17 March, 2011

Dr. Ibrahim Zaghloul

"And for me, there is always Ikhnaton. He had a presence and a character like no other stallion I knew. The day of that first show at El Zahraa when I had to announce that he had died that morning was something that does not leave me even now."
Dr. Ibrahim Zaghloul died last night in Egypt. His interview with Pat Canfield in the December 2010 issue of Arabian Horse World, as part of a world-wide forum brought together to discuss Phillipe Paraskevas' book, The Egyptian Alternative, would end up being the last words he made to the Arabian Horse community.
"I think of Mourad as a real Bedouin type. He caught me."
He worked alongside with Dr. Ameen Zaher and Dr. Mohamed Marsafi. When Dr. Marsafi retired in 1980, Dr. Zaghloul was named Director General of the EAO, a position he held and loved, for many years. After he retired from the EAO, he went to Bahrain for three years, to manage the breeding program of the Royal Stud.
"Adalat — how can I say why? She is just Adalat and that is my ideal."
In my blog, I refer to Dr. Zaghloul an awful lot. And I hope this conveys the deep respect and admiration that I have for this man, for his knowledge and his experiences. For many years, he was the face I associated with the Egyptian Agricultural Association. His insight was extremely valuable, as I felt, he understood the horse best. Many of the horses that Dr. Zaghloul cherished, I learned to also cherish and eventually, to adore them, as he did.
"Hafid Anter is another stallion I loved but I cannot tell you why."
Is one ever ready to say good-bye to someone you like very much? There is never a good time to face an emptier life, without their influence. I didn't think Dr. Zaghloul would live forever but I did believe that he would be with us for a longer time. Long enough for him to safeguard the EAO program, as it transitions to a new location. Now, with a heavy heart, I must say good-bye to Dr. Zaghloul and I hope that with his very own words, I may honor an extraordinary man.
"...sweet freedom whispered in my ear,
You're a butterfly,
And butterflies are free to fly
Fly away, high away, bye bye..."-from the song, Someone Saved My Life Tonight, by Elton John and Bernie Taupin
Good-bye Dr. Zaghloul and thank you, for a life well-lived, with much honor, while insuring that all would follow in your path, recognizing and respecting the dignity of the Egyptian Arabian Horse.

Peace,
Ralph

15 March, 2011

Ibn Barrada


"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
Ibn Barrada is a 1990 chestnut stallion, bred by the EAO and currently owned by Flaxman Arabians, Belgium. Through his tail female line, Ibn Barrada traces to El Kahila, a 1921 bay mare gifted by King Ibn Sa'ud. Incorporated into the breeding program of the Inshass Stud, El Kahila produced a 1931 grey mare by El Deree named El Zabia. To give you a better idea over the significance of the El Kahila mare family, El Zabia's great-grand-daughter, the 1951 Hamdan daughter, Shahbaa, produced a mare by El Sareei, whose name was Ramza. When Ramza was bred to Alaa el Din, she produced the important and hugely influential EAO mare, Safinaz, the dam of Imperial's *Ibn Safinaz. Ibn Barrada represents in our modern day, an authentic source of desert breeding, firmly anchored as he is, by El Kahila via his maternal line.
What I also found interesting in Ibn Barrada's pedigree is the influence of the RAS Saqlawi mare, Radia. There are seventeen lines to this mare, primarily through the full siblings by Ibn Rabdan: Hamdan, Shaloul and Samira. You will remember that these are  three of the four horses who were part of the group which Judi Forbis named "the fabulous four" in The Classic Arabian Horse. To further underscore the Saqlawi influence in Ibn Barrada's ancestry, are two lines to *Morafic and one line to *Tuhotmos. One can surmise that Ibn Barrada is significantly impacted by the Saqlawi strain.

I also noticed the mare Yashmak through her daughter Om el Saad, who in combination with Kateefa and Malaka, also intensify the influence of Rodania. So, if you believe in coat color determining phenotype, it is interesting to consider whether Ibn Barrada, as a chestnut-colored horse with a most expressive face, is more influenced by the Saqlawis, via the chestnut Moniet el Nefous line or the enduring and ever powerful line of the Kuhaylan Rodans, via the Rodania line of Bint Rissala.

PS Many thanks to Judi Parks for her photo of Ibn Barrada.

