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An Affinity with Arabians
Ten years ago, a young girl asked her mother for a
pony and despite not knowing anything about horses
the mother agreed, taking the first steps on a
journey that would lead them to Arabian horses and
to the daughter developing into one of the top
up-and-coming young handlers in Europe today. This
is the story of Affinity Arabians run by Linda
Lyall with support from her daughter Michelle.
“At the beginning, I honestly had no idea what I
was doing,” laughs Linda. “When I look back now at
that time, it is incredible to think just how far
we have come.”
Michelle’s first pony, purchased in 1996, was a
Welsh/Thoroughbred cross called Holly and
little did anyone know when Holly arrived
that Michelle was now on the road to a career with
horses. Having seen the fun Michelle had with
Holly, Linda herself decided that she wanted a
horse and, in a move characteristic of her “go for
it” attitude, Linda threw herself in at the deep
end and brought an 18-month-old, 15hh palomino.
 “I couldn’t even ride at that time,” chuckles
Linda. “But I fell in love with April Spirit
(known as Spooky), learnt to ride and we
had some fun together. By the time he’d finished
growing, he was 16.2hh and was too much for me. I
gave my on my dream of trying to ride him as I
fell off so much and he was sold to a top dressage
home. Spooky was so exuberant and that is
typical of all the horses I have owned.”
Linda’s first pure-bred Arabian arrived in 1998,
just before Spooky was sold: Darmeisha (by
Sheikh Manuel), a six-month old filly.
Having decided to have a go at showing her, Linda
and the yearling Darmeisha were always in
the ribbons and an affinity with the Arabian breed
was born. “It was all down to Darmeisha
that I got into and stayed with pure-breds,” says
Linda. “I owe her a lot.”
By now, Michelle had outgrown Holly and so
the family acquired
Willow,
a three-year-old Cob. This proved to be a good
buy:
Willow
became the matriarch of the stud and nanny to the
youngsters, having weaned foals and youngstock new
to the stud in her paddock.
Having decided that she herself wasn’t really cut
out for showing the horses, Linda made the
decision that if she wanted to show her horses
seriously, she needed a professional handler. It
was around this time that Linda brought
Fantastique (Zircon Nazeer* x Minuette)
from Erik Dorssers and so she asked Ryan Jones to
show her. Ryan agreed and showed Linda’s horses
for a number of years.
It was Linda’s relationship with Ryan which proved
to be a turning point in the life of the stud.
Having been a small venture with a few selected
horses, the association with Ryan took things down
an unexpected path, that of owning a stallion and
one of the most popular young horses in the UK at
that time: Grando* (Grenlando* x Martina
Nareena), brought in partnership with Linda’s
sister, Dianne Lee (Dianne later gave her share to
Linda when she went to live in Australia for a few
years).
“Just before we brought Grando, I went on
one of Erik Dorssers’ courses and came back full
of confidence – and went out and acquired my first
colt! Grando was a fabulous, fabulous
horse. He had that very exuberant attitude which I
like so much and he went on to win many, many
things for us, always with Ryan as his handler.”
Having beaten both Psyches Spirit* and
Aazari* as a yearling, Grando came to
Linda when he was rising three. “He was electric
when he went into the show-ring,” Linda recalls
with a smile. “He was a very, very impressive
horse and would give you Goosebumps every time you
saw him. Even now when I talk about him or think
about him, I can’t help but smile.”
Linda made the decision to geld Grando a
few years ago as there wasn’t much demand for him
as a stallion anymore and she then sent him to Liz
Needham’s to be backed for the ridden arena. “I
don’t believe it’s necessary to keep a horse
entire when he is not being used at stud,”
explains Linda of her decision. “The Arabian world
follows fashions and while Grando was a
great horse, times had changed and what people
wanted in the show-ring changed as well.”
Having been gelded and backed, Linda gave
Grando to Michelle as she loved him so much.
