10/21/2026
ESTOPA... A Series
by Sigi Siller
"We were without a stallion for the 1978 breeding season so the Maxwells graciously returned *El Shaklan to us even though their lease was not yet over. He arrived back on our farm in the summer, fresh after winning the title of British National Junior Champion Stallion. About that time *Estopa delivered her final foal with Shaker El Masri, another pretty filly. Overall the filly was high quality, but she was not as exotic as her sisters were. We named her Estara. In December Germany was host for the WAHO conference. The conference attracts breeders from around the world, so this was a special opportunity for German breeders to showcase their Arabian horses. The German National Show was scheduled in conjunction with the conference. We brought *Estopa (with her filly at side), *El Shaklan, and *Bint Shaker (Shaker El Masri x Estasha). *Bint Shaker was our second generation (and in**ed to Shaker El Masri) and several others to the show. In front of a gathering of thousands of international breeders and spectators, *Estopa was crowned National Champion Mare, *El Shaklan won the titles of National Junior Champion Stallion and National Reserve Champion Stallion with *Bint Shaker taking the honor of National Junior Champion Filly. *Estopa, *El Shaklan and the “Estopa Family” had won the hearts of breeders around the world. One of the spectators was Izabella Zawadzka, at WAHO representing Poland, confided years later that when she saw *Estopa that day in Hamburg, Germany, she vowed to herself that she would one day infuse the blood of *Estopa into the Polish breeding program. (Izabella accomplished that goal years later with the importation of frozen semen of *Sanadik El Shaklan to Janow and Michalow Studs. The 2000 Polish National Champion Filly, and European Champion Filly, El Dorada is a result of that goal she made twenty-two years earlier.)"
Pictured: *Estopa at the show in Hamburg, Germany.
