A Message from Achaean Arabians - Michael & Cindy Stylianos

To our friends and fellow Arabian enthusiasts:

     It is with tremendous personal sadness that we report the unexpected passing of our treasured Alidaar son, Ali Cristos, on Jan 18^th, 2011, at the age of 21.

     Losing an animal with which we shared such a cherished history merits a few moments of personal reflection. It is the hope of every conscientious breeder that their endeavor will produce a horse that will leave an indelible impression on its audience or its generation. This distinction is normally reserved for stallions and broodmares of great beauty or accomplishment - that Cris was able to do so successfully as a gelding is a testament to the compelling force of his personality. To describe him as a “character” would be sublime understatement. Cris didn’t live life so much as he frolicked through it, dragging along humans and horses alike in his wake. No one meeting him for the first time was immune to his charm; whether he was at halter, under saddle, in harness, being finger-painted by excited young children or planting a soft, wet kiss on the cheek of an admirer, he represented the finest qualities that an Egyptian Arabian had to offer.  

     For those of you who have known us for any length of time, Cris will always be linked in our collective memory with his senior pasture mate Harem Shamah Sheik. It is almost possible to imagine them as players from the classic movie Sabrina - Sheik in the Humphrey Bogart role of Linus, the always business-like older brother; Cris as William Holden’s David, the goofball playboy whose outward behavior belied his inner strength and confidence.

     It is a rare gift to have had one such distinctive individual in a lifetime, so we consider ourselves truly blessed to have had two for so many years. Our grief over losing Cris is lessoned considerably by our awareness of the innumerable moments of joy he brought to all those he came in contact with during his time on this earth. We have no doubt he would be content with that as his enduring legacy.