Ragia

This is the 1938 RAS-bred mare, Ragia,  the dam of Halima and granddam of *Ansata Ibn Halima, as photographed by Robert Earle Buchanan, a professor of Agriculture at Iowa State University, during one of his trips to Egypt in the mid-to-late forties. The photo is part of the Comar Arabians collection (Robert Earle Buchanan was Joe Buchanan's father), now held by Dick and Carolyn Hasbrook, of Twinbrook Arabians. This photo and many more (over 100 photos also taken by Mr. Buchanan) are found in the digital photo library, which is part of the new global online museum, Arabian Horse Archives.

Ragia was a daughter of the 1917 stallion, Ibn Rabdan (Rabdan el Azrak x Bint Gamila), the most important stallion in Egypt of his time. Prince Mohamed Aly Tewfik admired the prepotency of this horse who passed on his dark chestnut color and longer neck consistently onto the foals he sired. Ibn Rabdan was used in the studs of Prince Kemal al-Dine, Prince Mohamed Aly Tewfik, the RAS and the Inshass Stud.

Ragia was out of the mare, Farida (Saklawi II x Nadra El Saghira), who was bred by Prince Mohamed Aly Tewfik and purchased by the RAS. Farida was the great-granddaughter of the Ali Pasha Sherif mare, El Dahma. Dr. Pesi J. Gazder, a geneticist, author, former President of the Arab Horse Society,  and WAHO founder member, picked El Dahma as the most important Egyptian foundation mare of all time. In addition to Ragia, Farida produced the stallion Balance by Ibn Samhan, Bint Farida by Mansour and Futna by Shahloul.

What I found so interesting about this particular photo, as compared to the other photos that I have seen, is that Ragia was chestnut in body color, like her sire and if you believe in phenotype following color, she, like her sire was also robust, her body mass encased within round, curvey lines. Prior to discovering this photo, the only photos that I had ever seen of Ragia were not what I was expecting from an Ibn Rabdan daughter. The combination of Ibn Rabdan with Farida, two horses whose bodies, in appearance were comprised of circular lines, should have produced similarly, especially when combined together.  So, I appreciate this photo, as here is the voluptuous mare that I had been looking for all these years! In addition, I noticed her strong and smooth top line, a neck that appears better set than in the previous photos, flowing out of a nicer wither, balanced with a strong hind end. She's lovely.

The Ragia daughter, Halima, by Sheikh el Arab, although bay in color and therefore, a little bit different from her dam, is consistent with her dam's overall sense of balance and conformational structure. Through knowing her maternal background, one can better understand her future, for when she was bred to Nazeer, the combination nicked well with the genetic power of Halima's sire, Sheikh el Arab, producing the classic stallion *Ansata Ibn Halima.  Ragia remains a noteworthy and globally relevant mare in straight Egyptian breeding, primarily through *Ansata Ibn Halima but also through her granddaughter, Moheba (Sid Abouhom x Halima), a foundation mare for Marbach State Stud in Germany.

There's a sweet poem, written by Shahwan (the same Shahwan as in Dahman Shawan) included in Judith Forbis' Authentic Arabian Bloodstock, Volume I (the blue book). I can imagine Shahwan whispering these words into Ragia's ear, as he caresses her sleek and silky-soft neck.

I love you, O Dahmah
As if you were part of me
And my family,
And though there may be horses many
You are more to me
Than all the others.

Kuhaylan Kurush

Bashar al Kamar (Imperial al Kamar x Binte Aziza MH), bred and owned by Jody Cruz of Rancho Bulakenyo, he traces in his tail female line to El Kahila

El Kahila was a dark bay mare, given by King Ibn Sa’ud to his friend, King Fouad of Egypt, who had developed an interest in racing Arabian horses. Enamored with the quality of Bedouin-bred horses like El Deree, King Fouad's interest soon crossed over to passion and the King was desirous of creating a purebred breeding program, like many of his relatives enjoyed.  El Kahila was the first mare of record for the King's program, however, when El Kahila was entered into the Inshass Herd book, she was recorded as a Kuhaylah, with no mention of the "Kurush" substrain.

The lack of a substrain name is not unusual for horses of Saudi origin and possibly, was done intentionally, to avoid using references that are so intertwined with Bedouin history. In trying to build and modernize his great Arab nation, King Ibn Sa'ud feared that strong memories in the face of change, might influence the Bedouin to return to a more familiar life in the desert. The Mutayr tribe, as led by Faisal al-Dawish, had rebelled against King Ibn Sa’ud, shortly after the conquest of the Hejaz in 1924. King Ibn Sa’ud defeated the rebels at the battle of Sabilla in the Nejd and eventually, Faisal al-Dawish was captured, imprisoned and later, died. In trying to gain control of the Bedouin, the King had to suppress every means, including the mention of the substrain of horses used in desert warfare against him and all he envisioned.

History tells us that the Kuhaylan Kurush horses were extraordinary horses, self-confident and possessing a fiery inner spirit that one would expect of a warrior’s horse. Breeders of the Kurush horses today will tell you that the horses have not changed. One of my favorite quotes about the strain was made by Philippe Paraskevas in the second volume of his world-famous book, The Egyptian Alternative, “in movement, under the saddle Krushans reveal their inner identity as war horses.”

Bred by the clan of al-Dawish, within the Mutayr Bedouin tribe, who originally, were from the highlands of the northern Hejaz, but by the 20th century, had migrated to Eastern Arabia, near Kuwait; the Kuhaylan Kurush horses were highly prized for their athletic ability, their boldness, fearlessness, heightened sensitivity and perceptive ability.

