Webmaster's Note: The
following excellent article written by Mary Jane Parkinson
originally appeared in the November 1984 issue of
Arabian
Horse World Magazine
and is reprinted here in its entirety with permission, both
from the author and the magazine. All original photographs
have been included, although their placement is not
identical, and the sections on *Gwalior, *Aramus, and
Gai-Adventure will be added in the future.
Please keep in mind that many
years have passed since, and many events have changed. Tom
and Deedie Chauncey, who were the significant people in
*Naborr's life from 1969 to his death in 1977, eventually
were divorced and both have since died. But what is
important is that together they owned a legendary stallion
whose impact on the Arabian breed will remain. They
continued to promote the *Naborr line in the show rings of
the United States and the world and continued to breed
horses of this important bloodline. *Naborr was a famous
horse before their involvement, but his final chapters would
have been vastly different without the extreme dedication,
promotion, and love that Tom and Deedie Chauncey provided to
his life.
Many *Naborr sons and
daughters mentioned here have also since died, but many more
became show champions after this article was written. In
fact, some direct *Naborr get are still showing--at age 20
and more! The final chapter of *Naborr's history will never
be written. It is an ongoing saga of one incredible
horse.
*NABORR SEEMS TO HAVE
captivated the international Arabian horse community. Very
quietly, very regally, and very definitively. His
extraordinary beauty, his merit as a sire, his nobility and
bearing, and his ability to emotionally involve the persons
in his life made him nearly irresistible to anyone touched
in any way by Arabian horses.
We first heard about *Naborr
in 1958 when Patricia Lindsay of Stockings Farm in England
wrote of her visit to Poland that year. She spent time at
Michalow State Stud and described *Naborr there:
"Particularly interesting was the pure white Nabor, probably
the best of the imports from Russia. This horse is a
grandson of Naseem by direct male line and was bought to
reintroduce the blood of Skowronek to Poland. He already has
some very good progeny, stamping them all with lovely heads
and a charming gaiety of carriage." A grandson of Naseem?
Imports to Poland from Russia? All news, and highly
intriguing, to Americans who wondered how Arabian horse
breeding in Poland and Russia had survived World War
II.
*Naborr's foaling at Tersk
Stud in Russia, only five years after the end of World War
II in Europe, was part of the aftermath of the capture and
removal of horses as war booty. His granddam Obra (Hardy x
Ikwa) was foaled at Janow-Podlaski Stud in Poland in 1933
and went to a private breeder, Stanislaw Magielski at
Jablonka Stud in the Konin District. There she was bred to
Posejdon (a son of Ibrahim, the sire of Skowronek) and
foaled a grey filly in 1939 for her first foal. The filly
was named Lagodna, which means "gentle" in Polish. Lagodna
and Obra disappeared in 1939; however, they were not among
the 100+ choice Arabians scooped up by the Russians as they
swept through Poland. Sometime between 1939 and 1945
(probably in 1943), Lagodna was taken to the German
Trakhener State Stud where she was known as "Odilgard"or
"Lagodna Odilgard." She apparently was bred to Trakhener
stallions there, although we know the Polish-bred Arabian
stallion Lowelas (Koheilan I x Elegantka) was taken to the
same stud.
In early 1946, the Russians
took Lagodna, along with five other Polish-bred mares, to
Tersk Stud. Lagodna had her 1946 Trakhener foal at her side
and she was again in foal to a Trakhener stallion. Both
foals are listed in Volume I of the Russian Arabian Stud
Book. In 1944, the Soviet government granted to Tersk
the exclusive right to breed purebred Arabians; all
partbreds at Tersk were moved to Stavropol Stud Farm, so
Lagodna's foals may have been sent there.
At Tersk, Lagodna produced
four more foals (three colts and one filly), and then was
sold. In 1949 she was bred to the stallion Negatiw, a son of
Naseem (by the Polish-bred stallion Skowronek). In 1936,
when he was 14, Naseem was included in the 25 Crabbet-bred
Arabians Lady Wentworth sold to representatives of the
Russian government. Of the six stallions in the Crabbet
purchase, Naseem is the only one whose line was perpetuated
at Tersk. From 1936 to 1951, he sired 87 purebreds and 50
partbred Arabians. Of his 45 purebred sons, six were entered
in the stud book, and 20 of his 42 daughters were entered.
Negatiw, foaled in 1945, was out of Taraszcza (Enwer-Bey x
Gazella II), a Polish-bred mare confiscated by the Russians
at Janow-Podlaski in 1939. Negatiw's first foals were born
in 1949--a colt and a filly--and Lagodna was one of 12 mares
selected to be bred to him for 1950. She foaled a grey colt
on April 13, 1950, and he was named "Nabor."
