THE 2010 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP IN PARIS

The World Championship in Paris was especially magical this year. Adding to the enchantment of beautiful Arabian horses gathered in the most glamorous city in the world, an unusually chaotic snow storm hit Paris two days before the show began, covering the entire city in a pristine, glittering blanket of white.

For those of you who haven’t yet attended this show, I highly recommend it. The quality of horses is exceptionally high and so is the fun factor. The people who attend the show generally dress beautifully, (except Sigi and I, since we didn’t get our luggage until the last day of the show due to the above mentioned snow storm!) the alcohol flows readily and there is great food aplenty. All in all, the Salon du Cheval is an event every passionate Arabian horse lover deserves to experience at least once in their lifetime.

The show is structured with just a few classes: Junior Female, Senior Female, Junior Male and Senior Male. Each of these categories is further broken down by age into groups A and B. The Top 5 of each Section goes back into the Championship on Sunday, thus a total of 10 horses are called back into each of the 4 Championships. The judging panel, comprised of eight international judges, selects a Top 5 and out of this group emerge the Gold, Silver and Bronze World Champions.

Junior Female World Champion (Gold) was the ethereal FT Shaella, sired by Shael Dream Desert. She is owned by Dubai Stud and was beautifully presented by her Italian handler, Paolo Capecci. The Reserve World Champion Filly (Silver) was the Italian owned Alma Al Tiglio by Ajman Moniscione, an incredibly typey and very flashy chestnut filly shown by Frank Spoenle of Germany. The Bronze Champion filly was the one that made my heart putter-putter; she didn’t yet have the ethereal beauty of the winner nor the refined face of the Silver filly but what she did have was incredible presence; the kind of star quality every breeder dreams of producing but rarely achieves. Her name is Almasa by a relatively unknown stallion named Mornarcos. She is, however, royally bred and owned by the Royal Stables of Jordan. We will hear much of this filly in the future.

The World Champion Junior Male Colt (Gold) was one of my favorites in the Championship: Aja Justified by WH Justice. He was bred and is owned by Jane and Malcom Hickford of the United Kingdom, and is presently on lease to Athba Stud of Saudi Arabia. The reason this colt is close to my heart is two-fold: There are five Om El Arab bred horses in his pedigree and I consider any horse that has any Om El in it to be part of my family. Secondly, Aja Justified is incredibly Om El Arab in phenotype as well as genotype and it made me very proud when he won. The Silver Champion was a Besson Carol son named Fadi Al Shaqab, presented by Michael Byatt and owned by Al Shaqab Stud. He is a flashy bay colt that is very Marwan in type through his dam. Bronze Champion colt was RFI Farid by RFI Maktub, bred in Brazil and shown to the win by Frank Spoenle.

The Senior Females were very beautiful this year and the placing could have been switched around to any of the top mares without causing controversy. On the day of the Championship it was Ajmaan Stud’s Bess Fa’izah, by WH Justice, that won the Gold. This mare has an incredible face and gave it her best in the Championship. The famous Polish mare Emandoria, by Gazal Al Shaqab, had to settle for Silver on this day. Bronze Champion was the stellar Lady Veronica, by Versace who is out of an *El Shaklan daughter. Emandoria ruled the ring on the day of her class but was a little too sleepy in the Championship to be placed above the other two mares. Another mare I would like to mention is SF Shaklina by *Sanadik El Shaklan. She was actually produced here in Santa Ynez on our farm but foaled in Belgium. She is owned by Kuphal de Mato of Argentina and Johanna Ullstrom and was shown by Johanna to the Top 5 in the World Championship. Shaklina was my favorite mare of the show. It was as if her sire *Sanadik were standing in the ring in female form. She would have made her daddy very proud!

The Senior Male Championship was an interesting class. Banderos, by Marwan Al Shaqab won the Gold Champion honors. He is owned by Al Khalediah of Saudi Arabia and has won almost every show he’s ever entered—globally. Silver Championship honors went to the incredible QR Marc by Marwan Al Shaqab. QR Marc has one of the most amazing faces I’ve ever seen on an Arabian stallion-- he is in the flesh what artists of old have created on paper, and absolutely magnificent to see in the flesh. The Bronze Championship went to Marquis, by Marwan Al Shaqab, also owned by Al Khalediah.

Sigi and I spent two wonderful days after the show sightseeing in Paris. We went to the Rodin Museum for the first time, saw a Monet exhibition one evening and tried but didn’t make it to the Opera. Sometimes it’s nice to leave something you really want to do for the next trip to Paris …