History

Jadem Arabians is found nestled in the north of Belgium, near Antwerp in the town of Balen. As you drive down the quiet Flemish lane on the approach to the stud, nothing prepares you for the tranquillity that awaits you there. From the swans swimming regally on the lake to the stallions quietly eating hay in their barn, there is a sense of peace and calm wherever you look. Mares graze contently in the paddocks as their foals play beside them. The dogs sleep peacefully in the porch, just one eye on you to make sure you are a friend, not foe.
The lady behind this Arabian paradise is Christine Jamar-Demeersseman, who welcomes all to her farm with a wide smile and a genuine enthusiasm for her horses which is contagious. As she takes you to see the latest foal, sired by the much-admired QR Marc, she tells you the story of her life, her farm, and talks with anticipation about the coming years.
The story of Jadem Arabians itself began in 1978, when Christine purchased her first Arabian horse.
Since then, the “J” suffix has become known the world over and is associated with quality, class and beauty. However, horses have been in Christine’s blood since she was a little girl –her great-grandfather and grandfather in particular were a true horsemen – and Christine herself was a keen show-jumper in her youth. At her local riding stables was an Arabian gelding, owned by a lady from Brussels, and he always captivated her. “I loved that horse,” she smiles, her face visibly lighting up as she talks about him. “I loved to ride him on the beach (and he was so easy to turn over the jumps) I never jumped with him. He has such charisma, too – the charisma of the Arabian – and he had such a spirit about him. From my very first association with this breed, I felt the attraction between the horse and myself. It was, and is, like a friendship and a partnership. I had previously ridden Warmbloods and they did not inspire that response in me. I had found my niche, my perfect horses:
the Arabian.”

Guy and Christine.