It was natural for Michelle that, having been
devoted to horses since she was 10 years old, that
she wanted to work with them and the opportunity
arose for her to go to work at The Arabian Garden
in Belgium, run by Philip Looyens. Michelle took
this opportunity and in 2006, spent several months
working at the world-famous Sax Arabians stud in
Germany. Here, she was given the chance to show
some of their great horses throughout Europe,
always accompanied by her special dog Jasmine.
“When Michelle left, we all knew that she wouldn’t
come back and when you have horses, you have to be
practical,” says Linda. “Grando was being
wasted here as he needed to be in a ridden home.
So we sold him at the end of 2005.
“I miss Grando a lot; he is a very special
horse. If Michelle had stayed, then there was no
way that we would have parted with him. But
sometimes, you have to do what is right for the
horse, not what is right for you.”
 Looking back, Linda says that they have some good
memories, such as the time when they took five
horses to the British National Championships,
Grando included, and all of them were in the
ribbons. But despite such success in the halter
arena, Linda never intended to breed horses. That
was to change, however, with the arrival of
Spring Kantata (Normativ x Sunlea Kaprina),
a horse whom Linda loves with all her heart and
describes as “a very brave mare” due to her
difficult nature. Linda has spent a lot of time
and effort working with Kantata and the two
now have an incredible bond.
“I brought Kantata from Alistair Leslie and
put her in foal to Grando; it seemed the
natural thing to do. I didn’t think that I would
be able to part with any foals I bred, so I
decided to breed for myself only. Grando
sired two fantastic colts and having seen them
both, I decided to sell one and keep one for
showing, Keneesko.”
In his first show as a yearling Keneesko
stood second to LVA Maximus*, an
achievement of which Linda is very proud. Having
been gelded, he went to the Wales and West Show
where he won his class and went Reserve Reserve
Supreme. “That was one of the first times Michelle
showed the horses,” recalls Linda. “He was in a
huge class at the
Wales
and West and he moved like a train!”
 Keneesko
was sold to Dianne, who had now returned from
Australia, before being sold to a ridden home. “I
am firm believer that horses have to be
functional,” says Linda. “They all have a purpose
in life and that has to be fulfilled. I don’t
actually like showing. I don’t like to see horses
kept in: they belong outside and nothing pleases
me more than to see horses playing together and
interacting in a field. I could literally spend
all day watching horse and foals, in particular,
play…”
With the stud changing and developing, Linda
decided to purchase a horse who she had admired
since he was a foal, Nabucco* (Nadir
I*** x Nirvana*). Having first seen him on the
Sax Arabians video, Linda followed this young
colt’s journey intently and when she was presented
with the opportunity go buy him, she jumped at the
chance. A multiple champion abroad, Nabucco
continued his success in the UK, winning his class
at the British National Championships in 2003 and
taking the Best Two-year-old Colt award and
Reserve British National Champion title as well as
standing Reserve Supreme to Psyches Spirit*
at Rochdale.
Following the arrival of Nabucco in
December 2002, Linda added another colt to the
stud in January 2003, the yearling Psympatic
(Psytadel** x Exotic Beauty). “I did what
people should never do and I fell in love with a
picture,” laughs Linda. “He was sold by Ffantasia
Arabians and there were a lot of people after him,
so I was very lucky to get him really.”
 Instantly hitting it off with Nabucco, the
two young colts became the best of friends
although Psympatic never made it to the
show circuit. “He was occasionally entered for
shows but never taken as he always seemed to have
a growth spurt just before a show, which would not
have done him justice,” explains Linda. “He is
such an easy-natured horse that we started
covering mares with him when he was three and of
course, he dropped weight. As a four year old, we
didn’t think it fair for his first outings to be
against six-year-old stallions and so he just
never made it to the show-ring!”
As with Grando and Nabucco,
Psympatic also proved himself in the breeding
barn before being sold in 2006 to a riding home
and Linda hopes that he will make his debut in the
ridden arena sometime soon. Linda still has his
daughter Psyndarella, a very feminine,
beautiful filly out of Spring Kantata.
Having built up a wonderful stud, things changed
for Linda in 2005 when Linda decided that she
didn’t want to stand stallions at stud anymore,
concentrating instead on building a strong base of
broodmares to put to a global selection of
stallions.
