Thanks to the Arabian Horse Times, Jeff Wallace, and Lara Ames for publishing this beautiful piece in the June issue of the Arabian Horse Times Magazine.
Of all your international travels with the Arabian industry, which destination is your favorite? Why? Out of all my international travels, the beautiful country of Jordan still remains at the top of my list of favorite places. Many factors play a part in this, the first; it is home to my dearest friends Nofal and Muntaha Kahook, two very special people who have been instrumental in my international involvement within the Arabian horse breed. My first international horse sale was exported to Jordan to Nofal and Muntaha, and it was the very special 
*Apollo El Jamaal, a son of *Jullyen El Jamaal, by Ali Jamaal and out of the Brazilian National Champion Mare *Apollonia HCF (that in itself is a story all on its own!). Apollo El Jamaal went on to be named National Champion Stallion of Jordan in 2012. What I love so much about Jordan is that it is rooted very deeply in culture and tradition. A Mediterranean climate situated along the Dead Sea in the heart of the Middle East, Jordanians are incredibly hospitable and embrace people of all walks of life. The day to day hustle and bustle of downtown Amman can have you picturing yourself living there and settling yourself in overlooking the old city of Amman and the historical Roman Theater.
At what age did you know you had an entrepreneurial spirit? It wasn’t until around 9th grade that I started to have an entrepreneurial drive, not just about Arabian horses, but in business in general. I constantly found myself trying to draft up and imagine businesses to be the “boss” of. Coming into grade 12 and having to decide which career direction I should take and what to study in college, I became fascinated with layout, font, and the execution of advertising I would see in print, so decided to pursue the study of advertising, marketing, and communications. Today, that same entrepreneurial spirit continues to drive my ambitions and the continual evolution and growth of ArabianCentric.com, a leading internationally recognized creative agency I founded that represents clients from the world over and specializes in the promotion, advertising, and marketing of Arabian horses and businesses.
Tell us about your first Arabian. *Apollo El Jamaal was the horse that started it all for me and who started the evolution of “The Arabian Element”, the breeding division of my Arabian horse endeavors. This fiery red chestnut stallion showed me all that there was in owning an Arabian horse. Purchased as a six month old weanling colt with some of my college savings, *Apollo El Jamaal was loaded onto a truck in California and shipped across the country to Ottawa, Ontario. It was he who really brought out the horse husbandry and affinity for the Arabian horse in me. A young and unproven stallion, matched with a young, inexperienced owner, I was determined, like any endeavor I undertake, to make a name for the horse I loved so much and also for myself. As a late two year old, I bred *Apollo El Jamaal to Last Luv, a mare I also acquired during my “college acquisitions”. Last Luv is a very beautiful mare sired by Scottsdale Champion Psymadre and out of a Lamolin daughter who is out of a *Eukaliptus daughter who is out of a *Bask daughter. She had two foals sired by *Apollo El Jamaal; the first foal was a stunning chestnut filly who was sold at three weeks of age to the beautiful country of France. Her second foal, who again was another very beautiful filly named Bettina El Jamaal, was the 2010 Region 15 Reserve Champion Yearling Filly. I sold Bettina El Jamaal shortly after her regional win to Sheikh Hamad in Kuwait. With Apollo’s success as a sire, it quickly spread around the world and very soon I received a call from the Kahooks, who would later become the dearest of friends. A deal filled with bittersweet emotions was reached and *Apollo El Jamaal was purchased by Nofal and Muntaha, and was on his way to begin a new chapter of his life in the most amazing country of Jordan. *Apollo El Jamaal remains an intrinsic part of me and the continuance of breeding the highest quality Arabian horses. This past fall I acquired a maternal sister to *Apollo El Jamaal, the electric Alovely Afire, a daughter of leading sire Afire Bey V and out of *Apollonia HCF. We are so excited about Alovely Afire and will campaign her this year in Amateur Mare halter at Region 7, Arabian National Breeder Finals, and then Scottsdale 2016.
