The first weekend of June 2018 witnessed the return to Apulia of the show dedicated to the purebred Arabian horse after a 20-year absence. This was the first and highly anticipated edition of the Apulia Arabian Horse Cup 2018 - C National Show that took place in the Apulian region on the weekend of 2-3 June at the Equis EO Equestrian Center near Foggia. The reins on the event were taken by Mr. Gianluca Martino from Arabian Vibe Srls, himself a breeder of the purebred Arabian horse and owner of the international equine publication Arabian Horse Magazine. Arabian Vibe has long collaborated with A.N.I.C.A. for the realization of many shows in Italy, from Milan to Salerno and now it has focused on the beautiful Apulia. To assist him in the accomplishment of this new initiative, besides his loyal team, the local institutions that had long been mobilized for the preparation of the event. The apprehensions raised on the eve of this C National Show, which could only be attended by horses belonging to A.N.I.C.A. members, were dispelled by the success obtained, as Martino himself told us: “We are very pleased with how things went: all 22 VIP tables were fully booked and more than 200 spectators attended the Show”. Being an event organized in a private facility, it was not obvious that so many people would join in. Moreover, the weekend coincided with the Italian National Day, during which there were held many other events on site. In fact there were really many interesting things going on in Foggia and surrounding areas not only for Saturday’s celebrations - Gianluca Martino argued - “But luckily enough the show has not been affected. The local media have also been interested in our show. The important thing is that breeders and owners alike, from Apulia and elsewhere, actively participated with great enthusiasm bringing home good memories and great satisfaction”. As for the Final Championships, they gave the following results: Gold Medal champion – Yearling Fillies Category – the bay LATIFA DELPALAZZOTTO (EXPRESSIVE x ZEINA AL SAMAH by FADI AL SHAQAB) bred and owned by Capecci Paolo’s Il Palazzotto Stud. Silver medal winner the gray VALENCIA PPJ (AMIR ASHIRAF x MADEMOISELLE STAR) bred and owned by Prisco Antonio. Bronze medal winner, the gray ST MALIKA (ST BALLARO x ST HAMBRA by BOLERO E.M.) bred by Simonetti Michele’ S.T. Arabians and owned by Simonetti Michele. Gold Medal Champion – Yearling Colts Category - the bay SAHIR BY AMERICA (VAN GOGH AM x AMERICA by MASSAI IBN MARENGA) bred and owned by Grandone Stefano. Silver Medal winner the chestnut MAGIC DESPACITO (EDISSON x MAGIC HELEA by MAGIC MON AMI) bred and owned by Giuseppe Fontanella’s Magic Arabians. Bronze Medal winner the gray AMIR BY TF ASMA (TF STAR IBN PSEQUEL x TF ASMA by ROYAL COLORS) bred by Olivieri Vincenzo and owned by Munafò Francesco’s Dei Goti Stud. Gold Medal champion - Junior Fillies Category - the bay SS ESENIA (KAHIL AL SHAQAB x ESCALADA) bred and owned by Irina Stigler Stud. Silver Medal champion, the gray MAGIC MADAGASCAR (MAGIC MON AMI x MAGIC SUBLIME) bred and owned by Giuseppe Fontanella’s Magic Arabians. Bronze Medal champion, the bay LATIFA DELPALAZZOTTO (EXPRESSIVE x ZEINA AL SAMAH) bred and owned by Capecci Paolo’s Il Palazzotto Stud. Gold Medal champion - Junior Colts Category - the gray AURELIUS (SHANGHAI EA x ZB LAMANTE) bred and owned by Capecci Paolo’s Il Palazzotto Stud. Silver Medal champion the gray MAGIC CORASON (MAGIC MON AMI x CC MAGIC CONTESSA) bred and owned by Giuseppe Fontanella’s Magic Arabians. Bronze Medal champion the bay NEJD ZAHIR (SAFEER x HADIYA AL MALI) bred and owned by Nejd Arabians. Gold Medal champion - Senior Mares Category - the gray NOUHAILA (AM EMIRO x NAGIBA AB) bred by Polimeni Paolo. Silver Medal champion the black MISS MAGIC MAGNIFIQUE (MAGIC MAGNIFIQUE x MAGIC OHARA) bred