Precious As Gold

The most successful collaborations are those which allow each contributor to throw his own choicest ingredients into the mix. Rojo Arabians, in Port Orange, Florida, operates with that principle in mind. Rojo's partners, Dr. Robert Williams and John Brown, each have clear-cut roles in the farm's operation, yet the mysterious alchemy of their interaction has enabled them to accomplish their own brand of magic.

Their accomplishments in the Arabian horse business are all the more impressive considering that Robert Williams and John Brown had nobackground in horses and their partnership came about almost by accident.

"In 1982 I bought a home in Port Orange which had large pastures," recalls Dr. Williams, "so I decided to get a couple of calves, Through that, I met a feed man, and he had two horses for sale. So I bought them, too."

John Brown was a college student at the time, whose summer job was to help Dr. Williams move into his new digs. John remembers making the casual observation on day that "a couple of horses sure would look great in that big pasture." What John probably didn't realize was that he had just uttered an incantation that has made many a horse farm suddenly spring to life.

"Not long after I mentioned the horses," John recalls, "a guy pulled up with a trailer and unloaded a purebred Arabian mare. Then he started unloading buckets, feed, hay, brushes, halters, and hoof picks - and a lot of other stuff I couldn't recognize, let alone name. I said, 'What's all this?' and he started to tell me, 'Well, you do this with this and that with that.' I thought, 'Uh-oh, what did I get myself into?"

Thus began Rojo’s involvement with the incomparable Arabian breed, and their many, ongoing successes soon began to follow.

One of Rojo’s first important mares, indeed perhaps one of the most important mares in the breed in recent years, was the beautiful *El Shaklan daughter Precious As Gold. In 1995, when Precious foaled a spectacular bay colt by National Champion Stallion Fame VF, John Brown and Dr. Williams knew they had something special.That feeling was borne out in the show ring in 1996 when the colt, aptly named Versace for his extreme style and beauty, became the Region 12 Champion and U.S. National Top Ten Yearling Colt.

From those wins, Versace went on to earn further regional, Buckeye, and U.S. National show ring honors. Beyond that, however, he also quickly made a name for himself as a sire. At the 2000 Scottsdale show, three of the four Junior Championships and Reserves were sired by Versace — a historically rare event indeed. His offspring then went on to earn 28 Regional awards.

From coast to coast, savvy owners lined up for the opportunity to breed their best to the breathtaking stallion that consistently added his comeliness and correct conformation to every mare.

Everyone wanted Versace-style in their barn.

At the 2000 U.S.  National Show, Versace made Arabian breed history by becoming the youngest sire, ever, of a U.S. National Champion. In 2000 Rojo trainer Rick Moser escorted the aptly named Queen Versace to her U.S. National Champion Sweepstakes Half-Arabian Yearling Filly win — a gigantic coup for her breeders at Rojo.

Since then, the wins by Versace’s offspring, both in halter and under saddle, have consistently placed him in the upper echelon of leading sires.

With Versace’s prominence as a dependable sire of champions and the accompanying demand for his offspring, Rojo Arabians has become noted for the exceptional service it offers its clients. “We put a high premium on client services at Rojo,” John Brown says. “We bend over backwards in providing semen when and where our clients need it, and we work hard to make it possible, as well as easy, to acquire horses from us.

In addition to quickly fulfilling client needs, Rojo Arabians has had a gelding incentive in place for several years. This is how it works: if a breeder has a colt, and decides to breed a mare (even a different mare) to Versace the following year, they may receive 50 percent off their original stud fee if they geld their colt before they register him. “At Rojo we geld 99 percent of our colts because we believe it’s best for the breed. And in our experience, there are never enough good geldings. As soon as we geld a colt, buyers are quick to snap them up. What we would hope for all Versace babies is that they’re wanted, from the day they’re born until the day they die.”

At Rojo, they’re living their dream. “It took us 20 years to breed this stallion,” John concludes, looking from his office into the big bay’s stall. “In Versace, I know we have a great horse. I know he sires great foals. And we’re looking forward to that for the rest of his long life. We couldn’t ask for better.”