Future Farms

SHAPING THE BRIGHTEST FUTURE POSSIBLE

With the 2021 Australian Arabian National Championships program spanning Purebreds and Derivatives, halter and performance, from Youth and Non Pro all the way through to open led and ridden, you’d be forgiven for thinking that no single breeding program could be successfully represented across so many different divisions at one show. Future Farms, whose ‘extended family’ accrued an astonishing seventy different Championships over the four days of competition, might think otherwise.

The flagship horse for the Future Farms program has, for a number of years, been the homebred stallion Crave FF (Mash x Bremervale Charmed). A multiple Australian, East Coast, National, Royal and State Championship winner as both a halter and saddle horse, Crave has been repeatedly recognised as a leading sire of both Purebreds and Derivatives since 2015, and continues to make his genetic presence felt in 2021. His outstanding achievements as a sire and show horse were recognised in 2017, when he was awarded the WAHO trophy.

The ultimate realisation of Crave’s influence, however, does not lie solely in his individual beauty or his many accolades, but also in the ongoing success of his progeny and, in more recent years, their progeny. At the 2021 Australian Championships, Crave’s descendants accumulated an extraordinary eight gold, eight silver and three bronze Championships in the open halter divisions alone. His crowning achievement at the show was arguably when his son, the dynamic Volcom FF, was awarded Gold Champion in the strongly contested Purebred Stallion class. Generational excellence at Future Farms extends beyond the horses…Kate and Doyle’s son, Kody, was the one to show Volcom to his well-deserved laurels. Combined with daughter Jessica’s expert ringcraft in multiple saddle classes, the show was a momentous one for Doyle and Kate as parents, as well as breeders.

In addition to this exciting result, Crave also sired the

Gold Champion Yearling Gelding Valhalla FF, a full brother to Volcom. Volcom himself was the sire of the Gold Champion Yearling Colt, Jasper FF, keeping many of the Purebred male Championships very much ‘in the family’. As far as Derivatives were concerned, Crave was most notably represented by his Partbred Arabian daughter Gleniph Tiramisu. This beautiful buckskin mare needs no introduction, and her superlative efforts at the Australian Championships were recognised with the Gold Champion Versatile Derivative Award. All three of these exceptional horses – Valhalla, Jasper and Tiramisu – are owned by Sabble Farm, who enjoyed a tremendous show with their impressive team.

Crave’s dominion also extended to the Arabian Riding Pony section, where he sired all three Gold Champions. Senior stallion Karate Kid, senior gelding Kizashi and junior filly Kokomo FF are not only unified by their sire, but also by their dam Sia-Nara (Imperial Journal x Harmony Hill Imagine). Owned by Kate’s parents, Sia-Nara found her ‘perfect nick’ with Crave, and

the mating has so far produced eight exceptional foals, not just the three listed, but also the elite show pony Tokyo Joe (dec.) and the exported Schintaro. Prior to meeting her match with Crave, Sia-Nara was bred to Burren-dah the Wizard (exp. NZ) to produce the elegant Arabian Riding Pony mare Geasha Girl FF, who is a dam of distinction in her own right. While her representation at the 2021 Championships was limited, her multiple Australian Champion offspring include Game Maker FF and the irresistible Girlfriend FF.

Talking about Crave and Sia-Nara’s prolificity, Kate notes that ‘the importance of mare families’ has always been a major consideration for the Future Farms program. It is true that Crave progeny have a very distinctive look – easily apparent in their expressive eyes and wide, kite-shaped faces – and it’s a look that Doyle and Kate particularly attribute to their matriarch mare Bremervale Charmed. As the dam of Crave, Charmed’s wide-ranging influence has often been noted, but her exceptional producing power is further evidenced by her other successful offspring. These include the grey gelding Prince Charming FF, himself the WAHO trophy recipient in 2018, and the charismatic

Sir Charmed FF, whose accolades since his exportation to the United States have included Reserve Champion at Scottsdale and Bronze Champion at the Arabian Breeders’ World Cup in Las Vegas.

This year, Charmed has been graced with the great honour of the WAHO trophy, acknowledging her distinguished production record throughout her life. Furthermore, she is not just the dam of two formerly mentioned WAHO trophy recipients (Crave in 2017, Prince Charming in 2018) but also a daughter of the 2016 winner Desperado. They are the only family to have been awarded this prestigious accolade across three generations and between them have won four of the last six annual awards, testifying to their continued success and relevance as elite breeding horses and leading Arabian ambassadors.

