By Carol Mingst
More than twenty years ago, Sandy Warren was interested in breeding athletic, English style horses. Her young ranch, Warren Park Stud, already had seen some good animals, but she knew what she wanted. There was a mare named Alarieha (by Galahas) who was exactly what Sandy wanted to cross with Grace Baker’s stallion Aurab. She attempted to lease the mare, but the Prine family beat her to it, leasing Alarieha for one year. The Prines bred the mare to Aurab, resulting in the colt Hi Voltage, who has since won many championships for them. When Hi Voltage was weaned, Sandy Warren was given her chance. Alarieha went right back to Grace Baker’s that summer.
The resulting foal was a filly named Aurieha. Sandy was not exactly disappointed. This mare was beautiful and moved with grace and style. But Sandy wanted a stallion. She continued to lease Alarieha, and bred her back to Aurab. This time, a stunning and splashy colt foaled, and he was named Aulrab.
Aulrab made his first public appearance at the 1983 World Crabbet Symposium held in Denver, Colorado. At the age of four, he had only just started under saddle, but he was ridden into the ring and showed everyone what he could do. Sandy was so besieged with inquiries about her young stallion, that she never did get to see any of the other horses at the presentation.
Also, like his paternal brother Ben Rabba, before him, Aulrab had a chance to go to England. Sandy was tempted. She knew it would be good for his career, but, in the end, she simply couldn’t let Aulrab go. Instead, she Aulrab at home so she could enjoy his company and work on the breeding plans she had built around him.
Through the years, Aulrab has sired around 90 foals (purebred and half). His best known foal, Aur Vanity, was exported to Australia in 1984 and won five national championships there. (Sandy currently is standing Aur Vanity’s younger full brother, Aur Mystique.)
Aulrab himself had an impressive, although limited, show career. He never did attend the Nationals, though he was well qualified in several divisions. He won at various levels in English, informal combination, native costume, and side saddle. Mostly, he lived on the ranch Sandy and her husband, Dick, built for him. Aulrab’s home was “the forest,” a tree-shaded paddock on their ranch east of Fresno, CA.
In 1995, Sandy’s health wasn’t up to the handling of mares, so she agreed to send Aulrab north to David Ward’s Fairview Stud in British Columbia. This was the first time Sandy was separated from Aulrab for longer than a series of shows. Letting him leave was one of the hardest things Sandy could do, but she had leased out nearly all of her mares, and knew that Aulrab would have the chance to reach far more at Dr. Ward’s ranch. She bred one last mare at home, Haapey Pico by Haat Shaat, and then said good-bye to her long-time friend.
The arrangement worked very well. David Ward became as deeply attached to the beautiful stallion as Sandy had been before him. He bred Aulrab to many of his best mares, and several from outside as well. In addition, Aulrab received attention from those who visited Fairview Stud, including the members of the advisory board from Cal Poly, who chose Aulrab to contribute his special blend of old-Kellogg blood to the college herd.
Sandy Warren still owns Aulrab in conjunction with David Ward. She also owns a few mature offspring, including several mares and two stallions (Aul Magic and Aur Mystique). (Haapey Pico’s wonderful colt, Ibn Aulrab has been sold and will be shown in the near future.)
GA TOPAZ
Green Acres Arabians in Temecula, CA owned the beautiful Abu Farwa son, Galan. This stallion was eventually bred to the lovely Aulrab daughter, Aurtema, resulting in a handful of full siblings including GA Topaz in 1983.
Dr. David Ward has been breeding Kellogg line Arabians for 25 years, owning and using such stallions as Farlane and Ab Salute (both by Abu Farwa), Aurlani Farwa, Aya Matigua and Aulrab (all by Aurab), Shabaoud (triple Ga’Zi), Kilauea Fire (by Ga’Zi), Schar, and many others. In 1983, he received a video from Green Acres Arabians. After watching about two minutes, he called and bought the colt, GA Topaz.
GA Topaz was an upright, fancy colt. David later acquired his dam and full blood sister. Topaz grew up and bred a few of David’s many mares. Dr. Ward says he sold all of the foals before he really had a chance to realize that they were all gone. Later, Dr. Ward leased Topaz out to a few different individuals. One was a trainer who broke him to ride and showed him on a limited basis in the Pacific Northwest.
Sandy Warren had noticed GA Topaz’s pedigree and had heard a description of him several years previous. She asked to lease the young stallion, but he was already promised elsewhere. Dr. Ward leased her another stallion (to cross with her Aulrab get), but Sandy continued to ask about Topaz since his bloodlines were what she wanted for the next generation.
In 1995, GA Topaz finally became available. Sandy was sending Aulrab up to Fairview Stud and GA Topaz arrived at her ranch. Sandy had never actually seen GA Topaz until the day he was delivered, but she was not disappointed. His upright carriage and long, sloping shoulder would cross well with the few mares that Sandy had retained.
Sandy was even more pleased when she started handling him. Topaz is a true gentleman. He was safe to handle even during breeding, even though Sandy was weakened from her illness. Sandy bred only a few mares; two of her best and two belonging to a close friend. Then all she could do was wait.
In 1996, the foals arrived. Aurieha, Aulrab’s full sister, and Aura Magic (*Lewisfield Magic x Aurieha), foaled the same night. The two fillies were everything Sandy had hoped for from the breedings. They were both tall, typy, and showy. The two other foals were both colts, one a ¾ Arabian who looked purebred.
1997 brought a half-dozen more foals, all high quality. Due to continued health problems, Sandy was unable to breed many more mares in 1997. Sandy will miss seeing GA Topaz in her pasture, but she knows it is best that he have his chance to sire at Cal Poly. GA Topaz, like Aulrab, is now owned in partnership between Dr. David Ward and Sandy Warren.
**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.**
Leave a Reply