Arabians of South Australia

Arabians

OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Vast swathes of ochre outback, dramatic coastline, first class vineyards, and historic towns and cities…you’ll find all this and more in South Australia, most notably some of Australia’s most wonderful Arabian horses.

Covering some of the most arid parts of the country, it should hardly come as a surprise that Arabian horses thrive in this region…albeit most live in the more fertile areas of the state, each as picturesque and astounding to the eye as the next.

A native to South Australia, Shane Farrell of Mabrook Stud is currently studying for a BA in Indigenous Community Development. He has lived both interstate and overseas, even spending some time working at the famed Forest Hill Stud in NSW, however South Australia will ‘always be home’. The stud is named with an Arabic word, literally translated it means ‘congratulations’ however it can loosely be used as a term of goodwill. ‘I named the stud because of my love of Arabian horses and the Arabic language, knowing that at some point I would be diverting from my Welsh B and Arabian Pony Breeding program to return to breeding purebreds.

‘At fifteen years old I bought a palomino gelding of unknown breeding, who gave me the confidence to take on anything. We were hugely successful in the hack ring and dressage arena, then after meeting Gill Harding, I became more interested in showing ponies and at halter.’ Shane did purchase for a time the purebred stallion Hillsley Park Ethan (Wellworth Djebl x Glenferrie Soraya), who played a huge role in his developing love of the Arabian, however it would be many years before he would own another purebred.

Mabrook Stud was registered as a stud in 2016. ‘Our first mare was a beautiful Part Arabian mare called PB Coco Chanel, bred by Pernilla Butters by the Section B Welsh Stallion Salient Master Bronze out of the

SAMPHIRE PARK KAHILEH NADIRA (AZRAQ TAMOJEN X EL CAJAL CHAMEEGA)

beautiful Part Arabian Diamonds ‘N’ Lace (Jahahan Ezram x Beetaloo May). We are a small stud with only four Welsh B and two Purebred Arabian mares. All mares are currently in foal.’

Another young South Australian native with a history with derivatives who has recently made the switch to purebreds is Nikki Frisby of Rosebury Arabians. Growing up in the Adelaide Hills with a very supportive mother in the form of Debbie Frisby and an Arabian Pony mare named Leica Tch DantiLini (Cherox Tchaikovsky x Leica Mystic Shar-Lini) gave Nikki the opportunity to hone her ability with handling horses, and a lifetime love for the Arabian.

‘In 2016 I was able to make a long-held dream come true when I bought the mare Pravia MI (Guiliano x Parada) in foal to Allegiance MI (Magnum Forty Four x Audacia), who produced a chestnut filly, Rosebury Prucia. In 2019 I sent her and her dam to Mulawa to be prepared for the show season. Being my first interstate show with my own horses entered, I was quite nervous and went without expectation, however I was so thrilled when Pravia MI was sashed East Coast Reserve Champion Senior Mare while Prucia was fifth in the yearling filly class, shown by Mariusz Lipa. This year at the Australian Arabian National Championships both placed in the top ten, and to have a horse I had bred compete successfully at this level gave me immense pride.’

Although Nikki is only just at the beginning of purchasing a group of mares for her stud, at the 2020 East Coast Championships she was so taken by a striking chestnut colt about to head into the ring that she simply had to find out more. ‘He was ticking all the right boxes to be my next saddle horse. He wasn’t just tall with a pretty face and a big front, he also had great legs and feet, and he exuded style and class. I guess the judges agreed, as a few minutes after I met him, he was awarded Champion Junior Purebred Colt!’

Marc of Magnifficoo (Echos of Marwan x Briarwoods Sarah Beth) now calls Rosebury Arabians home. ‘Within a few weeks of arriving at the farm, he had outside mares arriving on agistment ahead of the 2020 breeding season who are safely in foal, and we are also awaiting a couple from our own specially chosen ladies including Audrey H JCA (Falcon BHF x Von Herte Only One).’

An auditor by trade, Nikki credits her profession with giving her enough time

between busy periods to spend with her horses. ‘I enjoy breaking and educating young horses when time permits, having taken on a few over the last few years. My mother has recently bought a purebred gelding to enjoy in the show ring and at home, so I look forward to spending time together doing what we both love.’

One of the most important aspects to the Arabian show ring for Nikki is support from and for others. ‘I recall standing ringside as a young junior at the SA Arabian Championships, when a gentleman introduced himself as Kevin Howard. Within a few weeks, he had encouraged Mum and I to fly to the East Coast Arabian Championships in Sydney to spectate, where he also introduced us to the Farrell family at Mulawa Arabian Stud and “the bug was caught”. It may have taken a few years to make it back to the interstate shows with my own horses, but had he not reached out that day, I would not have had the guidance and support from him over the years, to make it this far.