While Charmed occupies a place of special significance within the wider Future Farms framework, several of Future Farms’ other leading mares were also superbly represented at the 2021 Championships. With their number of progeny very much limited in comparison to their entire counterparts, it’s relatively rare for a mare to have multiple offspring competing at a single show, let alone to have multiple winning offspring competing at a single show. This was a feat accomplished not only by Sia-Nara, but also by her paddock mates Beguine OH (imp. US) and Mystica Abia. Abia, a daughter of the international icon WH Justice, produced Gold Champions across two separate registries. Her son Justified FF (by Concherto FF) was judged Gold Champion Anglo from all ages and sexes, a result that was replicated by her Half Arabian son Jetstar FF (by Keira Park Cascade) in his breed class. Beguine, also a daughter of an internationally recognised super sire in Versace, produced not only the Gold Champion Purebreds Volcom and Valhalla by Crave, but also the eye-catching Silver Champion Junior Filly Bohemian Al Sahrae by El Chall WR (imp. US). These impeccably bred mares are bringing their own strengths and diversity to Future Farms’ well-established foundations, along with Mystica Jamarlee (sired by Marwan Al Shaqab, and the dam of Gold Champion Jasper FF) and Mystica Sunshine (sired by Eden C, and the dam of successful show horses Satisfy FF and Santiago FF).

VALHALLA FF (CRAVE FF X BEGUINE OH) AT THE AUSSIES BEGUINE OH (VERSACE X CLIO BELIZE)

CRAVE FF (MASH X BREMERVALE CHARMED)

VOLCOM FF (CRAVE FF X BEGUINE OH)

Though the Dertells are understandably proud of the homebred horses flying their flag, they are also grateful to the many outside breeders who have perpetuated their bloodlines beyond their own program. These include fellow Purebred breeders like Al Sahrae, Krishlah Arabians and Westacres. The Hardwick family of Al Sahrae enjoyed Silver Championship success with Bohemian Al Sahrae, but also bred Silver Champion Junior Gelding Valiant Al Sahrae (Volcom FF x Burren-dah Valentina Iimage). Krishlah-bred Champions Volt KA (Gold), Pshiva KA and Catalyst KA (Silver), and Pshania KA (Bronze) all trace back to Crave, and Westacres exhibited their Voyager W (Sir Charmed FF x Amira Mulahn) to Bronze Champion in the senior stallion class.

The Future Farms ‘ripple effect’ is felt just as keenly in the Derivative registries. The full siblings Wilgo’s Exotic Bliss and Wilgo’s Pure Bliss (Royalwood Rossini x Bliss FF), bred by Janelle Salway, were awarded Silver and Bronze Championships in the class for Junior Arabian Riding Pony Breeding Stock, just behind their distant relative Kokomo FF. Another pair of full siblings, Gleniph Tiramisu and Gleniph Kahlua (Crave FF x Gleniph Bombe Alaska), took out Gold and Silver Championships in Partbred halter. Both these exceptional coloured mares were bred by Richard and Kerry Chapman, who have produced many outstanding horses, including those by Future Farms’ stallions. Silver Champion Half Arabian to Jetstar’s Gold Champion was the typey Lendene Electra (Ablue Moon’s James Blond x Princess of Passion FF), bred by Sharyn Williams and Robert Towner, who have also bred numerous successful ponies from Crave daughters and granddaughters. Doyle, Kate, Kody and Jessica feel privileged to see their top breeding horses reflected in so many champions, particularly in addition to the Championship results of other Future Farms-bred horses: Elegant FF, Fahrenheit FF, Butterfly FF, Elegance FF and RivoliMagic FF.

How do you define the exceptionality of a specific horse? Individual quality? Outstanding show and performance record? Consistent production of impressive stock? The capacity to shape multiple future generations? No matter which of these constitutes your personal idea of success, Bremervale Charmed and her son Crave FF have proven themselves exceptional. Their many descendants may vary in colour, registry, breeder and owner, but they are often united in the winner’s circle, and there is little question that this extraordinary family has been instrumental in shaping one of the most decorated contemporary Arabian and Derivative breeding programs in Australia.

Author Nicola Kelly Images courtesy of Jennifer Ogden, Sally & Samantha Taylor

PRINCE CHARMING FF (BRUMARBAS FUTURE X BREMERVALE CHARMED)