By Karen Paulo
** Originally published in the Summer 1996 issue of The Crabbet Influence magazine.
The great Gulastra 521 died before his last batch of foals arrived in 1955. Left among his legacy was a chestnut colt foaled on June 7, out of Al-Marah Aasaba 5352, “one of our best Indraff 1575 daughters,” states breeder Bazy Tankersley in some old correspondence regarding the mare. The colt was originally named Al-Marah Anmar, which is Arabic for ‘patriarch.’ The name was later changed to Roh Beta Gulastra (pictured above in the article/header photo, taken by Polly Knoll), after his purchase in the 1956 Al-Marah Auction by Dr. Roger Baker, who was “Jack Armstrong – The All American Boy” of radio fame.
Roh Beta Gulastra’s bloodlines are a rare and wonderful blend of Crabbet stock descending from old Egyptian sources of Ali Pasha and the desert tribes of Egypt. He was considered 61/64ths Al Khamsa. His pedigree also reveals a great deal of athletic ability.
Sire and Dam
Roh Beta Gulastra’s sire, Gulastra, was bred by W.R. Brown, Maynesboro Stud, Berlin, NH (The ‘M’ in CMK), and foaled May 21, 1924. Gulastra lived to the ripe old age of 31 and sired 115 registered foals which was a large number of foals for those days. Gulastra sired horses all over the United States, and this chestnut’s last home was with Bazy Tankersley of Al-Marah Arabians. Gulastra’s sire, *Astraled 238, was bred at Crabbet Park Stud in England, and imported at the age of nine in 1909 by F. Lathrop Ames. *Astraled was the sire of *Ramla 357, winner of the 306 miles long Endurance Test of 1919 for the U.S. Mounted Service Cup, and also the sire of Kheyra 229, who placed third that same year. Gulnare 278, Gulastra’s dam, was sired by *Rodan 258, bred by Crabbet and imported in-utero in 1905 by Spencer Borden, and was out of *Ghazala 211, a grey mare bred by Ali Pasha Sherif of Egypt. *Rodan took fourth overall and High Scoring Stallion in the 154 mile Morgan Horse Club Endurance Test in 1913 with a time of 30 hours and 40 minutes, the same time as for the winner who was carrying 20 more pounds than *Rodan.
The dam of Roh Beta Gulastra, Al-Marah Aasaba 5352, was sired by Bazy Tankerlsey’s highly regarded foundation sire Indraff 1575 who was of Crabbet descent (*Raffles 952 x *Indaia 813), and out of Nafri 2010, a daughter of the great Egyptian racehorse *Nasr 889, who stood at stud at the world famous Manial Stud prior to being imported to the U.S. by W.R. Brown.
Changing Owners
They say “like father like son” and Roh Beta Gulastra sired horses all over the United States as did his father before him. After Dr. Roger Baker left the Arabian horse business, Roh Beta Gulastra was sold. It is difficult to account for all of Roh Beta Gulastra’s owners. It appears he stood in the Midwest for a time, as well as The Elephant Walk Trading Company in Pleasant Valley, NY, for a $1000 stud fee from 1975 through 1979.
Howard Marks of Tracy. CA, had owned Gulastra in his later years prior to Bazy Tankerlsey in 1953. As part of that same circle of life, Marks purchased Roh Beta Gulastra sight unseen in 1982. In a brief article appearing in the 1984 January Arabian Horse World, Marks felt Roh Beta Gulastra “Looked so much like his sire that it was just like the old horse comin’ home.” The article was written when Roh Beta Gulastra was 29, and it goes on to say that “Whenever a mare comes by, he starts prancing and showing off and is very masculine.” Roh Beta Gulastra’s antique bloodlines blended nicely with the Crabbet Egyptian mares of Howard Marks, producing some very nice stock that is still breeding today.
In the fall of 1984, Robbi Pruitt (then living in California) was looking for a stallion to breed to her mare. While leafing through a magazine, she read an ad for a son of Gulastra at the Howard Marks Ranch in Northern California: it was Roh Beta Gulastra. “When I called the ranch to inquire about breeding,” says Pruitt, “I was told that the stallion was for sale and probably would not be available next season.” Pruitt wasted no time and added the grand old man, Roh Beta Gulastra, to her herd along with “two beautiful HMR bred mares and a weanling son of the old stallion.”