and owned by Giuseppe Fontanella’s Magic Arabians. Bronze Medal champion the chestnut TS ARMONIA (GOPAK x WJATGA) bred and owned by Di Simonetti Tullio’s S.T. Arabians. Gold Medal champion - Senior Stallions Category - the bay AL ANEED LDA (ALIXIR x ILLA MAGIDAA LDA) bred and owned by Giuseppe Fontanella’s Magic Arabians. Silver Medal champion the gray ST TULLIO (MAGNUM PSYCHE x DA ROULETTE) bred and owned by Di Simonetti Tullio’s S.T. Arabians. Bronze Medal champion the bay MAGIC MON AMI (FS BENGALI x MAGIC MON AMOUR) bred and owned by Giuseppe Fontanella’s Magic Arabians. At the end, it was wonderful to see beautiful foals parade in the arena that gave the audience a show in the show. Champion Futurity Female the gray MAGIC EXCELSA (ENGULO EEA x MAGIC SAFIYYAH by MAGIC MON TRESOR) bred and owned by Giuseppe Fontanella’s Magic Arabians. Champion Futurity Male the chestnut DP WINDSTORM (MAGIC MON AMI x EMMA GROTTAROSSA by SABOR GROTTAROSSA) bred and owned by Di Palma Vincenzo. This first edition of the Puglia Arabian Horse Cup did not miss the rendezvous with the special awards ceremony. The Apulia Cup Trophy was awarded to former Gold Medal champion - Senior Mares Category - NOUHAILA (AM EMIRO x NAGIBA AB) bred and owned by Polimeni Paolo. The Title of Apulia Best Male went to Champion Silver medal – Senior Stallions Category - ST TULLIO (MAGNUM PSYCHE x DA ROULETTE) bred and owned by Tullio Di Simonetti’s S.T. Arabians; while the Title of Apulia Best Female was prerogative of AMERICA. In addition, Best Male Head the already awarded Bronze Medal champion - Senior Stallions Category - MAGIC MON AMI (FS BENGALI x MAGIC MON AMOUR) bred and owned by Giuseppe Fontanella’s Magic Arabians. Best Female Head former Silver Medal champion - Senior Mares Category - MISS MAGIC MAGNIFIQUE (MAGIC MAGNIFIQUE x MAGIC OHARA) bred and owned by Giuseppe Fontanella’s Magic Arabians. The Title of Apulia Best Breeder was then assigned to Giuseppe Fontanella. A welldeserved title for the well-known Neapolitan breeder given the exceptional results obtained at the show by some of the finest subjects from his collection named Magic Arabians. Everything ran smoothly at the first edition of the Puglia Arabian Horse Cup that by all means confirmed the return of the Arabian Horse to the beautiful region of Apulia after a twentyyear absence from the national circuit. An event sponsored by the Town Hall of Foggia and masterfully orchestrated by Gianluca Martino who had first of all the aim to project back in Apulia the beauty and athleticism of the purebred Arabian by collecting award-winning champions, breeders, professional handlers and amateurs. But above all, it was a great opportunity for small Apulian breeders and owners to present and make their horses finally known to a larger audience, although the road ahead remains hard. Therefore, a warm thank you goes to Vincenzo Pellegrini, President of A.N.I.C.A., for having accepted Gianluca Martino’s invitation to include the show in the Italian morphology season; special thanks also go to local institutions that have sponsored the event; to the judges intervened: Pavone Maurizio (Italy); Medhat Gaber (Egypt); Darawsha Ali (Israel); Safadi Amira (Netherlands); to the members of the Disciplinary Commission: Fazeli Fahrang (Iran) and Dr. Vet. Teobaldelli Gian Paolo (Italy); to the impeccable and elegant Roberto Ceccaroni as Ringmaster; to the General Secretariat composed by the irreplaceable Simona Eva and the tireless and multi-tasker Debora Martino; to the many sponsors that supported the show and contributed to its success and, last but not least, to our friend and photographer Alessio Azzali to whom we owe the most exciting shots of this beautiful event full of titles and medals that eventually proved to be an excellent alternative to the most known Italian locations.