11 December, 2010

A Rasin


"King Ibn Sa'ud gave several choice mares to King Farouk which nicked well with the Egyptian stallions of the Inshass Stud. A significant number of post-war Egyptian imports carry the blood of King Saud's breeding program, usually through the mares El Kahila, Nafaa, Hind (Inshass) and Mabrouka (Inshass)."-Joe Ferriss
A Rasin was bred by Peter Stoessel, is seven years old, a National Reserve Champion and he is a younger, full brother to European Reserve Champion Ramino, who has been exported to the middle east. A Rasin has been standing at stud with Lutz Gadow and Susanne Carolin Fernhomberg, of Stud Haterbusch, Geseke, Germany, since the beginning of 2010.

A Rasin is sired by Zandai Aqir, who is a son of Ansata Omar Halim (a full brother of the great Ansata Halim Shah) and out of  the beautiful *Jamil daughter, Ansata Exotica. Zandai Aqir is double Ansata Rosetta, tracing through both tail female lines, to the important foundation mare, Bukra. On this side of the pedigree, he also has three crosses to the wonderful mare Farida, twice through *Ansata Ibn Halima and once through Moheba.

However, it is through A Rasin's dam that the pedigree of this stallion becomes so interesting. A Rasin's dam is Egyptian Rabia, a Ruminaja Ali daughter out of Bint Sahrah, a daughter of The Egyptian Prince. Bint Sahrah traces through her dam, the Zaghloul daughter, Sahrah to the Sid Abouhom grand-daughter, Sooma to Thouraya I to the Saqlawiyah strain mare, Ghazalah, an Om Dalal grand-daughter, representing the breeding program of Prince Mohamed Aly Tewfik. What really makes this pedigree even more interesting is something else. It's the mare Rayana, Thouraya's dam.  Rayana,  is sired by Ezzat, a grandson of the mare El Kahila, one of the Sa'ud mares bred by King Ibn Saud and gifted to King Farouk of Egypt.

YES! THE SAME KING IBN SA'UD WHO ALSO BRED *TURFA.

But it even gets more interesting.

 MORE INTERESTING????

Yes, Thouraya's sire is the EAO stallion, El Sareei, a horse who traces to the Bahraini mare, Bint el Bahreyn in his tail female line through his dam, the Kazmeen daughter, Zareefa. So, here we have one horse, A Rasin, with a vibrant pedigree, with very close-up, very authentic Bedouin-breeding and he is a straight Egyptian.

I love the rounded lines of this horse. WOW! I can tell that Ibn Rabdan is well-represented in A Rasin's pedigree. His whole body is delightfully curvey, one rounded line flowing into another. He is harmonious and smooth of body.  That's the influence of the mare, Farida. And I wonder if you noticed how substantially built A Rasin is? He has a nice, wide, big chest, well muscled shoulders, a nice forearm, balanced by a very strong hind end. I really love the scope of this horse. And yet, for all of his strength, he is elegant and refined, accentuated by heavily pigmented, dark, fine skin. His eyes are large, deeply black, with a very nice, rounded shape. He has beautiful ears, smaller with a nice shape and his nostrils are finely-shaped, large and elastic.

Look at his jowl. Look at the sculpted look to his face. The prominence of the tear bones and the definition of the veins. He has that classic, dry, deserty-look about him, which is no surprise, as we know from studying his pedigree that he has the blood of the Nejd flowing through his veins. From the harsh environment of the desert, the most precious of all Arabian horses was born...the horse of the angels, the horse of the south.

EnJoy,
Ralph

PS-I must give credit to DAYAN, for the full body photo of A Rasin and to Mr. Sven Hannes, who took the portraits of A Rasin.

10 December, 2010

Rodania


The desert-bred mare, Rodania is an extremely vital mare in straight Egyptian breeding, maybe one of the most important horses in our community. Think of Egyptian horses like Alaa el Din, *Serenity Sonbolah, Al Adeed Al Shaqab, Imperial Imdal and Lancers Asmara, in order to understand how many of our most beloved horses carry the influence of Rodania in their pedigree. She is everywhere.

I found the above portrait, as painted by the wonderful artist and Arabian Horse authority, Peter Upton. Somehow, he managed to capture her beauty forever, so that people like me, would know how beautiful Rodania was. I am grateful for Peter Upton's talent, which has made it possible to pass great gifts, like the painting of Rodania, onto us. No matter what I am facing, within the course of a day, one look at this portrait and I am vividly reminded of the extraordinary beauty which does exist in our world. We just need to search for it..all the time.
"The ideal Arabian type is recognizable at sight to the experienced horseman and novice alike. It falls short of the ideal if it reminds one of another horse or breed. It falls short of the ideal if it is so plain and uncertain of type as to require a sign: 'This is an Arabian horse.'  It falls short of the ideal if it is so coarse and masculine as to remind one of a small Percheron, at one extreme, or so highly animated and elf-like as to remind one of a gazelle at the other extreme. The ideal type stands out alone. You know it immediately when you see it."-Ben Hur, from his 1951 Western Horseman article, Type in the Arab
Rodania is a Kuhaylah Rodaniyah, bred by the Ruala tribe of the Anazeh Bedouins.  Rodania was captured by Tais Ibn Sharban of the Saba'ah tribe, from Sheikh Sattam Ibn Shalan in 1880. Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt eventually purchased the mare from Tais Ibn Sharban and imported Rodania to their Crabbet Park Stud in England, circa 1881. Rodania is present in Egyptian breeding primarily through the family that her daughter Rose of Sharon founded. Rose of Sharon was a daughter of the desert-bred stallion, Hadban. She in turn, was bred to the Ali Pasha Sherif stallion, Merzuk and produced the mare Ridaa. When Ridaa was bred to the Ali Pasha Sherif stallion named Mesaoud, she produced the mare Risala. Risala's daughter by Ibn Yashmak, Bint Risala (a great-great grand-daughter of Rodania) is one of the two Rodania descendants incorporated into the RAS breeding program, which eventually became the EAO, as we know it today. The other Rodania descendant was Bint Riyala, a daughter of the Mesaoud son, Nadir and Riyala, a Ridaa daughter by *Astraled, who is an interesting horse, as his dam, Queen of Sheba, like Rodania, was a coveted mare in the desert and was also a prize of war. Rodania underscores the significance that the Blunts would ultimately have upon modern Arabian Horse breeding,

forever.

It is their sacrifices, their diligence, their dedication which makes any of this possible, so many years after they lived on earth.  Would we even be talking about these beautiful horses, if the Blunts did not exist? In this one instance of Rodania, Egyptian breeding would be far different without her.

EnJoy your horses,
Ralph

07 December, 2010

'Tis the Season: King Ibn Saud's Gift

"You gave your love away, and I'm thankful every day, for the gift."-Tom Douglas & Jim Brickman, from their song, The Gift
Seventy-three years ago, in December of 1937, *Turfa and three other horses (along with four camels) stepped off a ship named "Mantola", which was docked at the Royal Albert Docks in London and were presented by King Ibn Sa'ud as a coronation gift to George VI, the new King of England. They had traveled a long way from their home in Central Arabia, in the Nejd.

We know about *Turfa but who were the other three horses?

Above is a picture of the stallion, Manak. A 1928 chestnut stallion, who was reported in the Arab Horse Society (UK) news as,
"of exceptional quality, very masculine in type, with good bone, strong loins, quarters and hocks. He is a fine mover and carries his head and 'flag' like an artistocrat. He is a horse of perfect temperament and can be ridden by a child."
 Shortly after his arrival, Manak traveled to Upend Stud in Newmarket, the farm belonging to Colonel Anderson.

The three year old colt, Kasim, was a bay-colored horse and a little taller than Manak, at 14.3 hands. Although the AHS feature reports that he was of good quality and a nice mover, the news also says that he was rather backward. I know that desert horses take longer to fully mature, as compared to other breeds of horses and I imagine that Kasim had not yet fully grown into all his parts. Kasim went to Nant Fawr Stud in South Wales, the farm belonging at the time, to Mr. D. E. Neale.

The last horse who was part of the coronation gift was actually a proven broodmare. Her name was Faras. She was a 1927 bay-colored mare, who had produced offspring famed for their speed and endurance. The AHS news said of her,
"...of exceptional quality and hard bone. She has an ideal Arabian head and carries her tail well."
Manak was bred to the Bahraini mare, Nuhra, yielding 3 fillies: Nurmahal in 1943, Taj Mahal in 1945 and Nurmana in 1946. I found it interesting that Manak was bred to this mare. She was a gift, given by the Sheikh of Bahrain to the Earl of Athlone. In the same AHS news article which reported the Coronation gift horses; mention was also made of a visit that the Earl of Athlone and Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, made to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Nuhra was one of two horses gifted to the royal couple, by the Sheikh of Bahrain. Nuhra was sired by a Kuhaylan Jellabi stallion, out of a Kuhaylah al' Wadhna, from where she received her original Amiri name of Wadhna.

