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Pictured at left Fancier Farm foundation Arabian stallion Malabar Wildfire (frames 1,2); Equinox, Arabian x Warmblood cross (frames 3,4); April, Arabian Warmblood mare (frame5).
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We have been breeding Arabian Sport Horses for over 13 years and we are thrilled to see Dressage Today give well deserved coverage to the subject of the Arabian Sport Horse!!!
Our breeding program includes Half Arabians crossed with the finest warmblood lines available in the US (including Diamont), Thoroughbred and pure bred Arabian descendents of the Malabar line.
With the first Arabian Sport Horse Nationals scheduled for 2003, things are getting hot - finally!
THE ARABIAN SPORTHORSE EXPERIENCES A RISE IN POPULARITY WITH DRESSAGE RIDERS
By Erika V. Doria
The Arabian influence on dressage began with warmblood foundation sires such as Bairacter (left). Aul Magic, ridden by Patience Prine-Carr, is an example of a modern Arabian sporthorse.
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The success of Aul Magic is just one example of the rapidly growing interest in Arabians as dressage and sporthorses. After only six months of dressge training, Aul Magic earned a score of 86.5 percent for his in-hand test from dressage judge and Olympian Hilda Gurney and was named Champion Arabian Sport Horse Stallion at the prestigious 2001 Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show.
Since then, the International Arabian Horse Associatioin (IAHA) has named the stallion Reserve National Champion at First and Second Level. In addition, last November, Aul Magic became the thrid purebred Arabian stallion to be approved and accepted as a breeding stallion by the American Trakehner Association.
Sixteen year old Aul Magic, by Aulrab out of Magic Alarieha, owned by Betsy Teeter and Sharon Byford-Ruth from Bakersfield, California, is representative of the world's recent rediscovery of this versatile, hardy and athletic breed's ability to shine in dressage and other sporthorse events. In fact, for more than 200 years, Arabian blood also hs been an essential ingredient in the breeding programs of some of the world's most popular sporthorse breeds, such as Oldenbury, Holsteiner and Trakehner.
Coveted Qualities
Historically, the Arabian's reputation is one of an agile athlete with an intelligent, people-oriented nature that was nurtured over thousands of years by the desert people of the Arabian peninsula. Europeans eventually imported Arabians, and they became key figures in the creation of the modern horse breeds used in cavalry and for riding. One example is the white desert stallion Bairacter (see illustration left) , who was imported in 1817 to Germany's Marbach State Stud, where his skeleton is preserved to this day.
Many Arabian owners competing in dressage and other sporthorse events want to prove that Arabians can be competitive in the open dressage arena and that they are excellent, competitive partners for amateurs and professionals. In 19999, Shannon Davidson, who shares this sentiment, decided to create the first U.S. performance and inspection registry for Arabians and Arabian-bred horses called the American Registry of Arabian-Bred Sport Horse (A.R.A.B.S). In its mission statement, the organization says it is designed to assist owners, breeders and trainers in the marketing, promotion and production of the Arabian sporthorse to help bridge the gap between breed and open competition and to strengthen the connection between the Arabian and other performance breeds."
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Bred to be the ideal 16 h Arabian Sporthorse - April (far left), an elegant mare with Diamont lines and a promising dressage prospect; Equinox, a beautiful bay gelding with suspension and size to do either dressage or jumping;Both horses have the wonderful Arabian willingness to work and supple, forward impulsion.
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The registry includes an inspection process that provides Arabian sporthorse owners, or possible owners, access to an evaluation system that is comparable to those for warmblood sporthorses.
One important topic A.R.A.B.S. attends to is the open sporthorse market and the Arabian's osition therein. While warmbloods have dominated the sporthorse world, changes are occcurring in those markets, and those changes involve Arabians.
Many warmblood breeders and breeding organizations are facing the problem of horses who have become too big and heavy, with consequential soundness and coarseness problems. This has produced a trend toward, once again, introducing the lighter, purebred blood of the Arabian.