06 March, 2011

Sweeter than Chocolate

"On the evening of Queensday, April 30, 1998, Te Era gave birth to the most handsome, small, compact, friendly and most amiable dark bay colt. He was so beautifully solid in colour, I was attracted to him from the very first second. I was taken by surprise and the colt and I had chemistry from the start. I often called him my pure chocolat."-Peter Van Ingen
This is like a "once upon a time" story, involving many different people, three countries and several horses.  It is also the story of the enduring power of an influential EAO mare family and how one man in particular, persevered in his dreams to be forever connected with this family of horses.

When I saw Ibbie's photo, there was just something about him, a charisma which oozed out of every pixel and enchanted me. He looks like an old-time horse, reminiscent of the many Egyptian horses I remember from my youth. "Who is he?" I wondered. I immediately noticed his giant-sized nostrils. He has one of the largest sized nostrils that I have seen in a long time. They are beautiful, with an exquisite shape, flaring upwards delicately, not meaty or thick. His head has a beautiful shape, short, wide and broad,with much distance between the eyes. He is so pleasing in his appearance. His spirit, radiates much warmth and kindness and creates a desire to want to know him better.

A few weeks ago, I was listening to western music on a public radio station and fell in love with a song I had never heard before. The song was written by a real, live cowboy named Dave Stamey. Although the song was written about a woman's secret desire to own a buckskin-colored horse,  a particular line in the song caught my attention. The more I thought about it, the more profound the lyrics became.
"With a yearning burnt deep inside her soul."
What does it mean to desire something so fiercely, that it becomes part of your very essence? A desire so strong, it dominates every moment, filling your days and nights, as it slowly makes it way to the very core, the center of your being. It goes far deeper than your heart and stronger than any love you may ever know. This yearning defines who we are and drives us onwards, in the hope of one day, satisfying it. For many of us, including Peter, this is how we feel about horses and specifically, the Egyptian Arabian Horse. It is a powerful attraction. Peter Van Ingen has been involved with Egyptian horses since he was fifteen years old. I don't know exactly when *Andeera first got on Peter's radar but he just loved this particular mare, understood her great value and held her family in high esteem.  I am sure that in these early moments of Peter's life, he never dreamed that one day, he would become connected to this mare he loved so much. So, who is Andeera anyway? The EAO mare, *Andeera, was a daughter of Manaya, a Moniet el Nefous daughter, sired by the Nazeer son, Waseem.
"Moniet el Nefous is the foundation of the present breeding program at the EAO. Four of her daughters (Mabrouka, Mouna, Lubna by Sid Abouhom and Manaya by Alaa el Din) admirably carried on her line in Egypt, producing 28 foals in their lifetimes. However, only Mona and Manaya produced daughters which have been successful broodmares for the EAO."-Dr. Ibrahim Zaghloul, Influential Mares at the EAO, published in the May 1986 issue of Arabian Horse World 
In 1975, after Manaya had foaled a daughter by Ameer, Dr. Mohamed Marsafi had agreed to sell Andeera to Louise Van der Vorm of the Netherlands. The new filly, named Bint Manaya, would eventually become part of the EAO breeding program and the replacement for her dam and Andeera would not be needed for the program. The Van der Vorms were in the right place, at the right time, for a mare like Andeera is normally not the kind of horse a breeders is very willing to part with. Tragically, Bint Manaya died and the EAO was left suddenly without a replacement for Manaya. It is significant to say that if Dr. Marsafi had the slightest inclination that Bint Manaya might die, he would have never agreed to sell Andeera. She was too precious, as a member of Egypt's premier mare family.

