Michael Byatt Arabians Open House

M ic h a e l Byat t A r a bi a n s b y

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Clockwise from top: Michael Byatt talks with Gene LaCroix Friday night who shared his knowledge as a breeder and horseman. ✯ Friday evening cocktail hour. ✯ Public relations manager Robert Cass with Michelle Thomas of Queensland, Australia. ✯ Doug Dahmen with Majalis. ✯ Michael Byatt Arabians staff with *Gazal Al Shaqab.

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M ic h a e l Byat t Ar abians b y

C i n d y

R e i c h

✯

P h o t o s

b y

A p r i l

V i s e l

Clockwise from top: Michael Byatt talks with Gene LaCroix Friday night who shared his knowledge as a breeder and horseman. ✯ Friday evening cocktail hour. ✯ Public relations manager Robert Cass with Michelle Thomas of Queensland, Australia. ✯ Doug Dahmen with Majalis. ✯ Michael Byatt Arabians staff with *Gazal Al Shaqab.

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A p r i l 2 2 - 2 3 , N e w U l m , Te x a s

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Michael Byatt, left,

directed questions to Doug Dahmen exploring the contributions he has made to the Arabian horse world through his involvement with such notables as *El Shaklan and Ali Jamaal.

ichael Byatt cupped his hands and called “Cowwwwwwwssssss.” Immediately, his small group of Dexter cows — a tiny breed from Ireland, started a frantic mooing, running up to the fence for some cow treats. This is a common occurrence when you walk the farm with Michael. Numerous stops must be made — cow treats dispensed, carrots for the horses, a boost for one of the dogs to get into the golf cart. It is obvious that Michael loves his animals and his animals love him.

We were on our way to see the new stallion barn that housed the genetic Fort Knox of Arabians: *Gazal Al Shaqab, *Marwan Al Shaqab, *Abha Qatar, *Parys El Jamaal, Shakir El Marwan, and the young up-and-comers Onitnelav and Perignon. The stalls are very large — at least 16´ x 16´ with an airiness and openness to the barn that is very comfortable for the stallions. All the stallions can see each other and all have outside windows where they can hang their heads out and

H o u s e survey the workings of the farm. There is a touch of elegance in the chandeliers, but it is a horseman’s barn, built with the horse’s care and comfort in mind.

While I have judged the offspring of many of these stallions by the dozens in shows around the world, it was my first chance to see them face-to-face. Truth be told, it is the rare time these days that my breath is taken away by a particular horse (although that is the moment I always search for when looking at horses). While my expectations were high, seeing Gazal and Marwan in the flesh made me gasp. Walking into their stalls and standing eye-to-eye with them did, in fact, raise the hairs on the back of my neck.

It was actually quite emotional — you knew you were in the presence of greatness. And I have handled many great stallions in my day.

I had been invited by Michael to speak at his open house and arrived a day early to take everything in. Michael’s open house was always an event I had wanted to attend, but every year it seemed something else got in the way. Therefore, the chance to speak was the perfect opportunity to experience the paradise Byatt has crafted for his horses. And it truly is for the horses.

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“On this farm, the horses come first,” said Vicky and Michael Mangan of Honeoye, New York. They are longtime clients of Michael’s, having had horses in training with him for over 20 years. “We consider this farm ‘horse heaven.’ If your horse is here it is heaven. If you are a client here it is heaven.

“We love coming to Michael’s open house because we always have a wonderful time and we get to see the greatest horses in the country. Michael always makes sure you learn something at his open house and at the same time, he treats you like a king. You also always meet very interesting people at each open house. We have been coming since the first one and each time it exceeds our expectations. There is always some surprise — something you don’t expect. Furthermore, the effort that Michael and his staff put into this event is extraordinary.

Everyone is made to feel welcome — whether you are a big client or a local from New Ulm.” The night before the open house, Michael hosted a cocktail hour under the trees for guests and clients. With a panoramic view of a large paddock that contained mares and foals, it was hard to concentrate on polite conversation. Especially when the foals started a game of tag and tore around the paddock, tails high. A few geriatric mares share the same paddock, including Marwan’s dam, Little Liza Fame (24 years old), and 1987 National Champion Shahteyna, who is now 29 years old. However, everyone’s attention was gained when Brandon Visel started playing on the piano that had been brought out

Above: Shakir El Marwan (*Marwan Al Shaqab x Om El Shadina). ✯ Right: *Marwan Al Shaqab (*Gazal Al Shaqab x Little Liza Fame).

Guests lined up to have pictures taken with the “kingmakers” — *Marwan Al Shaqab and his sire *Gazal Al Shaqab, pictured far left.

onto the patio of the house. Husband of the “queen of light” photographer, April, Brandon is an equally talented musician and regaled everyone with several of his own compositions.