farms and I saw many incorrect horses: I knew through my childhood and show-jumping experience what a
good horse should be and I knew that I wanted a typey and correct Arabian. Finally, I found a breeder whose
horses I admired. Guy and myself bought a horse each, two mares of Crabbet lines, Zwia (Aatik x Adaja) and Rakthala (Aatik x Callista). Rakthala a dark chestnut, was in foal and she gave us some nice fillies and we won many championships with them; she was a good foundation mare for us. She was also a great cutting horse and we used to cut sheep together – we had such fun and she was so intelligent that she knew instinctively what to do.”
Having purchased their first horses, Guy and Christine set about building the farm themselves, starting with just one acre – and that was how Jadem Arabians began.
Having attended and watch the Belgian National Show, Christine decided to enter in 1980 with her then six-month-old colt foal, Bora (Abdullah x Rose of Saron). Anticipating that they would come somewhere in the middle as they were new to showing, they were delighted to leave with the Junior Male Championship. “We had made a good start on our first ventures into the show-ring and Abdullah then bred a lovely filly for us. We slowly became more and more open to the Arabian and we purchased more horses, which always won in the youngstock classes. But we found that Arabians lose their dryness and type when they as a four and five year old, so we knew we needed to look outside of these bloodlines.”
In 1982, Christine paid her first visit to Poland as part of a group organised by the Dutch Arabian Horse Association, attending the Polish National Show and the Arabian Horse Days events. Having decided that Arabians were their niche, the Polish Arabian became their passion and today, Jadem Arabians is the largest Polish Arabian farm in Belgium. “On that first visit to Poland, I loved 80% of the horses. The following year, we went to Russia and I loved 60% of the horses – the ones by Gwizd (Probat x Gwiazda) who, of course, has such wonderful Polish lines. His babies were among the best that I had
ever seen.”
Two years later, Christine went to Egypt and then to Spain, where Christine decided that it was not the line for her to follow. She knew that she loved the Polish Arabian first and foremost – the problem was that she didn’t have the money to buy them as they were so expensive at that time.
The pivotal moment for the stud came in 1990, when Christine and Guy went to the US. That year changed everything and the stud went away from its Russian/Crabbet beginnings and embarked in earnest with the Polish lines that they had admired for so long. The huge economic problem that hit the US in 1990 resulted in many previously unavailable horses being offered for sale and Jadem Arabians found itself in a position whereby they could by beautiful Bandos (Negatiw x Bandola) and Eukaliptus (Bandos x Eunice) daughters.
“We sold all of our previous horses apart from two, Galifa and Sammiha as I loved those horse so much
and wanted them to be guaranteed a happy home for the rest of their lives,” recalls Christine. “Not all
of that first wave of Polish horses we purchased were perfect and so I began to study the lines more.
I found that it was the Seglawi lines were the ones for me. Of that initial first group of Polish mares,
I kept four Eukaliptus daughters and three Bandos daughters.”
One of the most likable qualities about Christine is her honesty – she will tell you her own horses’
shortcomings and she readily admits that this first group of horses had short legs and long backs.
Christine also admits that, while they won in the show-ring, they were very quiet and lacked the
pizzazz that some of other horses seemed to have. “For me, showing is something that you have to do
in order to have your horses noticed and recognised,” explains Christine. “But it is the breeding side
that I love the most – assessing your horse and working out how to improve on the horse, what you can
add, which stallions will bring which qualities… There is no exact science to it, but if you study the
bloodlines and individual horses enough, then you stand a better chance at knowing what you will
breed.”
Continually searching, Christine spent many years looking for the perfect stallion to improve her mares
and finally, she found him in the classic Polish grey, Ekstern (by Monogramm), owned and bred by the Michalów State Stud in Poland. “The moment I first saw Ekstern was a life-changing moment for me,” recalls Christine. “I had mentioned to Jorgen Frederickson that I wanted a stallion and he told me that there was one in Poland that might fit my requirements. I went to look and while the stallion in question didn’t, this young Monogramm son they brought out did.
“I remember watching Ekstern for the first time, trotting for 20s across the frozen ground. He captivated me and this was the beginning of, perhaps, the greatest love affair of my life… I then saw and fell in love with Ekstern’s dam, Ernestyna (Piechur x Erwina), and I saw that she had the beautiful back and croup which I needed to shorten the Bandos/Eukaliptus line. And while this line, the famous E line, had a thick neck, I knew that my mares had long necks and so they should nick
well together.
“I knew that Ekstern was the one for me in terms of his quality, his spirit and his attitude, but he was
not for lease. We were told to come back the following week, which we did. We offered double and
we got him for the 1999 and 2000 show and breeding seasons. It was in the contract that we had to
show him and so our first show together – he, an unknown stallion and myself an unknown owner – was
the UK International at Towerlands. Ekstern scored 14 20s at that show and the following year, he was
crowned World Champion. He remains unbeaten in the show-ring and he received an incredible
response wherever he went.
