Some memories of … THE EARLY YEARS OF PEARSONS VIEW ARABIANS   by Carmel Rowley

Adapted from an article written for the online magazine www.straightegyptians.com

Don and Simeon Stav

The old saying “things change but things stay the same”, is so appropriate when summing up our involvement with Arabian horses. Our life has changed, but with the passing of time there’s always been a sameness about our goals and aspirations as we consider our long-term association with the Arabian breed. Every day I feel lucky and blessed,  to have fallen in love with, and married an avid animal lover from a dairy farming family in Gippsland, Victoria who encouraged me on the journey of my hearts desire.

The beauty of the Arabian horse has been the primary motivation for many horse lovers as they assume the mantle as breeder.  I would love to say it was a more profound motivation that attracted us, but it was not. It was the captivating beauty of the Arabian horse,  their expressive faces and knowing eyes that drew us like a moth to a flame. Maybe that’s why the faces and curious expressions of our horses became such a driving force within our program.

In those early years, as we travelled to horse shows and visited breeding farms we marvelled at the expressive faces that stared at us with an expression of understanding, which almost appeared human like. Now today, I know that our Arabian horses parallel our own emotions, they can be cross, sleepy, happy with a sense of humour, tricksters, playful, serious and motivated with their work even impatient. I knew none of this back then but it was there, in each interested glance that drifted our way. Time has a way of highlighting moments, snapshots that have you wondering where the years have gone.  Wasn’t it just yesterday, we decided to breed Arabian horses?  A decision not taken well by fellow riders and competitors. They said, part Arabians were acceptable, well just, but pure-bred!

Inevitably, purebred Arabians did follow the partbreds and on a six-month working holiday around Australia, we visited many Arabian farms before making a decision. It was  in Queensland that we met a stallion that was irresistible and we ordered a foal. This was in 1975 and purebred foals were ordered, such was the demand. When it came time to leave Queensland on the final leg of our trip,  the owner of the irresistible stallion promised to contact us when a suitable foal arrived.

Harness Practice

A letter arrived in September 1975 informing us about a colt, and asking if we still wished to purchase. Photographs followed, as did discussions with our parents who thought we had taken leave of our senses at the idea of buying a colt. Yes, it had to be a colt, as a filly at the time was completely out of our price range. Our parents threw every obstacle at us, we were living in a caravan! What were we thinking! We did however have our land. Eventually  discussions fell silent and our baby colt arrived from Queensland early in 1976 to a lovely  railed paddock and a new stable while we continued to live in our twenty-two foot caravan! We then proceeded to launch our new colt onto the show scene. This era was just prior to “American stand up” showing, so we taught our colt to stand nicely and to trot out energetically and then every weekend we loaded him in the horse float and headed off to Agricultural Shows far and wide.

Don & Carmel at a show

We showed this colt in everything from Arabian classes to Galloway classes, head classes, movement classes, double registered classes and we amassed a staggering number of sashes. The unfortunate flip side to all of this showing and winning was eventually the friendly, companionable competitors, became no longer friendly, just competitive! In many ways we were oblivious to this attitude, we enjoyed our horses so much the people didn’t concern us.

In the winter of 1977 we accepted a request from friends in Queensland to oversee their Quarter horse stud while they went on holiday, so this time the caravan stayed at home and we hitched up the horse float, packed the car, the dog, loaded the colt and headed north for three months. Oh, I nearly forgot to mention we had purchased a weanling purebred filly and our parents once again were about to put us into psychiatric treatment. It condemned us to a fate worse than death, living in the caravan for another three years! I must mention that the purchase of a purebred filly in those days was equivalent to the cost of building a small house, so in saying our parents were battling with our decision is an understatement.

Carmel and Gold Money Bars

With the resilience of youth, we escaped the fuss and headed to Queensland.  We showed our colt in Queensland with good results, exercised the quarter horses and three months later loaded up our colt, the new filly plus the dog and headed home. Once home we concentrated on breaking in our colt and showing our filly (yes, we did live in the caravan for another three years!) We also began showing one of our geldings under saddle, in costume and in harness.

Bremervale Tartuffe under saddle

The halter ring was now becoming specialized with the American way of showing, and it was obvious the time had come to (overseas trainers were now judging our horses) somehow learn exactly how to train the horses to stand the American way. So off we went again around the country this time to seminars given by people such as Mr. Gene La Croix, Mr.David Gardner and others and we wondered why our wonderful Australian handlers decided it was better to train the horses to stand the American way (a way we personally associated with American Saddlebreds) rather than persist with their own Australian approach to the halter ring. I still question this.

