Pri Serr Sudan

Pri Serr Sudan was a 1980 chestnut stallion, who was sired by the straight Babson Egyptian stallion, Serr Maariner, and out of Pri Sufa Kuhaylah, an Ansata Ibn Sudan daughter out of Gail Carmona's beloved foundation mare, Black Satin; hence the "Kuhaylah" in the name. At the time of Pri Sufa Kuhaylah's life, the tail female line of these horses, via the 1932 Babson import, *Maaroufa, was recognized as Kuhaylan Jellabi in strain. However, the academic research into the notes and letters of Lady Anne Blunt, together with the mtDNA study done by Michael Bowling, succeeded in changing our level of understanding about these horses, who have been mistakenly identified as Kuhaylan, when in fact they are Saqlawi. I wonder, had this information been made available during the lifetime of these horses,  would this mare's name change to Pri Sufa Saqlawiyah?

Pri Serr Sudan has four lines to the 1932 Babson import, *Bint Bint Sabbah. Two of those lines are through Khebir, the other lines are through Fa Saana and Fabah. Ansata Ibn Sudan, as a son of *Ansata Ibn Halima, has an additional line to Bint Sabah, who was the dam of Sheikh el Arab, the sire of Halima. Bint Sabah was also the dam of *Bint Bint Sabbah. This brings the total to five lines, for *Bint Bint Sabbah. Only *Fadl, with twelve lines, appears more in this pedigree. What I also like about Pri Serr Sudan's pedigree is the presence of *Bint Saada, who is not often found in Babson horse breeding. In the Babson horses that I have liked most, there was always just a little bit of extra special something, that I could not explain with the right words. I still can't. I attribute *Bint Saada with boosting the level of quality in these horses. Pri Serr Sudan has two lines to this mare, through her son Faddan. I also am happy to count the multiple lines to the *Bint Serra I. I counted seven lines. Together with the line to Moniet el Nefous through Ansata Bint Mabrouka and the two lines to *Bint Saada, that's ten sources of Saqlawi blood and don't forget about the seventeen lines previously considered Kuhaylan, which are now Saqlawi. If you add up all of the sources of Saqlawi blood, there are twenty-seven lines to the Saqlawi strain, making this horse predominantly Saqlawi and he looked it. AMAZING!

Pri Serr Sudan was one of my favorite horses at Gail Carmona's farm. I looked forward to seeing him, every time I had a riding lesson. He was stabled in a smaller stallion barn, across from the indoor arena. Serr Maariner was in the middle stall, Sudan was on the left and Ansata Mourad Bey was on the right. It was a champion's barn, a veritable hall of fame and I, in my youth, had little idea of how special this opportunity was for me. "Sudan" was really beautiful and my favorite, with an expressive face, which included his big, black eyes, wrapped in the most beautiful coat color of horses. I enjoyed talking to him and touching him, with his super silky-soft hair, luxuriant to the touch. He was magnificent and I always believed he was Serr Maariner's best son. As beautiful as he was standing still, he was also an athletic horse and Gail took him far in Dressage, all the way to the US Nationals.  I enjoyed watching Gail, with "Sudan" under saddle. He tried so hard for Gail, doing everything she asked,, his face focused and intent on accomplishing the task. I'll never forget the "try" this horse had.

It is amazing to consider the memories of one particular horse, thanks to a long-ago picture. I still have not forgotten this special horse and hope that one day, I am blessed with a beautiful and willing partner, as Sudan was for Gail.

EnJOY,
Ralph