Palatino

Palatino (Pesal x Palmeta) as photographed by Ewa Imielska-Hebda, who captured him with all 4 feet off the ground!

Palatino is a 2006 stallion, bred by Janow Podlaski Stud. He carries approximately 16% Egyptian blood, primarily through the stallion, Aswan (Nazeer x Yosreia) and Nil (Sid Abouhom x Malaka). However, as interesting as it is to discover the sources of Egyptian blood in a Polish-bred horse; what I found even more interesting is the matriline of both his sire and dam. He traces to the mare, Piewica (Priboj x Wlodarka), through both Pentoda (sire side) and Pilarka (dam side). Furthermore, he also possesses a 3rd line to Piewica, through Pemba, the dam of Pepton, the sire of *Ecaho. Piewica, a 1953 mare, was bred in Russia, at the Tersk Stud, and exported to the Albigowa Stud, eventually joining the broodmare band at Janow Podlaski. She became one of the most important mares in the breeding program and foundress of the beloved "P" line of horses, which includes horses like *Penicylina, Pilarosa and Pianissima.

What I also found interesting about the Piewicas is the utilization of the stallion, Negatiw, in combination with Piewica. Pierzga, the dam of Pilarka, is a Negatiw daughter out of Piewica, while Pentoda is Piewica's daughter by *Bandos, a Negatiw son. So, in both matrilines, you have the family of Piewica but you also have Negatiw, whose genetic  influence is further concentrated through the *Nabor daughter, Planeta, the dam of Pohaniec  and again, Pepton, who was sired by *Bandos. 

Palatino is an old world type horse, the kind of horse depicted in the paintings of artists like Adolf Schreyer, Victor Adam or Eugene Delacroix. Palatino's body is comprised of rounded lines, the type of horse that Raswan probably had in mind when he coined the term, "3-circle horse". His body, powerfully built, has an impressive deep shoulder, broad chest, well-sprung rib cage and deep heart girth, framed by a strong and smooth topline. His head is a masterpiece of the breed, with larger, fully black eyes, set within a finely chiseled head, while smaller, nicely-shaped ears enhance the dramatic look of a noble, desert horse. Dressed in a sparkling white coat, one cannot miss the darkly pigmented fine skin which intensifies the prominence of bone, muscle and vein. He is a gorgeous horse and his wonderful tail carriage is like an exclamation point, placed at the end of a sentence to deliver more power and emotion to what is being said. You might expect me to claim that his classic look is driven by the 16% or so of Egyptian blood and while I agree that his overall smoothness  may have something to do with his Egyptian blood; I think that Palatino's classic Arabian phenotype comes from somewhere else, like his Ilderim sire line. Ilderim, an 1896 stallion, was imported from Istanbul in 1900 by the Slawuta Stud. Saqlawi by strain, he was considered to be the most beautiful stallion purchased by Prince Roman Sanguszko, after inheriting Slawuta from his uncle. The Ilderim sire line is noted for producing horses who possess great beauty, type and overall quality. What is especially interesting in this matter of the Ilderim sire line, are all of the additional sources of Ilderim blood which further strengthen the sire line. There is Borexia, the dam of Probat, Dziewanna, the dam of Piolun (and paternal grandsire of Piewica), Makata, the dam of Witraz and Elegantka, the dam of Wielki Szlem and Lowelas. No surprise then, that Palatino would favor this particular ancestor over the others in his genetic heritage.

It is these concentrated sources to proven mare families like that of the "P" line, combined with genetic giants like Negatiw, plus an Ilderim sire line, which makes Palatino unique, as well as an historical horse of significant value for Polish breeders. 

***with many thanks to polskiearaby.com for their wonderful website, so full of information on the Polish Arabian horse. I love it and very quickly, has become a favorite resource. I recommend it!***