International Travels

Australia

Possibly the most rewarding part of our journey with Arabian horses has been the people that they've introduced us to and the many places they have taken us. In l995 an invitation to judge the Australian National Championship Horse Show in Sydney took Pat and I "down under" to experience not only the beauty of that country but the warm hospitality of the people that make up the Arabian Horse community there. Visits to Marion Richmond of San Simeon Stud and other noted Australian Arabian breeders left us with an appreciation of the dedication and efforts of these breeders, as well as to the unlimited hospitality that is endemic to their society.

Poland

2001 took us to Poland, when I traveled with George Z in November for a first visit to the historic State Studs that have so influenced the American breeding program over the years. Quintessential cold, rain and snow did nothing to dampen the reception we received, or the enthusiasm that was impossible to contain in such a historic setting. Pastel drawings of the beautiful Michalow mares greeted us in the lobby on the night of our arrival, along with a late dinner of steak tartare, Vodka, and warm conversation into the evening about the universally shared disputes over judging, presentation and bloodlines. Our visit to Janow introduced me to not only warm friends whom I must have known in another life, but to the history and majesty of the Arabian horse's survival in Poland, the beauty and story of the land surrounding it, and how important a part the Arabian Stud farm has played over the years to the people of the region. And our across the country-side visit to Bialka that coincided with their first fox hunt of the year provided me with an experience unequaled in any country so far!

I came home from that trip convinced of the necessity of importing both *Ganges and *Kwestura, who have proven in the ensuing year that they have much to offer the Arabian Horse community in the United States. *Ganges made his first appearance in Scottsdale to a tremendous reception, and promptly signed up over 100 mares. He has since gone on to be named Buckeye Unanimous Champion Stallion, and United States National Top Ten Stallion, and is now beginning a performance career that, if it can be successfully balanced with his breeding commitments, promises to be as exciting and fun as anything we've participated in. *Kwestura was only shown twice in the US, and was named Champion both times, first at the Ohio Buckeye, then on to Nationals, where she was named the US National Champion Senior Mare.

France

And in the fall of 2001, we finished our year with a trip to the Salon du Cheval, where we watched incredible pageantry along with beautiful horses exhibit in front of a packed house of Parisians. The excitement of learning both what we do right here, coupled with what we can learn from others, combined with the joy of constantly meeting new people and having new places to go, is what truly makes this a great life to live.

Poland: A Trip of Firsts

2002 took us back to Poland in August for the Polish National Horse Show and Sale. We hope you enjoy reading about what to us was a life time event.

In the early August heat of Poland, we schooled Metropolis either early in the morning or just at dusk. Pat and I arrived Tuesday morning, five days before the start of the Polish National Show and Sale weekend, to prepare Metropolis NA, the stallion long-time Polish breeder Mike Nichols had leased to Janow Podlaski, for an unprecedented presentation at the final evening's dinner. Luckily, our indefatigable friend, George Z, had arrived ten days before us, in part to begin to gently remind the six year old stallion of the job he'd held in his previous life as a show horse. It was a real favor to the person who had to swing the first leg over the back of a stallion who hadn't been ridden since last October. Metro had had no responsibilities but breeding since his February arrival at the farm, and that night of my first ride, after an overnight plane trip and the pre-requisite three-plus hours of excitement on the Polish roads, I found myself incredibly grateful for George's early arrival.

I was grateful, as well, for the appearance of a Western saddle, especially after eyeing up the work area to discover a nice spot next to the water trough to get on (complete with soft sand for easy landing) that had direct access to the best place to school-an incredibly beautiful twenty-acre or so field, bordered by more fields that housed what seemed to Metro and me to be hundreds of mares and foals, all of whom crowded eagerly up to the fence to watch the excitement.

