Haras Mayed

By Jo west Lauter

A subtle breeze awakens the grass and transforms the plain into an undulating sea. Softly warming the day, sunlight deepens the verdant landscape. Birdsong mingles with the odors of freshening spring to sweeten the air. Mare and foals graze contentedly in fields so vast that one forgets there are fences. And all about the place there lingers a rare kind of peace, omnipresent, gently enveloping.

Haras Mayed is a haven for all the creatures; both wild and domesticated, that have the good fortune to reside there. It is a working establishment, designed for the comfort and well-being of the magnificent animals that are its heartbeat.

There is a dignity in understatement, and a kind of sweet, enticing mystery. Haras Mayed, as a reflection of its owners, Senor Fernando de Santibanes and his son, Joaquin, bespeaks the dignity and sweet mystery of these remarkable gentlemen. Fernando is a brilliant man, a person of integrity, of extraordinary kindness and generosity And yet, because of his unassuming manner and his humility, to most, he remains something of an enigma. Joaquin is a young man whose humor and charm only thinly veil the depth of his inherent compassion. Together they are a formidable team, men who cannot help but make a powerfully positive contribution to their every chosen endeavor including the breeding of Arabian horses.

It all began 21 years ago with the family meeting at the Sanitabanes country home near Buenos Aires the capitol of Argentina. Having decided that a few horses would make a nice addition, Fernando, his three sons, and his former wife discussed the merits of various horse breeds and settled on the Arabians. An international banker, Fernando had partners all around the world. As it happened, he purchased his first two horses from one such partner, Sr. Camargo, who had an Arabian farm in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

As Fernando and Joaquin became more interested in the horses and breeding, they received valuable guidance from Argentinean breeder Sr. Santiago Obarrio, the original owner of Haras Mayed, who had named the farm for one of his daughters. In 1993, with an ever-increasing interest, and a growing herd of mares, the Santibanes purchased the ranch from their early advisor and began improving the facility to suit their growing needs.

Today, strong, safe fences divide huge pastures where the grasses grow deep as to obscure the average foal. Wide lanes lined with hundreds of newly planted trees divide the pastures and simplify vehicular traffic around the ranch. In the mild Argentinean climate, only minimal shelter is needed. In keeping with their habit of not marring the landscape, Fernando and Joaquin have chosen to build structures in the simple, old style of their country. Here and there, open-air structures with thatched roofs create shade and shelter from rain. Otherwise, the meadows lay unmarred by anything less lovely that the horses that live in peace and comfort.

The 400-acre ranch is divided into pasture that is so vast that one almost forgets there are fences.

Haras Mayed is managed by the very capable Ignacio Lopez and Arthur Nascimento, who also train and show the Santibanes horses in South American competition. Ignacio and Arthur is accomplished and conscientious horseman who are as important a part of the ranch as are the horses.

The animals are additionally blessed with a superior veterinarian, who is extremely knowledgeable in all areas of veterinary medicine and embryo transfer and has become equally well versed and accomplished in the field of equine reproduction.

Fernando & Joaquin de Santibanes

Today approximately 150 horses reside at Haras Mayed, including some 70 broodmares in production. Having established a good foundation herd utilizing various stallions including their own, the Santibanes are now almost exclusively breeding to *Magnum Psyche and his sons JJ Senor Magnum, JJ El Bronz, *Magnum Chall, JJ Da Vinci as well as the newly purchased United States National champion stallion *Legacy of Gold and the Brazilian import NNL Bey Shall.

Each year there are two foal crops born, the first of January and February and the second in July and August.

Argentina, Fernando says proudly, is Magnum country. It is definitely not an overstatement when one considers the remarkable early success of Magnum sons and daughters in the Argentine show ring. In Argentine Nationals, Magnum is a dominant force, not only earning his fourth National Championship when he was named Argentine National Champion Stallion, but also achieving the great honor of winning the Get of Sire competition year after year.

When asked how they chose the horses that would become their foundation, Fernando explained, We did a lot of research, First of all, we wanted to breed horses that are athletic, and we wanted them to be pretty. We are very happy with the advice form Pole (Paulo Levy, the highly respected Brazilian breeder, owner of one of the worlds most successful breeding programs, Haras Capim Fino) and from David Boggs, These are good friends who have helped us very much.

Do you have a favorite horse, I asked, thinking I know the answer, but wanting to hear it from Fernando. Magnum he said, and I could hear the smile in his voice.

So, how did this come about? I wanted to know. I mean your purchase of Magnum.

My son, Joaquin, knows very much more about the horses than I do, Fernando began. I know a lot about economics, not so much about horses. For years, Joaquin searched for just the right stallion, Fernando went on. We wanted a horse of different bloodlines from the Egyptian-bred stallions that were very popular in Argentina. We were looking for a horse with the athleticism and beauty we think is important, and for a stallion that had a good chance of passing on those traits. We looked at several Bey Shah+ sons, but couldn't reach any financial agreements on the ones we liked the best. We asked David Boggs to look for the kind of stallion we had in mind and he found Magnum.

Did you buy him right away? I wondered.

Not right away, it was not an easy negotiation. His owners really didn't want to sell him and I had to make two or three trips to America before we made the final arrangements.

All of this took place shortly after Magnum was named US National Champion Yearling Sweepstakes Colt. I wasn't sure about buying a colt so young as a breeding stallion prospect, Fernando told me. But Joaquin and David had more confidence than I did, and they are the experts.

Finally I asked the questions that remains on a lot of peoples minds, What are your plans for Magnum? Will he stay in the US? Or will he one day live in Argentina?

We hope that it will be possible for him to live in both countries he belongs to both. Hell stay in the United States, but also spend time here, in Argentina part of the year.

Before listing some of the fine mares Fernando and Joaquin have collected for Haras Mayed, I want to give the reader a little more insight into these two very special, if slightly enigmatic men.

One of Fernando's most enduring characteristics is the open and unembarrassed way his shows his love for his son. A pair of strong, masculine men, they are, none-the-less, uninhibited in their affection for one another. Only people with a great deal of love to give truly have the degree of passion necessary to devote themselves to an endeavor as uncertain as the attempt to breed fine horses. Fernando and Joaquin de Santibanes clearly possess this essential attribute in measure far beyond the need.

To be a breeder gives me lots of good moments and many new friends, Fernando says, I want to have good horses but friendship is very important.

To his friends, Fernando de Santibanes is always a joy. With Joaquin, he shares a wry sense of humor and the wise perspective that disallows one to take anything too seriously. Possessed of apparently limitless energy, Fernando is a man of perpetual motion, who is rarely seen to sit or stand still in the informal atmosphere of the horse world.

Like his father, Joaquin has a perpetually cheerful, and slightly mischievous, glint in his eyes. Not quite as perpetually mobile as his Dad, the incredibly handsome young man appears to be studying the world around him and learning, virtually all of the time making of life a grand adventure in the bargain.

So, in the final analysis, Haras Mayed is a world-class Arabian breeding program. But beneath the surface lies even finer that the material elements. At the heart of it all is the love of a father and son, for one another and for the beautiful animals that enable them to share one of life's more challenging enterprises.