"I don't know what it is, or rather, I
don't know how to put into words that indescribable air of distinction
which marks the horses and mares of Ali Pasha Sherif's, or rather I
would say of Abbas Pasha breeds…So it is, however, the movement one sees
other horses beside them -
when moving one sees the style of the
Abbas Pasha collection." Are the words that Lady Anne Blunt used to
describe the horses she saw and later bought in Egypt, after founding
the Crabbet Arabian Stud in the late 1800's.
After traveling the
deserts of the Arabian Peninsula and purchasing horses from the Anazeh,
amongst other Bedouin tribes, the superiority of the Abbas Pasha/Ali
Pasha Sherif bred horses was admired by the Blunts and incorporated into
Crabbet Park. Their daughter, Judith Blunt (Lady Wentworth) loved to
recount the merits of horses like Mesaoud, who by 1938, had over 100
champion descendants including 2 world champions, 5 long distance race
winners, and winners of many races overseas. He was a celebrated Sheykh
Obeyd horse!
The Arabian Horses of Egypt have a long and
unprecedented history of strength, courage, and physical might. Without
these horses, much of recorded history would not have been the same. In
the time period before Christ, the Pharaohs and particularly during the
reign of Thutmose, armies mounted on Egyptian horses, drove out invading
armies like the Hyksos and the Hittites, established empires, helping
Egyptian civilization to prevail into Palestine and Syria, extending as
far as the Euphrates. King Solomon, enamored with the horse of Egypt,
had a celebrated stud of horses, which led his chronicler, to record:
"These horses also were much exercised in order to their making a fine
appearance, and running swiftly, that no other could upon the comparison
appear either finer or swifter, but they are at once the most beautiful
of all others, and their swiftness was incomparable also."
The
use of the Arabian Horse as a warhorse flourished throughout these times
and far into the future, giving prowess to the Mamelukes who dominated
much of the Middle East, including Egypt, from mid 800 AD to 1800 AD.
Superb horseman, their skills were made even more overwhelming, a direct
result of the superior athletic abilities inherent in their horses.
Their ability to train horses for battle, to squeeze out of their horses
the ultimate responsiveness, leaving their hands free for the use of
weapons made them more formidable warriors, than they ever could be on
foot. Without the intelligence, the endurance, the confidence that comes
from courage, the tractability of their temperament, much of the world
would not have recognized and thereby record, the superb horsemanship
skills of these Mameluke warriors.
It would only be natural that the very
qualities that made the Egyptian Horse a formidable warhorse, would also
make him a horse well suited for sport. From the times of Mohammed Ali
the Great to the present, the Egyptian Arabian Horse is favored as an
endurance mount and also as a racehorse. The Sheykh Obeyd bloodlines
have been especially influential within the blood of Egyptian Arabian
Horses. While this article is not an exhaustive study of racing
bloodlines, the athletic ability of the Sheykh Obeyd Arabian as a
racehorse is significant and the records of the following horses reflect
the superior athletic capabilities of these bloodlines. Aiglon, the
sire of *Exochorda, raced from 1914 to 1921, a total of 41 races,
winning 6 and retiring sound. Ibn Rabdan (Rabdan x Bint Gamila) in 1919
ran 16 races, wining 4 times. Nabras raced in 1924 until 1929, running
in 14 races, winning 6. He sired Komeira, out of Layla, a swift running
mare that raced 17 times, winning 3 of those races. *Nasr (Rabdan x Bint
Yamama) ran 12 races from 1923 through 1924, winning 2 of them. His son
out of Bint Obeya, Ibn Manial, raced 3 times in 1933 and won one of the
races. Nazeer (Mansour x Bint Samiha) raced from 1937 to 1939, a total
of 20 races, winning 3 of them. Alaa El Din (Nazeer x Kateefa) ran 6
races in the 1960-61 race season winning 1 race. Ibn Bukra (Nazeer x
Bukra) ran 12 races in 1961 and won three. Talal (Nazeer x Zaafarana),
racing under the name "Goni Boy" ran 44 races from 1960 through 1964
winning 6 races. However, the most famous Sheykh Obeyd racehorse of all
time, Balance (Ibn Samhan x Farida), ran from 1932 until 1934, a total
of 17 races and winning 14 times! In the races that he lost, he placed
second twice and third. Balance also sired Amlam, out of the racing mare
Komeira, who raced from 1949 until 1952, a total of 5 races, winning 3
of them, and like his father, in the races that he lost, he placed
second and third.