I am amazed over the generosity of King Ibn Sa'ud, in sending his very best horses, representing his skill, his wisdom and his talents as a breeder of the finest Arabian horses. I wonder over all the horses he bred and raised in the Nejd. What were they like? What did they look like? I wonder over their beauty and of the unique characteristics which made the Nejd horse so revered, for all the people who were blessed with the opportunity to see them. 

In the last decade, only seven Babson-Turfa horses were produced. Six of these horses were females and five of them were sired by the same Babson sire. A reduced breeding population, on the verge of disappearing, makes me desirous to repay the King for his long-ago kindness, in allowing a treasure like *Turfa to leave her home forever and insuring that her valuable pedigree would continue far into the future, waiting to be discovered, "un-wrapped" and cherished by someone like me, in love with these extraordinary horses.

***you can read this article and others I have written within The Arabian Breeders' Magazine, Volume I, Issue III***

19 November, 2010

The Story of *Orashan

I met *Orashan many times, as I had the good fortune to live reasonably close to Imperial Egyptian Stud in Parkton, Maryland. I saw *Orashan as a young horse, in the show ring as a champion and as a mature breeding stallion. Eileen Verdieck, then the trainer and farm manager at Imperial Egyptian Stud, had been looking for a new stallion for the Imperial breeding program. She saw many horses all over the world, thought she had come close to finding this individual, only to realize that the horse that she sought after, was much harder to find. The task was especially difficult, as Imperial had assembled a collection of broodmares who were unrivaled for their beauty and for their genetic strength. Who could be worthy enough to cross with these mares? In an article published in the December 2001 issue of Arabian Horse World, Barbara Griffith shared the following with Honi Roberts,
"In truth, every one of Imperial's leading ladies have been hand-picked and held to the highest standards-a necessity in breeding programs, large or small. I believe the mare's contribution to her foal to be at least 60 percent, so she is extremely important. I've bred or purchased mares that I felt would be good crosses with Imperial stallions, and I've bred or purchased stallions specifically for select mares."
It was time for something different; something that would stretch the influence of Imperial, far beyond the lush pastures of Maryland. In Germany, Eileen saw the elite stallion Messaoud (Madkour x Maymoonah) and immediately recognized the horse that she saw in her mind's eye. Messaoud was one of those rare horses who equally sired great sons and great daughters. Messaoud was the horse that Eileen wanted to bring back to America. Bred by Gunther Seidlitz and owned by Erika Rudolph, Messaoud was not for sale at any price. So, Eileen, searched for a Messaoud son, who could help Imperial to produce classically typey horses, with the size and with the good mind and functional conformation to be competitive in the American Show Ring. Eileen found the colt she was looking for at Maiworm Stud and brought *Orashan to America.

In Maryland, the young horse prospered under Eileen's care. Soon, he blossomed into a beautiful Arabian stallion, with a body that spoke volumes of all he could accomplish with the proper training and development. He had a charming personality and a fabulous mind. Loving of people, curious and friendly, he is the ideal representative of the Bedouin tent horse. If your pocket was large enough, *Orashan would crawl in and make himself comfortable, happy to find himself snug and warm, very close to the humans he loved. He is a most lovable horse and a true friend, willing, kind and generous to try anything that is asked of him. *Orashan won in many Class A arenas, including Scottsdale, Arizona, which finally led him to the main ring of the US and Canadian National Championships. He was a top ten halter stallion in both countries, as well as a top ten champion under saddle in Canada. *Orashan also competed in harness at the Regional and Class A Level. There have not been many Egyptian stallions who have demonstrated the level of versatility that *Orashan easily achieved.

As great an athlete as *Orashan was; *Orashan was also an exceptional sire, which was especially evident as his daughters matured and started producing foals of their own. In an article written by Nancy Ryan, about Imperial Egyptian Stud, in the February 2005 issue of Arabian Horse World, Barbara Griffith shared:
"But perhaps *Orashan's greatest contribution is his ability as one of the great Egyptian Arabian broodmare sires. Many of his 150 foals have become Regional and National Champions. We are fortunate to have *Orashan daughters, grand-daughters and of course, his grandson Imperial Baarez to carry on his legacy."
His most famous daughter, BB Ora Kalilah, out of the mare PH Safina produced the ultimate Arabian Horse, Imperial Baarez by PVA Karim. BB Ora Kalilah also produced the lovely mares: Imperial Kabisah, Imperial Kahleen and Imperial Bint Kalilah (bred to Thee Desperado, Imperial Bint Kalilah produced an awesome bay stallion, the late Desperados Getaway). Also, the *Orashan daughter, Imperial Orianah, produced the stallion Imperial Madori by Imperial Madheen. This stallion sired one of the most powerfully dramatic Egyptian mares of all time, Gelgelah Albadeia.

*Orashan was an incredibly special horse. Why do some stallions become better sires of daughters than sons? *Orashan's dam was the mare Ora (Ibn Shaker I x Omera). This mare, in her tail female line, traces to the Bahraini mare, Bint el Bahreyn, whom we also find in the tail female line of horses like El Sareei and *Bint Maisa el Saghira. Ora, combined with Messaoud intensifies the influence of the Kazmeen sired Zareefa, who appears 5 times in the pedigree of *Orashan: twice through the stallion El Sareei and through the Zareefa daughters: Maisa, Bint Zareefa and Elwya. The Shaloul son, El Sareei, a crucially important horse for the EAO, sired mares who figured prominently in Egyptian breeding. His daughters included the mares Bint Nefisa, Malacha, Mohga, Amani, Salomy to name a few. It is very interesting to observe how *Orashan, with more opportunities or rather a greater number of mares bred (as compared to the number of mares El Sareei bred) has produced mares who have become critical foundation horses in other programs, all over the world. I want to stop myself short when I think of El Sareei and possibly a genetic connection that was made, when the blood of his dam was intensified in *Orashan's pedigree, giving him the "El Sareei-ability" to sire such high quality daughters. Fact or Fiction?

The tail female line of Messaoud traces to the Halima daughter, Moheba and ultimately traces to the Damah Shahwaniyah mare, Farida. This is the same tail-female line of the classic stallion, *Ansata Ibn Halima. *Orashan is a second generation, pure-in-the-strain Dahman Shahwan horse, as both his sire and dam are also pure-in-the-strain Dahman horses.

Looking back at the 30+ year history of Imperial Egyptian Stud, two stallions emerge as hugely influential horses. One was *Ibn Safinaz and the other was *Orashan. In the same article written by Nancy Ryan, in the February 2005 issue of Arabian Horse World, Barbara Griffith offered the following:
"Orashan's contribution to the Imperial breeding program can never be overestimated..."
I also find it extremely interesting that *Ibn Safinaz was sired by Seef, a son of the mare Elwya, the same mare that is present in the tail female line of *Orashan's pedigree. Were there any horses produced, combining the blood of these two stallions? The *Ibn Safinaz daughter, Imperial Sahleen is out of Imperial Kahleen, an Imperial Al Kamar daughter, out of BB Ora Kalilah. When bred to Imperial Baarez (and more *Orashan blood), she produced the lovely show filly, Imperial Baaleena, now at Prestige Arabians. Also, the chestnut Imperial Baarez daughter, Imperial Baahiyah was a blend of these two stallions, as Imperial Safama was an *Ibn Safinaz daughter.

In the twilight of *Orashan's life, he was sold to Louise Cordina and Glenn North of Saba Arabians located in Australia.
"Orashan has spent his final years among people who have loved him.  He has lived his days in happiness, with the respect and dignity that he deserved.  He was a King within the breed and the most gracious, gentle soul one will ever hope to find.  We will miss him tremendously."-Louise Cordina
 What more could a horse of such importance ask for, than to live with such loving, caring people? He ended his life with dignity and in the company of people who appreciated him and understood the impact that he will continue to have in the breed. 

26 October, 2010

Goodbye Barbara

My friend, Anne-Louise Toner emailed me with the very sad news that Barbara Griffith died on Thursday. I am deeply saddened by the news and I have not been able to come to this blog to write how much of a loss Barbara's death is for the community of Egyptian Arabian Horse breeders.

Because of Barbara, there was an Imperial Egyptian Stud, which made the mere mention of the name “Maryland” sound like magic to me. Over the years, the Imperial horses created memories which I continue to cherish. Imperial afforded the opportunity to see in real life, Barbara's very focused breeding philosophy, which resulted in such magnificent horses. If it were not for Barbara Griffith, I would have never met any of these horses. If it were not for these horses, my dreams would not be as big. The possibilities would not be endless.

