We are approximately two weeks away from the 2022 edition of the Pride of Poland Show and Sale. There are 46 horses consigned to the sale; 21 horses (4 stallions, 17 mares) will be part of the Pride of Poland sale on Sunday, August 14th, while the balance of 25 horses (3 stallions, 22 mares) will be sold in the Summer sale, on Monday, August 15th. Have you had a chance to review the online catalogue? It's a great offering of horses this year. You can find the catalogue here. Arabian Insider has also uploaded videos of each horse, approximately one minute of video footage per horse, to their YouTube channel. You can find the Pride of Poland playlist here.
I look forward to the release of the Pride of Poland sales offering each year. With the loss of Ekstern still weighing heavily on my heart, I took note of the Ekstern granddaughters, which are many. Please consider one of the more unique expressions of Ekstern, that is, the mare Egiria, sired by the late Ekstern son, Esparto. Egiria differs from the majority of the Ekstern grandaughters, as Ekstern makes an impact through the sire side of the pedigree, as compared to the maternal side of the pedigree. I also found the young mare Petrona interesting, as she is sired by the Ariela Arabians stallion, Abyad AA (Nader al Jamal x Al Amal AA), out of Polka, an Ekstern daughter.
The level of quality in this year's sale is impressive, for example, I found it challenging to get past the Ganges daughter, Eulerta (I really liked her), the Pomian sired Pentanea, out of the *Ecaho daughter, Penta, the dark bay Emblema, sired by Chimeryk (he's in the Summer Sale too) out of an Al Maraam daughter or the Pogrom daughter, Wygodna. What wonderful mares! The following 5 mares are my personal favorites, that is, these are the horses who captured my attention and the horses that I would bid on, if I were attending the Pride of Poland sale as a prospective buyer. How many generations would it take for a breeder to develop a similar level of quality in their breeding program? The Pride of Poland sale represents an opportunity for a new breeder to quickly establish a program, at a level of quality that would have taken multiple decades to develop.
Waranga is a 2009 QR Marc daughter out of Wilga, an Ekstern daughter and she is consigned to the Pride of Poland sale. She, like many of the horses that I have picked, is strong of body. Her neck is long, well-set, with a nice and clean underline. She is deep through her heart girth. A proven broodmare, she is in foal to Empire, a grandson of Laheeb. The opportunity to combine two of my favorite horses in a forthcoming foal, was too good to pass up.
Baskonia, bred by Janow Podlaski Stud, is a 2015 Palatino daughter out of Bellisa, a Poganin daughter and yes, a Laheeb grandaughter. Palatino carries Egyptian blood and combined with Laheeb, insures that the percentage of Egyptian blood stays around 20% in Baskonia. In her matriline, she traces to the celebrated mare, Bandola, the dam of the stallion, *Bandos. She is a tall mare, which I prefer. Again, an opportunity to combine two favorite stallions in one pedigree. Baskonia is consigned to the Pride of Poland sale.
Piekna Dama is consigned to the Summer Sale. She was bred by the Michalow Stud. She is a 2011 Pegasus daughter (Gazal Al Shaqab combined with *Eukaliptus) and out of Piekna Pani, an Ekstern daughter. She is massively built, with an amazing amount of substance and yet, does not lose her classic elegance, as wrapped in a rosewater coat.
A long, long time ago, I wanted to breed my straight Egyptian mare to *Sanadik El Shaklan. I remember speaking with the late Sigi Siller, who explained that *Sanadik El Shaklan was no longer available at stud but after reviewing all the photos that I had sent her, she felt that Om El Shahmaan was a better choice for my mare. Unfortunately, life takes unexpected twists and turns and I never bred my mare to Om el Shahmaan. Emandilla, consigned to the Pride of Poland sale is a 2010 daughter of Om El Shahmaan, out of Espadrilla, a Monogramm daughter out of a Eukaliptus daughter. Since Monogramm is the sire of Ekstern, having him in the pedigree makes up for not having Ekstern. At the end of the video, she walks alongside her handle, no halter, no lead rope. I bet she is blessed with the kind and generous Om El Shahmaan character.
Effie, consigned to the Summer Sale, is my favorite mare, of either sale. She is a 2014 Shanghai EA daughter out of El Ghazala, an Ekstern daughter out of the beloved Palas daughter, Emigracja. Effie is related to Emandilla, as Effie's dam, Emigracja, is the granddam of Espadrilla, the dam of Emandilla. When I saw Effie's photo for the first time, I knew that no matter how I sliced and diced the list, she would be among my remaining favorites. She is everything that I look for in a horse, with substance, a strong, wide back, amazing pigment and big black eyes. She has great movement, not only with power driving her hind end forward but also freedom in her shoulders, which allows her to maximize her movement. Watching her at liberty is like seeing Ekstern, all over again.
**Many thanks to Arabian Insider for making all of the Pride of Poland videos available on YouTube. You have no idea of the joy that you bring into another person's life, through the work that you do. I am grateful.**
No comments:
Post a Comment