A Tribute to Audacia

ARABIAN STUDS & STALLIONS

29 August 2004 – 8 April 2018

A Tribute

AUDACIA

Story by Scott Benjamin | Mulawa Arabian Stud

ARABIAN STUDS & STALLIONS

M

ore often than not in life, as one door closes, another more inviting and more important door opens, leading to more reward and fulfilment than was previously imagined possible. Such was the case with the auspicious beginning of Audacia, born on the 29th of August 2004 to Mulawa Aria, just one day prior to the premature and tragic loss of her young sire Parkview Audacious at just five years of age. A superlative filly in every way from birth, Audacia was rightly named in honour of both her sire and dam, combining both names most fittingly, as she would grow to become the most important progeny of both her parents and do more to extend their influence into the subsequent generations at Mulawa, and increasingly so in the Arabian breed around the world, than any of her other 16 paternal and seven maternal siblings.

Born in a stellar foal crop that included Chance To Dance, Sovereign Wings, Mulawa Dark Angel, Mulawa Kiara, Mulawa Karismaa and paternal sister Mulawa Anastazia, Audacia found herself on an ultra-competitive show team as a yearling, competing with the latter three for champion honours at all the major shows that season. Whereas Mulawa Anastazia would claim the first title at the National Stud Show, Audacia, with her inspiring balance and harmony of proportion, her undeniable feminine elegance and grace, as well as her powerfully cadenced and animated trot, bested a stellar field at the always prestigious East Coast Championships to win Champion Yearling Filly accolades. Both Mulawa Anastazia and Audacia were favourites amongst the four Team Mulawa yearling fillies entered for the ultimate continental prize at the Australian National Championships a few weeks later, where Jane Farrell recalls a special moment with Audacia. ‘I remember watching her do a practice stand-up in 2006 just prior to entering the ring at the Aussies in Queensland. I said to myself “that is my kind of filly” – being a link to Ambition through Mulawa Aria and Arrival made her a member of my “most beloved” club,’ while in that moment, she epitomised ‘everything we appreciate in the definitive Mulawa-style Arabian.’ When the final results were tallied, Jane’s ‘ideal’ had to settle for third place on her final appearance in the show ring that afternoon, finishing behind stablemates Mulawa Karismaa and Mulawa Anastazia

Although no encore was necessary after blessing the breed with Allegiance, Audacia set out to break several more records ... as champion and reserve champion, respectively, in what would be the first of many future ‘one-two’ finishes for Mulawa in the filly and mare classes at the Australian National Arabian Championships. Little did anyone realise at the time just how much Audacia would positively and profoundly contribute to that future success, not only defining, but unquestionably elevating, the standard of excellence for the Arabian breed in Australia with her universally admired descendants.

The enduring, and fortunately still rapidly expanding, Audacia influence in Australia is primarily a result of her first foal: Allegiance MI – an incredibly upright, impressively elegant and commandingly charismatic colt by Magnum Forty Four, born just after the New Year in 2009 via embryo transfer. Had Audacia had no other foals but her first, her legacy would have been assuredly secure. Most gratefully, she

would go on to produce ten lifetime foals in eight years of production, nine of which would earn show ring championships for the Mulawa Community and in turn, grant Audacia well deserved Aristocrat Dam status as the all-time leader of champions, to date, within the Mulawa programme.

Allegiance has his own incredible story of struggle and success, from promising overseas sales prospect and highly acclaimed National Stud Show Champion Yearling Colt, to tenacious survivor of a shattered left hock, a show career-ending injury sustained just a few days prior to his first birthday. His miraculous survival is one that has unequivocally altered the positive trajectory of the Mulawa programme over

Left: Audacia at Alabama Stud in 2010 Above: Mulawa Chief Sire Allegiance MI

the last decade, allowing Allegiance to join the breeding programme as a junior sire at just two years of age. From his initial arrivals the following Spring – show ring superstar and Arabian ambassador extraordinaire Allegiant MI (x MI Angel

by TS Al Malik), and now resident Mulawa chief sire Advise MI (x W Alegria by Amado Juan) – it was unquestionably evident that Allegiance was to become a sire of monumental importance to the Mulawa programme and the ultimate heir to the Magnum Forty Four legacy in the breed.