Roh Beta Gulastra became affectionately known as “RB” and he lived out his days with Robbi Pruitt until he died at the age of 33. Pruitt, a breeder dedicated to preserving the antique desert Arabian blood, crossed RB onto her CMK mares, retaining several of them as breeding stock for her herd.
Roh Beta Gulastra Endurance Sire
RB sired a total of 82 registered purebred foals beginning in 1960 until his last ones hit the ground in 1988. Again, like his father before him, his final foal crop left behind the very horse that may continue where he left off. Robbi Pruitt’s stallion, Gulastras Splash, out of Djomaca, is a beautifully balanced chestnut with plenty of chrome, including a belly spot. He is rapidly proving himself as a successful endurance horse, having over 1500 miles, ranking 3rd Mileage Stallion in the United States in 1994, plus placing in the Top 10 and winning best condition. Splash has also been introduced to dressage. Splash’s first foals, all chestnuts, show great athleticism and good dispositions. Long-time Arab breeder Marjorie Van Gilder of Wasco, OR, loves her Splash filly out of Sholex, and she was so thrilled with this filly that she bred the mare back to Splash, hoping for another “just like her.”
RB, like his sire Gulastra and also his grandsires *Astraled and *Rodan, was noted for siring athletic performance horses. Quite a few of RB’s later foals bred by Robbi Pruitt have gone on to be successful endurance horses. “It was a great feeling,” Pruitt told me, “to see five RB descendants that I bred going down the trail on the Death Valley Encounter.” The Death Valley Encounter is an AERC multi-day ride of 210 miles in four days and was held late December 1995.
RB’s son, HMR Striko, a bay stallion out of HMR Bint Shiko, got off to a promising start, completing 200 miles in the American Endurance Ride Conference (AERC) sanctioned rides prior to a pasture injury, the result of getting a leg over a pipe rail fence. HMR Striko also has a couple offspring beginning endurance careers. Gulastras Echo, a chestnut stallion out of Queen Lawruska, is nearing 1000 miles carrying heavyweight rider, Gary Rexroad. The RB daughters, HMR Waulastra out of HMR Wautal, and CR Bezt Chablis out of Ms Bezt, have been tested in endurance before becoming broodmares. Gailastra, a grey gelding out of Gai Andromeda and owned by Kathy Murphy, has performed well in endurance rides of 50-100 miles by placing in the Pacific Northwest Endurance Rides Top 25 and AERC Northwest Region standings for 1995. CR Cajuns Bezt, out of Ms Bezt and owned by David Allen, has approximately 500 miles down the trail. Gulastras Sundown, a chestnut gelding out of HMR Hariba is owned by Al and Karen Paulo (this writer). He started his endurance career in 1995, having only 100 miles to his credit, and shows a lot of future promise.
It looks as though the athleticism from the desert will continue to trickle into the future through roh Beta Gulastra offspring.
PROGENY OF ROH BETA GULASTRA:
Reg # – Name – Color – Sex – Foaled – Dam Name – Dam # – Breeder – Breeder State
16571 ROHDENA ch mare 4/18/1960 Ghadena 11175 Dr. Roger Baker VA
17677 WILASTRA ch gelding 6/4/1960 Jonquil 6292 Gerard Burchard WI
20510 WILGUSTRA ch gelding 6/8/1961 Jonquil 6292 Gerard Burchard WI