The American Trakehner Association (ATA) is a case in point. ATA has opened its books to Arabian horses inspected and approved by ATA until 2002. In addition, about 10 years ago, the ISR/Oldenburg N.A. allowed 25 Arabian-bred mares — out of 100 presented — to be temporarily allowed in it Main Mare Book to do a kind of "test breeding" with an Oldenburg stallion. On the worldwide scale, in 1994, successful and highly respected Trakehner breeder Gottfried Hoogen leased a purebred Arabian stllion of Russian breeding named Kosmonaut, by Naftalin out of Karinka, for use as chief sire at his farm in Germany. That country also continues to inspect and accept Arabians into its Arabian Verband.
Rising Popularity in Dressage
Another factor in the Arabian sporthorse's open market appeal is the growing number of people participating in sporthorse events, particularly dressage. According to the U.S. Dressage Federation (USDF), most of these enthusiasts are amateur women between the ages of 30 and 51 who, as trainer and Arabian owner Jane Mendelsohn says, are looking for "a smaller, handier, more manageable horse. Many amateurs, in particular, find riding and handling a massive warmblood difficult and unrewarding."
Hilda Gurney agrees. "I really like riding Arabians in dressage and have (been riding them) for my entire life," she says. "I find Arabians very rideable. They are lively, like to work, have great personalities, and they are beautiful. Riding a large warmblood is at times like trying to fly a DC-10. Riding an Arabian is like flying a Cessna."
Sixteen-year-old Mary Claire Massey of Arlington, Tennessee, is a Junior rider who has found success with an Arabian-bred dressage horse. Massey and her purebred Arabian gelding Scrabble by Monopolii out of Saletra, won a gold medal as part of Team America at the 2001 Cosequen/AHSA Junior Team Championships. They also were the high scoring pair of the silver medal team at the 2001 FEI North American Junior Dressage Championships. Massey says the smaller framed but big moving Scrabble always has a fan club of admirers. "Scrabble has spunk," she says. "He has the extra spark that Arabians are just born with. You can put that edge to work and gt an exciting — and noteworthy — test out of him."
There is no doubt the Arabian dressage movement growing at a fast pace. Due to the high number of entries, an extra day of dressage classes was added to the show schedule at the 2001 Arabian show in Scottsdale, Arizona. More than 460 total dressage tests were ridden during the show with more than 40 new sportinhorse in-hand classes added for the first time in the show's history. "There were many very high quality horses at the show, particularly the mares in-hand," says Gurney, who, in addition to being one of the judges at the Scottsdle show, is chair of the USDF sport horse breeding committee. "There is much said against the temperment of Arabians for use in dressage, but I found the horses to be very well mannered."
Gurney also shared her thoughts on the use of Arabians in dressage and where they could improve: "At the lower levels, the Arabians excel because they are very light off the ground. In the upper levels, we usually run into a power problem because of weak hindquarters. As breeders begin to breed for a stonger loin and hip with a long sloping femur and more powerful hocks and flexion, we will see the quality of the horses improve for both dressage and jumping. It is already improving as was evident at Scottsdale in 2001." Arabian enthusiasts can see top Arabian sporthorses performing at the 47th Annual Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show at Westworld in Scottsdale, Arizona, Feb. 15-24, 2002, and again in the fall, at the Arabian Nationals in Lexington, Kentucky.
The interest in the use of Arabians as dressage and sporthorses also has resulted in the International Arabian Horse Association's decision to plan an Arabian and Half-Arabian Sporthorse National Championship show starting in 2003. There is hope that this kind of show will provide a place for Arabian-bred horse owners to show off their horse's talents and improve their breeding programs.
Massey sums up the newfound interest in Arabians as sporthorses. "I like being different. I stand out," she says. "I can also prove that Arabians are capable competitors in upper-level dressage." While a long way off, perhaps one day Massey will realize her dream of taking an Arabian-bred horse to the Olympics."
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