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*Pogrom (QR Marc x Petla), 2011 Polish National Gold Champion Junior Stallion and 2010 Polish National Silver Champion Junior colt. He is pictured here in 2010 as a yearling.
rabian horse breeders are by their nature travelers; always seeking the very best horses to incorporate into their own breeding programs in their quest for the Arabian ideal. Their searches and serendipitous encounters sometimes move the breed in a new direction. The story of the Polish stallion *Pogrom exemplifies one such story. *Pogrom’s dam line of Szjamrajówka was imported to Poland in 1810. This mare family was devastated during the Second World War, leaving no representatives on Polish soil. The main reason was confiscation by the Soviets of the four remaining representatives, including the Ofir daughter Włodarka bred by Janów Podlaski. In 1956, a deal was struck with Tersk Stud and the Włodarka daughter Piewica (by Priboj) returned to Poland. Thus the mare line of Szjamrajówka was reestablished at Janów and the famous “P” family was founded. It would be difficult to overestimate Piewica’s influence in Janów, and Poland in general. She is the grandam of World Champion Pilarka, and this family alone accounts for Pipi, Pilar, Piaff, Pilot, and World champions *Pinga and *Pianissima to name just a few. Piewica’s daughter Penza’s branch includes the significant stallions Pepton (sire of *Ecaho) and Penitent. Piewica’s granddaughter *Pierzeja is the dam of the sire *Piechur, broodmare sire of World Champion Ekstern. The Piewica daughter Pentoda’s branch includes Pentoza, who established Bialka Stud’s most important family, which includes Perforacja, Pesal, Perfirka, and Perfinka. Pentoda is also the dam of Janów stallion Pers and 1976 U.S. National Champion Mare *Penicylina. But Pentoda’s most significant contribution to Janów was through the *Probat daughter Pestka. 2 ▪ *POGROM ▪ WORLD
David Boggs and clients stroll the Janow Stud grounds during the 2013 Polish Nationals.
*Pogrom’s dam Petla (Visbaden x Petra), left, and *Pogrom pictured in Poland as a yearling, below.
Pestka had four most significant daughters at Janów: *Pepesza (dam of Pernila and the useful sire Pegasus), Pohulanka (dam of the sire Poganin), Psyche (dam of the stallion Porto) and Petra. Through Petra, the dam of *Pogrom would come to Janów. At this time Poland sought to reintroduce a sire line that had been used sporadically in Poland and no longer had a representative. Izabella Pawelec-Zawadzka explains, “We wanted a stallion from the Koheilan Adjuze sire line to enlarge the genetic pool. We were looking particularly to bring the blood of Naftalin to Poland. We wanted his strength and movement. We had tried finding a stallion directly from Tersk, but we wanted a stallion without Aswan blood, and they did not have one that fit our needs. “It so happens that I was in Bábolna judging. Tamas Rombauer was the manager of the stud at that time and he had Visbaden on lease, the Naftalin son out of Presnia. They presented me with Visbaden, and immediately I thought it could be the stallion to introduce to Poland. He was not very pretty, however, but he was a very athletic horse with great body and beautiful eyes. Visbaden had these eyes of Naftalin — fantastic, big eyes. Also Visbaden had the best movement that I ever saw in my life, really! As it happened, Director Rombauer was also interested in sending mares to Poland to breed to *Eukaliptus. 3 ▪ *POGROM ▪ WORLD
“I thought *Pogrom was very similar to QR Marc who I had at one time. I consider QR Marc one of the most beautiful horses of our time and *Pogrom looks very much like him. *Pogrom also has such awareness of his surroundings; you can feel it when you are around him. You get that sense from the great ones; it is the essence of the Arabian horse. QR Marc is a ‘kingmaker.’” — Roxann Hart, Rohara Arabians, Orange Lake, Florida “I had a private viewing of him as a three-year-old. He was the finest three-year-old colt I have seen. I love the fact that he is such a complete horse structurally and that he was rewarded at Scottsdale.” — Cindy Reich, Fort Collins, Colorado “*Pogrom’s energy, style and overall excitement are the epitome of an Arabian stallion. He has captured my heart and soul, and always will! Here’s to Janów and the State Studs of Poland for breeding yet another international champion! Vodka toast to all!” — Aude Espourteille, Deor Farms, Butte Falls, Oregon “*Pogrom not only has and sires the type that is so important, but he is conformationally and mentally sound. We are around these horses 365 days of the year, so these attributes are very important to us.” — Ed and Laura Friesen, Wunderbar Arabians, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada “Mulawa has purchased a package of breedings to *Pogrom, who greatly impressed us with his wonderful balance and breed type. We are expecting three foals from him this season from daughters of DA Valentino, Versace, and GLF Apollo.” — Greg Farrell, Mulawa Arabian Stud, Sydney, NSW, Australia “His get all have those big eyes and crazy charisma. *Pogrom commands respect — I just love that kind of style. We have been looking for a new sire and he is definitely it!” — AJ Marino, Marino Arabians, Birmingham, Alabama “As a sire, the expectations are for *Pogrom to add balance, structure, substance, elegance and athleticism. His overall quality and aristocratic presence are undeniable, and his immense dark eyes are much needed in the population at large. Given the strength and unequivocal success of his ‘P’ dam line through some of the most celebrated mares of his family, we do expect *Pogrom’s contribution as a sire to be significantly positive.” — Scott Benjamin 4 ▪ *POGROM ▪ WORLD
*Pogrom
“I told Director Krzyształowicz all of this, and asked what he thought of sending mares to Visbaden. Of course, he agreed and that is how the dam of *Pogrom was bred. Always with breeding in Poland we are trying to preserve the dam and sire lines. So we are always searching, and this search gave us *Pogrom’s mother.” Although Janów did not get a productive sire by Visbaden, they did get the excellent broodmare Petla from Petra. Petla is a big, brawny, well-constructed mare. Petla had those big eyes of Naftalin that had so entranced Izabella. As a broodmare, Petla has proven exceptional, and she caught the attention of Janów Director Marek Trela when he was deciding on mares for international sire QR Marc. “The mare I chose needed to be a great producer, especially of sires (we have four or five from her who were very strong),” Trela remembers. “Petla is a correct mare, with a big black eye and a very good pedigree.” QR Marc has been an excellent sire outside of Poland, and the Poles have demonstrated that they have a “special recipe” for QR Marc as demonstrated by World champions Wieza Mocy and Equator, as well as *Pogrom. “I am very sure that Director Krzyształowicz is very proud of *Pogrom up there,” says Director Trela. “This was his idea to breed Petra to Visbaden and by doing this he completed the main part of the puzzle for me.” There is little doubt Petla’s dark bay colt born late
Anaza El Farid *Gazal Al Shaqab Kajora *Marwan Al Shaqab
QR Marc
Fame VF Little Liza Fame Katahza QR Marc Ali Jamaal Magic Dream CAHR The Dreamspinner Swete Dreams Kouros Kouream de Ment Rawhides Amenda
Topol Naftalin Nepridawa FINKE PHOTO
Visbaden Nabeg Presnia
Visbaden
Parana Petla *Bandos PASB *Pepton *Pemba Petra *Probat Pestka Pentoda
Petla 5 ▪ *POGROM ▪ WORLD
Ruminaja Ali Bint Deenaa Kaborr *Edjora Bey Shah Raffoleta-Rose Aza Destiny Afhar Rahza Ruminaja Ali Heritage Memory Aristo Kosak Myrilinan Acledo *Marhaba Kissie Bagdad Of Rawhide Rawhides Nakota Priboj Taktika Pomeranets Napraslina Arax Nomenklatura Aswan Polnoch Negatiw Bandola Czort Penza Pohaniec Borexia *Bandos Piewica
Above:*Pogrom won Scottsdale Supreme Champion and unanimous Champion Classic Senior Stallion with David Boggs. Top right: *Pogrom was bred by and is owned by Janów Stud, Poland. Pictured here is Janów Director Marek Trela. Right: *Pogrom with Margaux Rodrigues.
April of 2009 exceeded expectations. Breeders always hope to extract the best of both parents, but it rarely works this way. *Pogrom, however, got the structural foundation and raw athleticism of Petla, the exotic beauty of QR Marc, and those Naftalin eyes. Director Trela sums it up succinctly: “Maybe he was more than I hoped for, maybe he was what I was dreaming of.” The spring of *Pogrom’s yearling year was the first test of his potential, the Białka Spring Show that is the annual rite of passage for Poland’s hopefuls. He passed this test with flying colors, being named Spring Show Champion and Best in Show. He followed that up with Silver Champion Junior Colt at the 2010 Polish Nationals. Rumors began to surface about a special colt in Poland, aided by a dramatic Vesty photo of the young *Pogrom with his incredibly exotic head. The Poles, always best known for their mares, looked to have a stallion of exceptional quality in their stables. That said, the European show circuit did not go as planned for *Pogrom, although his Top Ten in Paris did serve a crucial role in his future career. At the Salon du Cheval, *Pogrom caught the eye of American trainer and marketer David Boggs who, up 6 ▪ *POGROM ▪ WORLD
Above and right: *Pogrom, shown with handler Pawel Kozikowski from Poland, won Gold Supreme Champion Senior Stallion at the 2013 Las Vegas Breeders World Cup Show.
