Mulawa Arabian Stud is our premier sponsor for 2025, and we are honoured to share their history of their fifty-year plus breeding programme through TheArabianMagazine.Com
In celebration of the incomparable contribution the Farrell family has made to the advancement of the Arabian breed over the course of half a century, both closer to home in Australasia as well as worldwide, we will journey back across the decades and discover the success of the modern Mulawa Arabian through the lens of each of the transformative chief sires whose invaluable genotypic and phenotypic contributions helped to create the instantly recognisable and universally admired ‘Mulawa type’ and ‘Mulawa style’ the global community so respects and appreciates today.
The story continues with Vision, Mulawa’s only direct chief sire import from Europe.
The most unexpected bonus to the roster of Mulawa chief sires was undeniably Vision. His story begins with that of his dam Euni, whose introduction and subsequent essential integration into the lives of the Farrell Family, is one that best exemplifies the Mulawa mantra “the right horse, for the right home, at the right time”.
Born in 1973 in Poland, the product of Janów Podlaski royalty Bandos (Negatiw x Bandola by Witraż) and Eunice (Comet x Epigona by Amurath Sahib), Euni was the second of four successive full siblings – the others being Euben (1972), Eukaliptus (1974) and Europa (1975) – all of whom would go on to leave an enduring legacy throughout the breed worldwide. Euni was the first filly from this successful nick, a masterful weaving together of all of the essential elements – Ofir, Witraż, Negatiw, Comet, Amurath Sahib, Trypolis, Wielki Szlem, Skowronek, Bandola, Bałałajka, Koalicja and Gazella II – that made post-war breeding in Poland a true global powerhouse.
So captivating was Euni as a young mare, she caught the eye of master breeder Dr Hans Nagel, best known for his profound contribution to straight Egyptian breeding worldwide at his Katharinenhof Stud and his long service as WAHO President. Compelled to purchase her from Poland as a maiden mare in 1976 with considerable encouragement from fellow German breeder Holger Ismer, Dr Nagel, who had witnessed the success of straight Egyptian blood with Polish mares both in Poland with Palas (Aswan x Panel by Nil) and in Russia with Aswan (Nazeer x Yosreia by Sheikh El Arab), made the sagacious decision to put Euni in foal in 1979 to the homebred Jamil (by Madkour I), a direct son of his legendary foundation mare Hanan (Alaa el Din x Mona by Badr) and a rising sire of international significance. It was during this European breeding season that Euni was noticed by fellow Australian Marion Richmond at Katharinenhof, who admired the mare greatly and mentioned her potential availability to the Farrells, knowing their admiration of and appreciation for Polish bloodlines, especially those of Comet and Witraz heritage.
Intrigued, Greg Farrell Sr. scheduled a visit to Germany to inspect Euni in person on his next trip to Europe. Ever the consummate host, Dr Nagel treated Greg Farrell Sr. and a then teenage Jane Farrell not only to an in-depth tour of his own stud but also kindly arranged visits to several other local breeding farms as well. Not surprisingly, Euni proved to be unquestionably the kind of mare Mulawa not only greatly admired and desired, but exactly the mare they needed to reinforce and concentrate the beneficial influence of world-class Polish-bred genetics rapidly accumulating with both vision and purpose in the programme. For Mulawa, the Australian stud most closely associated with world-class Polish bloodlines, Euni, bred by legendary Director Andrzej Krzyształowicz, would prove to be the only member of the breeding programme bred directly by the monumentally consequential State Studs of Poland.
Too far along in foal to make the direct trip to Australia, Euni, who would soon prove to be windfall not only for the Mulawa programme but for the entire Australian Arabian community as well, was quarantined in early 1980 in the UK to foal out prior to the long flight to the opposite side of the world. On 15 June, Euni delivered the first of her many game-changing rewards for her proud new owners: a strongly built, decidedly handsome dark chestnut colt who would come to be known as Vision. While the first reports of the colt from Britain post-arrival were most reassuring, nothing compared to actually seeing the aspiring stallion in the flesh. When an eager young Greg Farrell Jr., who had greatly admired full brother Eukaliptus earlier that same year while in Scottsdale, visited the highly anticipated Euni and foal in Australian quarantine after arrival, he enthusiastically reported back to family in classic Greg fashion: “I am confident you will all be pleased. The mare is even lovelier than expected… And the colt is mine.”
