Klikowa Arabians is a young Arabian horse stud, operating since 2016, located in Wola Rzędzińska near Tarnów. Currently, the herd consists of 50 horses. The owners are Małgorzata, Marek and Marcin Rzepka.
The Klikowa Stud Farm was created out of a great passion for animals, which has been going on in this family for generations. Marek and Marcin Rzepka have been associated with pigeon breeding and racing for 40 years. They achieved all possible successes in this field, from the Olympic pigeon to the national championship. Although his first passion is pigeons, Marek dreamed of breeding horses since he was a child, but for many years it was unattainable for him. As a child, he lived next to the Sanguszko Palace in Gumniska. He observed the farm there, including the horses, which were something magical to him. After many years, he finally decided to fulfill his passion and bought the first Arabian horses, which were initially kept in the historic stud farm once owned by Prince Roman Sanguszko, located in Tarnów in the Klikowa district. This is where the name “Klikowa Arabians” came from. In 2020, the horses moved to a new stable established in Wola Rzędzińska. Initially, the stud farm could accommodate 31 horses, but due to the constant development of the herd, the center was expanded. Currently, the stable is adapted to accommodate 50 horses. Let’s find out what successes they have achieved and what is their recipe for success.
But let’s start with a question: why Arabian horses?
This is partly a reference to the breeding of Prince Roman Sanguszko, who imported Arabian horses straight from the desert. For us, Arabians have many advantages. It is undeniable that this breed looks great, has very good features for showing, but is also able to achieve excellent results in races. We focus mainly on shows, but we also send 3-year-old horses for racing training. Klikowa breeds not only beautiful horses, but also brave ones. In 2023, we achieved great results with the horse Wizard KL. He won once and took second place twice. Moreover, he won the class in the All-Polish Championship for 3-year-old Arabian Horses in Racing Training in the 2023 season. The 2023 season is the beginning of our racing adventure. We have already achieved our first successes in this field and are currently preparing more horses for races.
What show successes have you achieved recently?
We have recently achieved great successes both domestically and internationally. Our achievements include obtaining the title of European Champion twice. Especially the last 2023 season brought us a string of successes:
🥇GOLD CHAMPION at European Championship 2023 – Yearling Colts Championship (Poker Face KL)
🥇GOLD CH. at Bialka 2023 – 33rd Junior Spring Show – Yearling Colts Championship (Pravo KL)
🥇GOLD CHAMPION at 2023 PRIDE OF POLAND – Polish National Arabian Horse Show – Yearling Colts Championship (Poker Face KL)
🥇GOLD CHAMPION at AH Weekend 2023 – International B-Show – Yearling Colts Championship (Poker Face KL)
🥇GOLD CH. at Bialka 2023 – 1st Polish Classic Show – Junior Fillies Awards (Class JFA) (Pianina KL)
🥈SILVER CH. at All Polish Arabian Horse Championship – Junior Colts Championship (Will KL)
🥈SILVER CH. at Bialka 2023 – 1st Polish Classic Show – Junior Fillies Awards ( El Jazza KL)
🥉BRONZE CHAMPION at Mediterranean and Arab Countries AHC – Menton 2023 – Yearling Colts Championship (Poker Face KL)
🥉BRONZE CH. at Bialka 2023 – 33rd Junior Spring Show – Junior Fillies Championship (Class JFC) ( Calgary EA)
🥉BRONZE CH. at All Polish Arabian Horse Championship – Junior Fillies Championship (Class JFC) ( Calgary EA)
🏵 3 rd at 39th All Nations Cup – Aachen 2023 – Yearling Colts (Poker Face KL)
How do you assess the current situation of Arabian horses in Poland?
Unfortunately, we observe with regret that Poland has not been successful at the most important shows in recent years, including in Menton, Aachen or during the World Championships. There are certainly many reasons. However, looking objectively, we notice that Polish horses unfortunately cannot keep up with the changes that have taken place in recent years. The standard for an Arabian horse to be successful at shows has changed incredibly over the last 20 years. To illustrate this in an understandable way, a horse that won the World Championships 20 years ago would currently be placed at the end of the pack with a score of less than 90 points. Judges and Arab countries that set trends prefer horses with extremely exotic heads. Unfortunately, there are no such horses in Poland. We believe that current trends will not change quickly. Therefore, Polish breeders who want to achieve great results at shows should adapt to them. Otherwise, we will still remain a country breeding horses with mediocre results.