The early 1980’s were a time of change in Australia, and change is generally not a bad thing, but it appeared Australia had adopted an unmanageable child, the USA training methods. It looked very impressive, but at that time we were very naive and ignorant of how such results were achieved. As time progressed we watched many of the breeders around us, become wrapped up in the glamour of the now specialised Arabian horse shows. It appeared to be no longer about the horses but more about “winning at any price”. We noticed also the effect of the training methods on the some of the horses.

We had come of age and ceased being ignorant of what was happening around us. Many emotions were felt including a strong responsibility towards our horses, so the decision was made to step back from the halter ring and to concentrate on breeding foals from our mares and to simply live a lifestyle of enjoying our horses. This decision provoked much deliberation about our breeding program and what we really wanted to achieve. Decisions were made as we became increasingly aware of the Egyptian Arabian horse. Horses within Australia during the earlier years were predominantly of English bloodlines and with the importation of straight Egyptian, Egyptian related, Russian some Polish and Spanish bloodlines, in the early and middle 1980’s, saw bloodlines appear that added an exciting incentive to breeders across Australia, and the Arabian horse seemed reborn.

Odenuel as a yearling

It was a time of change for us also; over the years we had become more aware of the dedicated breeders around the world and what they were achieving. We found it hard to find mentors within Australia and  unless you purchased a horse from a breeder, they really wanted nothing more to do with you. (Harsh words, I know). It was an unfortunate reality; no real support, encouragement or information was offered so we turned instead to books, videos, (when we could get them) and magazines. Don’t forget thee was no Internet in those days. Magazines from all over the world were subscribed too, until they threatened to overtake our house. Like sponges we soaked up all the information we could acquire. Learning about breeders that had, and have, dedicated their lives passionately to the Arabian horse became our mentors that inspired and motived us. It became so increasingly evident that horse breeding, if done seriously is a long-term commitment and like many before us we  adapted and changed how to achieve our goals along the way.

Never having had the desire to own large numbers of horses, we maintained a type of ‘Boutique” size stud and it was again on a holiday (in those days we actually had holidays!) back in Queensland in the middle 1980’s that we saw the young stallion that would introduce us to the family who added a new dimension to our breeding program. This horse offered us the image of what we were seeking and by pure coincidence in 1985 a tiny advertisement in a New South Wales paper selling a yearling black/bay colt  mapped out our future! The colt Odenuel was purchased and had Jamil (Madkour I x Hanan) as his grandsire on his paternal side so began a near obsession with the Hanan family.

Don & his beloved Oden

Following the purchase of Odenuel, Egyptian horses of a specific type and pedigree were introduced into our breeding program. Simeon Sarah was purchased with a request that she be in foal to a young imported double Aswan stallion of Russian bloodlines, that mating produced Pearsons Sarchi.

Carmel and Sarchi

I have to say however that the most significant purchase was in 1987 when a colt was born by a much-discussed young stallion imported from Germany. The purchase was made but not without heart palpitations and lots of sleepless nights wondering if we really should spend our savings plus some inheritance (the parents again threatened madness, but we did after all have our house, by this time!) This colt was the first foal of Asfour out of a Sankt George daughter. (Simeon Sarah out previous purchase is also by Sankt George) We had such faith in ourselves and in the stallion himself that we never, never  regretted this purchase. The colt we purchased has been the very heart and soul of our lives and we have watched him go through many experiences in his twenty five years, this colt, of course was Simeon Stav.

Simeon Stav as a weanling 

In 1988 we made the momentous decision to move to Queensland. No not to escape our poor suffering parents. We sold our property in Gippsland, Victoria and finally fulfilled this big dream we had harboured for many years.  A newly purchased Simeon Stav and eight other horses and two foals made the BIG trip (1,000 miles) to our new home in Toowoomba. Regardless of all the worry surrounding his purchase, and the dramas we went through with Simeon Stav pushed us into realizing we could pursue our breeding program our own way, without conforming to what everyone else expects and does. We dismissed the importance of the show ring for us; we show only occasionally, and quite honestly we could never condone some of the practises associated with this medium.

Don & Simeon Sarah

We learned about the Arabian horse scene realistically, trying to understand people’s motivation, and then set about sharing our life with generations of delightful Arabian horses that inspire us every single day with the beauty of life. We breed Arabian foals that sooth the soul, delight the eye and most importantly make you smile and laugh, creating for us an ideal life. Life is full of change, and time are changing yet again. The Arabian horse remains a constant in our life but in a different way – and that’s another story.

Pearsons View Arabians www.pearsonsviewarabians.com

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