Barbara Griffith once said,
"There is something about working with horses that encourages one to dream.”
I have dreamed of horses for as long as my mind can remember. As a matter of fact, it seems that the one aspect of my life that has remained constant, has been the ability to dream about horses. Imperial was always the origin of my dreams, wishes, hopes..."the what-if's", the possibilities, the desires, the "if only's"....These dreams are my inspiration and encouragement, a bright light of hope in what often times appears to be a very dark and indifferent world to the beauty that is all around us.

Because of Barbara Griffith's generosity, I got to meet extraordinary horses, who have had a profound affect upon my life. I still cry when I think of the courage and inner fire of *Sonbolah, one of the bravest and most generous living beings that I have ever known in this life! It is her courage that inspired me to write about Barbara. I must! And then, Maar Bilahh, one of the kindest, most loving beings that has ever lived on this planet.

I wonder if Barbara knows the continuing influence that her dreams have upon the dreams of others? I wonder if she knew the impact that she would have on the lives of so many people...through the horses she loved. I am grateful for the life of Barbara Griffith and today, I remember the beautiful woman who made the name of Maryland sound like magic to me. For Maryland was the home of Imperial, the place where magic became very real in this world.


Goodnight Barbara. It was a real pleasure to know you in this world.

Ralph

26 September, 2010

Farid

I learned that the great Farid Albadeia died one week ago, on Sunday, September 19th. I didn't even know he had been sick. I felt like a blow was delivered right to the very center of my soul. No horse lives forever but this was Farid and my heart is broken.
"...you are my shining star
Don't you go away..."-from the song Shining Star by Philip Bailey, Maurice White, Larry Dunn, Leo Graham and Paul Richmond 
Farid Albadeia was a son of Ameer Albadeia and a grandson of Malekat El Gamal. On his dam side, he was a grandson of Ramses Fayek, out of Malekat's dam, Nagdia. So, in both tail female lines of Farid's pedigree, he traced to the Hadbah Enzahyah root mare, Venus. He had 5 lines to Nazeer, close-up in his pedigree and through Fayza II, the dam of Ramses Fayek, he traced to the great Dahmah mare Farida, hence, his name, Farid.

FARIDA BLOOD ALERT!

Farid was loved by many people and was the living representation of the ideal Arabian stallion. His beauty was legendary, as Farid was named six times national champion stallion of Egypt. SIX TIMES!

Farid was bred to the world champion mare Gelgelah Albadeia twice, to produce two beautiful fillies: Farha Albadeia in 2000 and Bashooshah Albadeia in 2002. Gelgelah's full sister, Galagel, was also bred to Farid twice and produced Shakawa  and Sonbolat Albadiea. I am fascinated by these breedings, as both Gelgelah and Galagel are out of a mare named Anhar Albadeia, a daughter of Ameer Albadeia, the sire of Farid. Therefore, the doubling of the blood of one of my favorite mares, Malekat El Gamal.  Another of my favorite Albadeia mares, Ibtehag Albadeia (Badran Albadeia x Halawat Albadeia) was bred to Farid and produced a son with wonderful name, Inshallah Albadeia.

For me, Farid was an old-time stallion, whose body was curvey, strong and smooth. There are very few horses who can compare to the level of quality that Farid was. His neck was powerful, gracefully arched with the most impressive crest that I have seen on an Arabian stallion and was set higher on his chest, anchored by one of the best shoulders that I had ever seen on an Arabian horse. Well-muscled and substantial, he exhibited the strength that most of us expect to see in a stallion. Like most horses with ties to the mare, Farida, Farid had a deep and powerful hip, flowing into a strong croup and loin. His hind end was smooth, strong and powerful, balancing the equal amount of power on his front end. Yet for all of this powerful energy radiating from his body, he also had some of the finest features which included his very black, very round, very expressive eye. His head was short and wide with larger size jowls, smaller ears and large, elastic nostrils. Looking at Farid, he gave you goosebumps, even if he was relaxing, not moving or doing anything. Few horses look as good as Farid did, standing, relaxing, letting it all hang out. Farid looked good, no matter what he was doing.

Loving Arabian Horses has been a constant in my life. No matter how my life changes, how many twists and turns it takes, my love for the Arabian Horse remains unchanged. I love them. When I was a child, toy horses were as close as I came to owning my own horse. Maybe this is why Farid is so special. He looks like the alabaster horse that I played with and which I treasured, during those formative years.

It's been hard this past year, saying goodbye to really special horses like Maar Bilahh, The Minstril, *Ibn Safinaz, *Nigmh, VP Regal Heir, Imperial Kamilll and now, Farid Albadeia. Heaven is quickly becoming a horseman's paradise as these great horses leave us, with memories and their legacies...to remind us that once, they were here with us and we loved them so.

"Lay down my brother,
lay down and take your rest
lay your head upon your savior's breast
I love you brother,
but Jesus loves you best
I bid you goodnight, goodnight, goodnight"-from the traditional Bahamian gospel song, I Bid You Goodnight
Too sad to say enjoy,
Ralph

05 August, 2010

A Noble Prince


Last night, I received a very sad email from Anthony Pontrello. The stallion, Nigmh, sired by Ansata Halim Shah and out of the German-bred Egyptian mare, Nasbah, died on Tuesday, 3 August. He was only eighteen years old and one of the last Ansata Halim Shah sons.

Nigmh's dam, Nasbah, was the daughter of a stallion named Muqatamm, who was a son of Mahomed (Hadban Enzahi x Malikah) out of Ghazalah (Ghazal x Afifa). Werner Ernst took this picture of Muqatamm at the German stallion performance test. He was ridden at the time by Jörg Rönnefarth. Muqatamm was owned by Mr. Carl Heinz-Dömken, until his death in 2008. The stallion Ghazal, a "fairy-tale" Arabian Horse, was a son of Bukra and unfortunately, was not bred to many straight Egyptian mares while he was alive. It is a tragedy for us, that we don't have many branches of his blood available today. The few sources of his blood are so prepotent for producing incredible horses, that we wish for more! For this reason, Nigmh was extremely valuable as a breeding stallion, as he had two lines to Bukra, the additional line through Ansata Rosetta, the dam of Ansata Halim Shah, who was a daughter of *Ansata Bint Bukra.

Nasbah was out of a mare named Nadia, a daughter of the stallion Emam (Balance x Komeira) who is pictured to the right and the mare, Foze, a daughter of Nazeer and Fathia. What really gets me excited about this part of Nigmh's pedigree is Farida. Balance the sire of Emam, is a Farida son. He has two additional lines to Farida, through *Ansata Ibn Halima and through Malikah. Nigmh was shown extensively and was a class A halter winner, named Champion, Reserve Champion, a Regional Top 5 and a Most Classic Head Winner. Most people will never forget his appearance at the 2002 Egyptian Event. I personally feel that his smoothness of body, his strong topline and his very classic good looks, influenced by the lines of Farida contributed to his success in the halter ring.
"How noble in reason! How infinite in faculties! In form and moving, how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! In apprehension, how like a god! The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals!"-from the Shakespeare play, Hamlet
The other reason for which Nigmh's pedigree excites me, are the lines to Bint Samiha, the dam of Nazeer. I counted twelve lines to Bint Samiha in Nigmh's pedigree, including his tail female line, which traces to her too. I found it interesting that in this horse, we have a concentrated source of Nazeer's tail female line, together with the tail female line of *Ansata Ibn Halima. This bloodline blend resulted in *Ansata Ibn Halima (Nazeer x Halima) who redefined the meaning of classic Arabian Horse type and became the standard, for which we still continue to compare and contrast Egyptian Arabian Horses.


Nigmh was bred to the Ruminaja Ali daughter, Gameelah three times to sire the mares: Ansata Rumin, Nimeelah and Sabbaha. His daughter, Nimeelah has been an incredible producer of extraordinary horses. She produced the 2010 Silver Senior Mare Champion at the Egyptian National Championships in April and the 2007 Egyptian Event Europe Junior Champion filly, Imeila (pictured, at left), by the Imperial Imdal son, Imtaarif. This mare is now owned by Tarek and Ahmed Soliman of El Farida Stud in Cairo, Egypt. Nigmh was also bred to MB Daleena, an Imperial Madheen daughter out of an Ansata Nile Moon daughter, to sire the mare Naleena. He also sired the sons PWA Asyahnar (out of the Mahomed daughter, Assiadeh), Shah Jamil (out of the Ansata El Shahraf daughter, Shalimar), Enighma (out of the Nabiel daughter, BSA Nazarra), Nigimh (out of the Ibn El Mareekh daughter, Marneya) and Moon Tajmahall (out of the Imperial Imperor daughter, GA Moon Tajhalima). Nigmh is one of the horses who offered so much to Egyptian Arabian Horse breeders in phenotype and genotype while he was alive and I lament his passing, as I don't feel that he was used at stud as much as he ought to have been. Now, we realize this sad fact but it is too late to do anything, as Nigmh is gone.