In the meantime, back in Holland, Peter was seizing every opportunity to learn about Andeera. Peter became acquainted with the Andeera daughters sired by Mowaffac, an EAO stallion and in particular with Adora, her oldest daughter by Mowaffac. Adora became Peter's favorite mare and for him, became not only the standard by which he would measure other horses, Adora underscored for Peter, the tremendous value of the Moniet el Nefous family, as seen through Andeera.
"Adora was a most handsomely mare, very small but all Arab and all horse. She resembled Andeera in type. She was feminine, but also strong. She was elegant but she also has something masculine in her aura. That, I think she inherited from her sire Mowaffac."
At some point in the eighties, the Van der Vorm family moved to the United States, taking their horses with them, which they boarded with Paul Hassel in Florida. Louise wanted to breed her mares to Paul's famous bloody-shouldered stallion, Al Nahr Montego. As Al Nahr Montego was a son of the Babson mare, Bint Fada, Louise wanted to incorporate the blood of *Maaroufa into her breeding program. Unfortunately, Paul had recently sold Al Nahr Montego to Israel and Louise decided to breed her mares, including *Andeera to Tego's son, PH Ibn Tego (who was also out of the mare Noufina, a daughter of the *Ibn Moniet el Nefous son, Fa Noufas). It is important to point out the high percentage of Moniet el Nefous blood in this cross. Eventually, the Van der Vorm family returned to the Netherlands, talking all of their horses with them except for one, Te Era, who was given to the Hassel's in exchange for board and was renamed PH Te Era.
The Hassels sold Te Era to Don Plumb of Mitmar Arabians. At the time, Don owned the chestnut stallion, Egypts Al Metrabbi, an Al Metrabbi son out of the celebrated Babson mare, Rose of Egypt. Don is a long time friend of Al and Judi Parks. During this period, the Parks had leased the Bukra son, GAF Wesam, from Barbara Johanson and persuaded Don to breed Te Era to him. She foaled a filly named Dashta by Wesam and shortly thereafter, Te Era was sold again, and she and her filly went to their new home in Miami, Florida. Eventually, Dashta was sold to Carlos Montt in Chili, for whom she would produce fillies by sons of *Kanas, Imperial Al Kamar and PVA Karim. Te Era made her way back to Al and Judi, to be bred to the EAO stallion, *Ibn Farha, who was on lease from Donna Blackmon. Te Era gave Al and Judi a beautiful present in the form of a lovely filly, whom they named Tohfa. When Bernard Van de Putte of Belgium learned of this filly, he wanted her. Bernard had just purchased the EAO stallion, *Ibn Barrada from Pascal Lavreau. Judi loved this stallion and decided to sell Tohfa to Bernard with the agreement that she would get the second foal Tohfa produced, by *Ibn Barrada. This second foal is the lovely gray stallion, *Ben Ben Barrada, who is about to start an endurance career with his new owner, Ken Keele. When Judi and Al acquired the Anter son, *Serag from Nagib Audi, Peter told them that Te Era would give them one of the best Serag foals they would ever have. Al and Judi listened to Peter and that's how a filly named Taherah was born.  Judi was ecstatic with her, as she was everything that Peter had said she would be. Taherah was retained by Judi and Al, with a bright future as one of Judi's premier broodmares.
"She was one of my best *Serag daughters, truly beautiful."
In 1995, Judi was blessed with one of her larger foal crops, approximately 17 foals. With two beautiful female replacements produced for Te Era, Judi made the decision to offer the mare to Peter.
"Judi and Al called me saying they wanted me to have Te Era and offered her for sale to me. I was speechless, clearly had no answer and my first reaction was `thank you but I cannot accept your offer ` and hang up. Five minutes later Judi called again with Al on the speaker saying they REALLY wanted me to have Te Era and made me an offer I could not refuse. I was taken by surprise because I knew how important Te Era was."
In May 1996, Te Era arrived in Holland, to be welcomed by the man who had spent his lifetime, studying and secretly dreaming about owning a horse from this family. Never would he have thought that his dreams would be answered with a half-sister of Adora, who could possibley, give him his own private Adora to love.
I was incredibly happy with her arrival as she was such a calm and easy mare. She was also very handsome and she was a true eye catcher.
Peter was fond of a black Egyptian stallion by the name of Arabah Abbah. He is sired by the *Tuhotmos son, Kasr el Nile and out of the mare Samohga, who traces to the Sameh daughter, Salha. The tail female line goes to Bint Radia, the dam of Hamdan and Shaloul, who also appear multiple times in the pedigree, magnifying the presence of Bint Radia. I found the the three lines to Yosreia interesting, as Kasr el Nile is out of Bint el Nil, an Anter daughter out of the Yosreia daughter, Shahrzada by Nazeer; while Ibn Galal is sired by Galal, a Yosreia grandson out of Mohga, a Yosreia daughter by El Sareei.  We know how well the blood of Anter nicks with Yosreia and there is one line to Anter. Considering the three lines to Moniet el Nefous in Te Era's pedigree, the blood of this particular stallion, Arabah Abbah, is complementary to Te Era. So, that summer, he bred Te Era to him and she was checked in foal. However, it was to be short lived, as Te Era reabsorbed. The following spring, Te Era was bred again to Abbah, to carry Peter's chocolate colt, whom he affectionately calls "Ibbie".  
Ibbie was the most easiest foal I had so far. He was very independent, but easy. Te Era did not like that, her foal being so curious, but hence, that was Ibbie. At 3 months old we started to slowly walk together,doing small tours on the road, mom being upset seeing her foal leave, but Ib didn´t care at all, just enjoyed his new adventures.
At this point, Te Era was 15 years old and Peter longed to breed a daughter from her, that would replace her bloodlines in his program. Peter bred her to Arabah Abbah once again, in the hope that she would produce a filly.
However, Te Era foaled a gray colt in 2000, whom Peter named Rashad Lateef. In 2003, he sold Lateef, who has matured into a competitive endurance horse, earning a 5th place in the Dutch Nationals last year.
"Lateef, is now part of the Dutch National Endurance Team - B selection. He ran twice the 120 miles last season with a new national speed record. This upcoming season he will run his first 160km. If he makes that.... he is part of the A-team immediately, which means he is selected for the European, world championships and....the Olympics in London!!!!!!"
Lateef is Ibbie's full brother. It is interesting to note that prior to her life in Holland, Te Era produced fillies. And this is the frustrating part of being a breeder, especially when nature does not cooperate with the right amount of X and Y chromosomes. We all want fillies but what happens when we only get colts? I admire Peter and for what he has accomplished. Lateef will further the influence of *Andeera farther, in a completely different manner, and provide a powerful example of the reason behind preservation of these bloodlines in providing the world with functional performance horses, designed to be enjoyed, even at the highest levels of sport.
But what about Ibbie? At thirteen years old, Rashad Ibn Te Era remains a stallion and Peter hopes to breed some foals by him.
There is only one desire I have. I would love for him to have 2 or 3 foals in the future. He still covers the old, somewhat unfamiliar blood and has no genetic defects.He is only 13 years old so there is enough time to think of.  Ib clearly stands the Babson/Tuhotmos blood but also resembles his mom Te Era. But his character is golden and that is irreplaceable.


