It only seems like yesterday, when I came across a photo of the 1981 stallion, *Sa'ika, for the first time. When 20 minutes sometimes feels like an eternity, can you explain how 40 years have passed so quickly? Do you remember 1981? The US National Champion Stallion that year was *Marsianin (Aswan x Magnolia) and the National Champion Mare was Rohara Tsultress (Ivanhoe Tsultan x Emenee). Outside of our Arabian horse world, Ronald Reagan was sworn in as the 40th American President and shortly thereafter, the country fell into a recession, Luke and Laura married on General Hospital, Walter Cronkite retired, the CDC reported 5 cases of a rare form of pneumonia that would later become known as AIDS and *Sa'ika, a magnificent Arabian stallion was born.
I am partial to chestnut-colored horses and *Sa'ika, with his strong and solid body wrapped in shades of red and gold, captured my attention. I thought he was spectacular. I searched for the conformation shot that I remember from those days but when I found the above photo instead, which incidentally, I had never seen before, I just had to share it with you. His alert, interested and soft expression made me melt and convinced me not to keep searching for the photo that I had been searching. Initially, I had planned to put the photo in the sidebar, as one of the monthly "My Favorite Photos" but the more I thought about it, the more I thought about his unique story and all of the wonderful people who had a part in it, so naturally, I love a good story and I just had to tell you all about him. Can you imagine what it must have been like to see *Sa'ika's face every morning? How lucky some people are.
*Sa'ika was bred by beloved author, historian and breeder, the late Rosemary Archer of the Worth Stud in England. I have only known Rosemary Archer through her monumental work and through my friendship with Gari Dill-Marlow. Gari enjoyed a friendship with Rosemary, even bred Sa'lilah to *Camargue, resulting in the gorgeous bay stallion (and half brother to Sa'ika), *Carmagnole. It is through Gari's many stories, that I developed a deep respect for Rosemary Archer. It's very difficult to write of people like Rosemary and Gari because neither person is alive anymore and the absence of them in this world is still tragic and very deeply felt. No one lives forever but with particular people who bring so much significance and joy to others, well, I find myself wishing that they had more time.
Prince Saraph (Samson x Princess Alia)
*Sa'ika was the son of Prince Saraph, a chestnut stallion who was also bred by Worth Stud, and out of Rosemary's pride and joy, the famous grey mare, Sa'lilah (Silver Flame x Sunset). In tail female line, *Sa'lilah traces through Lady Wentworth's critically important broodmare, Silver Fire, to the straight Egyptian mare, Sobha (Wazir x Selma), a mare sired by an Ali Pasha Sherif-bred stallion and out of an Abbas Pasha bred mare, out of desert-bred horses purchased by Abbas Pasha.
Rosemary Archer, the breeder of *Sa'ika with Sa'lilah (Silver Flame x Sunset)
It is interesting to consider that the desert lines that come through Sa'lilah are complemented by the desert lines also present in Prince Saraph, as he traces in his tail female line to the famous warrior mare of the desert, Rodania. By virtue of both parents, *Sa'ika is 100% Crabbet breeding.
*Sa'ika eventually joined the cast of Mark Miller's awesome equine dinner theatre, Arabian Nights, in Orlando, Florida, while I got married, started a sales career in New York City and raised a family. *Sa'ika became a star performer, trained and ridden by FEI trainer, rider and celebrated author, Yvonne Barteau, whose books, Ride the Right Horse and The Dressage Horse Manifesto, remain as personal favorites of mine. Like Rosemary Archer and Gari Dill-Marlow, I admire Yvonne Barteau, mainly because of her respect and tolerance for the individuality of equine personalities. Not to mention that along with her husband Kim, they are brilliant horse trainers who know how to help horses, in becoming the best version of themselves. While I didn't forget *Sa'ika, life just happened and on a day-to-day basis, the matters of managing a life full of responsibilities, took precedence over horsey things. That's just how it is, right?