Vision proved to be an apt namesake for this trailblazing genetic pioneer, who matured into the ideal hybrid blend of his esteemed parents, exhibiting the best qualities from both his illustrious straight Egyptian and pure Polish heritage. With coal black, highly vascularised skin, a classically dry ‘desert’ constitution and a year-round short, sleek and lustrous hair coat, Vision exuded an enthralling presence, uncompromising refinement and an undeniable aristocratic command of his surroundings, the irrefutable gifts of both Comet and Nazeer. Extravagant fronted, with the length, shape and carriage of neck reminiscent of Bandos and Euni, Vision was beloved by legions of adoring fans as both a show horse and a sire. His iridescent dark liver chestnut ‘copper’ coat colour and vibrant masculinity, resembling a magnificent bronze statue come to life, were expertly captured by Gigi Grasso in an iconic image that served for years as a pin-up for the romanticised Arabian stallion of antiquity.
The success of Vision with the Mulawa broodmare band across diverse bloodlines bolstered confidence that straight Egyptian bloodlines could successfully be infused with the predominantly Polish and Crabbet genetics, a positive result reflected across multiple consequential breeding programmes continent wide. Given his imported status and regal genetic heritage, Vision proved to be an immensely appealing sire for Australasian breeders from broad and diverse backgrounds. Several of his most celebrated descendants were direct tail-female descendants of Tanya Hawley’s legendary Tersk-bred foundation mare Naadirah (Aswan x Naprasalina by Nomer), including Australian National Champion Stallion Naavah (ex Naazirah by Mustafa) and Australian National Reserve Champion Mare Nazelle (ex Nazli by El Shareef).
Unsurprisingly, given the essential contributions of legendary broodmatrons in his distinguished pedigree – granddams Hanan and Eunice, great-granddam Bandola (Witraż x Bałałajka by Amurath Sahib), and fourth-generation dams Malacha (El Sareei x Moheba by Sid Abouhom) and Carmen (Trypolis x Wilga by Ofir) – Vision proved to be an invaluable broodmare sire. The Vision daughters can still be reliably found as instrumental stepping stones of progress in the pedigrees of many of the most celebrated and respected modern Arabians with vital connections to Australia. For Mulawa the most essential Vision daughters were unquestionably: the chestnut Prevue (ex Dzina) and Feature (ex Mulawa Fantasy by Ambition), the essential maternal links for the foundation dam line of pure Polish US-import Dzina (Buszmen x Dzisna by Naborr); the bay Perception, the superbly conformed, giftedly athletic daughter of the American-bred foundation matron LM Magics Gift (Aladdinn x JF Gazella by Gay Orzel); and the beloved bay M Angelique (ex Abanda by Banderol), foundress of her own dam family of immeasurable importance to the Mulawa programme and a mare second only to Karmaa – the Queen of Mulawa herself – in terms of uncompromising beauty and irresistible feminine charm.
Although now evident only generations deep in the most illustrious Mulawa pedigrees, Vision is nonetheless an indispensable source of genotypic and phenotypic excellence for an inordinate number of world-famous Mulawa-bred trailblazers, including Canadian National Champions Impressa MI and Valentino’s Angel MI, Australian National Champions Parada, Klassical Presence MI, Klassical Fame MI and V MI, as well as Scottsdale and Arabian Breeders World Cup Champions Prussia MI, Vangelis MI and Always Valentine MI. The current global banner carrier for the Vision legacy is the matron who proudly bears his namesake – Sheikh Mohammed bin Saud Al Qasimi’s cherished A Vision MI (Allegiance MI x Always Valentine MI by DA Valentino), a celebrated international champion in her own right and direct tail-female descendant of M Angelique, whose superstar daughter Durrat Albidayer (by Jyar Meia Lua) finished her debut season undefeated with three iconic performances, including as All Nations’ Cup and World Champion Yearling Filly in 2024.
Of all the chief sires used predominantly in the first quarter century of Mulawa’s existence, Vision lived the longest and fullest life with his thoughtful incorporation used across the greatest number of breeding seasons. Consummate quality and refinement, superlative skin and hair coats, large, lustrous eyes, dry ‘desert’ constitutions, smooth silhouettes and an elegant, elastic turn to the throat can all be attributed to the enduring influence of Vision, essential characteristics still apparent with remarkable consistency generations on in the new millennium Mulawa Arabian, and increasingly so in the pedigrees of the world’s most iconic show and breeding horses.
For more information on Vision and his profound legacy at Mulawa, in Australia, and beyond, we kindly invite you to visit the Mulawa website.