Te Era's life is like a series of random acts of kindness, made by the people who surrounded her. It is a powerful story of transformation, of the possibilities that can turn negative situations into positive opportunities. Our story would be dramatically different, had Dr. Marsafi not initiated this chain of generosity, which many years later resulted in a stallion like Ibbie. His dam, Te Era,  is now 27 years old and continues to enrich the life of Peter with her charm and her beauty. In old age, these mares become so exquisite, as their heads reach a level of "dryness" not seen in their youth. I know that Peter is forever grateful to Al and Judi Parks, for helping him to realize his secret dream and also for the opportunity to use Andeera's influence, to breed his own version of sweet chocolate...like Willy Wonka.
"So shines a good deed in a weary world."-David Seltzer, for the 1971 film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
EnJoy,
Ralph

03 March, 2011

Victory & Art: A Broader Perspective

In VICTORIOUS, a photograph taken long ago by Judi Parks gave us the opportunity to look at the EAO stallion *Faleh++ a little more closely. *Faleh's most influential daughter was the important Imperial Egyptian Stud foundation mare, Imperial Fanniya, out of the Sameh daughter, *Deenaa. Sameh was a critical building block of the Imperial Egyptian Stud breeding program and combined with Alaa el Din, Sid Abouhom and Farida; Imperial Fanniya offered a source to Sameh that was a bit different from *Fawkia, *Serenity Sabra and *Serenity Sonbolah and yet was complementary with the other components of the program like Moniet el Nefous, Nazeer and Halima. Imperial Fanniya produced seven foals: Imperial Farfuri by *Ibn Moniet el Nefous in 1979, Imperial Nafann in 1980 and Imperial Naffata in 1981, both by Moniet el Nafis, Imperial Imfanjari in 1983 and Royal Amirah in 1984, both by Ansata Imperial and two full sisters by Imperial Im Jasim: Imperial Janeesah in 1986 and Imperial Janaabah in 1987. 

