A Love Song for a Queen

Maar Bilahh died last week, on December 19th. She was 25 years old.

For me, it is like the most beautiful music no longer sounds as beautiful, it is as if the color blue has been completely erased from the sky, it is as if the flowers have lost all of their perfume and the honey has lost all of its' sweetness. It is as if the whole world suddenly has become gray.

COLORLESS.

Maar Bilahh is gone...forever.

The sweet-faced daughter of El Halimaar and Bint Nabilahh (Farasha's daughter, Nabilahh, produced Bint by the stallion *Morafic), Maar Bilahh was bred by the Cruz family of Rancho Bulakenyo and was purchased by Barbara Griffith of Imperial Egyptian Stud. In an interview with Nancy C. Ryan of Arabian Horse World, Jody Cruz said,

"...my father was able to buy some amazing horses, he bought a 'barren mare' named Bint Nabilahh for nearly nothing and when she arrived, she was pregnant by Shaikh Al Badi. We then bred her to our stallion, El Halimaar and she produced a filly named Maar Bilahh, who kind of won the world over."

She was an Egyptian Event Supreme Champion Mare, an East Cost Champion Mare, a Region 15 Champion Mare, a U.S. Top Ten Futurity Mare, an Israeli National Champion mare and a Middle East Reserve Champion mare.

"You're beautiful. You're beautiful.
You're beautiful, it's true.
I saw your face in a crowded place,
And I don't know what to do,
'Cause I'll never be with you.”-from the song, You’re Beautiful, written by James Blunt, Sacha Skarbek and Amanda Ghost

I wrote about Maar Bilahh in June of 2006:

A Really Sweet Treat

When she was sold to Ariela, I knew that I would never see her again and my heart broke, to think of it. I loved the mare very much and in my fantasy day-dreaming, I thought that I would be able to one day buy her. Already a successful broodmare at Imperial Egyptian Stud, the beautiful foals that Maar Bilahh would eventually produce in Israel, made her absence a little more tolerable. In America, she produced by Imperial Madheen, the stallion Imperial Mahzeer (who eventually became the herd sire for Al Nasser Stud in Qatar and sired Bint Saida El Nasser, the 2002 Reserve World Champion Mare at the Salon du Cheval) and the mare, Imperial Mahzeera who produced the full brother and sister by Imperial Al Kamar, the grey stallion, Badraan Al Majid and the bay mare, Medallela. Before being exported to Belgium, she also produced full siblings by *Simeon Sachi (Asfour x Simeon Sheba): Melissa Al Atiq and Mishaal Al Atiq. Also in America, by *Orashan, she produced the mare, Imperial Orbillah, who produced 3 stallions (MB Talmaar, MB Talman and MB Tamaal, all by the Amaal son, Talmaal) and MB Bilaza, a daughter by the Ruminaja Ali son, Anaza el Nizr. In Israel, by Imperial Imdal, she produced a daughter, Mar-Halla and two sons, Mahbub (2000 Israeli Reserve National Champion Stallion) and Muhajjal (1997 and 2000 Israeli Reserve National Champion Colt). The mare Mar-Halla has foaled two mares, Maar Silahh by El Thay Mashour (Madkour I x El Thay Bint Kamla) and Mar-Hiba by NK Hafid Jamil. Mar-Hiba has already produced a colt, Ibn Kamaahr by Kamaahr (Al Maraam x Imperial Kalatifa). By Al Maraam, she produced a son, Al Safir AA (who sired the successful stallion, Al Hakim) and by Al Ayad, she produced her last filly, Maar Miri AA, who is pictured with Maar Bilahh in the photo.

"Maybe I can go to Ariela Arabians in Israel and visit her?" were thoughts that crossed my mind, from time-to-time. Even though the reality of owning such a horse was not realistic, just knowing that she was alive and being a good mother to her babies was comforting. But now, she is really gone, forever and no matter what happens; even if I am able to go to Israel, I will never be able to see Maar Bilahh again. I will never see her at any gate, her left foreleg lifted in anticipation and her ears pricked forward, in anticipation of the human that was coming to visit her and shower her with affection. I will never be able to wrap my arms around her neck and squeeze her as hard as I could and hear the happy, little grunt that she made. I will never feel the weight of her head on my shoulder, as I proceeded to scratch her on her wither. She really loved people. If my jacket pocket was large enough, she would have jumped into it.