22348 WILBURR ch gelding 6/8/1962 Jonquil Gerard Burchard WI
23225 GULASNAK ch stallion 9/4/1962 Valenak 10276 Mr or Mrs Eldon Brandenburg WI
23445 JD VALENTINO ch stallion 2/14/1963 Bright Sun Shine 13639 C.N. Cluey WI
26409 WIL-O ch mare 2/23/1963 Zoma 5978 Patricia Burchard WI
35434 WIL-ANNIE ch mare 5/4/1961 Stardust 9856 Estate of Phyllis Albrecht WI
41287 WIL-RB ch stallion 4/24/1966 Ra-Becca 22890 Estate of Phyllis Albrecht WI
42533 AMIN-SADIQ bay gelding 7/6/1967 Ra-Becca 22890 Patricia Burchard, WI
52584 WIL-RADJI ch gelding 5/17/1967 Jonquil 6292 Patricia Burchard WI
71722 BREEZEWAY SIMBETA bay mare 2/12/1971 Simada 25856 Myron or Doris Bacon Jr WI
72064 GULANO ch gelding 4/17/1971 Nuzet El Faud 20827 John Renk WI
73002 BREEZEWAY SIBONNE ch mare 3/5/1971 Breezeway Simdura 45409 Myron or Doris Bacon Jr WI
80072 BREEZEWAY SARAH ch mare 3/9/1972 Simada 25846 Myron or Doris Bacon Jr WI
83098 RANO HVEZDO bay gelding 4/22/1972 Aegian Titaji 25568 Norman & Gladys Vlcek WI
84421 ASIF HAZINAT ch mare 5/14/1972 Sarreyma 18656 Myron Turk WI
93801 BREEZEWAY SASHA ch mare 3/23/1973 Simada 25846 Myron or Doris Bacon Jr WI
93802 BREEZEWAY SULASTRA bay mare 6/5/1973 Breezeway Surprise 58445 Myron or Doris Bacon Jr WI
107813 THE STING-B bay gelding 3/3/1974 Breezeway Simdura 45409 Myron or Doris Bacon JR WI
107814 BREEZEWAY SURAYA bay mare 4/7/1974 Simada 25856 Myron or Doris Bacon Jr WI
119774 SIR GULASTRA ch gelding 6/8/1974 Breezeway Surprise 58445 Myron or Doris Bacon Jr WI
123828 PR SIMULGAST ch mare 3/12/1975 Breezeway Simdura 45409 Myron or Doris Bacon Jr WI
126660 BREEZEWAY SHEBA bay mare 4/20/1975 Simada 25856 Myron or Doris Bacon Jr WI
147834 EWAS ASTRAHARIN grey stallion 1/2/1977 Amira Si-Lo-Shan 12613 Caryn Gdula NY
148472 ROHBIN grey stallion 1/15/1977 Bint Hagar 76351 Richard Daigle ME
151180 EWAS ASTRAEL ch mare 5/28/1977 WASL Alcandre 40600 Caryn Gdula NY
164505 GRAND GULASTRA grey stallion 1/12/1978 EWAS Aziza 107284 Robert Sheldon TX
165963 SAF FA-LAASTRA ch mare 3/11/1978 Fadalena 21688 James or Maureen Bachman PA
166345 EWAS ASTRAMESAOUD grey stallion 3/9/1978 Safinat Saur 9198 Ann Vierow NJ
166346 EWAS ASTRANAHRA ch mare 3/8/1978 Amira So-Lo-Shan 12613 Caryn Gdula NY
171037 EWAS ASTRA ANDARA ch mare 7/20/1978 Pocono Peg 17665 Elephant Walk Trading Co. NY
176613 RAFLASTRA AL-AZIZ bay mare 5/25/1977 Rasetta 67608 Davyd & Gwynneth Whittington NY
186644 LASTRA AL-AZIZ bay mare 5/12/1978 Rasetta 67608 Earl or Penelope Kidd NY
187575 EWAS FRANCHESCA ch mare 5/28/1979 WASL Alcandre 40600 Caryn Gdula NY
196608 GAMBLER AL-AZIZ grey gelding 4/27/1979 Good Queen Bess 54359 Earl or Penelope Kidd NY
197049 MISTRAL ROB ch gelding 6/22/1979 Bint Woengran 50046 L.T. Lemay CT
197286 EWAS ASTRA LEAH bay mare 6/18/1979 Sateena 38912 Lucy Theresa Lamay CT
199831 EWAS ASTRAMATAEB bay stallion 4/18/1979 Esterada 47002 Anne Elwell NY
201168 HR EWAS ROHBERTTA ch mare 2/23/1978 Filindy 35512 Dianne Gibbs NJ
212172 GULASTRAS DESTINY grey mare 7/15/1980 SAF Gayla-Louise 103592 James or Maureen Bachman PA
221248 EWAS ASTRA BARAK bay stallion 7/23/1980 Esterada 47002 Anne Elwell NY
221248 RHA STARLASTRA ch mare 6/15/1976 Galis Hi Starann 67665 Frances Crotty WI