Do you think there is a chance to match the current powers in Arabian horse breeding?
Polish lines of Arabian horses have many features that foreign lines lack. These include: great movement, perfect body, great neck. Polish dams are an excellent base for breeding, but to be as good as the giants, they must be used skillfully. There are horse breeding lines on foreign markets that effectively improve features that are much weaker in Polish lines, e.g. the appearance of heads. Of course, it is not easy and after one generation we will not obtain perfect horses. We believe that Poland is currently three generations behind to catch up with the world leaders. This process may be lengthy, but we strive to make it possible.
What are your plans for the coming years?
We have a specific plan for the coming years. We have outlined a strategy for the next generations of our horses. We know exactly what lines we want to match together. The plan is long-term, we look far ahead. Our main goal is to build a herd of broodmares that will give birth to foals with a modern look. We strive to ensure that our horses meet the requirements of modern breeding trends, which will enable us to achieve the desired results in breeding and at shows. Through selection and careful breeding planning, we strive to create genetic lines that will constitute a solid basis for our breeding and will bring us success in the future.
Which stallions do you plan to use as a breeding foundation?
In recent years, we have used the best stallions, World Champions. The effects were not that satisfactory for us. We have come to the conclusion that using champions does not always guarantee success, but a well-thought-out combination does. When selecting stallions, the phrase in the back of our minds is: “There are no bad dams, only bad breeding.” We focus on analysis and use stallions that strongly convey certain characteristics that we desire, but which we are not satisfied with in the dam. Our breeding will still be based on the top stallions in the world, but we do not forget that in our herd we also have two amazing stallions: Lyric EA and Prometeusz. Both of them have an amazing pedigree. Prometeusz is a half-brother of the current best sire in the world, FA El Rasheem, and the only son of the legendary Pianissima. The stallion Lyric EA is the son of the epoch-making stallion Shanghai EA. The stallion Lyric EA, purchased in Spain, has sired 9 foals born in 2023, of which we are very pleased. All his daughters will be used in our breeding. We decided to buy him because of his extreme origin. We believe that the features he has are able to shine through on an old type of horse. And so it happened – foals of a completely different type were born, much more modern. In the future, we plan to use our chief stallion Prometeusz for the daughters of Lyric EA, who has incredible elegance, great movement, body and neck. We are looking forward to this connection.
In 2023, we used the stallion Lyric EA several times on our mares, but we also introduced several other stallions. We are convinced that the introduction of new blood has a chance to contribute to the improvement of horses and create a modern look. 2024 is another year of building the breeding herd. We will use 8 external stallions from lines and features that are intended to improve the outdated characteristics of the Polish Arabian horse.
There is undoubtedly a group of people in Poland who strongly criticize the current horse model and describe it as “degenerate”, “ugly”, “a seahorse”. Our goal is to be successful at international shows. Everyone decides for themselves what type of horses they want to breed. We have different, clearly outlined goals.
What is your favorite part of being a breeder?
The most beautiful moment is the birth of a new foal. This verifies whether our efforts to obtain the best possible genetic material and the selection of individual stallions for mares have brought the intended results. The greatest satisfaction gives us the sight of subsequent foals, which are born with more and more perfect beauty and their quality improves year by year. This also largely translates into the results we achieve at horse shows. Our first joy comes from birth, but achieving the highest titles at shows is very important for us and provides further incentives for development.
What is the recipe for your success?
Many factors contribute to success. First of all, it is a lot of hard work put in by the entire team. We aim to surround ourselves with the best specialists in a given field. Starting from reproduction, through nutrition, daily service, training and marketing. All activities we undertake must be at the highest level. We also focus on constantly expanding our knowledge. We believe that it is important to discuss and exchange observations and experiences with people from the industry. We analyze errors made and implement corrective actions. We keep statistics that help us draw valuable conclusions for further breeding. We also remember that in everything you need to have intuition and, above all, luck!
KLIKOWA ARABIANS
33-150 Wola Rzędzińska 589D, Poland
www.facebook.com/KlikowaArabians
www.klikowaarabians.com
[email protected]