"Memory is a way of holding onto the things you love, the things you are, the things you never want to lose." -From the television show, The Wonder Years

The Queen is gone and she has taken a little piece of the hearts of all who knew and loved her. She was not a tall horse but yet, she had a lot of substance. In her company, the combination of her personality and her beautiful type was enchanting. The following photo of Maar Bilahh, as the Israeli National Champion mare, shows her in superb show condition (I want to remember her like this):

I wrote to Chen, as soon as I learned the news because I knew how much she loved Maar Bilahh and how sad she must feel over her death. If there was one person who would understand how I feel about Maar Bilahh, it would be Chen:

"...Now, her stall is empty and I have a big hole in my heart. I really miss this old lady. She had a part in my life for the last 15 years and was the horse who has been here the longest with me at Ariela Arabians. I'm doing my best to remember that she had very good life, always with the people who loved her."

Her legacy will continue, through her sons, daughters, grandsons and granddaughters, thanks to Ariela, who recognized the potential of this very special horse. Your presence made life so much better "Marbie" and while I will miss you, I know that you will live on in your progeny. They will keep your memory alive and remind the world what a special mare you were. And maybe, sometime in the near future, I will have "my own private Marbie" to love and cherish.

“Have you ever been in love? Horrible isn't it? It makes you so vulnerable. It opens your chest and it opens up your heart and it means that someone can get inside you and mess you up."-Neil Gaiman

Good-bye Maar Bilahh...it was very good to know you,
Ralph

The Black Pearl

"It is no more easy to make a good picture, than it is to find a diamond or a pearl."-Vincent van Gogh

In 1995, a rare black pearl was born. A son of Fa Asar (Ibn Fa-Serr x Serasabba) out of Mistianna (Fabo x Masada Saafaana) and raised by Mari Silveus of Sunnyru Farm, this black pearl was named Gurjani El Jilani. Now owned by Coralie Foulon Marcotte, of Sinoan Arabians, in France; Gurjani El Jilani is a straight Egyptian Arabian stallion, predominantly of Babson breeding.

STOP...LOOK...LISTEN

However, the unique and rare component which makes this horse so extremely interesting and prepotent, is the line to Hallany Mistanny, who is present in the pedigree of Gurjani El Jilani's dam, Mistianna. Hallany Mistanny was sired by *Zarife, a son of the mare, Mahroussa, who also produced *Fadl and *Maaroufa. Hallany Mistanny's dam, *Roda, is a daughter of Negma, who was the dam of this famous mare, Mahroussa. So, in Gurjani El Jillani, we have extraordinary hybrid-vigor present, concentrated in the much revered tail-female line of Bint Yamama, in multiple sources, which are different from the traditional Babson sources and hopefully, for the ability to capture and reproduce the beloved horses of Prince Mohammed Aly Tewfik.

ALL IN ONE HORSE!

France! What a wonderful opportunity you have, to bring back the romance of Manial! Congratulations Coralie, for the blessing which Mari has placed in your hands.

EnJoy your horses,
Ralph

Sacred Innocence

If I said that Princeton Faaris was a most precious horse; would you understand what I meant? I think some people would understand that Princeton Faaris was a horse of great value or a horse of great quality and refinement and maybe, a horse who was an outstanding sire, having reproduced his level of quality or better, in his offspring. Yes, Princeton Faaris was the embodiment of all these definitions but he was much, much more. His charisma, his magnetism, for those of us in love with Egyptian Arabian Horses, drew us to him. We searched for him, crossing mountains and rivers, because we wanted to be close to him, touch him, admire him. He was perfect and for many, he was their dream horse, come to life. We wanted to bask in his presence, warming our hearts and our souls with his inner beauty. Princeton Faaris was treasured by all of us, not only because he was beautiful, he was, but he also had this spiritual quality about him, whether his admirer knew it or not. He inspired us. He encouraged us. Long after seeing him, we wanted to have more like him, a piece of him, to bring back home and fill our lives with his presence, like a bright light to light a very dark room. For this reason, as hard-to-define as "it" was, he was most precious. His owner, Mari Silveus, said,

"He was THE most incredible horse I have ever known. One of the most incredible souls of any species. He was my horse-soul-mate. My once-in-a-lifetime horse. To tell you the truth, we were in love with each other.”