‘The Allegiance influence is proving to be enormous,’ shares Jane candidly, ‘such is the consistent quality of his get.’ This is especially true of his daughters, who have dominated the competition over the last several seasons at the most important shows in Australia. These include the last three successive Australian National Champion Yearling Fillies: superstar full sisters Venecia MI and Venice MI (x Valentine MI by DA Valentino), and the inspiring A Vision MI (x Always Valentine MI by DA Valentino). The eldest of the Allegiance MI x Valentine MI get – Australian National Champion Junior Colt Advantage MI – was the first to bring recognition to the Audacia influence overseas, selling to North America in 2016, where he has since been named US National Champion Top Ten Stallion and

Scottsdale Classic Reserve Champion Stallion. Younger sister Venice MI has also blazed a trail for Allegiance get internationally, earning Junior Champion Filly and High Scoring honours at ‘A’ and title shows in Saudi Arabia, and legions of fans for herself and her sire. Another Allegiance MI daughter, Madora MI (x Melody MI by TS Al Malik), has raised the profile of Allegiance and Audacia in

the States, having won her class in the Scottsdale International section in 2017 and later selling to Rae-Dawn Arabians in the 2018 Marquise Invitational, while her elder full sister Milan MI was most recently named Bronze Champion Junior Filly at the 2018 Australian National Championships.

‘The next challenge is to find the right cross for the Allegiance daughters,’ explain Greg, Julie and Jane reflectively.

Presently, six are of breeding age – MI Marie, Beyonce MI, Bree MI, Alaina MI, Venecia MI and A Love Note MI – with another three daughters – Radiant MI, Valeria MI and Versai MI – ready to join the broodmare band in the next two to three years. This breeder’s journey will most assuredly define the next chapter of the Mulawa story, and determine the enduring legacy of Audacia for decades to come.

Although no encore was necessary after blessing the breed with Allegiance, Audacia set out to break several more records for the programme as a broodmare, beginning

Above: Multi-Champion MI Aphrodite Left: Gold Champion Valencia MI Right (Top): Advise MI Right: Chinese export Actress MI

ARABIAN STUDS & STALLIONS

with the first of her eight lifetime fillies in September of 2009. Honoured with a ‘blend’ namesake, like her dam, the ultra-elegant, superbly conformed and powerfully athletic Valencia MI, Jane’s ‘favourite amongst all the Mulawa-bred DA Valentino daughters,’ is now proudly owned by Adele Maraki. Once in Adele’s ownership, Valencia blossomed in the show ring as a senior mare, earning the titles of Australasian Breeders Cup Gold Champion and East Coast Reserve Champion before assuming broodmare duties as the ‘chief matriarch’, according to Adele, at Dawn Valley Arabians in New Zealand. Valencia’s Mulawa-bred WH Justice daughter, the flaxen-accented Valente MI, is now owned

by Sue Williams of Trincada Arabians, where she has since produced the first fourth-generation Audacia descendant, the gorgeous bay Trincada Striking Justice, by the legendary Trincada Strike.

Audacia’s next contribution to the breed was two pairs of fillies by foreign-bred sires born between 2011 and 2013.

The eldest of these pairs – MI Aphrodite and Actress MI – are grey daughters of former Mulawa chief sire and unanimous Australian National Champion Senior Stallion Guiliano, a dominant show horse whose get continue to impact competitive arenas all across the continent. The extravagant fronted, unfailingly exuberant and dynamic moving MI Aphrodite is largely responsible for her sire’s enduring reputation, as her multiple East Coast, National Stud Show, Queensland Gala Event, NSW State Titles, Victorian State Championships and Australian National Arabian Championships make her not only Guiliano’s most accomplished daughter in the show ring, but Audacia’s as well.

Renee Edwards is now the proud owner of MI Aphrodite, of whom she fondly refers to as a ‘bright shining light’, and ‘the most rewarding purchase she ever made’.

Younger full sister Actress MI, an equally inspiring athlete with an abundance of broody substance and solid structure, was amongst the first Mulawa-bred horses to further the Arabian cause in China, where she was exported in foal to Kommand MI in 2017. Actress has since foaled a charming grey filly for Mr. Xin Wang, proactively doubling the Audacia tail-female influence in China, while simultaneously enhancing the genetic potential of his burgeoning herd of Arabian horses.

Community, first selling to Tegan Harris and Aaron Schmidt in Adelaide, under whose ownership she would first find fame in the show ring as Junior Champion Filly and Supreme Champion Junior Exhibit at the SAARABS Show. In March of 2016, Ajustine MI, affectionately known as ‘Lolly’, was purchased by Naomi Schofield in Victoria, who describes her as ‘a dream come true, after admiring the Mulawa horses and WH Justice daughters for so many years.’ With Naomi, Ajustine has compounded her winning record, at the more prestigious level of senior mare competition, earning two State Supreme Arabian Mare Championships in Victoria and South Australia, as well as a hotly contested Top Ten Senior Mare title at the Australian National Arabian Championships in 2017 amongst the largest field of competitors in over a decade. Naomi effuses over Lolly as ‘a beautiful horse in every way, who makes everything easy with her fun-loving, quirky nature. She adores her humans and craves attention.’ Safely in foal to international champion El Chall WR for late 2018, Ajustine ‘will enjoy motherhood for a season before she is broken in for the next phase of her show career.’