Of all the Imperial Fanniya daughters, Imperial Naffata, over time, has proven to be the most influential. While at Imperial, she produced the handsome stallion Al Rayyan and the typey mare, Imperial Madanah. Imported to Israel by Ariely Arabians, she was bred to Imperial Imdal and produced the full siblings, Nafis and Naffada. She was then sold to Ofer Braz, the man who also owns the stallion, Wazir el Kheil and became an important part of his breeding program. She produced fillies for Ofer Braz, namely Majmoa by Baahir, Nob by Imperial Imdal and Sachra Bint Naffatta by the Baahir son, Bariq Al Amal. In 2002, Tzviah Idan became the next owner of Imperial Naffata. Tzviah bred Naffata to Ibn Nahal, a Feisal Ibn Farag son out of the Imperial Imdal daughter, Nahall. Naffata foaled an exraordinary filly named Atiq Nufaar, who unfortunately died. Naffata was bred to Madheen Al Nafous, to produce another lovely filly named Atiq Mashallah.
"Naffata was very reminiscent of her sire Moniet El Nafis -- a very correct and balanced long-lined mare with wonderful legs and joints, marvelous tail carriage, great elegance and nobility and wonderful movement."
The stallion Al Rayyan, bred by Imperial, is now owned by Khalid Saad Al Haddad, of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. A beautiful horse, Al Rayyan was the 1997 Middle East Junior Champion Colt in Jordan. As lovely as he is, what I really found interesting about Al Rayyan is his siring record. Approximately 70% of his foals are female. I couldn't help but wonder...are we in the midst of a stallion who very quietly, is becoming a strong broodmare sire, right before our eyes?

Imperial Madanah was an outstanding mare, so beautiful, with excellent pigmentation. A substantial mare and yet, so refined and elegant. Her head was beautifully shaped, short and wide, with large, black luminous eyes, set lower in her head. Larger sized jowls, a beautiful muzzle, with large, delicate nostrils and smaller sized ears. Her skin was especially fine, with much quality, accentuating the definition of the bones and veins in her face, giving her that dry desert look. As big-bodied as she was, she had a beautiful neck, a bit stretchy with extra length in her poll and a fabulous mitbah. She was a celebration of harmony and smoothness, the quintessential desert mare. Imperial Madanah became an influential mare for Sheikh Nawaf Bin Nasser Al-Thani. Imperial Madanah's triumph, her masterpiece was the extraordinary alabaster stallion, Thaqib al Nasser by Ansata Halim Shah, proudly owned by Glenn North and Louise Cordina of Saba Arabians.

Naffada, a bay-colored mare, was purchased by Christine and Thomas Bobrzyk of Insha Allah Arabians in Germany. They bred the mare to the Ansata Hejazi son, Ansata Selman, to produce Insha Sha Latifa, owned by Ariela Arabians in Israel.
Shown in 2004, she was the National Champion Filly of Israel and five years later, she was named the National Champion Mare of Israel (she was the reserve champion mare of Israel in 2008), in addition to winning Senior Champion Mare and the high scoring horse at the Egyptian Event. As impressive as those show wins are, when I saw her, I was stunned. She is one of the most beautiful mares that I have seen in a long time. She is hauntingly familiar and as I looked closely at the Shlomi Nissim photo of her trotting; I was reminded not only of *Deenaa (her great-great grand dam) whom she looks so much like but also of the Sameh daughters that I have known. She is moving just like those mares! The tail, like a banner, heralds her coming, the elasticity in her hocks, driving her forward and her powerful shoulders have so much freedom, giving her a range of motion which makes it seem like she is swallowing the ground in front of her. She is extraordinary!

And it is with Insha Sha Latifa, that I understand the meaning of the name of Fanniya better, as she has created  a family, who appear to have been created exclusively at the hands of the finest artists. Each horse is unique in their physical beauty and yet, honor the horses that came before them, whether it is via the familiarity of their phenotype, the sound of their whinny, which suddenly reminds you of a horse you knew a long time ago or maybe, when she is at liberty and suddenly she tosses her head in a particular way and for an instant, you see her...you see "Fanny". This "artist", in His new creation, hid "Fanny" in His work, hoping that you would find her. She is still very much alive and relevant, for those who use her influence, to create more art and further her influence, farther than anyone thought possible. Imperial Fanniya is as enduring, as the most celebrated and cherished pieces of art, to be enjoyed by a whole new generation of connoisseurs.

EnJoy,
Ralph