By Jonathan Horowitz
The first horse race held at Retama Park outside San Antonio, Texas, on August 18, 2022, would go on to make a significant impact on the Arabian breed—with much of that impact happening off the track.
The winner, Fleets Ace AA (Burning Fleet x Tri-Illusive Lady), would go from the United States to race in France and the United Arab Emirates. The runner-up, Honey Proof (NF Proof x Sweet Honey AA), would become one of the fastest Arabian racehorses in America and earn an invitation to run in a $2 million race in Saudi Arabia.
The third-place finisher, RB Full Blastt (Sand Blastt x RB Lam Tara), would become the 2024 Arabian Horse Association Horse High Point winner— just two years after this one and only race he’d run. The 2018 black bay gelding has quickly become a force within the Arabian breed in Hunter, Dressage (English and Western), and Sport Horse (under saddle and in hand) classes.
His journey to becoming one of the breed’s elites started at RoseBrook Farm in Brooksville, Florida—hence the “RB” prefix in his name and the names of many other Arabians successful on and off the track.
RB Full Blastt broke last in the field of eight, going 6 ½ furlongs, just more than three-quarters of a mile, in his racing debut. He closed with a rush to finish third. Still, Dianne Waldron, the matriarch of the RoseBrook family, thought he’d be better suited for a different career.
“I thought this horse is so beautiful—he’s black, he’s kind, he’s built—I thought he ought to go to the sport horse world,” she said. “These racehorses are well-rounded. They can go into any environment, and they’re not afraid of anything. If they can race, they can do anything. It gives them the right upbringing.”
RB Full Blastt++++// during his race career at his breeder’s RoseBrook Farm.
Since first meeting Waldron when he purchased a broodmare in 2017, Ronnie Bartholomew has developed an appreciation for Race-bred Arabians—a term championed by the Arabian Jockey Club to encompass horses that have raced or have racing breeding lines and how they can be brand ambassadors for the breed for their versatility, heartiness, and beauty.
“They’re so easily adaptable to what we do,” Bartholomew said. “They try super hard. They’re really smart animals.”
In addition to breeding lines developed for the athleticism and work ethic required to be successful in racing, the foundation of having racing as a first career can set horses up for a lifetime of success.
“Whoever starts these horses does a great job,” Bartholomew said. “They come to me, and they’re ready to go.”
It was a team effort for RB Full Blastt to earn 2024 AHA Horse High Point honors. In addition to Bartholomew, 17-year-old riders Alexis Forster and Arabella Ferris showed him.
“They both love riding him,” Bartholomew said. “He kind of got shared throughout the season, which I thought was cool. He was just adaptable to both of them. Both of them have their strengths and weaknesses, and he got the best of their riding.”
RB Full Blastt++++// and Kerri Johnson at the Region 12 Championships at World Equestrian Center in Florida.
“Salem,” as he’s known in the barn, showed his full range at the 2024 AHA Youth & Mid Summer Nationals in Oklahoma City. He won the championship in Western Dressage Intro JTR and earned three reserve championships in Arabian Sport Horse Stallions In-Hand and Arabian Sport Horse Show Hack for JTR and Open classes. He had nine other Top Ten finishes.
“He just kept going in the ring and performing,” Bartholomew described.
However, it’s more than just ribbons that endears Salem and the Arabian breed to Bartholomew, who is based in Skaneateles, New York, and grew up on a family farm that bred Percherons.
“He wants to please; I don’t fall in love with a lot of horses, and he’s one of my forevers because he’s just the sweetest horse I’ve ever had,” he said, adding, “If I want to trail ride, that’s my horse.”
The RoseBrook family attended the Holiday Festival Arabian & Half-Arabian Show in Ocala, Florida, in November 2024 to cheer on RB Full Blastt and RB Billions (Sand Blastt x RB Money to Burn). The two horses share the same sire.
Alexis Forster and RB Full Blastt++++// taking the Championship at the Holiday Festival Arabian & Half-Arabian Show at WEC in Florida.
“It was like reuniting with family,” Waldron said. “It brings joy that they get to continue in such a beautiful spotlight because they deserve it. They’re bred and raised to be special horses, and they get to go on in a career in sports where they’re well-rounded.”
“Billions,” who is now owned by Bartholomew’s client Kim Graves, finished his racing career in March 2024. By the end of the year, the 2019 black bay stallion won multiple blue ribbons in Hunter, Dressage, and Sport Horse Under Saddle and In Hand at AHA-recognized competitions.
So, Bartholomew and his team could have another Race-bred Arabian that they take from the track to the top of the Arabian Sport Horse world.
