A travel trip to Janow Podlaski State Stud Farm in Poland (Arabian Horses).

Just because we live on a small farm and breed horses on a smaller scale, does not mean we are hermits!  LOL  We may be small scale, but we strive for high quality and we are always looking for educational opportunities.  Before we specialized in Pinto horses, we bred Arabian horses.  We lived in Germany for awhile and took advantage of the ease for traveling Europe from there.  We were fortunate in 2006 to be able to attend the Polish Arabian National Horse Show, Pride of Poland Sale and visit the Janow Podlaski State Stud Farm.  What an experience!!  This week's blog will take a look at the Stud Farm itself.

Both the show and sale were held at the Janow Podlaski State Stud Farm.  Despite the farm's name, it is not located in Janow Podlaski, but in the village of Wygoda in Poland.  Janow (the village) is about 2 km from the farm.  It is situated close to the eastern border of Poland.  Janow Podlaski is the oldest state owned horse stud in Poland, being established in 1817.  Most of the horses are purebred Arabians, but they also breed Anglo-Arabians as well.  In the early days of the stud, the Anglo-Arabians built the base for breeding cavalry horses for Poland.  Not only were they bred for the cavalry, but they were also bred to improve the Polish workhorse breeding stock.  The purebred Arabians were bred mostly for their export value. 

The farm is considered to be an equine paradise because of it's large meadows for pastures that sit along the river Bug and for it's lovely and airy 19th century stable complex.  The below pictures are of the Clock Stable and the Main Stallion Stable.  The Clock Stable known as Zegarowa, dates back to 1848.  The Main Stallion Stable known as Czolowa dates back to 1841.  They are both the works of the famous architect Henryk Marconi.

The Clock Stable known as Zegarowa.

Close up of the clock.

The Main Stallion Stable known as Czolowa.

During World War I the stud was evacuated to Russia and no stallion from that time ever returned to Janów. When Poland regained its independence, the Ministry of Agriculture collected horses of all breeds and different origins.  Many of the stud's buildings and other facilities were destroyed, but the grazing fields and pastures remained.  After the restoration of the stables and the reorganization of horse breeding in Poland, the stud farm retained purebred Arabians and Anglo-Arabians.

In 1939, heartache and loss of precious bloodlines were once more to be known at Janow.  The start of WWII in Europe was 1 September 1939 when Germany invaded Poland.  Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later.  More than 80% of the horses at Janow perished that year. 
In 1944 the remaining horses were evacuated to Germany. As the Russian army was approaching the River Bug, the German Command ordered an evacuation of the horses. The Farm, including its staff, was relocated to Germany. 

They came to the town of Dresden, where they witnessed the allied bombing of the town on the night of February 13th, 1944.  22 of Janow's finest stallions were lost that night, but thanks to the courage, determination and loyalty of one groom, Jan Ziniewicz, the cherished stallions Wielki Szlem and Witraz were saved.  He held on to their bridles and refused to let them go, even as Witraz struck out in terror at him.  Jan kept his composure amidst it all, including when Witraz's tail caught on fire from an exploded bomb.  He saved them both and is responsible for these two highly influential Polish sires surviving that terrible night. 

In this photo, Jan is shown holding the stallions Almifar (grandson of Witraz) and Czort (son of Wielki Szlem).  This was taken about 71 years ago.

The horses remained near Dresden until February 1945.  In 1946 the stud returned to Poland after a new administration was formed there.  Due to damage to so many buildings at the stud farm, the horses were temporarily stationed in Posadowo, not far from Poznan.  Finally, they returned to Janów in the fall of 1950.

Since then the stud once again breeds purebred Arabians and Anglo-Arabians.  Today, the use of the Anglo-Arabians has changed. The reason for their breeding is now for pleasure or sport horses.  The reason for the breeding of the purebred Arabians remains the same....their value is still in export.

The stud farm earns money not only from their horse breeding programs, but from their dairy farm and from raising crops as well.  We were very fortunate to be allowed to walk the grounds at will and see all aspects of this beautiful farm.  It was a very quiet and peaceful setting.  Following are several photos that we took of the farm. 



A picture of the broodmares grazing quietly in their field. 

One of the turn-out pastures.

The dairy barn.

The dairy facility.

The dairy herd.





You'll encounter the most wonderful sights while strolling the Janow grounds!  We saw cranes nesting while yearlings played in their pasture nearby.

Cranes nest.

Yearling pasture near cranes nest.

Normal sights of a working farm are to be found as well.

Hay storage.



Round bales of hay, wrapped like we do in the USA.

Beauty and function from left over war scars.

An old bunker that now serves as a storage area.

And just plain beauty!

One of the quiet paths that connect the areas of the farm.

The indoor arena in the stallion barn.



One of many turn-out pastures.

Let us not forget the horses! From foals sleeping peacefully next to their dams in stalls, to the youngsters that shared an indoor group stall, to the weanlings that were learning to be on their own, to the stallions that lived peacefully next to each other, to the show horses in their stalls and to the queens of the farm who have earned their retirement.....all of them gorgeous and friendly and with the utmost manners!  What a lifetime experience to visit with them all and to enjoy their gracious hospitality.

Young foal snoozing with his dam standing watch.

Group of youngsters in their indoor "stall".

Weanling.

The stallion, Ararat (Palas x Arra).  He was the 1999 Polish National Champion Stallion.  He has stood at stud for all 4 Polish State Stud farms (Janów Podlaski, Michalów, Kurozweki and Bialka) and has been leased out to Holland and Italy as well.  His bloodline is highly regarded and sought after.



The stallion Grafik (Eucaliptus x Gaskonia) shown here at 10 years old.  He was bred by Michalow Stud and on loan to Janow.  He was twice Reserve National Champion Stallion in Poland.

One of the show mares.

Another show mare, enjoying some human time.

The lovely Gaskonia!  She was 19 years old here and just as beautiful as ever.

Gaskonia loved attention!  When our son would stop petting her, she would reach up and lick his hand or arm for more attention!  Such a sweet, sweet mare!!  She was an excellent broodmare, having produced multiple National and Reserve National Champions and she was still showing at the age of 19!  She actually was the Polish National Senior Mare Class Winner the year we were there, in 2006!

Next week, our experiences and pictures from the 2006 Poland National Arabian Horse Show!!