“A Stud manager oversees the proper care of horses, supervises employees, and maintains buildings and grounds. They may work in many facets of the equine industry. Showing, racing, breeding, and boarding ope- rations generally have a stud manager to handle the care of the horses and management of employees. For the summer issue 2020, I had the pleasure to interview Ms. Dominika Pawlowska from Poland. She was happy to walk me through the main aspects of her profession as a manager at Stadnina Koni Kurozweki.” Hello Ms. Dominika. Just to set the scene with our re- aders, will you please give us some background to you, your family and education? I was born in Katowice, an industrial city in southern Si- lesia, Poland. My grandparents lived in the countryside and, as a young girl, I would spend every summer on my grandparents’ farm. We still used workhorses and they were my favorite animals, so I got remarkably close to them. My other grandfather was a postman who rode a horse to deliver letters. He used to tell me a story about how in World War II his horse had saved his life by re- fusing to advance onto a landmine. Grandpa never quite understood how the horse figured out the danger. At age 13, I started riding in an equestrian club. After came the time for studies, and I graduated in Admini- strative Law, Management and Marketing. This, in turn, gave me a stable job. However, as I was missing horses too much, I started an apprenticeship in a horse-riding club and graduated in various courses on training hor- ses, natural horse riding etc. When and where did you first meet an Arabian horse? Who was he/she? It was at Stan Red Arabians in Radom, Poland. The horse was Etnodrons Psyche, a dark bay stallion son of Padrons Psyche. During my years with horses, I had not had any contact with Arabian horses so, some friends urged me to visit the above local stud farm. After going down along a valley flanked by trees, we came to a large sandy pad- dock and the young fillies and foals ran to ‘say hello’ to us. The large, wide-set, dark eyes and the wise and frien- dly character of these little ones is still what spur me to this day and Etnodrons Psyche sealed the deal. From that day on, I have always wanted to devote myself to the Arabian horse. Tell us about early stages of your career inside of the Arabian horse industry. Of course! I asked for a job at Stan Red Arabians and I became an Assistant manager. My work co- vered insemination, births, supervising the fee- ding as well as preparing the horses for the shows and even the marketing. I learnt a lot and I am grateful for this experience. For family reasons, I had to quit my job with the stud and go back to a ‘normal job’. This did not prevent me from acqui- ring my personal horse, a dark bay Arabian stal- lion called Wiedzmin from Ekwipunek/Workuta. I also started an important cooperation that lasts until today with a great trainer and presenter of Arabian horses, Mr. Gerald Kurtz. I gained international experience and I met many passionate and interesting people. It opened my eyes to the depth and variety of our community. When and how did you become stud manager at Stadni- na Koni Kurozweki? Early 2019, through a common friend, I met Michael Po- piel de Boisgelin, owner and president of Kurozweki Stud farm. Michael is as passionate as I am about Arabian hor- ses and we both have the specific Polish way of taking care of them. We un- derstand each other very well on our goals for the stud farm. What’s Stadnina Koni Kurozweki’s vi- sion and mission in the Arabian horse world industry? Before talking about the future I would like to talk about the past, or better yet, the roots. One legend goes that in the Mid- dle Ages three knights rode through a thick forest and came upon marsh land, in the middle of the swamp was a mount and on top of it were roosters and hens. The un- pronounceable name ‘Kurozweki’ is suppo- sed to reflect that story as ‘Kury’ in Polish means chickens. The knights built a wooden castle, then a stone one and hundreds of years later a proper palace with a moat. Horses have been present in Kurozweki as long as we know wi- thout any interruption. Michael’s family has been present since the 14th cen- tury. After the war, a lackluster effort was made to breed Anglo-Arabs. In 1973 the Arabian stud farm was founded, Kurozweki was the fourth leg to Micha- low, Janow, Bialka. The reason behind this choice by the governing party at the time was the geography of