The Phara Heritage Society (PHS) was started in 2007 by a collective group of breeders dedicated to preserving the Phara Arabian. The mission of The Phara Heritage Society is to honor and celebrate the Phara horses. This is accomplished in many ways, including breeding to preserve the Phara bloodline, sharing with others what makes this bloodline special, raising awareness of this bloodline in the Arabian horse community, and sharing the unique and cherished qualities of the Phara Arabian.
A note from the Phara Heritage Society founder, Shannon Edney.
The Phara horses are the culmination of a dream inspired by the great Lewisfield Sun God (Aaraf by *Raffles x Aarafa by *Raffles). Back in the 1960's this dream began when Annette Patti was searching for her "ideal" specimen of the Arabian horse. Her search ended in 1964 at the Texas Fall Show in Dallas where the 1964 National Championships were being held. In the arena stood a colt that to her represented the ideal most classic Arabian - Lewisfield Sun God (who was only a yearling at the time). She has spent the past nearly 60 years breeding horses based on the look and lines of Lewisfield Sun God - the glorious beauties of Phara Farm. I have loved and admired the Phara horses for as long as I can remember (my earliest memory of a Phara Arabian is from when I was only 6 years old - 40 years ago!). My entire life I have considered them my fairy tale horses come to life.
My first visit to Phara Farm was in the early 2000's. That day marks a milestone in my life - I walked around in a dream-like trance, mesmerized by these exquisite creatures that until that day I had only seen in magazines, books and on the Internet. That was the day I vowed to restructure my breeding program (which had been focused on old Crabbet breeding already, but through different lines) to focus on preserving the lines and look of the Phara Arabian.
I booked two of my mares to Phara stallions for the following year in hopes of raising my own Phara foals. It was not to be, as I lost one of the mares that winter and the other we discovered was not breeding sound. I was devastated.
In spring of 2004 I visited Annette and Phara Farm again, and purchased the 100% Phara stallion Pharao (Burgundy Sun x The Sun Heiress) that summer at just two weeks of age. The following winter I purchased the Phara Heritage stallion, Golden Ecstasy (Gold N Ali x DRA Burgundy Rose by Burgundy Sun). In 2007 I was able to acquire one of the most classic mares of our time, the treasured 100% Phara mare The Sun Heiress (Eclipse ofthe Sun x Rose of Fadl).
Left: Pharao (Burgundy Sun x The Sun Heiress by Eclipse ofthe Sun)
Center: Golden Ecstasy (Gold N Ali x DRA Burgundy Rose by Burgundy Sun)
Right: The Sun Heiress (Eclipse ofthe Sun x Rose of Fadl by Fadl Dan)
For several years I worked closely with Annette Weber and in 2007 created The Phara Heritage Society - an organization that celebrates the Phara horses. This organization is not only for those who love and appreciate 100% Phara horses, but ALL horses containing any percentage of Phara blood.
Even though I am no longer actively breeding and don't currently own a horse of Phara decent, I still love the Phara horses and want to bring them some much-deserved recognition. My hope is they will be "rediscovered" by those who have forgotten about them as well as "newly discovered" by those who were not previously aware of them. I know how much these horses have impacted my life, and I wanted to share my love and appreciation of them with you.
Shannon Edney, Dahabi Arabians
Founder of The Phara Heritage Society
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