2023 Pride of Poland

Summer is moving faster and faster now, it's hard to believe that Menton was a month ago and we are a month from Pride of Poland! I look forward to the release of the Pride of Poland sales list every year. It reminds me of the day when the Sears Christmas Wishbook arrived at my home. It was a magical experience, almost like a holiday, filling the house with squeals of delight. Anything a child could ever want, was found within the pages of the Wishbook. Now, here I am, many years later and the Pride of Poland catalogue inspires a similar reaction, taking me home again, to those simpler days! 

By now, you have hopefully seen the preliminary listing of the horses consigned to both sales, Pride of Poland and the Summer Sale. If not, you can find the list (with photos) here. Just this past week, Tutto Arabi released their fabulous July-August issue, which also includes the list of horses consigned to each sale on pages 66 & 67. The listing is impressive, approximately 50 horses, 2 stallions and the balance, mares and fillies, 17 of those horses from Janow Podlaski, 17 horses from Michalow, 1 horse from Bialka and 15 horses bred privately. 

Have you had a chance to go through the list and highlight the horses that are of interest to you? Arabian Insider has uploaded videos of many of the sale horses, each video a minute long per horse. The videos are well done, the presentation is tastefully respectful of each individual, including a 3-generation pedigree, to help people like me quickly determine which lots are of most interest. However, it is challenging to select favorites, when all the horses are spectacular. I would be thrilled to the core of my being with any one of these horses.

In my opinion, there are 5 lots who have the potential to make this year's sale not only historic, but unforgettable too. When I watched the video of Pegala PS I cried. It has been a long while since I have seen a mare like this. She is a Gazal Al Shaqab daughter, out of a Laheeb daughter, the matriline running back through Janow Podlaski's "P" line. In the old days, breeders did not sell these horses, as these are the elite or premium horses that are crucial to the success of a breeding program.  Pegala is incredibly unique, the kind of horse that sometimes, takes an entire lifetime to be born but then, when she matures, will further define your breeding program through the foals she produces. In addition to Pegala, there is the chestnut Pinga daughter by Eden C, named Paterna.  There is also the bay Piannisima granddaughter, Pia Mari, sired by Pogrom (QR Marc x Petla). And lastly, the Marwan Al Shaqab daughter, Pustynia PS, out of the Russian-bred Prokanitsa (Karnaval x Probezhka). Then, there is the gleaming white stallion, Paris, a son of the *Ecaho daughter, Palmeta, sired by Kahil Al Shaqab. While all of these horses are extraordinary horses, maybe once-in-a-lifetime horses, there's a little piece of my heart reserved for the Queen of this sale, Pegala PS. 

So, what about the other horses?

There are approximately 10 mares that I absolutely loved and at the top of my list are the Ekstern daughters: Editoria, out of the Eden C daughter, Editha, whose matriline goes back to Emigracja and Apolonia, out of Argolida (*Eukaliptus, top crossed onto Monogramm). In some ways, the Empire daughter, Golstera, reminds me of Apolonia. She is out of the Alert daughter, Goltra. The length of Golstera's forearms, compared to her short cannons was very nice.  All 3 mares were bred by Michalow. Then, there's the Equator daughter, Alsandrina, out of the Ganges daughter, Alhasa. Forla is one of three El Omari daughters that I really liked. El Omari is an Enzo son, out of the Monogramm  daughter, Embra. The video footage of Forla's shadowy silhouette, trotting the fence line, is an image that I will not soon forget. She made my hair stand on edge. Forla is out of Formia, while the chestnut Pentoria with a deep heart girth, is out of Pentra. Pesalina is the third El Omari daughter that I liked, however, with respect to El Omari, the reason I like this mare so much has nothing to do with her sire but everything to do with her maternal great-grandsire, Al Maraam, the sire of Parmana, the dam of Parmania. When Celita's long forelock is over her face, it's like I melt into a puddle of silly putty. Oh my! Celita is the only lot consigned by Bialka. She is the dam of the stallion, Celadon, by Pogrom. She has an interesting pedigree, as she is by Lawrence El Gazal (Gazal Al Shaqab top crossed on double Ali Jamaal) out of the Ekstern daughter,  Cella. Although Almawiwa is 50% Egyptian, sired by Ariela Arabian's Abyad AA, she is out of the Eden C daughter, Alara, who traces in her matriline to the great broodmatron, Albigowa. The Pomian daughter, Teodora, is out of Tartina, a Perseusz daughter out of Tarnawa, by Aarat. Perseusz is by Laheeb, top crossed on a *Eukaliptus daughter. Conformationally, Teodora resembles her pedigree.

As I have already stated a few times, the quality of the offering is amazingly consistent but isn't that what we have come to expect from Pride of Poland each year?  I still remember the 2018 sale, when the Al Maraam daughter, Parmana, was the high selling lot of the sale. I was stunned back then, that a mare of her quality would be offered but here I am again, 5 years later and thinking the same thoughts of Pegala PS! 

There are a few mares, the "honorable mentions", whom I also liked, for example, Echo Bey Asila, a Pystadel daughter out of the Eldon daughter, Egzyna, whose dam is by Monogramm and the statuesque Calatina, an Emerald J daughter, out of the Ekstern daughter, Calatea plus Kopra, an Equator daughter, out of Kasjopea, a Kwestura daughter by Eldon.

The sale is scheduled for August 13 & 14.  Congratulations and best wishes to all involved, for assembling such a wonderful collection of horses. 

***I'm grateful to Arabian Insider, Tutto-Arabi, Arabian Essence, PolskieAraby.com and prideofpoland.eu for making it possible to understand and to see the horses consigned to the sale, just as if I were physically in Poland. You bring the world of Arabian Horses into my home, so I don't miss a thing and for me, there is no greater gift. I appreciate you!***