until now, had not had substantial dealings with Poland. Boggs remembers his reaction on first seeing the young *Pogrom. “I was attending the Salon du Cheval in Paris, in December, and watching the yearling colts — in came *Pogrom. I was totally blown away. I didn’t know who he was or who bred him, but he was just brilliant in presence, motion, and quality. I followed him back to the stalls and there he was with the Poles! I inquired about purchasing him and was quickly told that the colt was not available. Honestly, I didn’t know what to do next, then asked about a lease. I was told that he might be available after Polish Nationals in August, so we shook hands on a general agreement.” The enthusiasm for *Pogrom continued the next year at Polish Nationals where *Pogrom was named Polish Junior Champion Colt with Pawal Kozikowski on the lead. *Pogrom, for his part, was no longer the shy colt of his yearling year; he was brimming with the confidence and charisma that would become his calling card. Now there were a variety of international suitors hoping to secure the rising star for their own stables, but they were too late. Boggs did not forget the *Pogrom from Paris. “After Polish Nationals I talked to Trela
and he asked if I still wanted the colt. I said ‘absolutely.’” A deal was struck and *Pogrom headed to Scottsdale, the heart of the Arabian industry in the U.S. *Pogrom’s success in the U.S. is well documented. He’s won the coveted titles of Scottsdale Champion Stallion and Supreme Champion, along with Arabian Breeders World Cup Champion in the span of only a couple months. *Pogrom proved himself the consummate show horse, one with the ability to beat the world’s superstars. While *Pogrom’s success as a show horse has been the talk of the 2013 show season, it is his promise as a sire that is so compelling. His first foals began to arrive this spring, creating even greater interest in *Pogrom. “The *Pogrom foals have amazing type,” Boggs explains. “But people are even more struck that these weanling foals have their tails over their backs and move with such huge long strides. They just haven’t had foals that move like that. I hear this time and time again. “We haven’t had a horse like this in the U.S. for a long, long time,” Boggs continues. “It is so desperately needed in breeding with the outcross his dam brings. I was fortunate to have known some of those Russian horses in his pedigree, like Naftalin,
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Two 2013 fillies by *Pogrom: a bay filly out of Bella Vita by Psytanium, above, and Poseidon WA out of Isabella WA by *Sir Fames HBV, right.
Topol, and Nabeg. These are big, athletic, strong horses. Then you have some of the Polish sires like *Pepton and *Bandos with those long, elegant necks, and *Probat with his wonderful shoulder. There is a wonderful foundation of functional horses in *Pogrom’s pedigree, which is what I believe people love about him. Certainly you want a beautiful face, which *Pogrom has, but people have started going overboard on that. The result is horses that are not really functional and would be hardpressed to have a real job in life. Now, I think the pendulum is starting to swing the other way, people wanting horses that are athletes, too.” Director Trela echoes similar sentiments, and believes that *Pogrom will be something special for Poland upon his return. “Winning such prestigious shows as Scottsdale or Vegas is always
a great pleasure and honor for any breeder. Winning with your favorite horse — well, that is even more special. But in my opinion, stallions like *Pogrom can push breeding in the right direction; we need pretty horses, typey horses, true, but they also need to be strong and correct. In Polish breeding philosophy, the Arabian horse has to represent the values of the utility, along with animals of beauty and charisma which can be used to improve other breeds.” *Pogrom’s arrival in the U.S. is having an impact in the U.S. industry, and causing reverberations around the globe. Is this a breed-changing sire? There are some astute horsemen and women who feel this may be the case. And so a search for a long-lost mare family has produced a horse for today. Serendipity indeed.
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2013 Las Vegas World Cup Gold Supreme Champion Senior Stallion 2013 Scottsdale Supreme Champion 2013 Scottsdale Unanimous Grand Champion Senior Stallion 2013 Scottsdale Unanimous Champion Four-Year-Old Stallion
Midwest Tr a i n i n g a n d B r e e d i n g S t at i o n s On lease to David & Terry Anne Boggs and Jeff and Andrea Sloan Bred and owned by Janów Podlaski Stud, Poland
P.O. Box 10, Rogers, MN 55374 Phone: 763-441-6466 • Fax: 763-441-6001 www.midwestarabian.com
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