We received this touching story about the 20 year old Al
Khamsa stallion
Laurence (Ansata Ali Pasha x HMR Ballani) whose location was unknown
until
Mary Lou Raulerson, who adquired him, became familiar with Al Khamsa.
His
dam, HMR Ballanni, was bred by Howard Marks and is by Hallany Mistanny
and is a daughter of Baba, one of the mares on the reference pedigree
list
of the Raswan collection. Here is Laurence’s story as told by Mary Lou
Raulerson:
“An old rock and roll song said...‘to know,
know, know him
is to love, love, love him..’ and in the case of Laurence it’s true.
That
grand old horse has built up quite a fan club over the years in our
area
including children,women who always wanted a horse, owners of his get
and
even the vets who have treated him. His most ardent admirers are Walter
Schimanski, who owns his 3/4 sister, Balima and, of course, me.
How can an Al Khamsa stallion in the middle of quarter
horse country
be so popular? As Walter says, “Laurence is all Arab.” When Laurence
looks
at you with his big, luminous eyes, you not only see but feel his
affection
for people. If that doesn’t win you over, he’ll put on a show that will
bring tears to your eyes. Laurence is quite crippled these days, but if
the aucience is appreciative, he will trot up a storm, not taking a
lame
step until his performance is over.
I first saw Laurence as a suckling foal following his
mama HMR Ballanni
(Hallany Mistanny x Baba) in a herd of mares on a visit to Willis and
Jimmie
Flick’s Glenglade Arabians in Miami, Florida. The sire of that pretty
faced
youngster was Ansata Ali Pasha (*Ansata Ibn Halima x *Ansata Bint
Zaafarana).
At the time I thought Ali Pasha was the most beautiful horse in the
world.
20 years have passed and I still remember how beautiful he was but now
I think Laurence is the most beautiful!
Unfortunately, Laurence got hurt as a yearling,
damaging his shoulder
and was quite lame for some time. As a three year old he seemed sound
enough
to ride and was sent to Liz Lanford for training. After several months
riding, he came up lame and was sent home. This was bad luck for his
owners
Willis and Jimmie but turned out to be good luck for me.
About this time, I showed up at the Flicks with a
grade mare I wanted
to breed to Laurence. I started pestering Willis to let me buy
Laurence.
That man had a million reasons why I didn’t need that horse. Laurence
was
lame! He was too expensive! I should have a horse I could show! Willis
even tried to help me find another horse, but I wanted Laurence!
Several months passed and I received a letter from
Willis stating that
if I was still interested in Laurence, he and Jimmie would be pleased
for
me to have him. This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. The Flicks
had visited my farm a few days earlier and an adoption agency would not
have inspected my facilities any more thoroughly! A friend of mine had
to make the call to say ‘yes’ because I couldn’t talk through my tears.
Over the years, Laurence has become most respected for
his foals, which
number close to a hundred and they are athletic and tractable. They
have
his eyes and balance. This has become known as the ‘look of Laurence’
in
local horsey circles. Unfortunately only six of his foals are purebred
and none are Al Khamsa. Arabian owners in my area think he is cute but
too small. (14 1/2 hands). Now that I know about the importance of Al
Khamsa
Arabians, I am doing a much better job of soliciting mares for him.
Laurence is expecting his first Al Khamsa foal next
February. Sherry
Chason leased me Mahaba El Hadiyi (El Hadiyi x Sudanaah of Mark Mayo’s
breeding), so that Laurence will have at least an Al Khamsa mare to
breed.
Sixteen years have passed since Laurence came to live
with me. No, he
doesn’t live in the house with me but he does have his own TV. He also
likes oranges, Hot Dogs with mustard, and Coke, and peanut butter and
mayonnaise
sandwiches. But most of all, Laurence loves children.
Yes, Laurence is a special kind of horse. Besides his
breeding and his
beauty, he has a great heart. This is what makes him truly ‘all Arab,’
and what causes those who know him, to love him.”
