ROJO ARABIANS in Port Orange, Florida has been our home and our haven for more than 30 years. It may sound trite, but the Arabian horse truly is our passion. For us, breeding and showing Arabian horses is much more than just a business; they are an important part of our daily lives.
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VERSACE |
Over the years, we have been through so much with our horses – moments of indescribable joy and moments of devastating heartbreak. Our Arabian horses have enriched our lives beyond our wildest dreams or imaginings. We believe any day with an Arabian horse is a good day, and we have had some great ones!
We know we have been extremely lucky – even blessed - to have bred and owned some of the most beloved horses in the Arabian breed. One of the greatest of all was the queen of Rojo Arabians, Precious As Gold. There are no words to express our gratitude and love for Precious As Gold. This unique and exquisite Arabian mare gave us not one – but two - magnificent sons. Both of her sons, although uniquely different, have become two of the most influential sires of the breed
Versace was the first son of Precious As Gold to reach superstar status. He was a champion stallion who became an icon of beauty for our breed. Even more important, Versace became a leading sire of the Arabian breed. Our loss of him when he was still so young, was a loss to the breed and it was traumatic for us as his owners and breeders. We are very grateful for the wonder of technology, which allows breeders the opportunity to continue to use him in their breeding programs. Even today, Versace’s influence is growing through his direct sons and daughters, grand children, and great grand children around the world. See the Versace page on this website for a full story about this remarkable Arabian stallion.
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After the deep loss we felt with the death of our beloved Versace, we seriously wondered if we had the strength and desire to continue breeding Arabian horses. We felt all was lost. Just when we seriously considered giving up, Precious As Gold gave us another treasure and a reason to continue. The gift she gave us was a beautiful golden foal – a treasure we name Trussardi. This colt was every bit as beautiful as Versace, but the resemblance to his mother, with his extreme type, and almost exact markings was almost shocking. In addition to her exotic beauty, both
Versace and Trussardi inherited their mother’s kindness and gentle nature. Trussardi proved himself in the show ring by winning the titles of U.S. National Reserve Champion Yearling Colt and U.S. National Champion Futurity Stallion. Now, he is establishing himself as a sire of great significance with his first National Champion son, Truse, the 2013 U.S National Champion Yearling Colt and U.S National Reserve Champion Junior Colt, and with his first National Champion daughter, Elena Enigma SA, the 2013 Canadian National Champion Yearling Filly. Trussardi is continuing the legacy of greatness and creating his own family of champions.
With a stallion as beautiful and gifted as Trussardi, and with the technology to utilize the resources of Versace’s frozen semen, we have every reason to continue breeding Arabian horses at Rojo Arabians. We believe these horses have infinite contributions to make to the breed. We invite you to contact us for breeding information. Click here to contact us.
More History About Our Farm…
ROJO ARABIANS, in Port Orange, Florida, is a collaboration of partners Dr. Robert Williams and John Brown. Each partner has a clear-cut role in the farm's operation; each contributes their unique talents and expertise. Their accomplishments in the Arabian horse business are all the more impressive considering that Robert Williams and John Brown had no background in horses and their partnership came about almost by accident.
"In 1982 I bought a home in Port Orange, Florida which had large pastures," recalls Dr. Williams. John Brown was a college student at the time, whose summer job was to help Dr. Williams move into his new home. John remembers making the casual observation one 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 didn't recognize, let alone name. I asked, 'What's all this?' and he told me, 'Well, you do this with this and that with that.' I thought, 'Uh-oh, what did I get myself into?" Thus began John Brown and Robert Williams’ involvement with the Arabian breed, and their many, ongoing successes soon began to follow.
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PRECIOUS AS GOLD |
One of Rojo Arabian’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 honors. However, beyond that, Versace also quickly made a name for himself as a sire. At the age of five, Versace sired three of the four Junior Champions and Reserves the 2000 Scottsdale show – everyone was amazed by this astounding feat. But, it got even better! At the 2000 U.S. National Show, Versace made Arabian breed history by becoming the youngest sire, ever, of a U.S. National Champion. Rick Moser escorted the aptly named Queen Versace to her U.S. National Champion Sweepstakes Half-Arabian Yearling Filly win. The icing on the cake was that Rojo Arabians bred and owned Queen Versace.
Over the years, the wins earned by Versace’s get and grandget, in national and international show rings, consistently placed him in the upper echelon of leading sires. Versace became known worldwide as a sire of champions and champion producers. Versace has a reputation as a first class sire and his owners at Rojo Arabians became noted for their first-class service to clients and breeders.
On February 15th, 2008, John Brown and Robert Williams and the entire Arabian horse world were devastated by the sudden and unexpected death of Versace. It was a horrible loss to us all and it created a deep and painful void in our lives. Now, with the passing of time, the pain is softened by the beauty and captivating charm of Versace’s many descendants. With the passing of this great sire, his offspring are even more valuable, more cherished, and more in demand. Versace, all though gone from us physically, continues to exert his influence in show rings and breeding barns around the world.
“We are extremely fortunate to have a limited reserve of Versace’s frozen semen, which is strong and viable. Although this reserve is limited, we are able to continue to produce Versace offspring that carry on his unique beauty, character and breeding potential. Because of this special circumstance, management and client services are paramount. We encourage breeders to use their very best mares,” John Brown says. “We bend over backwards in providing semen when and where our clients need it. We are still using Versace too, and with great care, to produce outstanding foals that are available from us at Rojo Arabians. Although Versace is gone, he lives on in each of his foals, and he will remain in our hearts forever… ”
