

0

3

1

23

Bacchante Nocturne

Saudi El Perseus (BR) x INSERT

Purebred

100%

2

0

0

20

Nemax (DE)

Niveau x Edda Eleisa

Warmblood

34.06%

2

0

0

20

Sundale Sahara

Pembrooke Park Marquiss x Sundale Shivanah

Arabian Stock Horse

62.5%

2

0

0

20

King Lodge Country Road

Kirreway Trident x Stanley Grane Pratique (UK)

Riding Pony

12.48%

1

1

1

19

Ray of Light

Amaki’s Impressionist x Amaki’s Golden Imp

Part Arabian

75.8%

0

2

2

18

Al-Maheeb

GG Magnetism (US) x Sanroblee Marmara

Purebred

100%

1

1

0

17

Trincada Strike

Pinelodge Pride x Simeon Classic

Arabian Pony

63%

1

1

0

17

Zahriz

Sarafire x Silette

Purebred

100%

1

1

0

17

Name

Sire x Dam

Breed

Sadiks Psyche

Padrons Psyche x Serdika

Crave FF

2020 AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

174

Purity

Gold

Silver

Bronze

Top Ten

Total

100%

3

0

0

1

32

0%

2

1

0

0

27

Arabian Warmblood

59.8%

0

2

1

1

21

Marwan Al Magnifficoo x PS Kashmir

Purebred

100%

2

0

0

0

20

SF Sir Real (US)

Sir Fames HBV x Veronica GA

Purebred

100%

1

0

1

2

19

Welfenadel (DE)

Welt Hit II x Friedonja

Warmblood

3.54%

1

1

0

0

17

Roseglen Crown Royale

Chelleason Crown Jewel x Roseglen Shaakira

Part Arabian

87.5%

1

0

1

0

15

Bracknell Muskateer

Bracknell Lookatme x Bracknell Showgirl

Arabian Pony

62%

1

0

1

0

15

Koorana Park Limited Edition

Cherrington King Midas x Koorana Amber Rose

Arabian Pony

13.72%

1

0

1

0

15

Keira Park Cascade

Karlana Say Farewell x Keira Park Amber

Arabian Riding Pony

32.7%

0

2

0

0

14

Boulby Ray West

Krui Roulette x Dundee Ziggy

Australian Stock Horse

0%

0

2

0

0

14

Ray of Light

Amaki’s Impressionist x Amaki’s Golden Imp

Part Arabian

75.8%

0

1

1

0

12

Bremervale Adronicus

Desperado x Bremervale Rhapsody

Purebred

100%

1

0

0

1

12

Concherto FF

Burren-dah The Wizard x Aloha Symphony

Anglo Arabian

62.5%

0

1

1

0

12

Warrawee Donner Duell

Donnerheist (DE) x Duell Regina

Warmblood

0%

1

0

0

1

12

Name

Sire x Dam

Breed

Crave FF

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Purebred

JSS Cream Em Kidd

CL Classic Sensation x Platinum Blonde

Quarter Horse

Fever FF

Crave FF x Double TT Fevia

Echos of Marwan (US)

A R A B I A N S T U D S & S TA L L I O N S

OVERALL LEADING SIRES OF DERIVATIVE CHAMPIONS Combining the overall points from each of the charts, we present the Leading Sires of Derivative Champions in Australia for 2020

CHAMPIONSHIPS

Name

Sire x Dam

Breed

Purity

Gold

Silver/ Reserve

Bronze

Top Ten/ Places

Total Points

1

Crave FF

Mash x Bremervale Charmed

Purebred

100%

31

6

0

7

366

2

2

Ray of Light

Amaki’s Impressionist x Amaki’s Golden Imp

Part Arabian

75.8%

5

5

1

6

102

3

3

SF Sir Real (US)

Sir Fames HBV x Veronica GA

Purebred

100%

4

5

1

6

92

3

20

Tathren Strong Persuader

Maf-ue Enticer x On The Table

Anglo Arabian

50%

5

2

0

14

92

3

5

Trincada Strike

Pinelodge Pride x Simeon Classic

Arabian Pony

63%

3

8

0

3

92

6

26

Chelleason Crown Jewel

Gai El Jullyen (US) x Sophia WV (US)

Purebred

100%

7

2

1

0

89

7

9

Fever FF

Crave FF x Double TT Fevia

Arabian Warmblood

59.8%

4

3

1

3

72

8

7

Keira Park Cascade

Karlana Say Farewell x Keira Park Amber

Arabian Riding Pony

32.7%

2

7

0

1

71

8

30

Harmony Hill Anakin

Arundel House Armani x Harmony Hill Imagine

Arabian Riding Pony

52.59%

5

1

0

7

71

10

24

Echos of Marwan (US)

Marwan Al Magnifficoo x PS Kashmir

Purebred

100%

5

2

0

1

66

11

17

Aratahnes Excalibur

Aratahnes Acclaim x Aratahnes Elated

Part Arabian

62%

3

3

0

6

63

12

4

Spades LRA (US)