*Naborr (Nabor) was entered
in Volume I of the Russian Arabian Stud Book with the
notation that he was considered "Grade I." His measurements
are listed at 149 centimeters (height at the withers), 147
centimeters (from point of shoulder to point of buttock),
172 centimeters (girth), and 18 centimeters (bone). When
*Naborr was two he raced at Piatygorsk, winning two of eight
races. His times are recorded as 1,500 meters in 1:54, 1,600
meters in 1:55, and 1,800 meters in 2:10.
In 1954, the Tersk Arabians
won their first awards at the All-Union Agricultural Fair in
Moscow, where they competed against all Russian breeds of
horses. *Naborr, at age four, was awarded the "Certificate
of the First Class" (the equivalent of our National Reserve
Championship), and his sire Negatiw was awarded the
championship. That same year, *Naborr was first used at stud
at Tersk; four foals were born in 1955 and five in 1956, for
a total of six colts and three fillies. One colt King, out
of Kompositsia (Korej x Mulatka), was registered in the stud
book; none of the fillies were registered. King, in turn,
sired one filly who was not registered as a broodmare, so
the *Naborr line was not continued at Tersk.
As the Poles rebuilt their
shattered and scattered Arabian breeding program after World
War II, they realized they had no stallions of the Ibrahim
sire line. The desert-bred Ibrahim had been imported to
Poland by Count Josef Potocki for Antoniny Stud in 1907, but
no direct sire line descendants were available to the
program. By that time, Ibrahim's son Skowronek was acclaimed
as "the horse of the century," "the great progenitor," and
as one of the most influential sires of the breed. The Poles
knew of his son Naseem and grandson Negatiw as highly
successful sires at Tersk. In 1955 they obtained *Naborr, a
direct sire line descendant of Ibrahim (and with two more
crosses to Ibrahim), for the Polish State Studs. *Naborr
arrived in Poland in the fall of 1955 and was taken to the
Klikowa Stallion Depot for a short time. The Poles loved
him, for they found in *Naborr a resemblance to the Arabian
horses painted by Juliusz Kossak, considered the best
painter of oriental horses. *Naborr's remarkable Arabian
type, dry fine head, swan-like neck, and milk-white hair
(unusual for his age) all related to the Poles' ideal
Arabian.
*Naborr's first year at stud
in Poland (1956) was at Albigowa State Stud in the Lancut
District, a site used until Janow-Podlaski was rebuilt.
Seven foals (four fillies and three colts) were born in
1957. The dams were daughters of the top Polish stallions
Witraz, Wielki Szlem, and Koheilan I. *Naborr was moved to
the recently established Michalow State Stud (in the Pinczow
District) for the 1957 breeding season. There he came into
the care of Ignacy Jaworowski, the Director of Michalow, who
became a lifelong admirer of *Naborr. Mr. Jaworowski rode
him and appreciated his docile character, his dignity, and
innate intelligence. The first year at Michalow, *Naborr
bred seven mares, plus one at Nowy Dwor Stud. The 1957 mares
included three sired by Amurath Sahib (35. Amurath II
AUST/PASB x Sahiba PASB). *Naborr stayed at Michalow through
the 1963 breeding season when his life was again
dramatically changed, this time by Americans.
IN 1962, Dr. Eugene LaCroix
of Lasma Arabians and his friend Dr. Howard F. Kale of Kale
Arabians visited the Polish studs, some of the first
Americans to travel there post-World War II. The trip was
Dr. LaCroix's follow-through on his "Wow!" impression of the
1960-1961 Polish Arabians imported via the "mail order"
Gladys Brown Edwards-Patricia Lindsay-Animex connection.
Miss Lindsay brought the first Polish-bred Arabians since
Skowronek into England in 1958 following her visit there and
maintained good relations with the Poles. She was also an
accomplished linguist, and this skill served her well. The
imports to the United States, the first since the prizes of
war in 1945, suggested Poland as a source of prime breeding
stock, and Dr. LaCroix couldn't wait to get to the nest. He
was not disappointed; he was overwhelmed. The beauty,
elegance, athletic ability, and a certain exuberance were
there in abundance, and he was ready to import a sampling to
the United States. When he arrived back in Scottsdale, he
told wonderful stories of the Polish Arabians, and he
carried photos and movies to back up his stories. One of the
persons who listened to his travel tales with unusual
interest was Mrs. Anne McCormick, a Scottsdale Arabian
breeder.