In 2004, I visited Omni Arabians. I had gone to see another horse and unexpectedly, Nigmh was at the farm and I was able to see him. I was surprised, as he was more beautiful, more elegant, more refined than he looked in the photographs that I had seen of him. Looking back, one of the qualities that I appreciated in him, was his neck, which was a bit longer, a bit more slender, set higher on his chest, so that when you looked at his neck, as it came out of his shoulders, there was no dip in front of the wither. The neck formed one long, very graceful arch, all the way where it met the head, to create a very nice mitbah. Up until this time, most of the horses that I had seen, including my mare, had shorter, thicker necks with little or no room in the throat for a fine mitbah. However, if I had to tell you what left a lasting impression upon me, was how he walked up to me, when I called him. He didn't know me, never saw me and yet, authentic to the people-loving disposition that was bred into his breed, over thousands of years, he came right up to me, to see who I was and to get to know me better. For this reason, I love the Arabian Horse and why I could not forget Nigmh, as I drove away from Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. What an incredible individual was Nigmh.

Nigmh accomplished many milestones in his life, as a champion show horse and as a sire, however, the greatest accomplishment that Nigmh accomplished in his life was for all  the people that through him, were introduced to the Arabian Horse breed, as well as to our community of Egyptian Arabian Horses. He will leave a big hole in the hearts of many, including mine.
"Tell me how to fill the space you left behind,
And how to laugh instead of cry,
And how to say goodbye..."-from the song, Tell Me How to Say Goodbye, by Michael W. Smith
Goodbye my friend...you lived a good life,
Ralph

PS I must give credit for the picture of Imeila, taken by Melanie Groger of Zoom Performance.

14 July, 2010

The Star Queen

Claudia Nyffenegger had been searching for a black-colored Arabian, with a gentle character. Hu Karia (Black Hafiza x *Ikaria) has now become the star in Claudia's life, in Japan, where Claudia lives. "Why do you call Hu Karia 'Elen-chan' ?" I asked Claudia.
"Elen for Elentari, the highest female goddess in Tolkien’s universe. It translates as Queen of the Stars, which fits nicely, because she has a white star."
Hu Karia has produced four foals, so far in her life. By the *Adhem son, Saud El Ameer, she produced a black colt, Hualaa El Ameer and a black filly, Hu Saudera. What is very interesting to me, are the foals that she produced by her half-sister's son, Hu Shameer, as the blood of Adaweya is doubled, on both sides of the pedigree in these foals. Hu Karia's half sister is Hu Mon Kari, an *Ikaria daughter by the *Simeon Shai son, Imaann (out of the *Ansata Ibn Halima daughter, Nourah). The foals by Hu Shameer are Hu Sharia, a black filly and Hu Shakeil, a black colt. Claudia is hoping to breed Elen-chan in the future, for a replacement foal of her very own. I found Hu Karia's pedigree amazing, as her sire, is by Ziadd, a son of Zahi, who was by *Ibn Hafiza and out of Bint Bukra.

BUKRA BLOOD ALERT!

Ziadd's dam is a mare named Naeema, a daughter of *Ramses Fayek out of Tifla, who was a blend of Nazeer on a Sid Abouhom daughter. Black Hafiza's dam is an Al Badeia-bred mare named Fatimat, who is by Asil Albadeia (his sire is the *Morafic son, El Badi) and out of the the *Ramses Fayek daughter Farida, doubling the influence of the mare, Nefisa in the pedigree. In America, we have two branches of this mare, one by Nazeer and the other by El Sareei. This mare, Nefisa appears in the pedigree of the Nazeer horses like El Hilal, Negma and the El Sareei horses like Perfecta RSI and Snowlion RSI. Fatimat Albadeia traces in her tail female line to the Nazeer daughter, Nagdia, who also produced the beautiful mare, Malekat El Gamal by Waseem. Malekat El Gamal is the maternal great granddam of the World Champion stallion, Al Adeed Al Shaqab.

Claudia's story makes the words of this blog come alive and become very real and through her example, her life provides much inspiration to dream, to stretch, to grow, to try making your dreams into reality. There is only one life to make dreams come true. And only the dreamer is able to make the dreams come true, sometimes with a lot of sacrifice and hard work. I can't tell you when or how far into the dream, you will suddenly realize that the horses are really worth the sacrifice but more than that, remaining loyal and steadfast to the very essence of who "you" are (for a dream is THAT essence that oozes out from the core of your being)  is important for the pepetuation of the person you envision becoming in this life. 
"Dreaming is an important quality in my life to find out what is important (and unfortunately sometimes missing)! Never give it up."
Keep dreaming, keep hoping, keep wishing, keep living!
Ralph

29 June, 2010

WONDER

I had stopped to gather my bearings, when I heard the horses; their call carried upon the back of the wind, coming from far away, somewhere

way,

way,

way 

out there.  I had spent a long time trying to find these legendary creatures. People had exchanged stories about them, tried to capture their ethereal beauty via paint on canvas and had even written songs and poems celebrating their unique qualities. I wanted to see this horse, so, I set out on a journey, which had taken already many days. And now, I felt closer to reaching my goal, than ever before on this trip. A shrill neigh suddenly ricocheted off of the canyon wall, bouncing along the rocks. The shadow of the mountain, cast the surrounding valley in darkness. As I made my way along the rock wall, searching and feeling for an opening, my diligence paid off when I discovered the cave entrance. Suddenly, I heard the sound of horses again, closer this time. The calls seemed to be coming from inside the cave. As I walked in, the hot air swirled around me, like a cyclone, driving sand along my face, while a very faint whisper, in Arabic, enveloped me with peace, conveying that there was nothing to fear. "Hello, anyone here?" I called. "Hello?" No one answered. "That's funny, I thought I just heard someone." As I walked further into the cave, I saw movement to my right, and as I turned my head, I saw  white horses seemingly coming out of the rocks and galloping along the wall. "Huh? What trickery is this?" The horses stopped in the middle of the wall, tossing their heads with impatience, letting me know that I was moving too slowly through the cave. YOU NEED TO KEEP MOVING!!! It seemed like they were guiding me, pushing me this way and that way, herding me towards the discovery of their oasis, to tell me their story, the real story of how it all began....

The Al-Marah Arabian Horse Galleries have opened at the Kentucky Horse Park. I had the opportunity to visit this very significant museum for the Arabian Horse on Friday. It is difficult to say which part of the gallery I enjoyed more, as there is so much to see, to hear, to feel...to experience. The charisma of the Arabian Horse oozes out of every corner, out of every booth, wall hanging, painting and sculpture. The galleries convey how the culture from which the horse emerged, created a horse which is extremely people-oriented and loving. I like that part most of all and think it to be a strong statement about the character of Bedouin people, to have selectively bred a horse who loves people so much. No doubt about it, the Middle East has given the world a great gift in the horse we call Arabian. As I walked through the gallery, the Arabian Horse was presented from the earliest beginnings of civilization, right through to our foundation horses and breeders, always underscoring the versatility of the Arabian Horse, which has helped to make them the stars of movies and books like the Black Stallion experience. To be enveloped by the essence of everything Arabian, swirling around you, filling your senses, how can anyone who loves Arabian Horses desire more than that? I encourage anyone who is even possibly, the tiniest bit interested in learning about the Arabian Horse, to visit. Perhaps, you will make the greatest discovery of your lifetime, in the least likely of places to find a desert creature, somewhere in the lush ocean of bluegrass called Kentucky.

EnJoy,
Ralph

08 June, 2010

A Red Ballerina

Alaa El Din was a chestnut son of Nazeer, foaled in 1956, out of the Shaloul daughter, Kateefa. To develop a complete understanding of a foundation Egyptian Arabian Horse like Alaa el Din, will require that we pay careful attention to the words used by the people who knew the horse, when he was alive. The late Marshall Partlow visited the EAO and wrote about his visit, which included Alaa el Din, in the article titled "A Trip To El Zahraa":
"Then, the horse of my dreams. Could such a horse exist? His dark chestnut coat, gleaming in the sun, gave off a purple cast. Moving like a ballerina, his extreme long neck bowed, tail high and arched like a banner. He stopped, posed like the royally bred king he was. Majestic, proud and elegant he stood. This was the fantastic ALAA EL DIN. To see this stallion would have made my trip worthwhile even if I had not seen any other horses."
Ballerina, you might ask?