Michael then donned his MC hat and introduced Doug Dahmen before launching into a series of questions exploring the contributions Doug has made to the Arabian horse world through his work with *El Shaklan and Ali Jamaal to name just two. It was a very entertaining and informative discussion.

The informal nature of the gathering was easy both on the

speaker and the audience and everyone listened intently. Next up was Gene LaCroix, who is always a fount of knowledge, both as a breeder and horseman. Gene took us on a memory walk starting with his first visit to Poland with his father when they saw *Bask, the genesis for the name Lasma, and how the modern halter stance came to be. Additionally he spoke to the performance aspect of the Polish lines and the days of the Lasma sales. It was an evening of great friends, excellent food, and a thoughtful learning experience.

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these boys loose and up close was immensely satisfying, confirming that the great horses look equally good if not better on their own than they do in the showring.

Cameras were whirring on all sides, as amateur and professional photographers lined the rail along with teenagers, neighbors, grandmothers, trainers, clients, and leading breeders. It was all one big visual feast of Arabian stallions in all their power and glory.

After the last stallion was shown, Michael stunned the crowd by announcing that April Visel was available to take photos and that anyone — anyone — who wanted to have their picture taken with Marwan or Gazal could line up and have a picture taken. It is a testament to the temperament of both stallions, the skill of Michael’s staff, and the generosity of Al Shaqab Stud

Above: A 2011 filly (*Besson Carol x Grace C). ✯ Right: *Abha Qatar (*Marwan Al Shaqab x ZT Ludjkalba).

The cars started rolling in early on Saturday for the main event. There had been a write-up in the Houston Chronicle on the open house and there would be folks arriving from near and far, from neighbors just down the road to Brazil and beyond. The event started with a showing of the stallions. Each stallion was turned out in the show paddock behind the new stallion barn, which was being used for the first time. With music from “DJ” Robert Cass, each stallion was turned loose and immediately put on a spectacular show. The ability to see

that they would allow such an opportunity to take place. Both Marwan and Gazal were patient and cooperative as dozens of people took advantage of such a unique photo op! I want to publicly commend David and Amanda Botha and Michael Carpio for their skill in making the photo session such a success.

Michael’s barbecue during the open house is legendary and I soon found out why. After enjoying the stallions, everyone adjourned to the lawn for barbecue and other toothsome delights. Meanwhile, Michael’s hardworking staff, with

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invited Doug Dahmen to come out and stand in the arena with Majalis’s progeny as he owned the mare for many years. Michael then presented a group of local 4-H girls with a copy each of a Gigi Grasso photographic book of the Arabian horse for their enthusiastic cheering for each horse presented! The whole afternoon was very low-key — no sales pitches, no printed material handed out, simply a day to enjoy Arabian horses and the hospitality of Michael and his staff. No doubt many locals and non-Arabian people went home with a new appreciation for the beauty of the Arabian horse. Meanwhile, the breeders,

Above: *Gazal Al Shaqab (Anaza El Farid x Kajora). ✯ Right: *Abha Qalams (Alfabia Damascus x Abha Mudira).

right-hand man Robert Cass at the helm, were preparing the horses for the second showing, which included beautiful show horses such as the DA Valentino filly Bella Bella B out of Amelia B; the foal Maliaa by *Rahere out of Majalia by *Gazal Al Shaqab; as well as *Miss El Power JQ (Power World JQ x Elkada Sahibi). I was particularly taken by the spectacular yearling filly Ghazalat Al Khalediah (PA Gazsi x Argentinaa SS). My emotional favorite of the presentation group was a beautiful small colt, aptly named “Miracle Of Marwan,” who was born six weeks premature and by rights should not have survived. Yet he has not only survived, he has thrived. I was especially impressed

by Michael’s staff and interns who did such a gentle job of handling and presenting the foal and his dam.

Family groups were presented as well, most notably the offspring of *Besson Carol, and the family from one of Michael’s mares, Majalis (Ali Jamaal x Starilla by *Rastano). Michael also

trainers, and others in the industry simply admired the horses presented. Later that evening a magnificent dinner was served to guests on the lawn overlooking the paddocks. Under the glow of fairy lights in the trees and Brandon Visel’s magical playing, it was easy to see why so many of Michael’s clients consider his farm a small piece of heaven.

Late that afternoon, I had asked Michael if we could go see *Negma Al Shaqab (Safir x Kajora), a mare I had admired greatly when I judged the Egyptian Event last year. Michael was happy to oblige and we set out to the far pasture where she lived with several other mares. On the way, we passed a paddock where a bay horse burst out of the trees and thundered up to the fence as soon as he spied Michael. It was *Gazal Al Shaqab, looking for carrots. Naturally, he was rewarded. It is, after all, horse paradise.

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