DA Valentino x Serenata Eljamaal

Purebred

100%

6

0

0

1

62

13

27

Sadik’s Psyche

Padron’s Psyche x Serdika

Purebred

100%

4

2

0

1

56

14

13

Volcom FF

Crave FF x Beguine OH (US)

Purebred

100%

4

2

0

0

54

15

NA

Roseglen Crown Royale

Chelleason Crown Jewel x Roseglen Shaakira

Part Arabian

87.5%

4

0

1

3

51

16

36

Gleniph Sovanity

Gleniph Royal Sovereign x Hartley Valley Mystique

Part Arabian

93.75%

1

2

1

10

49

16

14

Saudi El Perseus (BR)

Perseus El Jamaal x Silk El Jamaal

Purebred

100%

4

1

0

1

49

18

19

Nalla Casanova

Mystica Sagali x Escarda Summer Luvin

Purebred

100%

2

4

0

0

48

19

42

Shakla’s Eclipse

SK Shakla Khan x Trystan Bandamira

Purebred

100%

3

1

0

4

45

20

43

Avondale Cruise

Crave FF x Avondale Grace

Purebred

100%

2

3

0

1

43

20

24

Gold N Wings

Aratahnes Acclaim x Aratahnes Elated

Part Arabian

62%

0

5

0

4

43

22

19

Ablue Moon Rising

SK Shakla Khan x Kim-Dande Stormgirl

Arabian Pony

65%

2

2

0

3

40

22

40

Belvedere Watch The Paint

VP Watchs De Ja Vu x Belvedere Mega Bucks

Paint

0%

4

0

0

0

40

22

37

Mystica Sagali (US)

Gazal Al Shaqab x Sashaa LHT

Purebred

100%

4

0

0

0

40

25

12

JSS Cream Em Kid

CP Classic Sensation x Platinum Blonde

Quarter Horse

0%

3

1

0

1

39

25

42

King Lodge Country Road

Kirreway Trident x Stanley Grane Pratique (UK)

Riding Pony

12.48%

3

1

0

1

39

Position

2019 Position

1

No changes at the top this year, with purebred stallion Crave FF in first place for the fifth year running. In second place, also for the fifth year running, is Part Arabian stallion Ray of Light, while in third we have a three way tie between purebred stallion SF Sir Real (US), recently imported back into Australia, living legend Arabian Pony Trincada Strike and the very well performed Anglo Arabian Tathren Strong Persuader. A total of 26 stallions make up our leading group this year, and of these, 12 are Purebred Arabian.

Two stallions do not carry any Arabian blood, both used for breeding Quarabs and Half Arabians and another two carry less than 50% Arabian blood, both used for breeding Arabian Riding Ponies and Half Arabians. The remainder of the Leading Sires of Derivative Champions are registered derivatives with over 50% Arabian blood. Congratulations to the owners and breeders of these stallions, and also to the owners of their progeny who made the results possible.

175

ADVERTISERS INDE X

Alcántara Estate

2–3

Aloha Arabians

99

Alphalea Arabians

25

Arreton Arabians

14–15

Asab Arabians & Stonevale Performance Inside Back Cover Bluedawn Egyptian Arabians

97

Braveheart Arabians

71

Byrnlea Park Arabians Diamond Road Stud Eskdale Arabians Foxridge Farm

18–19 135 57

Future Farms Arabians Hawley Arabians

33–52 5

IRT Insurance & Transport

63

Krishlah Arabians

81

Lavender Park Arabians Marian Duncan – Artist Mattilda Arabians Mulawa Arabians

137 31 165

Inside Front Cover–1

Myth Haven Arabian Farm

6–7

Noran Arabians

75

OSO Arabians

125

Ramadan Arabians

79

Reid River Arabians

55

Rich Meadows Sabble Farm Salam Arabians Samphire Park Stud

176

9

133 33–52 77 101

Sarah & Steve Muco | Murray & Deborah Davies Simeon Stud

10–11

Back Cover

South Serenity Arabians

90

Talika Arabian Stud

119

The Palms Arabians

30

Toft Arabians

26

Toft Endurance

27

Valinor Park Arabians

22–23

Xanaphon 31 Zuhra Arabians

31

ABOVE Photo by Belinda Zaiter BELOW Photo by Sarah Sullivan Photography

Photo Credits: Trace Digital, Sue Crockett, Pawsitively Fabulous, Braid Up Photography

arabian sporthorse of

ASAB ARABIANS & STONEVALE PERFORMANCE FORM FOLLOWS FUNCTION MARK, K ATH Y A N D J ES S I CA SAGGER S 937 Glamorgan Vale Road, Glamorgan Vale QLD 4306 M 0413 054 182 E kathy@warrego.com.au

In a world full of change, our passion remains Simeon Rosalie

SIMEON SEIFAN X SIMEON SEIS BY IMPERIAL MADAAR

Marion Richmond Bellevue Hill, Sydney Australia

Tel: +61 2 9327 1649 Tel: +61 418 268 749 Email: simeonst@bigpond.net.au www.simeonstud.com