Princeton Faaris was born in 1977, a son of Faaris (Fa-Serr x *Maaroufa) and out of the black, Babson mare, Black Satin (Black Sambo x Diroufa), whose sire and dam were both son and daughter of the Babson mare, Biroufa (Khebir x Fay Roufa). Princeton Faaris was unique, as he was a grandson of *Maaroufa, forty-five years after she was imported to America and in fact, was line bred to her, carrying approximately 34.38% of her blood. He was bred by Gail Carmona of Princeton Arabians, Freehold, New Jersey and was later sold to Mari Silveus of Sunnyru Farm, then in Indiana, now in Georgia. He sired over 80 foals in his lifetime and was a leading sire of black-colored Arabians, including Blacklord Arabi, who in turn, has been a very successful sire of black-colored Arabian Horses.

One can see a picture of Princeton Faaris and sense the great sensitivity that the horse possessed and possibly, a very human-like intelligence. This sensitivity remains intensely electric, the energy oozing out of every pixel. I was immediately struck with his look, as I have never seen this look in a horse before. In a human, yes, but never in a horse. There is a boldness present but there was also a vulnerability in him, almost child-like and enough to cause a lump to form in my throat. This innocence, almost wild, is sacred and is a startling reminder to me, that there is so much happening in the natural world that I miss, as I live my too-busy life on my Blackberry. Mari tells me that he was always doing something, that he never stood still. Whether it was walking the fence line, watching over his mares or watching Mari through his stall window, Princeton Faaris kept himself busy. There was nothing that happened at Sunnyru Farm, without Princeton Faaris knowing about it first. Princeton Faaris was self-confident and he was bold, Mari says that he was full of himself, that he fully understood that he was a great horse, a king among kings. At Sunnyru Farm, the stallions were stabled next to each other, all seven of them, including Princeton Faaris. The barn was quiet, which is a testament to the effect that Princeton Faaris’ kingly presence had over all who encountered him, man or horse. When Princeton Faaris died, the barn was thrown into mayhem, as the quiet barn became a “noisy den of horses”.

How do you measure quality? I discussed this once with a friend, hoping to finally embrace this elusive and hard-to-define word. We finally decided that “quality” could be defined as "that extra-special something" in a horse, which you don’t necessarily see in many others. Yes, it is rare but when you see "it", you will never forget "it". And this "it" was Princeton Faaris. His coat color was a deep, intense bluish-black, almost as if he had an icy blue cast all over his body. His hair was very fine, almost like silk to the touch. People unfamiliar with Arabian Horses do remark about this quality, the first time they lay hands on a horse, however, in the case of Princeton Faaris, his coat was extra-soft, with the hair quality having this fineness that is extremely rare and not found in every Arabian. His bone was also fine, dense and flat and yet, as hard as hammered steel. You could see the bone structure in the horse and immediately recognize the quality of the bone. He had beautiful tail carriage, which accented his way of walking, which was similar to the walk of a panther. I guess with his jet black coat, thinking about black panthers, was only natural. His neck was longer, slender, nicely arched, with a very roomy throat-latch, large enough that a man’s fist would fit comfortably. On the lower side of his neck, he had a depression, like a divot in the skin, approximately the size of a thumbprint. In our community, we call this “the thumbprint of Allah” and only the most special horses are blessed by God with His thumbprint, as if God, when he created these horses, let His hand linger upon His work, admiring the horse He had just created.

Mari Silveus enjoyed a unique loving relationship with Princeton Faaris, on a level which most of us would like to experience with our own horses and possibly, we do not. He really loved Mari. When Mari was hurt once and needed to go to the hospital for medical attention, Princeton Faaris became very upset over her absence. He refused to eat and paced in his stall, throwing his weight around the space to indicate how unhappy he was. He was not sick but it was obvious to his care-takers that the horse was extremely upset. When Mari returned home, Princeton Faaris was in his pasture and as she walked towards the gate, he saw her, collected himself and galloping full speed towards her, he ran to the gate, to welcome her home. He could not get to the gate fast enough to see the person whom he most loved in the world. He started eating again and stopped pacing. He stopped throwing himself against everything, His girl was home and all was good again.

Princeton Faaris lived a good life, a long and happy life with Mari. One of the most touching moments, which underscores the love that both Princeton Faaris and Mari felt for each other, occurred when Princeton Faaris was buried. Mari asked the bulldozer operator to lower her into the grave he had dug, for one last good-bye. In this moment of overwhelming grief, Mari cut one side of her long, blond hair and wove it into his mane. One last kiss, one last hug, one last gesture to remind each other that even in death, nothing could separate this horse and this woman...they will be together forever.

"I love thee, I love but thee
With a love that shall not die
Till the sun grows cold,
And the stars grow old..."-Bayard Taylor

What must it feel like to have been loved like this?

EnJoy your horses,
Ralph