The ability of the Sheykh Obeyd horse to gallop
and endure over long distances was developed over time, proven on the
battlefield and tested on the racetrack. Ultimately, these abilities
would prove useful in the sport of endurance racing, where horses are
challenged both physically and mentally. Sheykh Obeyd horses, when given
the opportunity to participate, have successfully met the challenges.
*Fadl and *Bint Bint Sabbah, both sired by Ibn Rabdan and out of
Mahroussa, participated in 100 mile rides, with the mare, journalized
for her achievements in May of 1937 in The Arab Horse. The following was
written about her: "The third prize winner, the Arab mare, *Bint Bint
Sabbah emerged a heroine. Weighing little more than 800 pounds, she
carried 189 pounds, finishing the half distance in 1 hour 16 minutes in
the mud, and walking the second lap so as not to finish ahead of the 3-hour
minimum. Her head and tail were always up and she never took a deep
breath." *Bint Bint Durra (Ibn Rabdan x Bint Durra) also competed in
endurance, finishing the Vermont trail ride in perfect condition. One of
the most famous endurance horses was a Doyle bred mare, the 1956 mare
Bint Gulida (Ghadaf x Gulida). She went on to establish an endurance
dynasty of her own, producing Cougar Rock. Another successful Doyle bred
horse is Blarney (Ibn Gulida x Bint Ghadaf), the 1980 US Top Ten
Purebred Endurance Arabian.
Lothar (*Fadl x Habba) and Saafaddan (Faddan x Saaba), both under the capable hands of Linda Tellington-Jones,
were top endurance winners, before becoming herd sires for Walter
Schimanski. Drkumo RSI (Dymoniet RSI x Kumoniet RSI) is a contemporary
endurance champion, having won the 1996 AERC National Jim Jones Stallion
Award, the 1997 AERC Top Ten Jim Jones Award, and the 1997 Pioneer
Award Winner for heavyweight rider.
In America, we have taken the
harsh conditions that have fashioned the Sheykh Obeyd Horse into an
ultimate warhorse, racehorse, and endurance mount and crafted these
qualities to create a show horse supreme. No show horse list would be
complete without first mentioning the most famous Sheykh Obeyd Dressage
horse of all time, Serr Maariner (Ibn Fa Serr x Maarena). This horse was
successful at a period of time, when Dressage was not one of the
largest growing disciplines in the IAHA and when Arabian Horses were
exceedingly rare in the open divisions. A United States National
Champion in Second, Third, Fourth Level, and the first Arabian ever to
win a USDF Gold Medal (for which he won at one of the highest levels,
Prix St George). He was also the USDF horse of the year, the
AHSA/Insilico region 2 Horse of the year, and the Eastern States
Dressage Champion for second and third level. Another successful
dressage horse, Ibn Sabbah Bedu+ (Serabaar x Shar Sabbah), is a 2001
Scottsdale Prix St. Georges Reserve Champion and 1997 US National Top
Ten Winner in Second and Third level. In 1998 Sabbah was the Region VII
Reserve Champion at Third Level and the Purebred Working Hunter Champion
in Scottsdale. Although not shown, *Rashad Ibn Nazeer was schooled in
dressage by Colonel Hans Handler, a former director of the Spanish
Riding School.
The show ring wins of many Sheykh Obeyd horses
are numerous. In the 1950's, the beautiful show mare, El Maar (Fay el
Dine x Maaroufa) dominated the show rings with her type and balance.
Fabah (Fadl x *Bint Bint Sabbah) met with tremendous success in the show
ring and passed on his performance abilities to his son, Hadbah, out of
Fa Deene, who won many championships for his owners, Anchor Hill Farm.
