A Breeder’s Story – Mike Weinstein,

by Cindy Reich

Every breeder aspires to produce horses that contribute to the breed as a whole, and to leave an enduring legacy of the type of horse that represents the breeder’s vision. To have one legendary stallion is a blessing, to have two is a gift beyond measure.  To be on the cusp of a third, is visionary.

This is a breeder’s story.

The stallion El Nabila B (Kubinec x 218 ELF Layla Walayla B).

In 1982, word was quietly circulating about an interesting stallion at the Tersk stud in Russia. The horse in question was of primarily Polish bloodlines and was said to be a most impressive stallion.

Michael Weinstein, with his family-owned Aries Arabians, had based his program primarily on pure Polish Arabian horses with an emphasis on *Bask bloodlines. He was intrigued by this stallion after careful observation of other Russian horses such as *Muscat (Salon x Malpia) and *Nariadni (Nabeg x Nariadnaia), and started to inquire about whether he was for sale. The official response was “Not for Sale.”

Michael wasn’t the only one on the trail of this Tersk stallion, and a syndicate was formed to purchase him. At the same time another powerful syndicate was assembled. It was a race to see who would be successful.

Michael had called me several months previously to see if I would be interested in becoming their breeding manager. He mentioned that he was thinking of some Russian horses, and I launched into a discourse about the most beautiful mare I had ever seen, while working at KEG Arabians, where the Russian stallion *Marsianin (Aswan x Magnolia) was standing.

"I ran out of breath describing this mare, then Mike quietly said, “We are trying to buy her full brother.” 

This particular mare had been sent to KEG Arabians to be bred to *Marsianin. She was an absolutely beautiful bay mare, extremely dry and refined, with an enormous eye and a certain elegance about her. Her name was *Motornaia (Nabeg x Metropolia). When I ran out of breath describing this mare, Mike quietly said, “We are trying to buy her full brother.” I immediately accepted the position.

April 1982 found Michael and me standing at the arena in Tersk, when the door opened and the stallion *Menes (Nabeg x Metropolia) emerged. For the first time in my life, upon seeing a horse, the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. He had the same magnetic presence of his full sister, and the refinement and dryness and the huge eye — but he was all stallion. Powerfully built, with “master of his kingdom” vibes. I looked over at Mike and he had the same expression of awe on his face. There was no question that Michael was not going back to the U.S. without *Menes.

*Menes did indeed come back to Aries in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, where Michael carefully selected mares for him. Outside breeders, too, brought tremendous mares of a variety of bloodlines. And although *Menes left a lasting legacy of outstanding offspring in the U.S., it was in Europe that he left his mark most powerfully. After ten years in the U.S., *Menes returned to Europe, first to Belgium, where he had been leased by Dennis Schoukens, then to Robbie den Hartog Junior’s Kossak Stud.

It was a “full circle” moment as Robbie den Hartog’s father, Robbie Senior, was the exporter for *Menes from Russia.

"He considered *El Nabila B to be the heir to the dynasty that had begun with *Menes."

In Europe, from a distinguished roster of offspring, the stallion Balaton (*Menes x Panagia) emerged. Michael had discerned that among the best crosses to *Menes in the U.S. were daughters of *Salon, so it was no surprise that Panagia (by Aswan out of the *Salon daughter Pustinia), might produce something special. When Balaton was crossed with the *Muscat daughter Kosmetika (x Karta) it brought another cross to Salon through *Muscat as well as bringing back the Arax line and Priboj again through Karta (Arax x Kapella by Priboj). This impressive line-bred pedigree produced the bright chestnut stallion Kubinec (Balaton x Kosmetika) who established himself as an exceptional sire, contributing his type, attitude and especially his movement to his get. One of those offspring was a grey stallion out of the mare 218 Elf Layla Walayla B. His name was *El Nabila B. Bred by the Babolna Stud in Hungary, *El Nabila B subsequently made his way to Brazil and the breeding program of Murillo Kamar. Named National Champion Stallion in Brazil, he was leased by North Arabians who brought him to Ramona, California in 2006.

In the late 1990s Michael stepped away from the Arabian world to focus on his work in the mental health field. At the 2006 Scottsdale show Michael heard about this Brazilian import, and went to see him. He considered *El Nabila B to be the heir to the dynasty that had begun with *Menes. Michael thought his rare Bairactar sire line through Amurath Sahib, would be a good cross to the Saklawi I sire lines of horses like Magnum Psyche, *Marwan Al Shaqab and *Al Lahab.

Michael joined a syndicate of prominent breeders who managed the stallion, and four years later, Michael and his partner, Geoff Teeter were able to purchase *El Nabila B.

Once again, Michael was utilizing a genetic powerhouse stallion that offered a direct line back to his first such stallion –*Menes. The Psynergy Equine program proves that “once a breeder, always a breeder.” The *El Nabila B get are establishing yet another dynasty worldwide.