223996 HR ASTRA LYNDE ch gelding 5/17/1979 Filindy 35512 Diane Gibb NJ
226135 EWAS ASTRAFARAH ch mare 7/23/1980 Hawana Libre 114925 Joe or Janet Shoemaker IN
227626 EWAS ASTRAKHAN ch stallion 6/18/1979 Sheezadahl 25778 Elephant Walk CA
227627 EWAS ASTRAZARIFA bay mare 6/20/1980 Sheezadahl 25778 Elephant walk CA
229950 EWAS ASTRA-BINIS ch stallion 5/28/1981 Bourika Binis 64739 Anne Elwell & Elephant walk NY
229954 EWAS ULTIMA ASTRA ch mare 4/24/1981 EWAS Astradahl 148842 Elephant Walk Los Gatos CA
234810 EWAS ASTRAGAZI ch gelding 6/15/1981 Sheezadahl 25778 Elephant walk Los Gatos CA
253359 ROH BETA BINNI ch mare 7/21/1982 Bourika Binis 64739 Keith or Caroline Keller NJ
273802 HMR WAULASTRA ch mare 4/30/1983 HMR Wautal 105120 Howard Marks CA
273803 HMR FARLASTRA bay mare 5/28/1983 HMR Farabis Hidiya 16778 Howard Marks CA
277311 DJ ASTRALITA bay mare Esterada 47002 Anne Elwell NY
279119 QAJARI NADIRA ch mare 10/13/1981 Chell-Win Nadira 117441 Annette Winchell NY
292549 BINT HALLASTRA ch mare 3/13/1984 HMR Hallastra 125357 Robert Gusman CA
296045 HMR ZAR TARA ch mare 2/13/1984 HMR Dazara 125356 Howard Marks CA
300009 HMR HYLASTRA grey mare 3/6/1984 HMR Hytala 135441 Howard Marks CA
300630 HMR HABIBA bay mare 6/13/1984 HMR Farabis Hididya 16778 Howard Marks CA
300647 HMR TALASTRA ch mare 5/8/1984 HMR Wataul 105120 Howard Marks CA
310381 HMR STRIKO bay stallion 5/10/1984 HMR Bint Shiko 110634 Howard Marks CA
316033 HABIIB ZALASTRA ch mare 2/22/1985 EWAS Astrazarifa 227627 Howard Marks CA
317563 CHILI PEPPER ch gelding 4/27/1984 Mistannys Pepper 225001 Jewell Cantrell CA
319834 BINGHAZA ch mare 3/24/1985 HMR Hallastra 125357 Robert or Laurel Gusman CA
323731 OMEGA GULASTRA grey stallion 3/16/1985 HMR Hytala 135441 Howard Marks CA
325702 HMR LASTRATAL bay gelding 5/13/1985 HMR Wataul 105120 Howard Marks CA
357845 MI SHIBUMI ch mare 4/4/1986 Marblayd 57548 Deby Robinson CA
360391 CR FARRAH bay mare 4/21/1986 HMR Faranna 229307 Robbi Pruitt CA
360400 CR RICO CS 4/7/1986 Legacie by Asadd 244649 Robbi Pruitt CA
360414 CR CAJUNS BEZT ch mare 5/4/1986 Ms Bezt 266444 Robbi Pruitt CA
364723 CR WINDROSE grey mare 11/5/1985 HMR Hariba 231424 Robbi Pruitt CA
372470 SCF SABRINA ch mare 2/9/1985 SCF Janata 160097 Silver Crest Farms CA
386015 CR BEZT CHABLIS ch mare 5/7/1987 Ms Bezt 266444 Robbi Pruitt CA
386027 GULASTRAS ECHO ch stallion 5/21/1987 Queen Lawruska 115919 Robbi Pruitt CA
387513 GULASTRAS SUNDOWN ch gelding 5/1/1987 HMR Hariba 231424 Robbi Pruitt CA
389147 CR ABILENE grey mare 7/2/1987 Aga Valette 121999 Robbi Pruitt CA
416384 KS INDIAN A JONES bay stallion 4/3/1987 Nieta Nel Gata 155799 Katherine Sedgwick CA
426429 HALO GOODBYE grey mare 4/29/1988 Eidola 351194 Barbara Melton CA
443513 BIT O GULASTRA grey gelding 6/29/1988 Kemah Bint Nasib 127633 Robbi Pruitt CA
443514 GULASTRAS SPLASH ch stallion 4/21/1988 Djomaca 29569 Robbi Pruitt CA
443515 GAILASTRA grey gelding 4/8/1988 Gai Andromeda 218807 Robbi Pruitt CA
**All of the articles included in the re-launched Crabbet.com site from the original website, Georgia Cheer, Silver Monarch Publishing and The Crabbet Influence magazine are shared here with permission of Georgia Cheer given May 16, 2012.**
Last Updated: April 5th, 2019
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