No one deserves the honor of the Heritage Breeder more than Bazy Tankersley. For 73 years, Ruth “Bazy” McCormick Tankersley was the biggest supporter of the Arabian breed we ever had. Without a doubt, she had an impact that rivals that of Lady Anne Blunt and her daughter, Lady Judith Wentworth, worldwide. A philanthropist, horsewoman, heiress to the McCormick/Hanna/Medill media, farm equipment, and mining empire, and one astute breeder of quality, using Arabian horses.

Although she bred her first foal, Lottery (*Raffles x Curfa by Ribal) in 1941, Bazy’s breeding career began in earnest with the purchase of the Selby-bred Indraff (*Raffles x *Indaia by Raseem) in the mid-40’s and her first foals carrying the Al-Marah prefix in 1945. Indraff’s sons and daughters bred forth, many out of her foundation mares Selfra (*Selmian x *Rose of France by Raswan), her maternal sister Rose of Luzon (Gulastra), and Rose Marie (*Raffles x Rodetta by Agwe), and could still be found in the Al-Marah pedigrees of her last foal crop in 2014.

Over the years, Bazy brought in the largest importation of Crabbet and Yule-bred Arabians in the late 50s, which included the stallions *Little Owl (Grey Owl x Kabara), *Royal Diamond (Oran x Grey Royal), and the mares *Silwa (Raktha x Silver Crystal) and her daughter *Silwara by Dargee, along with the Rissalix daughters *Zulima and *Thorayya. About this time, she also acquired one of the larger breeding herds in the country from R. B. Fields in Washington state. Included in this group were the *Raffles sons Rapture (x Rafla by *Raffles) and Hanraff (x Chrallah by Hanad), as well as the *Raffles daughters Cassandra, a full sister to Rose Marie and Gida (x Imagida by Image). Bazy added her mare lines judiciously, favoring mares of Crabbet Park breeding and frequently from the programs of Roger Selby and Margaret Shuey. She also used daughters of the Skowronek son *Raseyn, Gulastra, Image, and *Selmian as the base for her brood mare band.

As far as stallions went, Bazy was always on the lookout for new blood to infuse in her program. This led to her importing and/or using the Rissalix sons *Count Dorsaz and *Ranix, who were the foundation of her “Double R” program, *Silver Vanity (Oran x Silver Gilt), and the later imports from Australia, *Bremervale Andronicus++++// and *Bremervale Destiny. Her home-bred stallions that she used extensively over the years included Al-Marah Indraff (Indraff x Rose Marie by Raffles) and his half-brother Al-Marah Radames (x Gutne by Bazleyd), AM Canadian Beau++ (*Ranix x Al-Marah Caliope by Indraff) and his son, Al-Marah Garcon (x Al-Marah Tis Beverlie by Tsatyr), and Al-Marah Sea Captain++ (Al-Marah Indraff x Al-Marah Lady Inred by Al-Marah Radames) and his son, Al-Marah Good Oldboy+. Then, along came Dreamazon+++/ (BF Rageymazon x Gai Dream by Gay-Rouge) as a game-changer stallion for Bazy and the Al-Marah mares. Along with his son, AM Double Dream (out of Dreamazon’s full sister) took the Al-Marah horses to a new level of athleticism and beauty that Bazy had been working towards her entire breeding career.

With her passing in 2013 came the end of an era in Arabian breeding. Horses aside, Bazy was so, so much to so many as a benefactor, philanthropist, and mentor; she gave her all. AHOF, the Arabian Horse Owner’s Foundation for education in our breed, Sport Horse Nationals, which she stood behind and supported tirelessly from it’s inception, the Al-Marah Apprentice Program, which opened the doors to so many to learn about our breed, her annual “Think Tank” at the Hat Ranch which brought together the most dedicated and brightest in our breed and The Al-Marah Arabian Horse Galleries at the Kentucky Horse Park, Bazy’s swan song (to the tune of several million dollars) to our horses to keep both the Arabian horse and Al-Marah legacy alive. Hanging above her desk, both in Maryland and later in Tucson, was an old, wood-burned sign that read “No Good Deed Goes Unpunished,” a testament to her sense of humor. Bazy lived her life by the creed of, in her own words, “I come from that old-fashioned background of noblesse oblige: If you’re born with money, you have an obligation to do good works for others.”

Thank you so much for everything you gave us; you are truly missed, my friend.