Mrs. McCormick, a Chicagoan
transplanted to Scottsdale, was an independent thinker,
known for her scholarly approach to livestock breeding. She
was a highly successful cattle breeder and transferred her
knowledge of genetics and breeding theories to Arabian
horses. As she listened to Dr. LaCroix's stories of the
beauty and usefulness of the Polish Arabians, the appeal of
importing was there. Dr. LaCroix showed her a photograph of
a *Naborr son and suggested she might be able to acquire
him. Her reaction, after seeing photos of *Naborr, was,
"Well, *Naborr looks better to me. Why not import the sire?"
Dr. LaCroix had toyed with this idea too, but had been told
the Poles would not part with him. Mrs. McCormick was also
known as a formidable and determined woman. She did not see
the fact that *Naborr was not for sale as a deterrent. She
insisted on a phone call ("I'm paying the tariff. You
call.") to Patricia Lindsay in England who could contact
Animex in Poland. The message to be relayed to the Poles:
Mrs. McCormick wants to buy *Naborr. What is the price? Miss
Lindsay reinforced Dr. LaCroix's feeling that *Naborr was
too valuable to the Polish breeding program to consider
selling him. She was reminded, "All they can do is say no."
In time, the message came back via Miss Lindsay with a price
obviously calculated to discourage the lady in Scottsdale.
Instead, she said, "I'll take him."
Dr. LaCroix rallied other
Scottsdale breeders and friends to join in the importation
effort. After frustrating delays caused by a dockworkers'
strike in New York and Poland's worst winter in 100 years,
15 Polish Arabians were loaded on board ship late in January
1963. The cargo was precious. It included the stallions
*Naborr and *Bask, both to have unending influence on
Arabian horse breeding worldwide, and mares of great merit.
The crossing was not smooth. The ship ran into a wicked
storm, made no progress westward for ten days, and food
supplies ran low. Forty-four days later, on March 9, 1963,
the ship docked in New York. One mare had aborted at sea and
died within a few days All the horses were down in weight
and generally battered and skinned. Except *Naborr. He was
calm, unscathed, and had lost only about 50 pounds, much
less than the others. Harold Daugherty, Mrs. McCormick's
ranch manager, and her son Guy Stillman were in New York to
meet *Naborr. Before the ship docked, they were on a launch
in the harbor so they could go on board for their first look
at *Naborr, the only horse in the lot with a five-figure
price tag. Mr. Jaworowski, as one of Poland's leading horse
specialists, accompanied the horses, and Harold Daugherty
was able to visit with him--in spite of language
problems--and learn more about *Naborr. After time in
quarantine, *Naborr was taken to the McCormick ranch, where
Mrs. McCormick immediately acknowledged his beauty and the
wisdom of her purchase and began planning his contributions
to her breeding program.
*Naborr was nearly limited to
the McCormick breeding program. Mrs. McCormick was a woman
of wealth and had no desire or need to make a profit with
her Arabian horses, and she had no interest in the notoriety
generated by *Naborr as the first Tersk-bred Arabian to
arrive in the United States. The curious called, wrote, and
stopped by. Many wanted to book mares, but Mrs. McCormick
was concerned only with his influence on her Arabians. Other
than her family members, only a favored few were approved to
bring mares to *Naborr: Dr. LaCroix, Dr. Howard Kale, Daniel
C. Gainey, Emile Goyette, and Bazy Tankersley.
MRS. McCORMICK DIED in 1969
at age 90, and her will stipulated that her Arabians be sold
at public auction. A small, unpretentious, black and white
catalog announced the liquidation sale at the McCormick
Ranch on North Scottsdale Road in October. Of the 50 lots in
the sale, only *Naborr was pictured. At age 19, the catalog
stated, he was in excellent breeding condition, and a group
of underwriters agreed to insure him for 80% of his purchase
price, up to $100,000. The curiosity level was high, and the
rumor mill produced more speculation each day. Pre-sale,
there was talk of syndicates ready to buy *Naborr and that
he might bring as much as $100,000, talk of celebrities
interested in him, and talk of his going back to
Europe.
The speed and efficiency of
the Arabian horse grapevine has evoked amazement for years,
but Wednesday, October 15, 1969, must have been a
record-setter. The news flash of the heretofore unheard of
$150,000 for *Naborr and the name of the buyer sped from
coast to coast, and almost as fast, the question came back,
"Who is this Tom Chauncey who bought him?" A former Texan,
jeweler, rancher (cattle, thoroughbreds, and quarter
horses), respected civic leader in Phoenix, and owner of
radio and television stations; a man who came under
*Naborr's spell with the first look at the McCormick Ranch
in 1963; and a man whose life would be wrapped around
*Naborr from that day on.
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