“More important to me was Ekstern’s success in the breeding barn. That first year, he gave me 12
colts and four fillies; I wasn’t so happy! But the following year, in 2001 after he had returned to
Poland, he gave me a whole collection of very fine fillies and these are now the best broodmares that I
have here now.”
Christine again leased Ekstern in 2003, claiming another World Championship as they campaigned
together, and in 2010, Ekstern will return once more to Jadem Arabians, the perfect cross for the
old mares here. Christine eagerly anticipates his return: “To me, Ekstern is the true Arabian that we
all read about when we were children, the horse that is your companion, your friend and sleeps in the
tent with you. He is just an incredible horse and I am excited to see him back here in Belgium for the year.”
Christine’s owned stallion, Extreme (Ararat x Elegantkah), was bred in 1999 and he has proved to be the perfect cross for the Ekstern daughters. And these foals, now two-year-old fillies, are will be bred to QR Marc, another important stallion in Christine’s life. By Marwan Al Shaqab and out of Swete Dreams, QR Marc is another step in Christine’s breeding programme as she constantly strives to breed the perfect Arabian. Owned by Paul Gheyssens, QR Marc has set the world alight with his looks, his neck and his perfect character.
“I met Mr Gheyssens in Poland five years ago”, recalls Christine. “We just said ‘hello’ at that time and then three years ago, it was suggested that he used Extreme on his mares and that was when we really began to know each other.
“Mr Gheyssens ahs some good, solid Polish mares and he was looking to add some more type. So he asked me to look out for a colt for him – enter QR Marc. Having sent the photographs, I did not believe that this colt could really look like that, but he did. And while QR Marc is not a huge horse, Mr Gheyssens mares are and I knew that he would add refinement. And so, in less than a day after my seeing him, QR Marc was sold to Mr Gheyssens and the products of his first foal crop here are astonishing, with each foal born resembling a porcelain stature. They are just so beautiful, but they do have substance as well.
“And we also have Mr Gheyssens new stallion here, the world-renowned Padrons Psyche
(Padron x Kilka), another horse I have long-admired. He will have a home here for life and
he will be a wonderful cross for the QR Marc daughters. We are excited at the
prospects he brings.”
Indeed, Jadem Arabians is home to some of the finest stallions in the world as well as the
beautiful Polish broodmares. Werter (Eukaliptus x Walkiria), Jamil Al Rayyan
(Ansata Hejazi x Dana Al Rayyan), Al Hadiyah AA (Laheeb x The Vision), Borsalino K
(Encore Ali x Keepsake V) and Abha Qatar (Marwan Al Shaqab x ZT Ludjkalba) as well as
Extreme all currently call this tranquil part of Belgium home and they all live happily
alongside each other in the stallion barn, with Padrons Psyche pride of place in the mare
barn, where he has a beautiful view of the paddocks beyond.
As well as helping Mr Gheyssens with his breeding programme, Christine has been
actively involved with many farms. Perhaps the most important is Al Khalediah Stables in
the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where Christine has been an adviser to Sheikh Mutlaq bin
Mushrif, Al Khalediah’s Manager, for many years. Indeed, Christine was one of the rare
(first) female to become an adviser to people in the Middle East and she has built up a
good reputation among them.
Such a position and great reputation of someone to go to when looking to advise on and
purchase horses came about through Christine’s association with the King of Morocco, King Hassan II. The Director of the Royal Stud of King Hassan II has followed Christine’s advice for approaching 10 years following a visit by Christine to the stud. It was in the aftermath of this visit that Christine became a confident of King Hassan II and the Director of the Royal Stud to oversee their horses, including the buying and selling of them and ensuring that the horses sold went to good owners and good homes. What makes this so extraordinary is that, in spite of being a western woman, Christine has managed to gain the confidence and honour of these esteemed men and was the first woman to be in such a position; a true mark of her character and of her clients’ faith in her.
Christine is also a highly-respected international ECAHO judge and has been to shows
across the US, South America, New Zealand, Australia, the Middle East as well as Europe.
Keen to share her knowledge, she holds educational seminars on an annual basis and even
has the skeleton of one of her horses on display so people can truly see just how a horse
should be put together.
Jadem Arabians is also home, as you would expect with such a wide range of stallions at
the farm, to a world-class AI and breeding centre. Christine prides herself on the success
of this centre, which also does embryo transfer, and takes an active role in the day to
day running of the centre when she is at home.
As if she weren’t busy enough, Christine also runs the European Championships every
second year when it is held in Moorsele. “I just like to help people,” she says. “There is
something so rewarding about seeing peoples’ dreams come true, be it when they have a
much-longed for foal, when their horse does well in the show or when they meet and fall
in love with the Arabian horse for the first time. I ran a show here for 20 years to raise
money for local mental handicapped adults and at every event I do, I collect money for
them. The Arabian horse brings so much to people – I want to spread that love, that
feeling as much as I can. For me, that is what makes the world go round.”

Christine with the Triple Crown winner, Ekstern.

Christine with HRH Prince Khaled bin Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, owner of Al Khalediah Stud and Michael Byatt, with the stallion F Shamaal.