*Sa'ika (Prince Saraph x Sa'lilah) ridden by Yvonne Barteau in a performance at Arabian Nights
However, here is the interesting twist in this story of *Sa'ika. Every now and then, Arabian horses seemed to pop into my life during the hardest of times to make me forget, if only for a minute, of life's challenges. How do you say it? You know, the daily grind. Working in Manhattan and having to walk zig-zag across midtown to my office offered many opportunities to see things that I wouldn't have been able to see anywhere else. So, imagine my surprise, when one day, I was trying to cut through Rockefeller Center, as I did a hundred million times before, only to find a fence of sawhorses set up, surrounding a sand ring that looked more like a dressage ring and a horse with a rider trotting in the ring. In the middle of Rockefeller Center! I made my way through the crowd to get a closer look and to my surprise, the horse looked like like an Arabian horse, as he extended his trot across the diagonal towards me! When I heard the Today Show announcer say "Sa'ika", I could not believe it! *Sa'ika! How could it be? Instantly, my mind went to the photo that I had seen in the magazine in the eighties! How lucky could I be, to be walking in Manhattan, this early in the day, to find a long ago dream horse named *Sa'ika, working in my favorite discipline! It still feels like a miraculous event.***the above video footage of Sa'ika was taken by Mary Ellen Fox***
And this is where the story of *Sa'ika becomes an interesting story to tell. The Arabian horse has always enjoyed a colorful history with the National Horse Show, held in Madison Square Garden, every autumn. In years past, through sponsors like Courvoisier, the Cognac company, a purebred gelding was raffled each year. I remember sending my entry, year-after-year, an exciting amount of expectancy that I would win, sealed within each envelope I mailed. Fast forward to the 1990's, when Arabian Nights had agreed to send a horse to the National Horse Show, to perform a musical freestyle, as part of each evening's performances. However, fate, played a hand in furthering *Sa'ika's growing celebrity and the horse that was initially chosen for New York, unexpectedly died and *Sa'ika, as beautiful, talented and willing a horse as he was, became the replacement horse that Arabian Nights sent instead. So, as I stood on the sideline, watching *Sa'ika, I knew none of this background story and *Sa'ika, as evidenced in the looks of many of the faces who stood with me, won a lot of fans for the Arabian horse that day. For me personally, seeing *Sa'ika within that context, not only surprised me, it impressed me. That part of New York is always busy; the noise of honking horns, police, ambulance and fire truck sirens, people shouting, even the shrill sound of a whistle as someone tries to hail a cab, are sounds that ricochet off the buildings. The sight of all the international flags waving in the wind, people running, waving arms and shouting, well, it's alot to ask of a horse to tolerate all these new sounds and sights in a short amount of time. *Sa'ika never flinched, never spooked; he was totally focused on what he was doing. *Sa'ika's performance energized me and filled me with new hope, that one day, I could find a horse like *Sa'ika, who was not only beautiful as a representative of the Arabian horse breed; he would also be athletic, kind and willing. In my eyes that day, there was nothing that *Sa'ika could do any better, than what he had already accomplished. With a horse like *Sa'ika by my side, the world was full of possibility and even the most challenging of tasks, could be accomplished.
Sa'ika (Prince Saraph x Sa'lilah) as photographed by Mary Ellen Fox
Sa'ika was last owned by Mary Ellen Fox of Camelot Farms in Tennessee. Thanks to Mary Ellen's expert and loving care, Sa'ika lived a long, healthy life of 30 years. Sadly, he died in January, 2011. I only wish that I had the chance to let him know how he lifted my spirit that particular morning, in what was the most unexpected place of all to find an Arabian horse. I'll never forget *Sa'ika and the lessons he taught me about courage, focus and facing your fears with a positive attitude. In these strange days we find ourselves, those lessons are still relevant today.
***After 14 years, this blog post is my 350th and out of gratitude to you, my dear reader, this blog post is lovingly dedicated to you. Thank you for taking time out of your day to visit my blog and read the words that I have written. Your kindness and generosity humble me and encourage me to keep writing, just for you and of course, all for the love of an Arabian horse.***
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