The story of *Eukaliptus is really, a story of undying hope,
born of faith, courage and of course, the love that our Polish brothers and
sisters have for the purebred Arabian horse. The way in which Polish people
have faced life bravely, despite great challenges and tragedies, is inspiration
for all of us, in how to live our lives, even when facing the most adverse
circumstances. Although foaled in 1974, *Eukaliptus' story begins in 1907, when
Count Jozef Potocki imported the beautiful gray desert-bred stallion named
Ibrahim. He became a significant sire at Antoniny, siring horses that remain
vital in Polish breeding, up until the present day. One of his most significant
sons, Skowronek, became an influential sire for the Crabbet Stud in England and
from there, to the world. His son, Naseem, was sold to Russia and when bred to
the Janow Podlaski-bred mare, Taraszcza, produced yet another super-influential
horse, the stallion, Negatiw, the sire of the most beautiful and
genetically-prolific stallion, *Bandos. When bred to the Comet daughter, Eunice
(out of the Amurath Sahib daughter, Epigona), *Eukaliptus was born. One of five
full siblings (his full sister was Europa, a Polish National Champion mare and
one of the best producing mares at Janow Podlaski), *Eukaliptus was tested at
the racetrack, proving his athleticism by winning two races and placing in six
other races and in 1979, was named the first Polish National Champion Stallion,
eventually capturing the interest of Ignacy Jaworowski, to become the chief
sire at Michalow State Stud, where he resided for most of his life, except
for the time spent at Lasma Arabians in America. Over his lifetime, *Eukaliptus
sired almost 400 foals, well before the vastly improved reproductive technology, as we
know it today, was available to breeders. Much could be written about his many
sons and daughters, which includes four Polish National Champion mares, all of whom continue to influence Polish breeding so
positively. He crossed well with Palas daughters, especially with Emigracja
(who traces in tail female to the *Nabor daughter, Eskapada), siring
Emigrantka, Efemeryda, Emanacja, Emigra, Egeria, Erlanda and Emocja who matured
into influential broodmares, furthering the influence of *Eukaliptus. One of
the more interesting things about *Eukaliptus was found in his phenotype,
because looking at his pedigree and understanding who he was out of, you didn’t expect his dramatic, exotic type.
His dam was a bay, strong-bodied horse, dry and elegant yes, but very Kuhaylan
in body type. One would expect *Eukaliptus to resemble his dam but he favored
his Ibrahim sire line with his overall old-world and classic breed
type which was enhanced through his grey body color. He possessed a longer neck, not heavy and of a beautiful shape, maybe even swan-like but it was
his charisma, the energy that emanated from his wonderful, fully black eyes which contributed to a very soft expression. An abundance of kindness radiated from his large, dark eyes, inviting a caress and a loving word from a human friend. His eyes were mesmerizing, possessing a depth that could pierce the stoniest heart. He was perceptive, possibly intellectually curious and was interested in humans and enjoyed their company. For many people who
visited Michalow State Stud, the noble*Eukaliptus won many fans with his sweet
nature, raising his foreleg in anticipation of being fed something sweet, like
sugar. The late Izabella Pawelec-Zawadzka once said of *Eukaliptus, “The
depth of his big, dark eyes seemed to discover the essence of something great
and eternal.” He was without a doubt, one of the greatest horses produced in Poland.
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