the land. Kurozweki – and the neighboring village - Kotuszow have rolling hills whi- ch build the horses’ musculature as well as sandy grounds that offer a ‘natural’ environment to this breed of horses. It is a poor land that is perfect for Arabian horses and it is part of why I think our horses are happy. Of course, our horses get nourishing thick grass and be- autiful hay. Michael thought this was a great idea to have Arabian horses in Kurozweki so, when the Berlin wall came down and com- munism ended, the Popiel family - after buying back the estate – stuck with this tradition. For Michael, though communism might have had some negative sides, the deci- sion for breeding Arabian horses in Kurozweki was a great idea. In every way, we have kept the 1973 tradition. We strive to breed brave horses; horses that have strong legs and a proportional build. I am a rider myself, and I consider that every horse we breed should be ridable. Beauty is important, but not paramount. The horse comes first. Our horses are gorgeous, but also have stable characters and a great overall structure. Our mission is to be attentive to each horse and do our best to cater to its needs. With regards our breeding we wish, like everyone, to reach the ideal of the perfect Arabian horse, but we wish to achieve this through a traditional breeding pro- gram aiming to gorgeous horses that are, for lack of a better word, functional and mentally healthy. Which bloodlines are mostly bred there? In 1975, Kurozweki had 39 broodmares from the oldest and most valuable lines: Gazella, Mlecha, Sahara, Milordka, Ukrainka, Wołoszka, Selma, Rodania and Cherifa. One of the most prestigious families was founded by the mare Euforia 1974 (Bandos, Eufonia by Doktryner), coming from the Sahara line. She was the dam of 11 foals. This group in- cluded the stallion El Prim by Partner, who went to Italy. Se- ven of the mares were selected as herd mothers. They were distinguished by their beauty and correctness. Ejnia by Algo- mej, Estetka and Eutrofia by Palas were successful at shows. Estyma after Algomej was sold for 535,000. to the U.S. at the Polish Ovation Auction. She left a mare at the stud, the beau- tiful Egipcjanka. The Gazela family is represented by the mare Wiorsta 1975 (by Banat, Wieża by Doktyner). Six daughters were included in the herd. The mare Wizytówka by Eufrat was sold to Swe- den and next daughter Włodarka by Algomej, who went to France, were remarkable. The third family was founded by the mare Cyrkulacja (Palas x Cykuta by Negatiw) born in 1974 from the Gazella line. She had 6 daughters: Cyganeria by Relax, Czamara by Pepton, Czarta by Partner, Celebracja by Bandos and Czata by Banat, who became a champion mare in Great Britain in 1993 and in 1994 as well as World Cup Champion in Aachen. Another daughter of Cyrkulacja, Ciupaga by Banat gave birth to 5 fil- lies at the stud. A small, gray mare with an unusual Arabian bouquet Catali- na (El Paso x Czeczuga) came from the Milordka line, whose daughter Castylia by Pepton gave birth to six good broodma- res among which the mare Centra by Eucalyptus and a chest- nut mare Nejtyczanka (Banat x Nevada by Grand) 1975, all re- presenting the Rodania line. She gave birth to five daughters. The Mlecha line was represented by Tania (Bandos x Trema by Gwarny). In this line a mare named Heraldyka 1982 (Palas x Haronia by Celebes) was quite significant. Her son Hetman 1990 by Eucalyptus was a leading stallion at the stud. Elleida 1979 (Algomej x Ellonga by Almifar) from the Wołoszka line was a beautiful bay mare. She left five good mares with great movement. One of them was the beautiful Elżunia 1988 (by Palas). The Selma line was represented by the mare Zadymka (El Paso x Zamieć by Czardasz) 1974. The Adjuze line was represented by Braminka (Elef x Braga by Negatiw) 1979. In Kurozwęki, there were stallions from the following families: Bairactar, Ibrahim, IIderim, Krzyżyk, Kuhailan Afas, Kuhailan Haifi, and Saklawii. Horses have been bred in Kurozwęki for 25 years as a state stud. In 1998, a decision was made to sell the stud to its original ow- ners, the Popiel family. Some mares went to Janów Podlaski, Michałów and Białka, many stayed. Over 25 years, 750 foals were bred here and about 500 horses were sold abroad. Today, we keep breeding the same bloodlines with the same respect of traditional Polish Arabian horse breeding. Do they own a special collection of mares and stallions? Yes, I have a special connection