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[RC] The passing of Sierra Fadwah and Rio- part 1 of 2 - Nick Warhol

Hi everyone- The Endurance world is holding it’s flag at half mast this month due to the passing of two superb Hall of Fame horses.  I’m sad to report that Jackie Bumgardner lost her timeless stallion, Sierra Fadwah +/.  He was thirty years old and had been enjoying his retirement in Ridgecrest for a long time, pounding down all the Equine Senior he could eat.  Fadwah has been certainly one of the premier sires of great endurance horses, in 1998 he and his get had done over 55,000 miles, and I bet it’s a whole lot more than that now.  He has sired some champions, as well as many successful Arabian track racing horses.  But on top of that, he was a real character!  He’d love to show off in front of a crowd and knew when he was supposed to be showing off, which he did very well.  He was out of the immortal Fadjur of the Jack Tone Ranch, truly one of the legendary Arabian stallions of our times.  Not to mention Fadwah’s dam was Judhi, the only full sister to Bezatel.  Now there’s a combination!   Fadwah was one of the best- we will all miss him very much.

 

What can one say about Rio?  I hold him in a special place, since he and Becky Hart were ruling the sport when Judy and I got started, and that magnificent duo had a tremendous influence on me.  My only Rio story really says it all about this horse.  It was at a local 100 mile ride at Mount Diablo, in 1992 or so.   I was crewing for Judy and Warpaint that day, and was waiting around at the 50 mile lunch check for the leaders to arrive.   Off in the distance the first two horses were sighted, they were cantering down the long road towards the check.  I went over to watch the action and waited at the pulse area.  Into the check comes Becky and Rio, along with Shirley Delsart and her big gelding KJ Destination, another absolutely superb horse.   They both came in together, trotting right up to the gate to the parking area.   (continued)