“It is very difficult when you have outside mares
come to you,” she explains. “Over the years with
having Grando, Nabucco and
then Psympatic, I found that there was the
odd experience which left you with a bad feeling.
And I found that trying to mix having stallions at
stud with showing horses a difficult thing to do
and the welfare of the stallion has to come first.
So I decided to sell half my share of Nabucco
in late 2005 and in September 2006, I sold my
remaining half to help finance the arrival of a
new mare.”
Both halves have gone to Rick and Eddie Warner,
long-term friends of Linda’s who loved Nabucco
from the moment they saw him and who already own
his daughter, Nanique. “Nabucco is
such a special horse and it was very, very hard
for me to part with him, even though he is only a
short drive away,” says Linda sadly. “I couldn’t
say goodbye to him when I left him at the All
Nations Cup in Aachen: I knew that he was no
longer mine.
 “Deciding not to stand horses at stud was a huge
decision; stallions become the heart of the stud
and the barns feel empty without them. They always
have such huge personalities and I do miss the
presence that they bring.”
With her final share in Nabucco sold, the
door was open for Linda to concentrate on putting
the finishing touches to her broodmare collection
and she acquired Antigua El Jamaal (Al
Kidir x Athenais El Jamaal) from Sax Arabians.
A beautiful grey mare,
Antigua
will be put in foal in 2007 to continue with
Linda’s breeding plans. As with many people today,
especially since the advent of artificial
insemination has broken down continent boundaries,
Linda has many stallions which she would like to
use, all for different reasons.
“I don’t claim to be an expert – far from it – but
I do put a lot of thought into the breedings which
I choose to do,” explains Linda. “I think that I
have had a lot of luck so far!”
Going into 2007, Linda feels that she is in a
strong position with the bloodlines which her
mares offer her. As well as
Antigua
and Kantata, Linda also owns Yazmeena
Estopa (Om El Azadik x Om El Shiva Estopa)
and her daughter Bint Yazmeena (by
Psynergy*), both very beautiful horses with a
lot of natural flair. “I can’t wait to bring them
out in the show-ring this year and I cannot thank
Dean Ingham enough for allowing me to purchase
these two beauties!” smiles Linda. “And my
connection with Nabucco isn’t over as I
still have Nadjana Bint Nadir, his full sister.”
 “I never intend to sell my horses, but over time
your breeding plans change as does your perception
of what you want. Having sold my stallions, I am
now in a position to look forward again. I have
already had two super colts this year, both out of
mares with beautiful bloodlines: Estoniah (Espano
Estopa* x Preatoria) had an
Ajman Monisione**
foal in early January and then Naomi (Anaza
el Nizr x Padrons Estrada) had a foal by
Massimo Ibn Mirokan. We have one more due in
July to WH Justice**.”
With 13 horses now, including the foals, Affinity
Arabians has come a long way since its inception
10 years ago. Linda herself has developed a
beautiful herd of broodmares and with her dogs,
Buddy and Sasha keeping her company
while she mucks out the barn, she smiles with the
gusto and enthusiasm typical of her.
“It can be very easy to forget how much I enjoy
having the horses when I get caught up in the
day-to-day things,” is Linda’s final word. “It
definitely is a lifestyle, not a hobby, but what a
great lifestyle it is. What I lucky life I have
found!”
text by
Samantha Mattocks
/ The Arabian Magazine
Our Facilities ...
- a huge barn with 12 indoor
stables 15ft x 12ft all have rubber matting and
shavings
and automatic waterers with talk grills either side
- Indoor school with doors each end and the
stables are on both sides of the school
- two foaling boxes with CCTV 16ft x 16ft,
- a bathing/clipping room and an area for mares to
be inseminated safely
- fully fitted kitchen and lounge area within the
barn for visiting guests to sit and have a
coffee/snack in comfort,
- 6 outside stables 14ft x 12ft also have
rubber matting a tack room and hay barn
- 17 acres of grass paddock, an outdoor menage is
in planning for later this summer
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