General Pettko Von Szandtner, a former cavalry officer, liked the young colt so much, that he had selected Alaa El Din as a future sire (he started his breeding career in 1961) for the EAO breeding program. In a letter to Richard Pritzlaff, the General explained:
"I had to put the two-and-a-half-year-old chestnut stud foal, candidate as a leading stallion, into the stallion barn and work him because he was too strong toward his comrades and often broke out of the paddock."
In Egypt, Alaa El Din was a successful race horse and a sire of race winners. Alaa el Din ran a total of 6 races, winning 1 race, placing 2nd in another, 3rd in only 1 race and placing 4th in the balance of races. The following picture was taken of Alaa El Din, the fit race-horse, at 7 years old. His sons *Farazdac (x Farasha) won 3 races out of 16 and Kased Kheir (x Sherifa) won 3 races out of 8. His daughter, Fayrooz (x Mouna) raced 5 times, winning 1 of those races. *Farazdac's full brother, *Faleh (a Legion of Merit winner, winning two National Championships in Native Costume and participating in a 100 mile endurance race), sired the extremely successful racehorse: Asjah Ibn Faleh (x*Dawlat), an IAHA Racing Colt of the Year(1977) and Race Horse of the Year (1980), in addition to wins in the show ring in English Pleasure, Native Costume and Halter. Asjah Ibn Faleh raced a total of 30 races, winning almost half of these, including the 1977 IAHA Derby. He, in turn also sired race horses, Asjahs Black Jewel and Asjahs Dominion, both out of the Ansata Halima Son daughter, Ansata Jumana. In Germany, the Alaa El Din sons: Sarwat and Sawlagan were talented, athletic horses, participating in demanding, athletic competitions at an age when most horses have been retired and no longer ridden. Alaa El Din was so successful in passing his athletic ability to his children, that the breeders in Poland expressed a very strong desire in purchasing him, for use in their breeding program.
Hansi Heck-Melnyk, of the world famous Serenity Farm in Citra, Florida remembers:
"I saw Alaa El Din in the flesh. Alaa El din was NOT narrow chested. He was a rectangular horse, well proportioned all over. He was also, what I call, a typical 'Kuhaylan'Ajuz Rodan.' I saw him walking towards me and away from me, led by his groom, and that quite correctly. I liked the horse. The horse then was aged already, and had gone, as all others,through rough times in the late sixties on forward.I have never given that much credit in production to him, but rather to the mares and their female tail lines, he bred to create his offspring."
Hans Joachim Nagel, founder of the legendary stud farm bearing the name of Katharinenhof, authored a landmark book titled Hanan: The Story of an Arabian Mare and of the Arabian Breed. Within this book, Dr. Nagel shares much with the reader, that is, the impact that Alaa El Din has had on his vision of the ideal Arabian Horse and the breeding program founded primarily with the Alaa El Din daughter, Hanan:
"Kateefa herself, when bred to Nazeer, produced a real gem: Alaa El Din. He was Dr. Ameen Zaher's favorite. This stallion, who could sire mares with the loveliest and gentlest of faces, was a highly elegant liver chestnut with no white markings except a stripe. His smal dry head with round, black medium sized eyes and small ears made him look typey and expressive. A finely curved neck of medium length, good withers, a slightly too long back and firm, broad croup combined to form a harmonious whole that stood on fine but correct legs."
Celebrated author, historian, researcher and founder of Ansata Arabian Stud, Judith Forbis, shares her impression of Alaa El Din in Authentic Arabian Bloodstock II:
"A tall horse at maturity, very elegant and refined, beautiful head but not large enough eyes, which he tended to transmit. Good length of neck and well shaped. He was well-balanced but tied in at the elbows, narrow in front, had rather small but good dark hooves."
In the 1980's, the Director of the EAO was Dr. Ibrahim Zaghloul. In an interview with Arabian Horse World, he was asked to name which mares, living or dead, had the strongest influence on the EAO breeding program? In his answer, Dr. Zaghloul named 5 mares, one of which was the Alaa El Din daughter, Safinaz (x Ramza):
"A chestnut mare foaled on February 1, 1970, has one of the prettiest heads you'll ever see along with all the other qualities that make you take a second look. She is extremely elegant with a chiseled, tapered face and a teacup muzzle. She is one of the noblest mares in the herd, with the dry, typey, look of the true Bedouin mare."
Dr. Zaghloul caught my attention when he named an Alaa El Din daughter influential, as influential as our perennial QUEEN OF EGYPT, Moniet el Nefous. I believe that Alaa El Din has been more significant as a sire through the female side of the pedigree. I have observed personally more of an impact through his daughters, rather than through his sons. This observation led me to pay attention to the female side of Alaa El Din's pedigree, namely, the mare Kateefa. One of the most powerful families in Egyptian breeding (as well as in Crabbet breeding, from where the family originates) has been the Kuhaylan Rodan family. Is the siring influence of Alaa El Din the continued influence of the Kuhaylan Rodan family, as brought forward through Kateefa? Would you agree? Kateefa was a daughter of Bint Rissala (Ibn Yashmak x Risala). Through her tail female line, Kateefa traces through Ridaa to Rose of Sharon, a Rodania daughter. In looking through Dr. Nagel's Hanan book (pages 224-225) he presents a very interesting photo study of not only Kateefa but her dam Bint Rissala and Risala (the dam of Bint Risala), as well as Ridaa (the dam of Risala) and Rose of Sharon (the dam of Ridaa). It is a fascinating study, photographically. Dr. Nagel also presents a very thoughtful observation and I would like to submit the following quotation for your consideration:
"The Rodania family was highly appreciated by Lady Anne Blunt and her daughter, Lady Wentworth. White markings and good necks frequently appears but also some heavy heads with straight profiles and high withers. In addition a long back and a short croup are a recurring feature. In spite of these characteristics this family developed to be of high breeding value in different ways; bred to the right sires, the Rodania family produced horses with both type and beauty, plus racing power and athletic ability."
Oliver Wibihal, Egyptian Arabian Horse enthusiast, publisher and founder of straightegyptians.com had the following perspective on Alaa El Din's influence:
It is true that Alaa El Din's daughters gained more influence than his sons. In Egypt, Germany and in the US, many of his daughters founded their own dynasty. The full sisters Mahiba and Moneera (Alaa El Din x Mouna/Mona by Nazeer) were very influential in Europe and horses like Maysoun, Sherif Pasha (the first SE World Champion) and Ibn El Moniet come from this line.
Dr. Nagel refers to the Alaa El Din daughters as "the most beautiful flowers" of Egyptian Arabian Horse breeding. Have you walked among this garden and smelled the flowers? Are you familiar with their bright colors? Do you know the daughters of Alaa El Din?

Set Abouhom (*Noha)
Aziza (Galila)
*Hoda (Fathia)
Madeeha (Rahma)
Hodhoda (Ithad)
Basima (Sherifa)
*Magidaa (Maysa)
Fayrooz (Mouna)
Rawayeh (Rahma)
Manar (Moniet El Nefous)
Manaya (Moniet El Nefous)
Mahiba (Mouna)
*Omnia (Ameena)
Lotfeia(Kamla)
Hanan (Mona)
Om El Arab (Tifla)
*Shiaa (*Berlanty)
Hanadi (Rahma)
Moneera (Mouna)
Nazeema (Bint Kamla)
Sabrah (El Ameera)
*Bint Alaa El Din (*Serenity Sabra)
*Ramses Amal (Manal)
Alifa (Zebeda)
*Daad (Enayat)
Mahlaha (Mouna)
Reem (Farfoura)
Safinaz (Ramza)
*Hegrah (Hagir)
AK Karama (Tanta)
Rabab (Horeja)
Hend (Maysoura)


While Alaa El Din remains a critically important horse in Egyptian Arabian Horse breeding, we must never forget the inspirational and encouraging power that these horses have on people's lives.

30 May, 2010

Why I love M & M's

While John Travolta danced the night away in movie screens all over the world and everyone was infected with Saturday Night Fever; a beautiful and potentially significant mare named Madinah (Ibn Galal x Mona II) was born, bred by the Tauschkes of El Thayeba. Bred to the stallion Messaoud, Madinah produced the mare, Mesoudah M in 1985, a full sister to Imperial Madheen. Bred to Ansata Sinan, Mesoudah M produced *Mishaal HP in 1996. It always amazes me when I consider the length of time that it takes for a program to produce an extraordinary horse. In the case of *Mishaal, it was 18 years, which is a testament to the perseverance and dedication of the breeders behind all the horses who are part of the ancestry of this marvelous horse! Shown once, at the prestigious German stallion show, *Mishaal was rated platinum, which is the highest rating that a horse can earn.
"The judges characterized him as the stallion with the most exceptional head and Arabian type. "-Nancy C. Ryan, from her article, Mishaal HP: Shaping a New Generation, published in Arabian Horse World
Having loved and admired the German-born stallions, *Orashan and Imperial Madheen, I was excited over the presence of Messaoud in the pedigree of *Mishaal HP. A Madkour (*Morafic x Maisa) son, out of the Hadban Enzahi daughter, Maymoonah; in his tail female line, Messaoud traces to Halima, the dam of *Ansata Ibn Halima and a Farida grand-daughter. I loved Messaoud and I always believed he was phenotypically, a magnificent living representation of the classic Dahman Shawan stallion. When you look at the silhouette of Messaoud (and unfortunately, he is no longer alive, having died in 2007), it would be difficult to not notice the strength of his body, particularly the area of his hip, hindquarter and croup. He was powerfully smooth in this area, of rounded lines and I believe this is an attribute that comes from Farida. He is balanced, harmonious and while an elegant horse, he has much substance. So, in looking at these *Mishaal fillies at Thornewood farm and noticing the same qualities evident in Messaoud's physique, I wondered, "Is the Farida blood still so powerful, that she is making a very visible impact through *Mishaal? Farida appears in Mishaal HP's pedigree 3 times: through *Ansata Ibn Halima and twice through Malikah.

