THE ARIA COLLECTION AND SAHAR A SCOTTSDALE – Pursuing New Standards of Excellence
The imprimatur of a finely-managed partnership and an unerring eye for quality is reflected in a rare assemblage of Arabian horses of exceptional quality. For proof, look no further than the six-year string of U.S. National Champion halter horses owned and/or bred by the Aria Collection – a partnership comprised of Jeff Sloan, Norm Pappas and Jamie Jacob. It’s a phenomenal achievement in our breed.
A laser-like focus and a sixth sense about Arabian horses that will not only be show champions, but also producers or sires of champions, is required. As Jeff Sloan says, “We seek horses that can not only deliver at the highest levels of competition, but also as breeding horses.”
One example of that mindset takes us back to 2004, when Jeff saw the extraordinary yearling *Pianissima in the pages of Arabian Horse World’s December 2004 issue, and could think of little else. Everyone said, “The Poles will never let her go.” But within six months, Jeff and a group of partners signed a two-year-lease for the filly. *Pianissima became the figurehead of his new Arabian breeding entity, Aria International. The enterprise grew to include leases of the mare *Emandoria and the Polish National Champion Stallion *Piaff, plus the purchase of five lots in the 2005 Pride of Poland auction.
Of course, we know how that turned out: *Pianissima and *Emandoria became U.S. National Champion and Reserve Champion Junior Mares, respectively, and one of the lots purchased, *Elandra, was named U.S. National Reserve Champion Senior Mare. After their leases ended, they all went on to further glory, both in the showring and breeding barns.
If anything, Jeff’s vision has grown broader and more grand in the years since. Today, the Aria Collection horses are based at the partnership’s Scottsdale facility, Sahara Scottsdale. And what an elite collection it is. Aria bred and/or owned horses in recent years include: four National Champion Mares, two Reserve Champion Mares, one U.S. National Champion Futurity Filly, and one U.S. National Champion Yearling Filly. On the male side of the ledger, there was a U.S. National Champion Stallion, a U.S. National Junior Champion Colt, a U.S. National Champion Futurity Colt, and a U.S. National Reserve Champion Yearling Colt. Scottsdale and Vegas results reflect a similar pattern.
And then there is the deep satisfaction of having bred and owned the 2018 Scottsdale Champion Junior Colt Aria Majesty (*Marwan Al Shaqab x *Honeys Delight RB), and following that win with the 2019 Scottsdale Champion Junior Filly Aria Venetian Lace (EKS Alihandro x BH Beijings Velvet), both out of mares who were National Champions for Aria.
*HONEYS DELIGHT RB (*JJ Senor Magnum x Honeymoon FHP), enjoyed a long, successful show career, including 2016 Scottsdale Champion International Breeders Classic Senior Mare, 2016 Scottsdale Supreme Silver Champion Senior Mare, 2015 Scottsdale Reserve Champion Classic Senior Mare,
