Photography unless stated by Anette Mattsson www.fotograf-mattsson.com
We are sad to share the news that the precious fleabitten grey mare, El Dorada, has passed away at 18 years of age. Bred by the Michalów State Stud in Poland, El Dorada won titles on both sides of the Atlantic and she will be very missed by all of those that knew and loved her so well.
Photographed with Janina Merz and Sigi Siller, breeders of El Dorada’s dam, Sanadik El Shaklan.
Sired by Sanadik El Shaklan (El Shaklan x Mohena by Hadban Enzahi), El Dorada was a daughter of the famed, Emigrantka, a daughter in turn of the ultimate Polish queen, Emigracja (Palas x Emisja by Carycn). While her dam commanded El Dorada’s place in Michalów’s famed ‘E’ line, her sire was the exceptional Eukaliptus (Bandos x Eunice by Comet), a stallion whose name remains coveted in Polish pedigrees worldwide today.
During her life, El Dorada was leased to Valley Oak Arabians in the US, and the Athbah Stud in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It was with Athbah Stud that El Dorada took the Bronze Senior Female World Championship title in Paris in 2012, just one of many titles won by this graceful mare.
El Dorada leaves behind several get to carry on her line. Her most notable son, bred by Valley Oak, is El Palacio VO (by Al Lahab by Laheeb out of The Vision HG), a multiple-champion across the Middle East. At Michalów, her daughters include the lovely El Medina (by Gazal Al Shaqab by Anaza El Farid out of Kajora), whose own daughters are proving themselves in the show-ring.
We understand that El Dorada had been ill for a while and she now joins Pianissima (Gazal Al Shaqab x Pianosa by Eukaliptus), who passed away at Janów Podlaski last year. The two mares were so memorably captured in this amazing photograph by Stuart Vesty on the beaches of California.
El Dorada was a magical mare and one of Michalów’s ethereal grey beauties, the kind that captivated all that visited the farm, and all that saw her around the world. Rest in peace, El Dorada; you will be truly missed.