While *Mishaal's pedigree is predominantly a blend of the Saqlawi and Dahman lines (with more than a few Hadban sprinkles here and there), I am reminded of Walter Schimanski's philosophy in breeding elegant Dahman horses,
"incorporating the Saqlawi type brings length back to neck and leg, which can be lost with intense use of Dahman and Kuhaylan strain types. It also yields finer bone structure and produces flatter and less prominent muscling. Too much Saqlawi can produce a long back and ears. Dahman type brings back an overall balance and harmony, including more dished heads and larger eyes, and shorter backs, but also has the tendency to produce shorter necks and legs, heavier muscling, and more bone."-Walter Schimanski
One of the most celebrated and greatly admired mares of all time, Moniet el Nefous, appears 10 times, through her Sid Abouhom daughters Mabrouka and Mouna, and through her son by *Morafic, *Ibn Moniet el Nefous. Perhaps the elegance and refinement that we see in *Mishaal HP, this ethereal quality, comes from the influence of Moniet and underscores the importance of Walter's advice. On both sides of the pedigree, male and female, the presence of this mare is only overshadowed by the presence of Nazeer. I lost count of the number of times that Nazeer appears. more than 16 times!

Mishaal HP has sired a number of lovely horses and has crossed very well with Thee Desperado, as he was purchased by Arabians Ltd., to use specifically as an outcross stallion. One of my favorite *Mishaal-sired horses is the 2005 mare Saniyyah RCA, out of the Thee Desperado daughter, My Shooting Star. She is now owned by Ariela Arabians in Israel, who showed her to her win as the Israeli National Champion filly. This filly traces to Faarecho (Sirecho x Faara) in her tail female line. Saniyyah represents a very unique blend of Egyptian bloodlines, which when combined, emphasizes the benefits that I believe Thee Desperado offers straight Egyptian breeders. I am grateful that the Arabians Ltd. search for an outcross stallion, led them to Mr. Horst Preuss and the fabulous *Mishaal HP.

May the horse continue to inspire you,
Ralph

PS I really like the Stuart Vesty photo of *Mishaal HP, it is my favorite photo of this stallion.

21 May, 2010

Javera Thadrian

This is the late Kuhaylan Haifi Davenport Arabian stallion, Javera Thadrian. He was sired by the Lysander son, Thane and out of HB Dianora, an Ibn Alamein grand-daughter. Remember Alice Martin's famous Arabian Dressage horse, the alabaster white Sir? Lysander was his son.

He is not a straight Egyptian Arabian Horse.

Javera Thadrian is an Asil Arabian horse, which means that in every line of his pedigree, Javera Thadrian can be traced to horses bred by the Bedouin. Who are the Bedouin, you ask? Well, the Bedouins (Shammar, Anazeh, Ruala...) are to desert Arabia, what the native Americans (Sioux, Navajo, Lenape...) are to America.

Authentic.

Pure.

Genuine.

The Real Deal.

Javera Thadrian carries the designation "Davenport" which means that he descends from ancestors who trace back to the 20-something horses that were imported into America, in the early 1900's, by Homer Davenport.

I need to say it again, in case you missed it the first time.

Javera Thadrian is not a straight Egyptian Arabian Horse.

He is an Al Khamsa and Asil Club recognized horse but he is not a Pyramid Society designated straight Egyptian Arabian Horse.

I prefer horses who are comprised of rounder, curvey, circular lines. I prefer horses who are more substantial and who are harmonious in their build. That is very important for me. I prefer smoothness of body and search for it constantly. I like shorter-backed horses with strong top lines. I like horses who are deep through the heart girth with a well sprung rib cage. I like muscled hind quarters with elastic hocks. I like well muscled forearms, which are longer in length than the cannons. I like to see a little more length in the neck, with the neck set higher on the chest, connected by a noticeable wither. I like a powerful shoulder, at an angle which allows the horse to move with great freedom. I like to see a nice length of poll. I prefer a large sized jowl, on each side of a very short, very wide head. I like large, black eyes with no white in them, set lower on the head. I like elastic large nostrils and short, sharp tippy ears. And did I mention that I like a higher tail carriage?

I find all of this in this most wonderful horse and never tire of looking at his picture, even with the stains all over his body that he got from rolling in the dirt. He is my classic Arabian horse, made real, of flesh and bone.

In Davenport bloodlines, the horses belong to one of four families, through the tail-female line of the pedigree: Kuhaylan Haifi, Kuhaylan Kurush, Hadban and Schilla. Javera Thadrian is from the core Kuhaylan Haifi group, which means that in his ancestry, he traces only to the following mares: Dharebah, Dharanah, Dhanad, Dhalana blended with the stallion Tripoli (Hanad x Poka). Tripoli, incidentally, was the sire of Sir. It is very amazing to look at his pedigree and see 2 horses, Dhareb x Antarah, repeat over and over and over.

There will come a time, when it will become more important to breed for Asil, than it will be to breed for Egyptian. More people are becoming aware that our Egyptian gene pool is becoming smaller, with less choices. Abbas Pasha, Ali Pasha Sherif, Lady Anne Blunt, the RAS, Prince Kemal el Dine were all pioneer breeders of Egyptian horses who didn't even think twice about using Bedouin-bred horses in their early Egyptian programs. In the face of the genetic diseases that we are all aware of and how closely related our horses have become, maybe, we are closer to the day when COMBINED SOURCE breeding will not only become more accepted, it will become a necessity, in order for the horse to survive with sound mind, sound body and sound spirit. Unfortunately, it will come too late to use a horse as inspiring as Javera Thadrian but the reality of Davenport Arabian Horse breeding is that Javera Thadrian was not the exception....there are many more like him. Many more. Please visit the Davenport Arabian Horse Conservancy to learn more about these wonderful horses.

EnJoy your horses,
Ralph

PS Congratulations to Edouard Al-Dahdah on the birth of Wadha, one of Javera Thadrian's last born daughters, out of the Craver Farm mare, Wisteria.

12 May, 2010

PR Desert Rose+


The beautiful, correct and very modern straight Egyptian mare, PR Desert Rose+ is a daughter of Thee Desperado, out of the Moniet el Sharaf daughter, AK Nadara (out of Refkys Juhl).
“He favored the Zobeyni look, of strong powerful hindquarters, bodies of deep girth, good long hips, wide through the chest, coupled with fine, flat bone, beautiful swan-like necks, all in flowing lines of symmetry and heads of classic Egyptian type.”-Mari Silveus, from her article, The Hallany Mistanny Story
PR Desert Rose+ was recently purchased by Mr. Burhan Bakeer of the Safari Stud in Kuwait. At the Kuwait National Championships, this mare earned 4th place in the 11 year and older mare class. Her grand-dam, Refkys Juhl is a daughter of the *Morafic son, Refky and Julyana, a daughter of the stallion Julyan (Julep x Bint Maaroufa) out of the mare, Mist Aana (Hallany Mistanny x Fa Aana). The tail female of this beautiful mare, traces to a small family of horses, the only sources of Hallany Mistanny blood in straight Egyptian breeding today. Hallany Mistanny is only available to Egyptian breeders today in two forms: through Julyan (influenced by the Blunt's desert bred horses) bred to Mist Aana, as we see in PR Desert Rose+ and without Julyan, through the mare Masada Saafaana (Safaddan x Mist Aana).


28 April, 2010

BLACK STRENGTH

This is the 2001 black-bay mare, Shaarbat. She was bred by the late Jay Gormley, of Jason Arabians. Her sire is the black stallion, Zarife el Mansour, a Babson-Brown stallion, meaning that he is mostly of Babson breeding, with the tail female line of Mist Aana, a daughter of the stallion, Hallany Mistanny (*Zarife x *Roda). That's the Brown part.

However, the part of the pedigree which really excites me is her dam, Bint Mah Habba. Through her tail female line, we find the mare, Fa-Habba, a daughter of *Bint Bint Sabbah.

Do you know who Fa-Habba is?

She produced the mare Falima, by *Ansata Ibn Halima, who in turn founded one of the strongest Egyptian mare families, not only at Ansata but all over the world:

THE NILE FAMILY

Yup, that's right.

