Breeding Information

SCID Clear - Breeders Sweepstakes Nominated

Emerging from the shadows cast within the early morning haze, an ethereal 15 plus hand silhouette breaks forth into the light. The dawn's rays glisten over his nearly black, sleek coat and shine off his large dark eyes. With flagged tail, arched neck and ears pricked so tightly that their curved tips seem to touch each other, he prances with the exuberance and grace of a springbuck yet displays the power and majesty that belong only to an Arabian stallion. Toned muscle and sinew undulate, while hot blood courses through patent veins that strain against the finest of black skin. With steaming breath jetting from flared nostrils, his huge eyes focus with an intense stare that both embraces and penetrates. As he breaks through the morning mist, this mighty young stallion pauses and lets forth an imposing roar, greeting the new day and announcing his presence to all in his kingdom - a kingdom filled with magic and the promise of future generations of greatness.

This passage may sound like a dream - a dream about a creature that exudes all that is Arabian in lore and ideal…a dream that Arabian enthusiasts hold dear in fantasy - yet this very scenario unfolds daily with Magic Dream at Greg and Lisa Knowles' Arabian Expressions at their new millennium location in Scottsdale, Arizona.

During his five-year hiatus from the show ring, Magic Dream has firmly established himself on numerous leading sire charts. In 1996, with only seven foals on the ground, he became the number one sire of yearling Top Ten Scottsdale winners. In 1999, he was third on the Scottsdale Leading Halter Sires list in both points and winners (and only behind older, already well-established breeding legends of the industry) with more than 80 percent of his get going Top Ten or better. He has been on Leading Juvenile Sire list for the past five years and currently tops the 1999 list. In 1998 and 1999, he was second on the IAHA Yearling Sweepstakes Sire list and in 1999, earned a position on the Leading Sires list for halter winners at both the Canadian and U.S. National Championships, as well as becoming the second leading sire of regional open halter winners.

"It's quite an accomplishment for a stallion who is only 8 years old, especially when you consider that he surpassed some of the other well know and established stallions," Knowles reflects. "The Arabian community embraced Magic Dream at a very early age, and they were rewarded with high quality and highly marketable offspring." At the 1999 Ohio Buckeye Show, 100 percent of the Magic Dream get shown were Top Eight or better. Magic Kharma (out of a Muscat daughter), owned by Strawberry Banks, was the Buckeye unanimous Champion Two-Year-Old Filly, while Genuine Magic (x Genevieve C, by Genesis C), owned by Michael Resch of Manitoba Canada, claimed the Buckeye Reserve Championship in the Two-Year-Old Colt class.

Some of Magic Dream's most noteworthy get shown in 1999 include: Marakita (x Avallana), unanimous Region VIII Champion and US National Top Ten Yearling Filly, owned by Larry and Gretchen Morgan of Colorado; Latoura Dream (x Latoura Dare), Canadian National Top ten Futurity Filly, owned by Haras La Catalina of Argentina; and QR Excel (x Kouream De Ment), US National Reserve Champion Futurity Colt and Canadian Top Ten Futurity Colt, owned by the Excel Partnership of Crotone, Italy. In addition to his North American national wins, QR Excel was the 1998 Champion Stallion at Menton, France and the Italian National Champion Stallion at the tender age of 2.

Magic Dream has not gone unnoticed by the overseas breeders, as a number of his foals have been exported to Europe, and have gone on to win major titles. In addition to QR Excel's European wins, former Scottsdale Top Ten Colt, Magical CAF (out of a Bey Shah daughter), was recently named South African Junior National Champion Colt and Reserve Champion Stallion, while former stable mate, AE Juliette (x A Class Act, by Gold Krugernad), was the 1999 South African National Formal Driving Champion and Top Ten Halter Mare. Meanwhile in England, the black two-year-old colt, R Magic (x Bey Affair, by Bey Shah) took home the title of British National Junior Champion Colt.

To what does Knowles credit Magic Dream's success? He credits Magic Dream's physical characteristics that he passes on so freely to his offspring. "Magic's areas of prepotency happen to be the same as the exceptional features that he possesses," Knowles points out. "Length of leg, shortness of back, an incredible shoulder, great neck set, fine throat, big eyes, and of course, those perfect ears. When all of these traits are brought to the table by Magic, it's no wonder that he improves virtually every mare that he is bred to and that's no small feat considering that he will breed over 100 mares, again, in 2001."

Well on his way to becoming a breed icon, Magic Dream's eldest get are just now entering the ranks of three-year-old futurity and open competition, and with national championships in three countries, they appear to be holding their own. "Magic Dream comes by his ability as a sire honestly," explains Knowles. "If you study his pedigree, you will find all of his highly heritable traits in his ancestry. Stature, super shoulder and smoothness come from his grandsire Ruminaja Ali, while athletic ability and refinement come from his paternal grandma Heritage Memory. More athleticism, clean throat latch and shape of poll come from Aristo Kossak through Magic's dam, Dreamspinner. The huge dark eyes also come through Dreamspinner from her maternal grandsire, Gai Adventure. Fine skin and overall quality come from Magic's sire Ali Jamaal, and of course, the ears are Magic Dream originals. All summed up he's one in a million… he's what dreams are made of!