‘Support is so important, not necessarily only from the professionals, but from other competitors and owners. We all share the same passion and it’s up to all of us to make it enjoyable for each other. Reaching out

ARRETON NABILAH (MALLEEGROVE MANDALLA X KIRRONG TUPPARA)

to someone, particularly someone who is young or new, can be invaluable to their journey forward in the breed.’

Another stud in South Australia with a family focus is Arreton Arabians, breeding purebred and derivative performance horses. I first spoke to Jessie and Pom from Arreton just last year for Arabian Studs & Stallions, and was so impressed with her commitment to proving that the Arabian is both a functional and beautiful animal. ‘Temperament, trainability and versatility are incredibly important to us, and many hours of research are put into any breeding we do. Horses we have bred are competing and training in a wide range of disciplines from harness to rossfechten (mounted sword fighting), dressage, show jumping, endurance, cattle work and pony club events. They are also seen out on trail rides, enjoying the scenery with their riders.’

The farm is named after a village on The Isle of Wright, from where Jessie’s family come from and Pom’s would holiday as a child. Located on the edge of the Barossa, the combined breeding program began in 2009, however their history with horses goes back somewhat further. There are a number of lines represented in the stud, each as important as the other, however Jessie singles out the mare Jakassa Serabi (Mirakh Hajjal x Temula) as ‘her queen’.

While Jessie and Pom don’t measure their achievements based solely on awards, they have been incredibly successful with numerous Australian and Reserve Championships with their stallions, the purebred Malleegrove Mandalla and Arabian Pony Arreton Majnoun, and A-grade placings with Arreton Malakeh and Arreton Nabilah. ‘All of our home-bred horses have been awarded a state championship in at least one state, and the stallions have both taken them out over three states.

‘Malleegrove Mandalla has taken out the Versatility Award, at both state and national level, and had the incredible honour of being awarded the 2020 Australian Arabian Ambassador Award. In 2019 Malleegrove Mandalla was used for the Junior Driver class at the Adelaide Royal. The driver had a five minute warm up in the marshalling area, having never met Manny before, and won the class against stiff competition.’

Continuing this tradition of sharing their horses with others, the mare Arreton Malakeh has multiple juniors who share her for showing and pony club events, with sister Arreton Nabilah soon to be offering the same. ‘We are always excited to see what the next adventure is, and are always happy to help those who are interested and would like to learn.

‘We love our amazing lifestyle in South Australia. Within approximately one hour’s drive in any direction we have the Clare Valley, kilometres of beaches, the stunning Adelaide Hills and the Murray River. We also have an incredible equine support network surrounding us.

‘We would love to see more people out there enjoying their horses, achieving their goals and sharing their successes. We have an amazing community and an incredible breed, and we hope everyone can work together and continue this into the future.’

Continuing the South Australian tradition of a family-run stud, Samphire Park began on a five acre allotment on the edge of the dunes and clay pans on the western side of Whyalla. Due to the nature of the landscape, saltbush, or more specifically ‘samphire’, grew in abundance…and thus the breeding program was named. Today, Samphire Park is run across two locations, with Beth and Terry situated at Hamley Bridge near Roseworthy and Kass and Darren at Monteith in the Murray Lands.

PC KH PHOTOGRAPHY REVLIS RAFFIK (TARONG SHAZEER X KARGINA HARMONY)

Breeding both purebreds and derivatives, foundation stallion Azraq Tamojen (Arabesque Prizam x Baronet) left a legacy of purebreds, Australian Stock Horses and Australian Riding Ponies for the breeding program to go on with. Today, a purebred grandson Azraff Amir (Meadow View Valour x Samphire Park Philadelphia), and a son, the Arabian Riding Pony Samphire Park Castan Righ (from Sanlirra Divine) continue the tradition of producing all-round animals that can do anything their owners put them to.

‘We admire breeders who aim to produce a useful animal. We would really like to see more encouragement at grass roots level for people who may not be wanting to show at National level, or have the prize-winning animal in halter. We celebrate our Arabians and Derivatives excelling as the pony club mount, or the family horse that has taught the district to ride over the years. These horses are the ones that make up a big portion of the population of our Arabians and they should be treasured.’

The family is heavily involved in other activities in the horse world. Kass teaches a small group of students and is involved in the Mount Crawford Dressage Club; Beth and Kass are both involved in the SA Arabian Riders and Breeders Society, and Beth is also on the Balaklava Pony Club committee.

When asked about South Australia, Kass replies, ‘South Australia has some of the best climate and farming land around. We are able to grow enough feed for all our livestock and have ample space for the horses to really be horses. And, let’s not forget the wine! Really, why would we want to live anywhere else?’