I really like this mare. She is compact, substantial with big hips, she has a strong top line, a very powerful chest and shoulder, she is round and curvey like an old-time horse, she has a very nice bone structure and bred to the right kind of stallion, she has so much to offer, both genetically and phenotypically. To me, she is timeless, as if she walked right off the canvas of a painting in a museum.

Because her bloodline combination is rich in Prince Mohamed Aly Tewfik breeding, her percentage of Blunt desert breeding is low, while her Abbas Pasha percentage is very high. As compared to the newer Egyptian lines, using Shaarbat is like introducing hybrid vigor into your breeding program. You will get very strong, positive results. Recently, a mare with a similar tail female line to Shaarbat, PR Desert Rose+ won a big prize at the Kuwait National Show for her owner, Burhan Bakeer of Safari Stud. She is a beautiful mare. Just beautiful. This is only one example of what this Babson-Brown blood can do for you.

EnJoy,
Ralph

09 April, 2010

They call him Pimmy

My friend, Tzviah Idan, visited Arabians Limited in February. I spoke with Tzviah shortly after her trip and asked her which horse at the farm made the biggest impression on her?

WHICH ONE?

Tzviah was enchanted by the straight Egyptian stallion, Pimlico RCA.

"Pimlico just blew me away. His forehead is broad and the eye was so very much like *Jamilll's eye. I saw *Jamilll at the US National's in the 80's and he has remained the 'ideal' for me."
Pimlico has won many fans around the world, who appreciate his classic type, as well as his strong structural conformation, with much substance and yet, he is so elegant! The appreciation for this stallion earned him the 2004 Egyptian Event Supreme Champion stallion. In 2007, Pimlico was shown in the Region 9 championships and was named a Grand Champion Stallion. The following year, he was show in the World Cup and was named a top 5 stallion. In addition to his halter wins, Pimlico has been shown in Western Pleasure classes.

Pimlico was bred by Debra and David Geiser of Dara Meadow Farm and was purchased by Arabians Limited as a weanling. Sired by Thee Desperado and out of the mare, Bint Bint Jamil, Pimlico carries Babson blood through his dam, as she was sired by the stallion, Mohafez, an *Ibn Moniet el Nefous son out of the Babson mare Ahroufa (Ibn Fa-Serr x Bah Roufa). Ahroufa was a full sister to the beautiful bay mare, Roufah. Dr. Nagel traveled to America, to Bentwood Farm in Waco, Texas to purchase the stallion Mohafez. During this visit, Dr. Nagel saw Ansata Abbas Pasha for the first time and fell madly in love with the horse. From this visit, resulted the leasing agreement which found Ansata Abbas Pasha traveling to Germany, to be bred to mares from Katharinenhof, Babolna and Marbach studs
.

The connection to the stallion, *Jamil, is through his maternal grand-dam, Sehnab. She is a *Jamil daughter out of the mare, Sabah, who was sired by Ibn Galal, out of the Alaa el Din daughter, Mahiba. The tail female line of this family goes through Mouna to Moniet el Nefous, giving Pimlico the strain of Saklawi Jedran of Ibn Sudan.

There are many photographs taken of Pimlico RCA, which are striking and powerfully convey his strong conformation and abundant Arabian Horse type. However, for me, my favorite photo is this Stuart Vesty photo, as this picture captures his very expressive face and radiates a most amazing personality. This horse, "Pimmy" as he is called, loves people and the energy projected through this photo, overwhelms me with his friendliness. No one would dare call such a majestic horse as Pimlico, "Pimmy", if he was not sweet! There is a reason for this very sweet name. This people-loving quality, while intangible, is a crucial component of Arabian Horse type, as this horse has been raised in the desert, to live safely among his people, insuring his survival and that of his breeders, the desert Bedouins. We must do whatever we can do, to preserve this quality, so it is abundantly found in our horses.

EnJoy your horses,
Ralph

12 March, 2010

Mumtaz Ree to Yosreia



Mumtaz Ree (*Farazdac x Bint Maar-ree) is a very classic, traditional Egyptian mare bred by Rancho Bulakenyo. Mumtaz Ree has a most interesting pedigree, as she combines Babson breeding through the mare *Maaroufa, with *Ansata Ibn Halima and *Bint Nefisaa PLUS the Alaa El Din son, *Farazdac, who through Farasha, traces to Yosreia, a Hadbah Enzahiyah mare of the Venus branch, foaled at the RAS, Cairo, in 1943. A daughter of Hind and sired by Sheikh El Arab, one of the interesting aspects of Yosreia's pedigree, is that Hind, a brown mare, was a daughter of Bint Rustem (Rustem x Bint Hadba El Saghira) and the sire called "world champion", Ibn Rabdan. Rustem being a Kuhaylan Rodan stallion mated with a mare that was predominantly Saqlawiyah with a tail female Hadbah line. So, at which point can you say that the horses in this family are really representative of Hadban Enzahi qualities? Can we say it at all? Older pictures are usually not very flattering (either through the photography, conditioning of the horse, and presentation/showmanship) but this mare looks good. Yosreia, to this day is remembered as one of the most beautiful mares of her time.

Her son, Aswan, changed the Russian breeding program for all time. Had Yosreia only produced Aswan, her place in history was assured but she also produced:

Farasha, by Sid Abouhom
Yasir, by Nazeer
Yazid, by Nazeer
Shahrzada, by Nazeer
Mohga, by El Sareei
Shamshoon, by Nazeer
Aswan, by Nazeer
Bint Yosreia, by Nazeer

Yosreia's continuing legacy is found in the qualities of substance, length of neck, balance, and an the ability to cross well with a variety of strains. Mumtaz Ree is representative of this ability, as her pedigree combines Yosreia with the strains of Kuhaylan Jellabi, Kuhaylan Rodan and Dahman Shahwan.

In Thomas Moore's, The Enchantment of Everyday Life, he explains:
"Enchantment is a spell that comes over us, an aura of fantasy and emotion that can settle onto the heart. An enchanted life has many moments when the heart is overwhelmed by beauty and the imagination is electrified by some haunting quality in the world..."
I was touched when I read these words by themselves but when read while looking at the photo of Mumtaz Ree, the words became not only meaningful but very real and powerfully electric. It probably won't be the last time that I will be affected in this manner by an Egyptian Arabian Horse but in a life that is really challenging, along comes an unexpected gift like precious Mumtaz Ree and I am restored and revitalized to continue in my journey.

Ralph

05 March, 2010

BROWN GIRL

In the mid-60's,  when *Ansata Ibn Halima was already 6-years old,  he went to Gleannloch Farms to be shown by Tom & Rhita McNair and also,  to breed the mares that the Marshalls had already imported,  before *Morafic arrived in America. In Judith Forbis' charming book called The Gift, she speaks of the relationship that *Ansata Ibn Halima shared with *Bint Maisa El Saghira (Nazeer x Maisa), "My favorite traveling companion was Bint Maisa El Saghira, who often told me to calm down and relax. She became a very stabilizing influence during my show career. A tall bay mare beloved for her beauty and charm, she won admirers wherever she went. She too collected many halter championships as well as performance championships in English pleasure. Together we were wonderful ambassadors for the Egyptian Arabian horse because we were kind, handsome and athletic.Truly we blazed the trail for others to follow."  Dahmah Shawaniah is the result of the affection that both horses shared for each other. I don't think a greater love story exists in any breed, let alone the Arabian breed, across all bloodlines.  Like her parents, Dahmah Shahwaniah was a very sweet mare. I met her at Bentwood, well before the dispersal of the horses through the Sotheby sale, when she was sold to Count Federico. An aged mare at the time I met her, she was still a pretty mare and one of my favorites at Bentwood, not so much for how she looked; she had one of the best temperaments that I had encountered, in any horse, up until that point in my life. I will never forget how excited I felt to actually meet a living daughter of *Bint Maisa El Saghira, one of my most favorite Egyptian mares. Dahmah Shahwaniah is as close as I ever got to *Bint Maisa El Saghira.

Dahmah Shahwaniah was physically, very Dahman in her appearance. I always believed that Dahmah Shahwaniah should have been bred to one of the best Dahman Horses of our time, Ansata Halim Shah, who was so superb, so typey and so harmonious. However, I think that in the recent past, the decisions that were made for breeding Egyptian horses did not take into account how the individuals complemented each other or for the resulting quality they would produce together; as it was for producing a horse with "big name parents" who could bring a good sales dollar or what did they call "it" in those days?

ROI:  RETURN ON INVESTMENT.

