1998 News

Search for the perfect horse

Marion Richmond gets reacquainted with Simeon Sadir, the great-great-grandson
of her foundation mare, Fuewasa.

World renowned Arabian breeder Marion Richmond, of Simeon Stud, had some humble beginnings in the horse world. But after 40-odd years in the business the Australian stud has achieved the ultimate: the sale of Arabian horses back to the desert lands of their origins.
ROBIN MARSHALL reports.

Marion Richmond always had a dream to own a purebred Arabian.
But her first horse was a partbred, "because my parents didn't have money to waste on horses. Her name was Cherry, and she was 30 and she had no teeth. Her price, with a saddle and bridle, was 14 pounds.

"The saddle had no stuffing and the bridle was tied together from string. It would take me half a day to catch her be cause she knew every trick in the book."

Her dream to own a purebred mare grew, and, with the help of her father, Peter Simon, she bought her first from Hawkesbury Agricultural College. In those days, buyers had to put their names on a two-year waiting list for a horse.

An old mare of 21 came up, and her name was Fuewasa.

Fuewasa was in foal and in 1960 produced Simeon Shoshanna. And so began Marion Richmond's long journey to breed the perfect horse.

Ms Richmond says the Sydney-based stud has always strived for perfection and each breeding and subsequent sale is a big decision. Then, in the 1970s, she decided on a new direction.

"In 1975 we sold all the Arabians except for (Fuewasa's great-granddaughter) Simeon Shirli, and travelled for three months looking for horses in Russia, Hungary, Egypt, and Germany. Everywhere. We bought so-called 'new stock' -- a filly from the government stud of Marbach (Germany), and a straight Egyptian filly from the government stud in Babolna in Hungary, and two fillies from the government stud in Tersk, Russia."

She says the idea of the classic Egyptian Arabian appealed. "When I did travel I realised the best of those was really the best.

"If you look through history, all the studs that were famous in Poland, Spain, and even England, went back periodically to the desert to get desert Arabians, because they added hardiness, swiftness, and beauty. They needed that every few generations.

"What has made us proud is that last month three horses went back to the Middle East. Two were sold to Saudi Arabia and one to Qatar. That's really quite an honour because it's 'coals to Newcastle'.

"One was a black filly, whose full brother, the weanling colt Simeon Sapar, has just been imported to David Marshall's Holly Farm Arabians in Canterbury."

Ms Richmond generally judges Arabians only when she can travel and see different horses and places. She has been asked to judge Jordan's national show in October. "I don't ever accept judging appointments in Australia, but will judge at an Egyptian show coming up in Queensland. I'm doing it as long as they make sure there are no Simeon horses entered. I don't want to do that. But if they're another generation down, then that's not my cooking.

"If I have time in Australia, basically, I want to spend it with my own horses. I don't have as much time with them as I'd like."

Marion Richmond inspects Simeon Sapar.
The stud prides itself on breeding good horses, and most are straight Egyptian. "We also breed what I call a domestic Arabian; a mixture of Spanish, German, Russian, and a bit of English. We also have pure Russian, which to me is just a commercial entity, because those horses consist of French, Polish, Egyptian, and English."

Simeon horses have made an indelible mark on world breeding and showing. In the late 80s Simeon Shai set an unbeaten record with national championships and big wins in North America and Europe. The black colt Simeon Sadik, who was sold in 1995 to Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts for a record seven-figure sum, is also an international title-holder.

"We have Simeon bloodlines now in the Philippines, winning horses in Brazil, Italy, Germany, France, England, and New Zealand. I don't think it's too bad."

The first Simeon horse arrived in New Zealand 10 years ago, and in 1995 two arrived to start the country's first straight Egyptian breeding programme.

Surprisingly, the stud's foal crop aver ages just half a dozen each year. However, last year a record 12 were born at the stud.

"I have a major problem selling horses. I have plans for them all, and I know what I want to breed them to the minute they're born. It's very hard to sell them. I'm very fussy about what sort of homes they go to."

The stud has many clients who return time and again to buy. "That's quite nice, because obviously people do well with the Simeon horses. I'm proud of that."

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Getting a top horse might sound easy, but Marion Richmond has firm ideas on what is good and what is not. She says first-time owners should do their homework, and decide what type of horse they want, and why. "Even among Arabians type varies. And of course quality varies enormously, but that's with everything. Try and get the best you can, and the best you can afford. It takes a long time to improve stock.

"First of all learn what a good horse is. And look at as many as you possibly can. Read as many books by authoritative people as you can, not just local people or Australian people, from world authorities. Try and travel if you can. That's the best."

Ms Richmond's goal is to breed better animals, and she says she has not yet bred the perfect horse. "I've got quite a few, but they're not perfect.

"I want to breed the very best there is. The perfect horse."

Simeon is the only Australian stud with Australian national champion mares who have had Australian national champion daughters. One such mare has even bred two further generations of champion mares.

She says Egyptian-cross Arabians were becoming more popular in Australia, and most overseas enquiries are for Egyptian horses. "I have a genetic pool of Egyptian blood that no-one else has anymore. It's a good outcross for the US and other countries."

Simeon stud uses three main stallions; two from the United States and one from Germany, and always keeps breedings to horses it has sold. Often, Ms Richmond says, the colts are better than the father.

"I want to eventually become self-sufficient, (bloodline-wise). I'm trying artificial insemination with frozen semen at the moment which isn't working, but I'm going to keep trying. I've worked all the years I have to make our mare band substantial and strong, because to me the genetic strength comes from the female line. Always. The stallion has to be good but he's an addendum: my stallions all have fabulous mare lines.

"I can't see myself buying anything in the near future, but if I see something I can't live without ...."

As company secretary for her family-owned electrical manu facturing company, HPM Industries, Ms Richmond has made many business trips to New Zealand, but has little time to spend looking at horses. ("The horses are my obsession and my passion, but not my work."). During her last trip she saw only three studs, and did not see enough horses to generalise on New Zealand's breeding progress. She does feel, however, that Mr Marshall, and Aucklander Sue Spratt, both exponents of Simeon breeding, were on the right track with their programmes.

She managed a two-hour visit to Holly Farm Arabians, at Leeston, the home of Simeon Sapar and the five-year-old stallion Simeon Sadir. Ms Richmond was pleased with Sapar's progress and felt he would complement Holly Farm's existing breeding programme.

She also had praise for New Zealand itself: "It's a wonderful paradise to breed and raise horses."

SIMEON SAPAR arrived in Canterbury in March, at just six months of age. Mr Marshall first saw him after East Coast championships in Sydney, the biggest arabian show in the Southern Hemisphere. He says the bay weanling was "as good as they get, as an individual and on pedigree".

His mother is a full sister to Simeon Sadik, but the colt has another famous relative somewhat closer to home. His father, Anaza Bay Shahh, is closely related to Saracen Karim, who, until his death in September 1997, was for many years one of Holly Farm's senior stallions, and, in his day, the country's top show arabian.

Search for the perfect horse

World renowned Arabian breeder Marion Richmond, of Simeon Stud, had some humble beginnings in the horse world. But after 40-odd years in the business the Australian stud has achieved the ultimate: the sale of Arabian horses back to the desert lands of their origins. ROBIN MARSHALL reports.

World renowned Arabian breeder Marion Richmond, of Simeon Stud, had some humble beginnings in the horse world. But after 40-odd years in the business the Australian stud has achieved the ultimate: the sale of Arabian horses back to the desert lands of their origins.
ROBIN MARSHALL reports.