Mystic sands arabians
returned to competition in 1986 with Raymond LaCroix to be named the U.S. National Champion Stallion, again unanimously, out of 43 entries. “And I have the videos to verify that both of Santana’s national championships were unanimous!” says Donna Topp, removing any doubt.
MS KhaSanova (da valentino x MS Khandi)
By 1986, MS Santana had a number of promising offspring on the ground. “We stood him for three years,” says Tim Shea. “He bred a few mares as a 2-year-old, 77 mares when he was three, and when he was a 4-year-old, he bred 140 mares.” Shea shakes his head, smiling broadly. MS Santana’s popularity as a sire was not unexpected. His show ring record spoke for itself. To add to his allure, he was descended from the Kuhailan Haifi sire line, the most successful in Poland for siring show ring winners. His grandsire, Witraz, was one of the three “W” Ofir sons who survived World War II. Witraz and Wielki Szlem came through the bombing of Dresden, saved only by a groom’s tenacity, and *Witez II was brought to the United States in a group of horses rescued by Gen. George Patton in the closing days of the war. All three—*Witez II in person, and Witraz and Wielki Szlem through their offspring—made incalculable contributions to the Arabian horse gene pool worldwide. At the time of his death in June 2008, MS Santana had sired 627 foals. The last of these, MS Trilagie (x MS Tabetha, by Barisznikov), whose second dam was Tomorrows Dream, was bred by the Topps.
MS FreedoM (Padrons Psyche x Tomorrows dream)
Ohio horseman Tim Von Duyke hauled more than one of the Mystic Sands mares to Lasma in the days when *Bask was at the top of his game. “When we would stop for fuel,” Von Duyke remembers, “we would open the feed doors to let the horses put their heads out and get some fresh air. The Topps sent beautiful, beautiful mares to *Bask. People were drawn to them all along the way. Many folks told us they just knew these were Arabian horses because they were so gorgeous.” n Volume 42, No. 10 | 85