Arabians not afraid to strut stuff

An Arabian stallion named "The Silver Ghost" charges across the arena

The long tail swaying behind in the wind, the powerful hind legs digging into the ground just before takeoff, the mane rising in the air as the Arabian stallion charges across the arena, knowing he's the main event of the show and not wanting to disappoint, that's what separates Arabians from other horses.

Silver Ghost, the horse on display, is a proud horse - not quite as proud as his owners Bob and Darlene Strain - who has even had a trail in Maple Ridge named after him. And he's not one to shy away from a chance to show off in front of spectators.

If he could talk he'd tell you himself: Arabians are one of the most beautiful, elegant, powerful horses. They are athletes, but also artists.

His owner Darlene grew up in Maple Ridge and has been raising and training horses since she was six years old, when her parents gave her a quarter horse stud colt. Her parents didn't have a lot of horse knowledge at the time so Darlene developed most of her knowledge through personal experience.

Bob was a city boy who grew up near the concrete jungle that is Metrotown. It didn't take him long to convert to country living with a little coaxing from his wife.

Together, the couple runs Chinook Arabians out of Maple Ridge, a business named after "Chinook", Darlene's first Arabian horse.

Chinook, a crabbet gelding who lived for 31 years until Nov. 10, 2001, was the driving force behind Darlene's love for Arabians. Just take a lot at the couple's web site (www.chinookarabians.com) and you'll come across a tribute page dedicated to Chinook.

Darlene first encountered Chinook when she was a little child, hanging around the ranch of Bob Ferguson. When she was a bit older Ferguson let her go for rides on Chinook. When Ferguson passed away, his daughter Carol gave Darlene the horse, knowing that her father always wanted Darlene to have Chinook.

"I guess he kind of picked me," recalls Darlene. "He had always wanted me to have the horse and he taught me so much as a young girl."

By the time Chinook passed away in 2001, he had shown Darlene all about the beauty of the Arabian horse, giving her a framework within which she and Bob could raise and train their horses.

Chinook was the one who laid the foundation, so it was obviously a sad time for the couple when he passed away. Knowing that Darlene cries every time she sells a horse (some aren't even around for a year before they're sold), you can only imagine her emotional state when Chinook died.

"He taught me what good temperament in an Arabian should be and I was really lucky to find him," explains Darlene.

Silver Ghost (a pure bred Arabian with pure Polish bloodlines) was just a colt when the Strains purchased him 10 years ago, but he has proven himself to be a worthy successor to Chinook. So far he has sired, a not-too-shabby 25 foals.

Of all their horses, Silver Ghost is the toughest to maintain. It takes years of discipline and guidance for a stallion to give into any master.

"They're a fair bit of work, they require a little bit more handling than the rest and they keep you on your toes," says Bob.

Breed is in huge demand

Three Arabians check out the man with the camera

Like all of the Strain's Arabians, Silver Ghost craves attention and human companionship. After all, what good is being beautiful if there's no one to look at and admire you.

The only time Silver Ghost seems to get out of control is when he trots by the pens of his three main mares Tabu (half polish, half Egyptian), Ellie (the third daughter of Tabu) and Zari (a 3/4 Arabian/Pinto).

Darlene and Bob work strictly with registered stock (which means their ancestry can be traced back to the desert, specifically the Bedouin tribe) and five out of the seven horses that they currently own are purebreds.

Back in March, the Strains had a new addition to their family as three foals were born, starting with the first one in April. Normally, Darlene and sometimes Bob (he still has a 9-5 job) camp out in the stalls until the foal is born, but this time Bob decided to drag a high speed phone line from the telephone pole at the driveway to Chinook Stables, 500 metres down to the stable where the babies were born.

From there, they broadcast the birth of Dreamer, Rasheeka and Candy over the internet. Fifteen thousand people worldwide joined them in watching the births online.

There were so many people logged onto their web site that they nearly shut down the server. In the end, they were forced to switch servers.

"It was the first time we tried it, it was great," laughs Bob. "But it wasn't easy, it was far more popular than we ever could have expected."

Most of the Chinook Arabians are sold to buyers within Western Canada, however the Strains are looking to expand their business into the States.