By day, Tom Oben works for a printing factory in
Belgium where he is an electro mechanic. Come the
weekend, however, he will be found at one of the many
shows on the European Arabian horse circuit, handling
his own horses and those belonging to a selected
number of clients. At 23, Tom already has a wealth of
experience behind him and he is one of the most
popular young handlers on today’s showing circuit.
Talking to The Arabian Magazine, Tom talks about his
love for the Arabian horse and why he thinks of
himself as a national handler rather than a
professional.
“I left school at the age of 18,” grins Tom. “I had
been studying electro mechanics, but I left so I could
work for James Swaenepoel of Swatam Arabians where I
stayed for almost four seasons. During that time, I
spent three months working at the Midwest Training
Center in the US. It’s fair to say I have an all-round
experience of horses!”
One could be forgiven for thinking that Tom may have
only been in the Arabian horse scene for five years,
but the truth is that he was born into an Arabian
horse family. “From the day I was born, my father has
had Arabians. He started with part-bred Arabians and
in 1988, he bought his first pure-bred, Kings Court
Tarab, a Plakat** grandson of mixed bloodlines. I
always joined them at the shows and people were used
to seeing me in the collecting ring, looking at the
horses and watching what the handlers were doing. I
guess you could say I was a handler in waiting!”
Tom was given his first horse when he was seven years
old, a Welsh Section B pony called Bo’ke. It was a few
years later, when he was too big to ride her, that he
decided that riding wasn’t for him and that, instead,
he would like to show the Arabian horses at halter.
“My first halter show was in 1996,” recalls Tom. “It
was at the Belgium National Championships, held at
Christine Jamar’s farm in Balen, and I showed TS
Aphrodite. We were third in the class and that was it,
I was hooked. From that moment on, I knew that this
was what I wanted to do and, 11 years later, the
passion I have for showing is as strong as ever.”
As he was based in Belgium, it was almost natural for
Tom to start grooming for the then newly-opened
European Training Center (ETC) run by Johanna Ullström
and Philippe Hosay. Every weekend and during school
holidays, Tom would go either to the ETC or attend
shows with them, helping to prepare horses for the
show-ring.
“That was a great time,” says Tom. “While I was at the
ETC, I learned so much including basic conditioning
and schooling of the horses, new systems and
techniques and general grooming as well as detailed
clipping. After I left Swatam Arabians, Johanna and
Philippe asked me to become part of their team as an
assistant trainer. I was with them for two show
seasons and it was then that I met my girlfriend,
Eline, and decided to work for myself.”
Tom is quite clear on his role in the Arabian horse
world: “I call myself a national handler, rather than
a professional handler. I don’t think that I would
like to be a full-time professional handler because
there are lots of costs involved, you are always
having to search for horses and you need your own
facility, which we just don’t have. Also, there are
too many full-time trainers in Belgium! I like to
spend time working on the horses I own with my family
although, that said, I do enjoy showing horses for the
few selected clients that we have at the moment.”
With Eline (Raes), Tom owns five horses. These include
the Straight Egyptian Shahim Al Nakeeb (NK Hafid Jamil
x Shameerah), a three-year-old colt whom Tom and Eline
have high hopes of. “We have decided to focus on
Straight Egyptian bloodlines as we prefer those,”
explains Eline. “But that said, we are open to other
influences. We are only a small stud and we plan to
breed just one foal a year. Whether we keep to that
remains to be seen!”
Of Tom and Eline’s other horses, they have Rawaat
Ezzain (Ansata Almurtajiz x SEA Nazooka), who is
leased to Al Nakeeb Arabians in the UK for the 2008
breeding season. They also have the mare NA Joy (Warandes
Plakat** x Hamira), who is in foal to Marwan Al Shaqab*
for a 2008 foal and is owned in partnership with their
good friend, Axel Somers. Tom and Eline have also
leased VD Ethni (Ansata Sinan*** x Mel Quebria) to
breed a foal with from Memphis 27. VD Ethni is
currently in foal to Tom and Eline’s stallion, Shahim,
for her owners, the Hensen-Schoefs family of Belgium.
