Oh boy, go away for a weekend to a show down in Paso Robles and there is
another firestorm on RideCamp. Like walking into a room where everyone is
yelling about subjects they think they are all expert on but they're really not.
Reminds me of a family Thanksgiving dinner discussion. I have to agree with
Dennis. The comments made were condescending, not only to Shagya owners and
breeders, but to LD riders.....again. I thought this LD discussion was dead but
here it is again.
First of all there are two Shagya associations in the US, NASS and AVS.
They both have programs for rewarding distance riding. Donna Coss was one of the
founders of AVS and is one of the top breeders of Shagya's in the US. Her
breeding program is right up there with Taylor Ranch (for those that don't know
Taylor Ranch is the home of Aladdin and Strike, not every good Arabian is a
Beleesemo or AM bred horse). They both have year end awards in their
programs. Dona is attempting to get recognition for Shagya's in endurance.
Unfortunately there are only at best 200-400 Shagya's in the US. It's
hard to get them to do 50's when the majority them don't qualify because of age
(like mine) or because the focus with Shagya's has been in jumping and dressage
in the US.
In Europe it is a very different story. Shagya's compete effectively
against PBA's (Pure Bred Arabs) and warmbloods in a variety of disciplines
(eventing, jumping, dressage) and they win often! The entire Hanovarion and
Trahkanner (sic) breeds are based on Shagya breeding. Shagya's are tested both
in Eurpoe and the US on the same level (100 day testing) and often outscore
traditonal breeds and win 100 day tests. In Europe Arabs are considered the
diamonds of horse breeds but Shagya's are considered to be the brilliants. They
are pricey but the top Arabian stubs (Janow , etc) consistenly use them in
their breeding programs. They are Arabs but they also aren't. They are their own
breed. The entire breed was derived from one horse (a 16 hand Syrian PBA
stallion) over 250 years ago by cross breeding them back to Hugarian mares. Now
every 4th generation is bred back to PBA's. You will find some great Arabian
lines in their breeding that will make you drool if you are into Arabs (Pilot,
Ofir, Witraz - all the great Polish lines that produce the CMK lines that most
are familiar with here in the US). If you type SHAGYA into a Google search you
will find results for both US Shagya organizations as well as the Balbona stud
(primary Shagya stud) and the German stud that breed Shagya's from the Ibrahim
line (Negatiw).
Come on folks, try to be more gracious. If I came to your house and you
greeted me that way I don't know if I would I would stay. I know I would have to
think twice about coming back! I don't think you quite get it that the way you
respond to people on Ride Camp can turn new people off very quickly. This is one
of the same issues that I raised in the LD discussion. If you have the "been
there done that" attitude in you voice or posts the impression you give
newcomers is not favorable. Again people are saying you can't be in the
Endurance world if you don't do 50's but pooh poohing 25's. There is no logic in
that approach. You can't expand your base without welcoming novice riders and
there are going to be other breeds where they won't even consider 50's or 100's
appropriate for there breed programs. JMHO.
If anyone is interested in Shagya's, contact me by private email. I know
one breeder who had ten foals last year and another breed who has an 18 month
old that is aruguablly the best stallion in this country today.