The Hadbah son, out of Silima, Anchor Hill Halim was a successful multi-champion
stallion in Germany, and a winning endurance horse. The 60's and 70's
ushered in an Egyptian explosion in the United States, as the ethereal
beauty of the imported Egyptian horses captivated people. As these
horses made their way into the show ring, the horses of Sheykh Obeyd
bloodlines were among the stars. One of the most successful Sheykh Obeyd
performance show mares was the lovely and talented *Bint Maisa El
Saghira, not only a top ten halter winner in 1965 but also in the same
year, scored top ten wins in English Pleasure and Park. In 1968, the
talented Sirecho son, Joramir, out of Fad Roufa, won a National Top Ten
in English Pleasure and Native Costume, the crowning achievements to a
career that included 20 Class A championships in halter and performance.
The gray Babson stallion, Roufas (Fa Serr x Aaroufa) was a 1974 Reserve
National Champion English Pleasure Champion and also a top ten winner
in Park and Formal Driving. As a matter of fact, Bentwood Farms took the
Babson mares Maarena, Roufah, Aarouser, Ahroufa, and Bint Aaroufa and
successfully campaigned these mares to championship wins. Bint Aaroufa,
the most successful performance mare of the group, went Top Ten Park.
*Ansata Ibn Halima, the beautiful Nazeer son out of Halima, imported by
Ansata Arabian Stud, was the winner of many championships in Park and
English Pleasure, in addition to his National Halter top tens. *Ansata
Ibn Halima is the only Sheykh Obeyd stallion to sire both a National
Champion stallion, mare and 14 other national winners. His beautiful
daughter out of Sabrah, Fa Halima, inherited her father's good looks and
even disposition and used these qualities to win 1980 US National
Champion Mare, in addition to Reserve Champion wins in Canada and at the
Salon Du Cheval in Paris.
The *Ansata Ibn Halima son out of
Allah Ateyyah, Ra'adin Inshalla, was also a frequent English Pleasure
champion like his father, in addition to his halter wins. *Moftakhar
(Enzahi x Kateefa) a successful racehorse in Egypt, was imported to
America, and was shown to multiple championships in Native Costume,
English Pleasure, Western Pleasure, and Driving. Owned by Gleannloch
Farms, his beauty changed the course of breeding and inspired Gleannloch
to import horses, which would play a significant role in the
development of Egyptian breeding, including 19 Sheykh Obeyd horses. The
mare *Dawlat (Antar x Shahrzada) was one of these 19 horses and was an
English Pleasure champion and the dam of the successful racehorse, Asjah
Ibn Faleh. Unfortunately, her blood is no longer available in Sheykh
Obeyd. *Talal, a proven racehorse in Egypt came to America and started a
new career as a premier show horse, winning Scottsdale Reserve Champion
Stallion and US National Top Ten Stallion.
In many backyards, in many a quiet barn,
resides a horse of Sheykh Obeyd bloodlines that does not win ribbons,
trophies, or National titles. Always a beautiful horse, the Sheykh Obeyd
horse waits patiently for his owner, his friend, his companion. This is
the horse that meets any challenges that his owner encounters on an
impromptu ride through field or forest. This is the horse that can
courageously take a three or four foot jump, cross through any amount of
water, attend a weekly riding lesson with his owner, who only wishes to
improve her seat and ride her horse better, in the quiet moments of her
life. This Sheykh Obeyd horse becomes increasingly important in a world
of deadlines, budget cutbacks, missed school buses, orthodontic
appointments, overtime and frequent grocery trips. This is the
confidante that knows well the salt in our tears and the fast beat of a
heart that is hidden within a laugh. This is the consoling friend who
welcomes his owner with a nicker of recognition and rests his head on
the shoulder of a friend, at a time when it is needed most. This is the
companion that helps us to manage our lives better in an unreasonable
world. And this is the trusted friend that day in and day out, is the
hero of our lives.
Whatever your discipline, whatever your choice
for pleasure on the back of a horse, there is an athletic Sheykh Obeyd
horse waiting for you! Whether you value speed, courage, agility,
kindness, intelligence, consistency….or just a companion that you can
trust and depend on, you will find these qualities wrapped in the utter
and absolute beauty of a Sheykh Obeyd Horse.
** I wrote this piece for the Sheykh Obeyd Foundation International in 2001. The essay appears at the SOFI website: www.sheykhobeyd.org
.
The horse pictured is Serr Maariner (Ibn Fa Serr x Maarena) with Gail Hoff-Carmona astride.