As well as these horses, Tom and Eline have also bred
some horses, owning two generations of the same
family. “We bought Rawaat Ezzain from Usamah Alkazemi
of Kuwait when she was in foal to NK Hafid Jamil (Ibn
Nedjy x Helala),” says Tom. “The resulting foal was
Ra’hidah, who won the Reserve Foal Championship at
both the Egyptian Event Europe and the Egyptian Event
in Brecht, Belgium.
“Rawaat was the first mare that our colt, Shahim,
could breed to and the resulting foal was Ra’jwa, who
will definitely be shown in the near future. We are
very excited by the qualities and bloodlines of our
horses and have high expectations for our breeding
programme.
Such is Tom and Eline’s commitment to the Egyptian
Arabian that they are both on the
organising
committee for the 2007 Egyptian Event Europe (EEE),
which will take place on 4 and 5 August at Slot
Pietersheim Lanaken, Belgium. “Eline is a great asset
for the EEE team,” says Tom. “The show is being run by
my family and the Bielen family on behalf of the
Pyramid Society Europe and without Eline, I think we
would struggle on the organising front! She is a great
help.”
Tom and Eline have been together for three years and
Eline, also 23, competes in dressage with some of the
clients’ Arabian horses. “Eline is my second hand at
the shows and a big help. We have the same goals and
the same plans. I was invited to be the farm manager
of the new Dubai Arabian Stud, but I couldn’t leave my
normal life here in Belgium, nor could I leave my
relationship with Eline.
“I know that I will have plenty of opportunities to
travel. I have already helped Rhodri Jones with his
horses during the shows, both here in Europe and in
the UK, and I have also worked for Martine and Paul
Despeghel of Dion Arabians. Going further afield, I
have worked conditioning and showing horses for
Shomookh Al Mezaeed of Egypt at the International B
show in El Zahraa. I don’t think that turning down the
Dubai job was necessarily a bad thing.”
Tom already has enjoyed much success in the show-ring
to date. Asked on his major wins so far, he pauses
before answering: “AS Natsir-Apal**** (Ibn Estasha** x
Saskia RJ), who I took to the Belgian National
Champion Stallion title just before he was exported to
the UAE. I’d also select Lady Psyche (Psytadel** x
Ibara), who I showed to two National Championships. I
had the pleasure of showing El Amin* (Psytadel** x RA
Cool Elygance) to the Junior Champion Colt title when
he was a yearling as well as his half-sister, Psity of
Angels (ex Nathanya), whom I took to the European Foal
Championship and the Junior National Champion Filly
title.
“One of my biggest wins was with TS Gradadell (Psytadel*
x Amoraya), owned and bred by the Oben family. He was
the first horse that could beat Nijem Ibn Eternity VI*
(by Eternity Ibn Navarrone-D***) and I showed him as a
yearling at the Belgium Nationals, where he took the
Reserve Junior Champion Male title against very strong
competition. I must also mention my win last year with
the Psytadel** colt, Al Zafir de Croissart. We won the
foal title together at the 2006 European
Championships, beating the Belgium National and
Borgloon Champion Foal Hypnotic Ibn Eternity, also
part of the famous Eternity family. These are moments
which I will treasure for the rest of my life.
As to the future, Tom hopes that things continue in
the same vein. “Eline works as a speech therapist and
is at the beginning of her career. For me, I like my
work and I spend my out of work hours training horses
at home.
“I would also like to restart my career as a football
player. When I was younger, I used to play at a very
high level, but then I had to choose between the
football and the horses. I miss playing football, but
I do enjoy my life with the Arabians. Maybe that will
change one day?
“Finally, my biggest aim is to make the EEE as good as
possible and to continue to organise the event in
future years. I think it is good to do something which
people can enjoy!”
text by Samantha Mattocks / The Arabian Magazine
