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 "Ed
and his late wife Hope also enriched the breed by their help and influence
on such people as Maxwell Pollock, convincing him to breed his magnificent,
previously unknown stallion, Dharantez (Dhareb/Antarah), who happened to
be a full brother of Dharebah, Dharanah, and El Alamein. The resulting
foals became fundamental to modern Davenport breeding. especially through
Dharanad (Dharantez/Dhanad), who was bred extensively by Charles Craver.
Through many long trips to Santa Barbara and many late nights in the barn
during all sorts of weather, Ed worked tirelessly with Dr. Steven Lange
to overcome breeding obstacles and establish the productivity of Fancy
Flight (Tripoli/Ceres) and Tyranah (Tybalt/Dharanah) [ED: along with George
and Fran Dewey; see p.8]. He and his
wife Hope made many, many trips to Illinois to seek out the strains they
needed to enhance their breeding program. Ed now has the retired Petits
Fours (Ibn Alamein/Murkaa), Circus CF (Triermain/Circe), and the 'Light
of His Life,' SRA-Amshah (SRA Manfred/ Galiana).
"The
birthday celebration was planned in secret for months before, and then
had to be delayed because Ed celebrated his actual 80th birthday by going
on a weeklong horse packing trip in the Manachee Wilderness of the high
Sierras! Somehow, it was kept a complete secret until the minute he walked
in the door!
"The
planning group, spearheaded by the wonderful Donna Kush, who owns Wotan
(Said Abdallah/Tyrebah) found so many people from as far away as Las Vegas,
Nevada who wanted to come, they had to rent the local Community Center
to have enough room, and even then it was packed, with standing room only.
The real celebration began when Ed walked in the door, supposing he was
joining his friend Jane Benefiel for a lecture on herbal medicine. When
he realized that everyone in the building was a longtime friend, some of
which he hadn’t seen in years, and the traditional Happy Birthday song
began with bagpipes played by his friend Jane Randall, the surprise really
hit him! There was a marvelous pot luck, and many people stood up to relate
a particular incident when Ed had helped them through a trial or left them
laughing in the dust.
"The
Cowboy Poet, Louie Carle read a poem written just for Ed, and the Los Angeles
County Supervisors sent a scroll of appreciation for his work preserving
riding trails throughout California. Some people who were unable to attend
sent letters which were read, and a new replacement copy of 'Drinkers of
the Wind' was presented with a special handwritten dedication and congratulations
from Esperanza Raswan. (Ed had met her late husband, Carl Raswan at Alice
Payne’s place in 1948 and corresponded with him for many years). Beautiful
framed photographs of moments of Ed’s life and saddlebags stuffed with
cash donated by people all across the country were presented. Ed’s well
known blessing 'May the fleas of 1,000 camels never grace your armpits'
was given as the benediction.
"Ed,
it’s an honor and a pleasure to know you. May we have many more happy miles
ahead!"
Pal-Ara Temptation, owned by Marge Smith,
Colton OR
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