During this visit to Bentwood, having also met Prince Fa Moniet for the first time and many of The Egyptian Prince daughters; I became impressed over The Egyptian Prince's siring ability. The Egyptian Prince was out of *Bint Mona, *Morafic's full sister in blood. It made sense to blend the blood of Dahmah Shahwaniah with the blood of a concentrated Saklawi horse, like The Egyptian Prince, especially because her dam, when bred to *Morafic, produced the influential stallions Shaikh Al Badi and Amaal, as well as the mares Radia, Nafairtiti and Rihahna. So, Dahmah Shahwaniah was also bred to *Morafic, producing the stallion, Shahid, as well as to the other popular Saklawi-strain horses of the day like *Ibn Moniet El Nefous, (AK Shah Moniet) and the *Ibn Moniet El Nefous son, Moniet El Sharaf (AK Salima Sharaf). However, as great as these horses were,  it would be TheEgyptianPrince who would nick well with Dahmah Shahwaniah, producing what my friend Oliver Wibihal called "Dahmah Shahwaniah's masterpiece" - AK Nawaal. Her German-born son by Maysoun, Authentic Ibn Nawaal,  bred by Rosi Kolster, was recently purchased from Al Waab Stud and imported to the United States. He's a fabulous horse, a "total package" having won in 2000, the Reserve Junior Champion Colt at the International Cup in St. Poelten, the Junior Championship at the German Nationals in 2002 and a gold medal at the annual Stallion Show, completing the performance part of the German Stallion Show. It is important to mention that Dahmah Shahwaniah was then bred a second time to TheEgyptianPrince, producing a full sister to AK Nawaal named Dahmah Reshan. 

Dahmah Shahwaniah was bred twice to *Ibn Hafiza producing two bay colts: Ibn Dahmahn and Almawardy. She was bred to *Sakr and produced the colt, Dar Al Salam. Dahmah Shahwaniah was bred to another father and son, her maternal brother Shaikh Al Badi, producing a popular colt named AK Ishmael and Ruminaja Ali's full brother, the stallion named Ruminaja Bahjat, producong a bay mare by the name of ZT Bahshahwaniah, a prolific broodmare who has produced a number of daughters.

Although her children may not have all been consistently magnificent in their phenotype, the legacy of Dahmah Shahwaniah becomes obviously apparent through her many grandsons and granddaughters. It is in this generation that one starts to develop an appreciation for her influence.

Enjoy your horses,
Ralph

Johnny Johnston captured the essence of Dahmah Shahwaniah forever in the first photo. This photo subsequently appeared in the early volumes of the Pyramid Society Handbooks, when Dahmah became part of the Bentwood breeding program. 

01 March, 2010

Preserving Fabo: Revised and Revisited


Fabo and AK Bint Serra were the last straight Babson Egyptian horses with the tail female line to Bint Serra.
There are NO straight Babson Egyptian horses alive anymore, with a tail female line to *Bint Serra. They are gone...really gone, as in FOREVER gone.
Going forward, the only way to incorporate the influence of *Bint Serra, in straight Babson Egyptian form, is through the sire line. What makes Fabo unique is his dam, Misimma (Fa Serr x Fay Khedena), who was pure-in-the-strain Saqlawi, as Fa-Serr was a *Bint Serra son and Fay Khedena was a great-grandaughter of *Bint Serra. Misimma was the real reason that Walter purchased Fabo for his breeding program, in the spring of 1977. Fabo was already an aged horse. A few years ago, I purchased a senior horse care book, which was written by Dr. Karen E.N. Hayes and published by the same company who produces Arabian Horse World, Primedia. Imagine my surprise, when I saw a picture of Fabo in the book and learned of the feeding challenge that Fabo presented to Walter, in his old age. He didn't have any teeth, so he was not able to chew anymore and he didn't like anything soupy and mashy. By accident, Walter learned that he loved to eat Wonder bread. So, that's what Fabo ate.

Fabo was bred by Mr. Bruce C. Huss and prior to this purchase, Fabo lived the life of a treasured family pet. Fabo's lifetime foal count was 81, breeding mares from 1966, right until the very end, in 1992. Fabo died on November 15th. Some people have said that Fabo was about 16 hands (163 cm), when he was all snort and blow but I seem to remember that he was not very tall. He sure had a lot of charisma.
"Well, I start to feel like Superman
Then I pick a fight
Only to find that my opponent's
Holding kryptonite
You'd think I'd learn my lesson
But, I'm still paying dues
Each time I drink and start to think
I'm ten feet tall and bulletproof."-Travis Tritt, from his song, Ten Feet Tall and Bulletproof
Walter Schimanski was a phenomenal Dahman strain breeder, maybe only eclipsed in his greatness, by Judi Forbis of Ansata Arabian Stud. His breeding program produced some of the most beautiful (and sweetest) Dahmah mares that I have ever personally known. I mourn the loss of Walter Schimanski and find myself wishing that he had more time, to accomplish all of his goals. Fabo, although a Saqlawi horse by strain AND by phentoype, had a very strategic role in the breeding program.
"incorporating the Saqlawi type brings length back to neck and leg, which can be lost with intense use of Dahman and Kuhaylan strain types. It also yields finer bone structure and produces flatter and less prominent muscling. Too much Saqlawi can produce a long back and ears. Dahman type brings back an overall balance and harmony, including more dished heads and larger eyes, and shorter backs, but also has the tendency to produce shorter necks and legs, heavier muscling, and more bone."-Walter Schimanski
I visited the Cerebellar Abiotrophy testing website, which lists the status of the horses as they are tested, for the presence of the genetic markers that produce the disease. Thanks to this new test, Arabian Horse breeders can use the disclosure of this information to guide them in breeding healthy foals. My friend, Laurence Perceval Hermet of France, said the following,
"This test is to be taken as is: another breeding tool! Get the knowledge to not breed carriers to carriers. But may I remind a carrier is not a SICK horse...he just wears the wrong gene/jean...! So keep breeding these rare lines."
For those readers who may be visiting here for the first time and may not have read the articles that I have written, I must admit to you that I love Babson horses. Of all the Egyptian bloodlines, Babson horses are my favorites. Maybe, it is the influence that Gail Carmona had on my life, being exposed to her Babson horses at an early age. Everything I treasure, every quality I want in a horse, is found abundantly in these horses. No matter how you group Egyptian Arabian Horses and over the years, I have witnessed the cataloguing of horses by The Pyramid Society, Al Khamsa, the Asil Club, Sheykh Obeyd and Heirloom; Babson Horses always qualify by right of their bloodlines. They are precious. When I visited the CA web site, I did not expect to see any Babson Horses listed. When I found two Fabo-sired horses listed as carriers of this disease, I was stunned. And I was not sure what to do. Originally, my shock and my dismay over this discovery, paralyzed me. It took a few weeks to get to the point where I could even write how I felt. A horse like Fabo is crucially vital to our gene pool, as he is a source of Bint Serra blood, in the combination of horses that were imported to America in 1932 by Henry Babson, with no additional bloodlines added. By bloodline and by virtue of the impact that this horse can have on our breeding community, Fabo is extremely valuable, in order to preserve the influence of *Bint Serra for future breeders. As an individual and by his phenotype, Fabo is also valuable, as he offers the breeder great pigmentation, classic type and harmony of body, with the added bonus of abundant charisma. Fabo was a most charming horse. Most people, having seen him, were left in awe, never to forget him. His lasting impression was THAT HUGE.
So, when I saw Fabo's name on the list, I became distressed. What to do?
Over the years the number of *Bint Serra horses kept shrinking and shrinking and shrinking. The *Bint Serra horses that remained suddenly became vitally important, as the only connections we have available to her. Had the remaining horses been bred to produce at least one replacement in SBE form, where would we be today, in terms of the horses that we would be enjoying? A mare like *Bint Serra powerfully conveys the importance of preservation breeding and the permanence of the loss to an entire community. Here we are today, 2010, trying to grab any connection to *Bint Serra, so we don't lose the influence of this most precious mare completely and then, I clicked on the CA link and I saw Fabo's name on the list. How do you resolve this news about a special, a beautiful and most charismatic horse? How do you avoid the reality that CA affects all Arabian Horse bloodlines and the resulting sadness that a most favorite horse may be a carrier. How do you move forward, when you want to incorporate his influence into your tiny program, producing one foal every few years? Lisa Campiglio of Szed Arabians said,
"...there is no indication that FABO himself was a N/CA CARRIER. He has been cited 11 times on a list of 1470 horses, most of which are as a maternal sire. Posted is one N/CA daughter, Masada Fa Khedena, which is out of a known carrier mare; one N/CA son, Masada Sherif out of an untested/undisclosed mare and the rest are all as grandparents. Unless FABO appears as a sire of a tested horse out of a tested N/N Clear mare, it is impossible, unfair and unethical to put a label on him as a carrier."
While Lisa's statement is a bit more comforting and although I feel much better, than how I felt when I saw Fabo's name on the list, the most important fact remains, that the line of *Bint Serra is slowly dying out, unless we do something about it immediately. And yet, this is more than just about *Bint Serra, as how many other Egyptian lines face the same fate today as the line of *Bint Serra? We need to think of preservation more...it is really the best gift we can give to each other in our community.

Please, don't forget a special horse like Fabo and the precious *Bint Serra family of horses, from which he descends,
Ralph