History of the Arabian Horse In America and their Origin

By Ferman Ansel

In 1952 Charles Agustus Steen, a struggling geologist using a borrowed Geiger counter found the Mi Vida Uranium lode  outside of Moab, Utah.  The discovery, made at the dawn of the nuclear age, was valued at nearly 100 million dollars. Charles had discovered the  largest uranium deposit in U.S. history.  Overnight   Charles and Minnie (M.L.) Steen went from dirt poor to filthy rich. And over the next few decades they began their collection of  personal treasures.

Charles dabbled in politics,   ranching, agriculture, mining, airplane manufacturing,  and Arabian horses. But In 1961 Steen disgruntled with what he termed "the wall money builds between you and other people", resigned from the Utah Senate and moved his family to Reno Nevada. Here he built a 35-room home with gold and silver fixtures, Marble floors and walls, a moat surrounding the dining room and a 40 -foot-long, 19-foot-deep swimming pool.

In keeping with their  taste for exquisite things,  Charles and Minnie imported from Spain in 1965 more than 20 Purebred Spanish Arabian Horses. They had no way of knowing it at the time that their wealth woud be fleeting and  they had just left their mark  in the  legacy of  the Arabian Horse breed forever.

Their understanding and selection of Spanish Arabian mares would make a statement that is just now being fully appreciated as we move into the next millennium.

        * *Rabieta was a 15.1 hand 1/2 sister to Zancudo imported by Steen and anchored the breeding program of Phyllis Austads Belle Aire Farms in Medford Oregon.    

       * *Rapaza by Barquillo was imported by Steen and joined the broodmare band  of Wayne Newton's Arabians.

       * *Sauce II by Barquillo was imported by Steen and became part of Jay and                Dorothy Streams  Greengate Farms herd.

Although the Steen financial empire  crumbled  the dispersion of their horses into some of the best breeding programs in the United States provided  the timely and much needed outcross gene pool.

In the early 1970's Bruce Clark and Gerry Alexander of Bru Mar Ba Arabians needed a new outcross for their Comar Bay Beau+++ and Al Marah Radames daughters who had predominately *Raseyn and *Raffles bottom lines.

They had watched the success and influence of the Draper and Steen importation's and they where convinced that carefully selected  Spanish bloodlines where the answer. So in the fall of 1972 they purchased the double Malvito grandson *Barich De Washoe and serviced a few test mares in 1973. All of these mares traced in tail female line to the Skowronek daughter Jalila.

Jalila was the dam of Nana Sahib the sire of Fabuloso.

Sabiduria has two links to Nana Sahib and she is the dam of Agitar de Washoe.

 Jalila was imported into Spain in 1925 by the Dugue de Veragua.

*Barich de Washoe is the leading sire of  pure Spanish  stallions with 483 foals. He is a fun loving athletic individual that is quite handy on his feet.

Bru Mar Ba  also selected *Palabrita  a Barquillo daughter and *Taduria de Washoe a *Sabiduria daughter by Maquillo.  In 1978 they imported from Spain the French National Champion Mare *Zlabiya an Alhabac daughter and two other  Zancudo line mares.

In 1980 Bru Mar Ba imported the Malvito line Stallions *Nilo and the liver chestnut performance star of Spain *Aram. The wisdom and foresight that Bruce and Gerry have  are expressed in the progeny of Comar Bay Beau+++  daughters  outcrossed to these Spanish Arabian Horses.

The success of their three breeding programs headed by the significant American bred Comar Bay Beau+++, the  pure Spanish line and  Spanish cross Arabian horses have earned them a well deserved place in Arabian horse history.