Top: Parkview Audacious – Sire of Audacia Above: Mulawa Aria at Alabama Stud – Dam of Audacia

Given both her superlative structure and her predictable prepotency as a broodmare, Audacia was a premier choice for ‘Champion Maker’ WH Justice when his contribution was first added to the Mulawa programme in 2011. So successful was the mating, that Audacia proved to be the only mare selected to be rebred to WH Justice the following season, blessing the breed with two stunning fillies in the process: Ajustine MI (2012) and Amber MI (2013). The intensely dappled and immensely appealing Ajustine MI attracted several suitors within the Mulawa

The younger of the WH Justice x Audacia full sisters, Amber MI, has also found both fame and the adoration of a loving home interstate. After succeeding in her debut as National Stud Show Champion Yearling Filly with Team Mulawa, Amber was eagerly purchased by long-time Mulawa Community member Kylie Rees in Western Australia, for her first Mulawa-bred female.

Gushingly, Kylie explains that ‘owning Amber is a dream come true’, further elucidating that ‘it is much more likely that Amber actually owns me, as she has stolen my heart so completely.’ Everyone who has seen the pair in action wholeheartedly agrees that Amber and Kylie are a perfect match, as both exude unbridled enthusiasm for life and an undeniable kinship for each other. Since Amber’s arrival in WA, Kylie has had a permanent smile on her face, enhanced significantly by Amber’s undefeated status in the show ring on six outings. Amber’s prestigious titles include twice WA State Champion, as both a Junior Filly and a Senior Mare, WA Jackpot Champion Junior Filly, Supreme Champion Junior Exhibit at the WA Arabian Trilogy, and a perfect record of two Supreme Championships at the WA All Arabian, as a Junior Filly Exhibit in 2017 and again as a

A Prince DA

Allegiance MI x Anna Queen MI (Abha Qatar) Colt born August 2017

A Prince DA

Photography & Advertisement Design by Jennifer Ogden

Photography -JenniferOgdenPhotography@gmail.com

Allegiance MI x Anna Queen MI (Abha Qatar) Colt born August 2017

aMar aMar

ARABIANS

ARABIANS

Kaptivate MI

Kavalle MI x Audacia Filly born 2014 2018 East Coast Champion 2017 Bronze Australian Champion 2017 Qld Challenge Kavalle MI x Audacia Supreme Female Exhibit Sup Filly born 2014 Booked to Na’Vi ERA for 2018/19 2018 East Coast Champion 2017 Bronze Australian Champion 2017 Qld Challenge Supreme Female Exhibit Sup

Kaptivate MI

to Na’Vi ERA for 2018/19 Be Booked Infatuated (Far Right)

Magnum Forty Four x Befame Mare born 2007

Be Infatuated (Far Right) Be Magnum LovedForty DAFour x Befame Mare 2007 Advise MI xborn Be Infatuated Filly born Sept 2017

Visitors welcome by appointment

Quality young stock for sale.

NICOLE & DAMIEN HENRICUS Tel: 0417 560848 Email: damararabians@gmail.com

NICOLE & DAMIEN HENRICUS Tel: 0417 560848 Email: damararabians@gmail.com

Left: Undefeated Supreme Champion Amber MI Left (below): VIC and SA Supreme State Champion Ajustine MI

sporting a breed ideal body and topline and the characteristic powerful purposeful trot of Karess. Kaptivate was one of the very first purchases for Nicole and Damien Henricus’ DaMar Arabians in Queensland, under whose banner her credibility in the show ring continues to rise. Nicole considers herself ‘fortunate’ to have seen Audacia, and credits this encounter as a ‘major motivating factor’ in pursuing a young Kaptivate, who both Damien and Nicole agree is a ‘treasure to own and show’. Kaptivate has been a major winner in Queensland, with both Damien and Heath Rowbottom at the lead, as Gala Event Intermediate (2017) and Three Year Filly (2018) Champion, as well as Challenge Champion Intermediate Filly and Supreme Champion Female Exhibit. Kaptivate has also proven that she is amongst the best young mares in the country, having succeeded as both East Coast Champion Three Year Old Filly and Australian National Bronze Champion Junior Filly.

Senior Mare Exhibit in 2018, respectively.

Having gone whiter significantly faster than elder sister Ajustine, Amber now bears a remarkable resemblance to her dam, Audacia, while further embodying the feminine elegance and alluring appeal for which the WH Justice daughters are universally admired the world over.

For foal number eight, Audacia was bred for the very first time to a Mulawa-bred

stallion, unanimous Australian National Champion Kavalle MI (Gazal Al Shaqab x Karess by Magnum Forty Four), for what would prove to be a reliable ‘double Karmaa’ cross. The resulting grey filly, lucky number seven, was born in October 2014 and named, most appropriately, Kaptivate MI, a young mare of ‘great quality and heart’ according to Jane. Like all the Kavalle foals, Kaptivate possesses extraordinary structure and substance,

So impressed with Kaptivate were the Farrells, that the Kavalle mating was repeated the following season, the result of which is Audacia’s only other son: Kadet MI. A promising young colt, the decision was made to afford Kadet the opportunity to be a great gelding as a two year old.

