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Sandie Cafritz with Maratez+/, photo by the late Johnny Johnston

I'm not sure when I first read And Miles to Go by Linell Smith but the story of *Witez II became a favorite,  which led me to find other books written about Arabian horses like The Black Stallion, by Walter Farley and King of the Wind by Marguerite Henry. As a chubby Cuban kid, not connected to anyone with horses, in an urbanized setting with absolutely no horses anywhere; reading books was the only way to make horses part of my life. Within the thousands of pages I devoured, horses were as real as I could imagine them to be. When my parents moved the family to a more suburban setting, imagine my surprise, as we passed a sign for an Arabian horse breeder, located in the western-side of town. Too young to drive and too far to ride my bike, I waited for an opportunity to visit the farm. Several years later, the opportunity kind of fell in place. There were 2 stallions on the farm at the time, a gorgeous chestnut named Abu and Maratez+/, who was close-coupled, comprised of circular lines, with a well-sprung barrel, muscled and a powerfully muscled hindquarter. He was smooth of body but it was in the details like his exceptionally fine and dark skin, the prominence of vein and bones, his shorter, wider head with fully black eyes and large, elastic nostrils, balanced with shorter, nicely shaped ears which overwhelmed me, even at a young age. He was extraordinary. His physical presentation was that of a classic Arabian, probably the type of horse most people imagine, when they think of an Arabian horse.  As beautiful  as the chestnut Abu was, Maratez+/ made him look coarse. Little did I realize at the time, the significance of the beautiful grey horse who stood before me, a grandson of *Witez II, the subject of And Miles to Go, the book I liked so much. I'm humbled, still and grateful to the late Alice Nagel of Pleasantview Farm, for the opportunity to meet him.

Maratez+/, foaled in 1967, was bred by the late Everett Shea, Windfall Farm, Pennsylvania. He was a son of  the black, Nitez (*Witez II x Nafa)  bred by Ed Hurlbutt and out of the grey, Imarada (Radamason x Imaja) also bred by Everett Shea. In his matriline, he traces to the desert mare, Nedjme, imported by the Hamidie Society for the World's Fair in Chicago. As a matter of fact, he carries a fair amount of desert breeding in the first 5 generations of his pedigree (parents, grandparents, great-great grandparents), mainly through Kuhailan-Haifi, Burgas and *Mirage. Further back in the pedigree are still more desert horses purchased by the Blunts. Skowronek (Ibrahim x Jaskolka) also appears multiple times in the pedigree through his sons, *Raffles, *Raseyn and daughter, *Rifala. Together with *Witez II, the overall percentage of Polish breeding increases to almost 40%!

Maratez+/ was owned for most of his life by Sandie Cafritz, of Dickerson, Maryland. Sadly, Sandie died this past April 28th. She was 88 years old and is missed by her family and friends. In 1947, at the age of 11, she won the Saddle Seat Equitation Championship at the Chicago International Horse Show. In her obituary, Sandie was said to be,

 "...petite in stature, strong, competitive, tough as nails and could handle a stallion like no other."

Maratez+/, in her hands, was named a National  top ten in English Pleasure twice, 1972 & 1973, in addition to being pinned an East Coast champion in English Pleasure. All of his wins in the show ring helped Maratez+/ to earn his legion of Supreme honor. That is what the symbol "+/" after his name designates. 

Maratez+/ was a proven breeding stallion and in temperament,  was kind and generous.  Most people who knew him personally remarked that he was "a sweetheart", an easy horse to be around. In the late 1970's, in the area known as the mid-Atlantic, particularly the sections of Maryland and Virginia closest to the Potomac river, horses mysteriously became ill and then, died. Eventually, veterinarians coined the name "Potomac Horse Fever" for the illness and Sandie, together with the Morris Animal foundation, worked tirelessly to educate the public and raise funding for a vaccine. In the early 1980's, Maratez+/ was the first horse to receive the newly created vaccination.

Maratez+/ came at a time in my life, when I was just beginning. I really knew nothing but I was able to connect the words I had read, with a living, breathing Arabian Horse. Up until that time, I had never had the opportunity to meet an Arabian horse before. Meeting Maratez+/ in person remains a pivotal moment in my life, as his phenotype made a gigantic impact upon me and set the course for the rest of my life. I knew, in that moment, that he was the type of horse that I would spend the rest of my life chasing. Thirty years after his death, I'm still running to find a horse who inspires me, in the same way that Maratez+/ did, all those years ago. Maybe Sandie's short note back to me is the best way to wrap up my story of Maratez+/. She wrote, 

"I am so happy that you were so impressed with him and to know his heart was the best of all."