*Barich de Washoe

"There, I fell in love with the quiet, strong dignity, and huge eyes of the Spanish Arabian." - Denise Hearst, speaking about her visit to Brumarba in Garden Valley, California

Yesterday, I learned that Denise Hearst, is leaving her position as Publisher of Arabian Horse World magazine. Despite the summer solstice, the world seemed to stop spinning for a brief second, as I tried to wrap my brain around the news. Arabian Horse World...Denise Hearst...oh my. It is challenging to think of the magazine without Denise, as time and all the wonderful words written, have conditioned us into believing that one, is not possible without the other. What do we do now?  

In 1986, Denise's first cover story was *Barich de Washoe, an article that I have read and dearly loved for a long, long time. Denise's article made me fall in love with *Barich de Washoe all over again, that was the powerful magic she weaved into all her stories, an elixir for those of us bewitched by this most incredible breed of horse. Denise's cover story, published in the April 1986 issue, inspired me to write this blog. Thanks Denise. I can't think of a better way to honor you and your career at Arabian Horse World, than dedicating this blog to you.

*Barich de Washoe (Zurich x Aldebaran II), as photographed by Scott Trees

 "Barich's look is one of great usefulness and durability - a look that horsemen of any breed would admire. He has a handsome, breedy head, with large well-placed expressive eyes, a very masculine cheek and jowl, wide forehead and neat ears." - Denise P. Hearst, in an April 1986 article, *Barich de Washoe: Sire of Significance, published within Arabian Horse World 

*Barich de Washoe was a 1965 chestnut stallion, bred in Spain, at Luis Ybarra's La Cascajera Stud and imported in utero, to America, by Charles Steen, as his dam, *Aldebaran II (in foal to Zurich), was part of the historic importation of Spanish horses purchased by the Steens. *Barich de Washoe was last owned by Bruce Clark and Gerry Alexander of BruMarBa Arabian Stud, Garden Valley, California. 

What I found really interesting about *Barich de Washoe, is how he was bred. I don't believe that there was another Spanish horse, bred as uniquely as he was. Which of course, points to the genius of one of Spain's earliest breeders, La Cascajera Stud, a breeding program established in 1917 by Luis' father, José Maria Ybarra, who purchased  mares from the Yeguada Militar.  He continued to purchase from the Yeguada Militar until 1926. Additionally, in 1930, he supplemented his broodmare band with mares purchased from another breeder, Manuel Guerrero.  In *Barich de Washoe's pedigree we find two of the horses connected with Manuel Guerrero: a stallion he imported from Egypt, Sawah the Second and the mare, Sada Yama (Hebdan x Sultane). It is also interesting that Sada Yama is found within *Barich de Washoe's matriline, which traces to Sultane, a 1912 chestnut mare (sired by a desert-bred stallion, out of a Pompadour-bred mare) purchased in France, also by Manuel Guerrero:

 Aldebaran II->Halconera->Uganda->Sada Yama->Sultane

Once he purchased the mares from Manuel Guerrero, José Maria Ybarra did not add any more horses of outside blood to his herd, thereby, concentrating the bloodlines he had collected, choosing to breed within a smaller genetic pool of blood, to reproduce more consistently (and predictably) the traits and qualities that were important to him. José Maria is often credited as the breeder who recognized early, the potential of several key stallions like Malvito, Gandhy and Ursus, all individuals found within *Barich de Washoe's pedigree.