Right about the time he made his show ring debut, Kadet was noticed by Mulawa Community members Sarah Watchorn and Aaron Gray, avid collectors and enthusiastic promoters of Mulawa-bred geldings, who were eager to have him join former stablemates Atuned MI and Krown MI on the NSW North Coast. After succeeding as Reserve Champion Junior Gelding at both the NSW State Titles and National Stud Show, behind Mulawa-bred Australian National Gold Champions Herald MI and Parlance MI, respectively, Kadet assumed Arabian ambassador duties in his new home as a ‘terrific family horse’, where he is ‘an absolute pleasure to own’. Sarah continues to be impressed

by Kadet’s ‘incredibly kind nature and his astonishing trainability’, adding further how ‘fortunate’ she and Aaron ‘feel to own such a wonderful horse. We love him to bits!’

ARABIAN STUDS & STALLIONS

Given the success of the Gazal Al Shaqab son Kavalle MI with Audacia, she was again a logical choice for the double Gazal-bred Emerald J (by QR Marc), when his semen became available for Australia. A multi-international champion, Emerald J was especially appealing for the Mulawa programme because of his incomparable dam, twice World Champion Emandoria (Gazal Al Shaqab x Emanda by Ecaho) and an elite member of Michalow’s world-renowned ‘E’ family of international champions, who Julie, Greg and Jane have greatly admired for many years. Most fittingly, Audacia was the first to foal to Emerald J in August 2016, delivering a glorious grey filly that has fulfilled expectations on every level, perfectly blending all the phenomenal females in her pedigree. Named Euforia MI, in honour of Emandoria and her ‘E’ family origin, she would be the final foal that Audacia would raise herself.

Jane considers Euforia ‘the Audacia daughter to watch’, as she continues to

Australian National Gold Champion Yearling Fillies (right) – Venecia MI (2016); (below) – Venice MI (2017); (below right) – A Vision MI (2018)

improve with each passing season. Like all the Audacia daughters, Euforia is a farm favourite, effortlessly exuding an endearing kindness and indefatigable enthusiasm for life. Shown just once to NSW State Titles Reserve Champion Junior Filly in 2017, Euforia is poised to lead Team Mulawa as the premier junior filly contender in the upcoming show season.

Audacia’s declining health led to the difficult decision to put her down on the 8th of April 2018. Now at rest in a place of highest honour at Alabama, Audacia most appositely resides amongst the prolifically expanding generations of her descendants within the Mulawa breeding programme.

Jane reflects on Audacia’s lasting impact at Mulawa, ‘The distinct Audacia look is

Right: Scottsdale International Champion Madora MI Right (below): Euforia MI

readily apparent in all her progeny – such is her genetic strength. It brings me great joy to see her phenotype present in all the best Allegiance progeny, as well as in all her special daughters, all of whom we expect to breed on.’ The Farrells are hopeful for one final daughter in 2018, as true to form, Audacia was kind enough to leave behind one parting gift: an unborn embryo transfer foal by Kavalier MI due in October.

When asked how Audacia’s contribution as a broodmare compares to the many venerated Mulawa matrons that have brought the programme global acclaim across the last four and half decades, Greg, Julie and Jane all resoundingly agree that ‘by any measure, she is among the very best.’ In retrospect, it seems the universe was preparing us all for something special when Audacia arrived fourteen years ago, just ‘as poor Audacious was lost’, Jane shares. ‘Breeding is often like that – a ray of beauty and hope that breaks through at a time of heartbreak and tears.’ Jane warmly reminisces, ‘That indelible image of Audacia before her filly class at the Aussies as a yearling has always stayed with me.

As a broodmare at Alabama, she was the sweetest mare in the pasture, an “old soul” even as a young mare, and always amongst the first to come up to say “Hello”. She loved to have a pasture brush from Julie and myself, and a quiet cuddle with a well deserved carrot treat. I would always thank Audacia as I left after a cuddle for just being her, and for all that she had done for the farm. I think, and hope, she knew how much she was loved and appreciated.’

It is often said that ‘those candles which burn brightest, are unfortunately extinguished far too early.’ Such was the case with the incandescent Audacia, whose incredible kindness, captivating beauty and confidently reassuring maternity grounded us all in our inherent love and respect for the Arabian horse. Rest well, sweet Audacia, knowing that everyone fortunate enough to know you and share in your abounding legacy of excellence is infinitely richer for the experience. For all of us, the best of your enduring legacy is most assuredly yet to come… v