Aldebaran

photo: Dr P. J. Gazder

The chestnut stallion Aldebaran, also registered as Aldebar, was born in 1919.
Aldebaran was sired by Dwarka, a desert-bred stallion and out of Amida, a daughter of Ibn Yashmak and the influential mare Ajramieh. Amida was known to be the best daughter of Ajramieh, grandaughter of the important imported desert mare Queen of Sheba. The Queen of Sheba line, though numerically limited, was cherished for its refinement and action, and Amida continued that legacy, particularly through her daughter Astrella and Aldebaran.
Bred by the Prince of Wales (later King Edward VIII), Aldebaran was raised within the royal stud program He was noted for his strong conformation, natural athleticism, and overall soundness, qualities that made Dwarka and him a valuable sire helping the preservation program to save the Dartmoor Pony from extinction.
Eventually Aldebaran was selected for export. In 1929, he was shipped to The Prince of Wales' E.P. Ranch in Southern Alberta, Canada where he became a well-known sire of many half Arabs. In Canada, he was renamed Aldebar, a simplified version of his original name, likely to ease registration or pronunciation.
While still in England, Aldebaran sired the stallion Algol (out of Rangha), who became a cornerstone of George Ruxton’s breeding program. Algol was particularly valued for the quality of his daughters, many of whom proved to be outstanding producers of stallions. Among his notable descendants were Aatika, dam of Manasseh (sire of Dargee); Myola, also dam of Dargee; and Namilla, dam of the sire Mikeno.
Another of Aldebaran’s sons, Barkis (foaled in 1929), appears in the female line of the prominent Australian sire Ralvon Pilgrim. Barkis was the grandsire of Rafeena, who produced Rikham, Ralvon Pilgrim’s sire.
Another son by Aldebaran was Houbaran (x Arusa by Rustem) who was born in 1923 and exported to the Netherlands as a yearling. This bay stallion became the first Arabian horse officially registered in the Arabian Stud Book of the Netherlands in 1935.
In 1938, the aging stallion Aldebaran was imported to the United States by the influential breeder Henry Babson. At Babson's farm, Aldebaran sired the stallion Baarouf (foaled in 1941), known for producing athletic, performance-oriented offspring. Baarouf was noted for passing on his flea-bitten grey coat and refined, typey head.
Another example of Aldebaran’s enduring influence was the versatile Sierra Dunes, a proven stock and trail horse. Sierra Dunes' dam, Trafara, was a maternal great-granddaughter of Aldebaran, illustrating the stallion’s impact through the female line.
Although Aldebaran's sire-line seems to be extinct in Pure-bred Arabians, his blood continues to appear in modern Arabian pedigrees, especially through the performance and broodmare lines that trace back to his daughters and granddaughters.