Located in Gawler, just outside the Barossa Valley, is one of South Australia’s longest running studs, Revlis Park Arabians. Carolyn Potts and her family have been breeding purebred Arabians since 1962, however have owned horses much longer after having settled in the region in 1838. ‘My family have had horses for five generations, so there were always horses and ponies around. There was a brown pony that we rode to school, and later she was bred to our parent’s stallion Maraja (Silver Cloud x Malinga) to produce a partbred, and thus my love for the Arabian began.’

For many years the stud was one of the most prolific breeders in the state, however today Revlis only breed purebreds for themselves. The stallion Fames Presence (Fame Maker R x Presence) is head stallion for the stud, and his gelding son Haraani Fames Standing Ovation has been an outstanding show horse for the farm with several championships to his name, including an Australian Championship Non Pro.

‘As a judge, I would like to see breeders and owners that are more objective in the evaluation of their own horses. I see too many leg and conformation faults that should not be included in any breeding program. I have been fortunate to have seen breeding programs around the world, which have given me a preference towards Spanish and Polish lines, and was fortunate to acquire the imported stallion Fad Bravo (US) (Sidi-Brahim x Fad-Aflame) in 1999. His last daughter, Tunamura Majeeda, from Jirrima Time for Glory (Ennerdale Nomad x Chip Chase Sinarli) is still with us, and she has produced two lovely fillies by Fames Presence who have both been retained.

“I love living in South Australia. We have some of the best food and wine producing areas in Australia, if not the world, however the lack of an international class equestrian

BRECHENRIDGE’S SUNCREST SADAQA’S PRIDE (CHIP CHASE SADAQA X GHABRA)

facility does offer setbacks for a horse breeding enterprise. Still, I would not want to live anywhere else…where else could I indulge my ultimate fantasy job as a food and wine critic!’

The final stud on our virtual tour of South Australia is Brechenridge, approximately one hour north east of Adelaide. ‘Brechenridge roughly translates to “Broken Ridge”,’ begins owner Stella Harbison. ‘Our farm in One Tree Hill is situated at the top of a string of ridges on the edge of the Mount Lofty Ranges.

‘I grew up in South Australia, then travelled and ridden all over the world and I honestly wouldn’t live anywhere else. We have some of the most beautiful scenery, farming land and riding country available to us in SA, along with that small country town feel in Adelaide. Sometimes South Australia does feel a little isolated especially in regards to the horse world, however that isolation has been a blessing for us all over the past 18 months!’

Together with sheep and cattle, Brechenridge breeds Arabians and Warmblood horses. ‘I started with a grumpy little one eyed pony as a kid, then moved up to a beautiful flea bitten grey purebred mare called Mirakh Hejira (Gahila Hamidi x Waveny Julia), from whom we still have a daughter. Having such an incredibly smart, strong willed mare when I was young was a blessing in disguise!

‘Some of my favourite bloodlines that feature in our breeding stock include Stefan (GB (Rangoon x Samara), Wenceslas (Nasmeshnik x Good Friday), Kevisan Park Kentucky Blue (Talawa x Arabesque Stardust), ZT Ali Baba (Moniet El Nafis x Imperial Al Ahbab), Chip Chase Sadaqa (Cherokee Mecca x Silala) and Princeton (Arabian Park Egyptian Magnetic x Arabian Princess). These names are all proven performance horses in their own right, and our horses have had a performance career either before breeding or alongside.’

Together with her business partner Dr Paul Lubbe, Stella is busy running the Adelaide Equine Breeding Centre. ‘Operating the breeding centre really opens up the doors to every aspect of the horse world. It’s beautiful to get hands-on with some of the best stallions South Australia has to offer.’

When not working, Stella has found time to accomplish some impressive goals with her horses. ‘I rode at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, USA and in 2019 I won the Australian FEI Endurance Championship to qualify to ride at the 2020 World Endurance Championships. I competed on a horse that we bought as a foal, Minton East Chaucer (Musical Gully Allegro x Minton East Willows Gift), affectionately known as “Socks”. We now own Socks’ grandsire Suncrest Sadaqa’s Pride (Chip Chase Sadaqa x Ghabra), and have a paddock full of exciting youngstock coming up the ranks.’

Those who follow their inquisitiveness and visit the state are rewarded for their wonder. Whatever you are searching for, you may find it in South Australia, where ancient craggy peaks glow orange, towering boulders peter on Australia’s edge and outback pilots are the cowboys in the sky. That’s the thing about South Australia, you needn’t travel far in search of a little more.

South Australia… it’s a beautiful place indeed. And if you look further you’ll find a growing number of breeders producing exceptional horses, who are only too pleased for you to arrange a visit.

Images courtesy of Kerry Afford Photography, Kerry Frame, KH Photography, Samantha Taylor & Stella Harbison