What two stallions play an important role in your personal breeding program? Without question or hesitation, it would be Psymadre. A Scottsdale Champion Stallion, he is a son of Padrons Psyche and out of an *Aladdinn daughter who is out of a Bask daughter. Psymadre is an incredible individual who embodies so many characteristics I’ve come to admire in an Arabian horse. First and foremost is Psymadre’s type, and by type I mean his overall Arabian makeup. I want to know it’s an Arabian horse if I’m looking from miles away. They must be proud, have an excellent attitude and they must carry a natural high-set tail. I like a short head with tight, tippy ears. The face need not be exotic, but handsome, and be distinguishable Arabian in type. Psymadre has proven time and time again that he can sire these types of traits, which is why I have included two daughters of Psymadre into my breeding program, the beautiful Last Luv and Psambucca (who is out of a Shah Azim daughter who is out of the great Kailalajka).
What 3 characteristics are most important to you in an Arabian horse? Attitude, beauty, and tight- tippy ears!
What lines or strains in Arabian horse breeding do you not know very much about but would like to, i.e. Spanish, Egyptian, Polish, etc. I would very much like to learn about Polish bred horses a little more in depth. I’ve not immersed myself into the old Polish lines and would enjoy to be educated on how this line has evolved.
Would you prefer to be riding an English horse in the ring or out on the trail with friends? For me, I enjoy very much the thrill of a game English horse, I’ve never had the opportunity to show an English horse, but have ridden many on a few different occasions. I also enjoy the down time out on the trails with friends.
What English performance left you awestruck? Name the horse and rider. One of my favorite English performances was back in 2012, Hot Air and James Stachowski, winning the Scottsdale Half- Arabian Junior English Horse Championship. Hot Air is by Baske Afire and out of Dutch bred mare. It was an incredible performance.
What has been your involvement with Al Khalediah? Al Khalediah Stables, owned by HRH Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz al Saud and managed by Sheikh Mutlaq Mesharif, is a magical place. Al Khalediah is home to an incredible collection of Arabian horses masterfully guided by the vision of HRH Prince Khaled. Home of such greats as: World Champion *Marquis CAHR, Baanderos, Dakharo, Athenaa, and All Nations Cup Champion *Magora. I’ve been incredibly lucky to manage the advertising, marketing, and promotion of the Arabian show horse division of Al Khalediah, ensuring an image of perfection throughout the many shows it participates in throughout the world. I’ve been blessed with the support of my friend Philippe Hosay, Al Khalediah’s show horse trainer and handler, opening up even more opportunities with the rollout of a new website that is currently in the development phase for Al Khalediah, as well as the opportunity to photograph and video many of their champion Arabian horses to utilize in our marketing and advertising campaign. It is an honor to be exclusively responsible for the “face” of Al Khalediah Stables’ Arabian show horses and I look forward to many more years of involvement.
Do you enjoy marketing Arabian horses? Assuming you do, have you developed a certain style or approach to that, what is it? Horses from my breeding and marketing program have been sold and/ exported all over the world. I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to sell great horses that have gone on and continued to play an important role in their new homes for their owners. My extensive travel schedule has benefited me exponentially in that I have been able to educate myself and experience many different styles of horses and see what types of horses are winning in show rings around the world. It also allows me to see the different horses people are breeding that are sired by certain stallions and out of certain mares.
What horse shows around the world are in sync with the breed today? Both here in the States and Internationally. The Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show held in February and the Salon du Cheval World Championships in Paris are two of my most favorite shows. They are the most prestigious shows in the world, they attract an outside audience, and they are held in destination cities where people want to travel to and hold events that are not to be missed.
Tell us about your family’s involvement with Arabian horses when you were a child. I was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario, the capitol of Canada. A close family friend was in the process of building an Arabian horse farm about 30 minutes south of the city, so my introduction to Arabian horses began at a very young age, three years old to be exact. I was immersed almost every Sunday for the next twenty years up at “the farm.” Mucking stalls, feeding, riding, getting to do a little showing. It wasn’t until my family relocated to the country, not more than five minutes to the farm, when I was in 12th grade, that I really began to get a little more involved with the horses. I leased my first Arabian when I was 18 and enjoyed many years caring for him every day before and after school. It was during this time that I knew Arabian horses were going to be a very important part of my life.
