First published in The Arabian Breeders’ Magazine Volume II Issue I September 2017.
Celebrating the Champions – D’Aamascus
This is the history behind the three-time British National Part bred Arab and Light Horse Championsip winner D’Aamascus, a four-year old member of the Cullinghurst Stud’s illustrious ‘D’ family. The ‘D’ relates all horses descending from the Hanoverian/Throughbred foundation mare Broadstone Dresden (Demonstrator x Deborah Coy). Her sire, Demonstrator, became one of the truly great dressage stallions in the UK and he was noted as being a sire of many superior offspring who excelled in an astonishing range of competition. He was ranked three times as the number one dressage sire in the British Horse Database. He was also voted Dressage Horse of the Year by Dressage Magazine. Of particular interest to my wife, Frances, is the fact that Demonstrator offspring have spectacularly won in eventing, show jumping, dressage and, more relevantly, was also the sire of truly great show horses.
Among Demonstrators’s successful show offspring is Frances’ own National Riding Mare Champion and Horse of the Year Show (HOYS) winner Broadstone Dresden and her full brother, Broadstone Doulton, Royal International Supreme Champion, British Show Horse Association’s Supreme National Champion Riding Horse, and HOYS Supreme Champion, who is collectively owned by Cullinghurst Stud.
Returning to D’Aamascus himself, his sire is the Champion dressage horse Flammengold (Florestan I x Paloma), another substantial, black Hanoverian but this time of the Florestan (Fidelio x Raute) sire line. He is best known for his dressage successes and for the quality of his offspring, several of which compete in different equestrian spheres. ‘Flammy’, as he is known at home, has strength, size, substance and quality and he has proven to be a huge success when crossed with Arabian bloodlines, particularly those of the Cullinghurst’s ‘D’ family.
D’Aamascus is out of the British National Champion Part-bred mare D’Aamsen (Arastin x Broadstone Dresden), a coal black, refined part-bred who is full sister to another British National Champion, D’Aartagnan. Their sire Arastin, a master under saddle and especially at western, is a black son of the Australian import Simeon Sadik (Asfour x Simeon Safanad), who was UK International Champion Stallion and the Reserve European Champion Stallion in Paris when shown by myself. In turn, Arastin’s dam Arina (Palas x Arra) was out of a most illustrious Polish mare line, that of the ‘A’ family from the Janów Podlaski State Stud in Poland. Her full brother was the Elite stallion and Polish National Champion Stallion Ararat while her dam Arra (Bandos x Arba) not only won the tightly contested racing Derby in Warsaw, she also went on to be Polish and European Champion Mare in-hand.
D’Aamascus does, therefore, have a great family of horses behind him on both sides of his pedigree. They demonstrate quality, endurance, performance and that all essential star-appeal. As for the horse himself, D’Aamascus is tall, substantial, and powerful in his movement. His temperament is loving and kind and like other of his family members, Doulton in particular, he likes things explained to him and then he gives himself easily and with huge enthusiasm.
First printed in The Arabian Breeders’ Magazine Volume II Issue I September 2017. To enjoy further content such as this, please visit The Arabian Magazine Shop.