I'm not ashamed to admit that I suffered, from Tuesday evening until the completion of the presentation Sunday evening, from the worst cases of nerves I've ever experienced. The pressures of scores of National Championship showdowns didn't begin to compare to the gut wrenching worry that each ride at the historic Janow Stud Farm generated. Of course, I hadn't realized until we got there that this was the first time an English Pleasure horse had ever been presented under saddle in Poland, which explained all the people that gathered to watch and take photos each time we cantered around the field with our audience, human and equine, looking on.

The history behind Metropolis' arrival in Poland became real to me as soon as I stepped onto his back that first night. Metropolis' three crosses to the immortal Mammona represent the first time Janow Podlaski has had access to her blood since she was stolen from the farm by the Russians in 1939, at the advent of World War II. Still at her mother's side, she was led away from the farm and across the Bug River into Russia, traveling on foot over 1500 kilometers before arriving at the Tersk Stud, where she went on to found a dynasty of "Russian" bred horses that have influenced the Arabian breed everywhere (but Janow) since then. Of course, Metropolis' grandsire, Monogramm, had brought one line to Mammona back to Poland in the early '90's, but because then-Director Krzysztalowicz was unwilling to breed chestnut stallions, Monogramm was never used at Janow. Only after I was there did I realize what a huge step it had been for the current Director, Marek Trela, to bring this colt to the farm. And on top of it all, Metro's breeder and owner was a man who has loved and supported the Arabian breed and Poland for over three decades, and whose breeding program was represented in three generations of this colts' pedigree. One of Mike's initial Arabian horse success stories was his discovery, on only his second trip to Poland, of *Elkin and *Elkana, who would depart Poland with their new owner to be named the 1972 U.S. National Champion Mare and Stallion, respectively, leaving him still as the only owner to date to accomplish that.

The history of the beautiful old farm, and the magnitude of our great good fortune to be riding a horse there was impossible to ignore. Pat had the right analogy. "It's like being invited to drive a car around the Indianapolis 500 Track," he said. That, times ten. A feeling of magical good fortune never faded for either of us all week. Not Friday, when we watched Janow's beautiful mare, Savannah win the Europa Cup after a thrilling, come-from-behind, last minute dash to the finish line. Not Saturday, watching the tremendous pageantry and phenomenal horse flesh that competed at the National Championship Horse Show, attended by thousands of people and blessed with pristine weather. Not Sunday, when the breath-takingingly beautiful yearling filly, Wieza Wiatrow, sired by Ganges and out of a mare I'd fallen in love with the November before, was offered as a replacement lot in the sale at the last minute, purchased after a flurry of cell-phoning and furious bidding that brought success to a Saudi Sheik for a fantastic, sale-topping $220,000. I learned later that, too, was a first, the first time a yearling had ever been offered through the auction. I woke my dear friend, Mike, up at 5:30 on a Sunday morning, along with his entire house-full of guests, and I will always bless him for not hanging up on me before I had a chance to share the news.

And I never lost the feeling of great good fortune even late Sunday evening, at Janow's beautifully staged farewell dinner under magically lit trees, when they presented twenty three offspring of the immortal *Bandola before introducing Metropolis NA to the assembled crowd. As I warmed up in the dark next to the two-century old stallion barn, the sounds of the Viennese pianists drifted back to us. Metro gave a few good-natured jumps as foals careened by him on their way back to the barn after their presentation, and then he rounded the corner, kicked into gear, and headed towards the lights and a warm, welcoming crowd eager to experience Poland's first English Pleasure presentation.

Late that night, as the stage crew tore down and the cooking staff cleaned up, the lights still moved through the trees as one of the party goers took to the piano. At two a.m., the people closest to Janow and those of us lucky enough to be along for the ride pulled up benches and stole vodka from the bars for an impromtu concert worthy of Carnegie Hall. Dear Barbara, who is the best damn cook in the world and runs the inn at Janow with her husband, Marcin, belted out some Polish blues while we laid waste to the vodka, and the night drifted away, heavy with the laughter of good friends and the magical history that is the Arabian horse in Poland.

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