Another reason for *Barich de Washoe's unique genetic identity is the Spanish National Studbook itself. Shortly after King Abdullah of Jordan presented the 1946 desert-bred mare, Saklavia Yedran to General Francisco Franco, the Spanish stud book was closed to outside blood. The remaining small number of breeders  had no choice but to line breed and even, inbreed their horses. *Barich de Washoe is double Malvito, as both Zurich and *Aldebaran II are paternal siblings, each horse also out of Uganda (Sawah the Second x Sada Yama) daughters. In the 4th generation (great-grandparents), there should be 8 individual horses populating the pedigree. However, in *Barich de Washoe's pedigree, there are only 4 different horses, because 3 of the horses appear multiple times: Gandhy (Ursus x Gomara) 3 lines (37.5%), Egina (Nana-Sahib x Saboya) 2 lines (25%) and Uganda also 2 lines and 25%. Only the stallion, Illustre (Seanderich x Divina), appears once, offering some outcross blood, or rather, an alternative source of his influence through Halconera, instead of through Congo. I think, in studying the pedigree, it's very clever and shows how well Luis Ybarra used the bloodlines to create a genetically strong breeding stallion like *Barich de Washoe. 

One could say that *Barich de Washoe was like a visual placeholder of my teenage years, thanks to Arabian Horse World magazine. I remember every ad, as I was a fan of this particular horse. I loved him.  He was strong of body, with much substance. His body mass comprised of circular lines, creating an overall harmony that reminded me of the term Carl Raswan had once coined, "3-circle horse":

3-circle horse = meaning their bodies could be divided equally into 3 circles: from the point of chest to the wither, from the wither to the hip and from the hip to the point of buttock.

He was close coupled, with a smooth topline, a well-laid-back shoulder, deep hip and well-muscled forearms and gaskins. *Barich de Washoe, as a modern day representative of the Spanish Arabian horse,  made Captain Luis Azpeitia de Moros book, En Busca Del Caballo Arabe, come alive for me. They were not just words printed on a piece of paper anymore. The book detailed the strict selection criteria that the Captain utilized, as he selected horses for the Cria Caballar throughout the middle east. The Captain and the other men who were all part of the commission, were all horsemen, who not only appreciated the beauty of the Arabian horse but also good, functional conformation, which allowed a horse to be an important and dependable partner within the Cavalry. *Barich de Washoe, descending from horses such as the ones that the Captain selected, reflects the non-negotiable standards employed by generations of Spanish horseman. This rich history is what people were getting, when they bred their mares to *Barich de Washoe. I was closer to childhood, than I was to adulthood, during most of the breeding career of *Barich de Washoe but considering all that has been written and said about *Barich de Washoe, it creates a strong desire to have had the opportunity of breeding to *Barich de Washoe, knowing that the resulting foal would be a better horse than either parent was.

Another interesting quality possessed by *Barich de Washoe was his temperament. In Denise Hearst's article, the various breeders who were part of his early career as a breeding stallion, all seem to agree on this intangible trait. He had a great personality, was a gentle, willing, agreeable horse, who was eager to learn. Trained in Western Pleasure by Bruce Clark, *Barich de Washoe was even named a Reserve National Champion in Canada, among other wins. 

After the Spanish Civil War and WWII, the Spanish Arabian horse struggled in Spain. The place of importance that horses had occupied in Spanish life was changing due to mechanization, there was no international market established and Spanish breeders, who were few in number, had more horses to sell, than there were buyers. Some breeders even changed the focus of their programs, crossing their Arabians with other breeds of horses. And some breeders, even sent their horses to slaughter. These were dark days for Spanish breeders, who worried that the Spanish lines would be lost forever. Today, we face similar challenges, as the horse once again, faces reduced interest in the perpetuation of the classical Spanish bloodlines. It's very challenging to look into the eyes of *Barich de Washoe, without experiencing emotion, as extinction seems inevitable. What will the future bring and will there be Spanish Arabian horses in it? Mary Ann Hughes of Will Mar Arabians in Chino, California had *Barich de Washoe at her farm for 3 breeding seasons. She said in Denise Hearst's article, "I fell for his Spanish eyes."

***My version of *Barich de Washoe's story would not be possible without the help of two wonderful articles written by people whom I deeply respect: Denise Hearst, *Barich de Washoe: Sire of Significance published by Arabian Horse World, April 1986 and Andrew K. Steen, A Concise History of the Arabian Horse in Spain, published by Arabian Horse Times, July 2013***