Early on, Michael started taking the outcross lines of *El Nabila B to the intensely line-bred mares of Om El Arabians to good effect.  Among the *El Nabila sons, two have stood out as not only notable show horses, but more importantly, as excellent sires. The first was Titan AS (*El Nabila B x Om El Beladeena), who emerged as an important young sire. Unfortunately, he was lost in the prime of his life, but his frozen semen is keeping his legacy alive in the Arabian Soul Partners program in Mexico.

"Atticus ENB was just beginning to show what he could do as a breeding stallion…” 

The other heir apparent by *El Nabila B that was catching the attention of breeders, was Atticus ENB (*El Nabila B x Om El Benedine). Interestingly, both Titan AS and Atticus ENB are related through their dam lines. Titan AS’s dam is a granddaughter of Om El Beneera (*Sharem El Sheikh x *Estopa) and Atticus ENB’s dam is a daughter of Beneera.

Atticus ENB

As a young stallion, Atticus ENB was successfully shown which is always a nice validation. However, what a stallion sires, is more important than show wins, especially if he is to be considered a true breeding horse. Atticus ENB was on that path. In any breeding program, the vision must be contemplated in decades, not years.  By the time a stallion’s or mare’s offspring are old enough to know their quality, the sire or dam can be reaching middle age.

Atticus ENB was just beginning to show what he could do as a breeding stallion with a relatively small number of foals. He was looking like he might become the third great stallion to carry out Michael’s vision, and a continuation of the legacy of *Menes to Balaton to Kubinec to *El Nabila B to Atticus ENB. Sadly, this next step in the progression ended far too soon with the premature loss of Atticus ENB in late October.

The path of the serious breeder can be extremely rewarding as well as heartbreaking. Being a breeder requires commitment, responsibility, passion and a long gaze.

Perhaps among the coming foal crops of Atticus ENB will be the heir apparent of the next generation of a 50-year dedication to the Arabian horse.

Epilogue, Michael in His Own Words

How does your heart heal from such a loss as that of the young stallion, Atticus?
I don’t know if it can. I still can’t talk about it. We not only lost a stallion that we loved, but he was part of a dynasty that was 50 years in the making. I had never planned to own and stand another breeding stallion after *El Nabila B, but Atticus ENB was showing himself to be a next important step in the progression of our program.  

We worked so hard to do everything right. There was a lot of demand for breedings in Europe and beyond, so we decided to give Atticus the opportunity to breed those mares. But the toughest part is that it didn’t have to happen. I still go back and think, what if I had done something different, if I had acted sooner or changed things sooner.  

Certain things you can’t recover from — it remains a part of you forever.

What keeps you going?
Losing Atticus ENB at such a young age took the wind out of our sails. Now we have to re-think how we go forward.  He was a big part of our plans, and he was coming back to the U.S. for the next step. 

What keeps me going now is being surrounded by good friends and a strong team that I have known most of my life.

Seeing the young Atticus offspring growing up keeps me going. Making plans for the upcoming breeding season keeps me going. The promise of a new foal crop arriving keeps me going.

What advice would you give an aspiring breeder?
Buy the best mares genetically and conformationally that you can afford. Do your homework. Go out and look at horses. Read up on and study pedigrees, conformation, successful breeding operations. Consistency is important, even if you breed only a couple of mares. You don’t have to be a big breeder to produce good horses. Surround yourself with people who are smarter than you, and learn from them. Learn enough so that you can make your own decisions and not rely on others to tell you what to do. Never stop learning, never stop studying. Many people reach a certain level of knowledge and then stop. They don’t feel they have to learn any more. You never stop learning and you never stop striving. It is important  to breed beautiful horses that are also functional.

What are the qualities a breeder must have?
Patience. A long view. A distinct interest in learning. Dedication. The desire for knowledge. Breed towards a goal that is important to you. You can’t build a breeding program overnight, and too many people have unrealistic expectations and expect to accomplish their goals in one or two generations. You have to take the highs and the lows in stride. Because there will be both. You have to put in the effort, be objective and not barn blind. Understand the industry. Continue to evolve and change. Strive to make improvements with each generation. Be responsible for  the breed.

What is your most treasured memory of a special horse?
I can’t limit it to one. Here are four of them.

When Kajora (Kaborr x Edjora) became National Champion Mare. I will never forget that moment.

Kajora

Seeing *Menes for the first time at Tersk in Russia. He was magnificent.

The stallion *Menes (Nabeg x Metropolia) at Tersk.

When our homebred filly, Aphrodite ENB, (Titan AS by *El Nabila B x Carenza by Enzo) was crowned National Champion Yearling Filly.

Aphrodite ENB

When another filly we bred, by Atticus ENB, Alesia ENB, owned by Murray and Shirley Popplewell was named Scottsdale Senior Champion Mare.

Alesia ENB