with all the lines above, I would say especially with the ‘E’ line. Michael has a special connection with the ‘C’ line, he has a brewery and on the label of one his beers is his favorite mare, Cyrilica! What are your primary responsibilities and duties as a stable manager in a normal week? We have over 60 horses, so every day is horse care, feeding, caring (I insist), administration, breeding, cleaning work and so on. However, I do not forget that no matter how beauti- ful our horses are I must share this with people so, I try to take beautiful photos of the horses and post them on social networks. I am also developing guest service in the form of horse riding. I would like to stress that every aspect of my job is pure pleasure. Managing the stables of Stadnina Koni Kurozweki with pro- fessional standards is more than simply mucking stalls fee- ding I suppose... What are your priorities for presenting your stables to clients or outside visitors? Of course, I am in a very privileged position to say that this is the full package and our guests know it. Above all, the land is perfect for our horse breed. The best thing to do is to walk out in 50 hectares or so of green pastures and have a walk in the century old stables. Our guests can see by close the healthy conditions of our horses; there is not much need for talking. Besides that, a guest can also stay in a palace at a proportio- nally cheap price. Our guest can also enjoy organic grass-fed bison meat. Alternatively, we can accommodate all needs. We own an 80 bison and produce a million liters of Dajemy and welcome above 100,000 tourists a year. Our guests are ge- nerally keen to taste our beer that is brewed on site. One of the beers is called Sir Paul, in Polish Pan Pawel, and tells the story of Michael’s great grandfather (Pawel Popiel, 1870-1936) who was an international horse expert that wrote in all major publications at the time. He covered more than 16,000 km on horseback and published many books promoting horse travel as opposed to automobile tourism! In conclusion we can welcome all guests in terms of comfort. How do you orient a new stable em- ployee who does not have advanced hor- se skills? Be at ease! I try to encourage our workers to listen to them- selves and to the horses. In my view, we must listen to Arabian horses and always listen to them. That is my message. I have a ter- rific and very united team that makes the daily tasks a pleasure.What becomes your priority when an important show is approaching? Seven days before a show, I need to know that the horse is ready, both physically and mentally. We will never push a horse; it is about the wellbeing of our horses. If the horse is ready, then we will concentrate on its hap- piness and mood. We breed well balanced healthy brave horses and we look for proud horses when we go to a show.Dominika, what would you like to achieve by the end of this year? Above everything else, I want to do things right. I have the space and the liberty to do so. We breed with what we con- sider to be the best nationally and internationally. I would like to keep up with the accomplishments we have on the racetrack and in long distance riding, this is part of our phi- losophy. We will have 10 foals this year. I am very enthusiast about Wiosenka (Empire x Wentaja) in the show arena. My goal is of course to breed gorgeous healthy stable hor- ses, but also to offer the experience of the tradition that we have been representing here in Kurozweki since the 14th century with regards horses and, since1973, as for Arabian horses. In 2023, we will have a major celebration for 50 ye- ars of Arabian horses in Kurozweki. How and where do you see yourself in ten years? History has demonstrated this is the perfect place to breed horses so, I just want to continue what I am doing. It is an exciting and fulfilling experience that has massive poten- tial. I hope the horses will tell the story of my happiness and my feelings for them. In conclusion, will you please leave a message for the rea- ders of Arabian Horse Magazine? Come and see us! We are a small community and we should stick together. Let us share our passion and learn from each other. As we know from our beloved Arabian horses, liste- ning is the most important thing so, let us listen to each other and learn more from each other’s experiences. Thank you very much for your precious contribution Do- minika. May the Arabian horse continue to bring only gre- at things in your life...