  

In the book written by George H. Conn titled The Arabian Horse in Fact, Fantasy and Fiction, he states that only through an act of war, a family legacy or as a gift, could an individual obtain a Kuhaylan Kurush horse.  So beloved and admired were these horses that Bedouins even composed poems which celebrated the exclusivity of the Krushan strain. One has to wonder whether a scarcity of these horses intensified the desire to acquire one, human nature being what it is, always desiring what it cannot have.  If that is true, then credit must be given to the Bedouin for exploiting human nature, in order to create a market for their horses. Even Abbas Pasha experienced difficulty in procuring horses of this strain, despite his success in collecting horses of other strains, particularly the Saklawi Jedran horses. Lady Anne Blunt, as quoted in her daughter’s book said, “Yet, the failure of Abbas’ emissary to obtain a Kurushiyah, notwithstanding his readiness to pay almost any price, is still a matter of pride to the members of the Mutayr tribe.” Carl Raswan echoed a similar sentiment in his Raswan Index, Volume I, “Abbas Pasha, that collector of superlatives, is said to have spent a great deal of time and energy trying to acquire a Krusheya with no expense spared – but to no avail.” Eventually, we know, through The Abbas Pasha Manuscript, that Abbas Pasha was able to secure at least two mares of the strain for his celebrated stud farm. Abbas Pasha was not the only well-known and recognized personality who was initially refused a Krushan; Ibn Hadi, the Shaikh of Ajman, Ibn Saadun, the Shaikh of Montefyk, Muhammad Ibn Rashid, the ruler of Hail and even, King Ibn Sa’ud, all found it extremely challenging to acquire a horse of this strain.

In Egypt, El Kahila was bred to El Deree, an impressively built stallion with a strong, compact body and powerful laid-back shoulder, who competed as a race horse in Egypt from 1924 through 1927. Their daughter, El Zabia was 100% desert bred and brings the source of desert breeding much closer, as compared to other families, whose desert blood may be found further back in the pedigree.

El Zafir (Awad x Bint Dalal)

The line continues from El Zabia to her daughter, Shams, who was sired by the Dahman Shahwan stallion, El Zafir (Awad x Bint Dalal) who interestingly, traces in his tail female line to the mare, Bint el Bahreyn, imported to Egypt in 1903 from the stud of Rais Issa Ibn Khalifah as a gift for Khedive Abbas II, thereby adding more desert breeding within the family. And so it is, if not somewhat weird, that the birth of the Kuhaylan Kurush strain in Egypt begins not with El Kahila herself but her daughter, El Zabia, sired by El Deree, as her substrain was recorded in the herd book as Kurush and from this point forward, all the horses descending from this line were catalogued as belonging to the Kuhaylan Kurush strain.

***I don't think I could have written this blog without Edouard Al-Dahdah, through his blog, Daughters of the Wind, so I must credit him for much of what I have written here. He has written many blogs on the strain of Kuhaylan Kurush and I recommend his site, as a source of the most accurate and profound information on the asil horse.  Thank you Edouard. Also to Mr. Joe Ferriss, for all that you have written to keep the name of El Kahila relevant in today's breeding culture and Philippe Paraskevas, whose book, The Egyptian Alternative, Volume II, is a treasure, worth it's weight in gold (and more). And Christine Emmert, who took the photo of Bashar al Kamar. She's a great photographer. And finally, a special note of thanks to Jody Cruz, who singlehandedly has created a breeding group of the Kuhaylan Kurush horses, through the mare BintAzizaPrincess, preserving the legacy of El Kahila within American Straight Egyptian breeding.

The Magic of Thee Desperado

Magic Mon Ami (FS Bengali x Magic Mon Amour)

"Once this horse has taken possession of a person's thinking it seems to be impossible to escape again from the fascination surrounding this horse." - Dr. Hans Joachim Nagel, The Arabian Horse: Nature's Creation and The Art of Breeding

For a long time, I did not know who this particular horse was. I really loved the photo, it quickly became a favorite, however,  little did I realize at the time, the magnitude that a single photo would have in pointing out the continuing influence of just one horse. The photo had caught my attention, when posted to one of the social media sites like Instagram or Facebook. It was one of those rare moments, when a photographer successfully captures what it means to be an Arabian horse with a camera. No breed description can describe the hallmarks of the Arabian head, as well as this photo does. I knew of the photographer, Bukra, but I had misplaced her email address and well, you know, one thing leads to another and pretty soon, it becomes less important to learn the identity of a horse in a photo, as compared to the ever-growing list of things that I need to accomplish. I really couldn't forget the horse, as I had saved his photo to my work computer as "wallpaper" and I saw the photo every day. I like the expression of this horse very much, there's a softness that is inviting and the more I looked at his photo, the more I found to like.  His head is of the shape that I prefer, short and wide, with eyes placed lower in the head, as well as having the larger sized jowls that I also, really like. While not extreme headed, he does have a jibbah, which draws attention to a greater amount of width between his eyes, which as a matter of fact, you also see between his nicely-shaped ears. The shape of his head, together with his expression, conveys that this horse is intelligent, with a pleasing and willing nature! His neck, although shorter, has a very nice shape, well-crested, with a fine mitbah. His dark, pigmented skin is especially fine, accentuating the prominence of bone and veins, which intensifies the dramatic presentation of type, in a purebred Arabian horse. He's beautiful.

So, there I was, months and months and months later, watching an instructional video for improving search results on Google and I remembered this particular photo and decided to test the new techniques I had learned. Maybe I can finally learn the identity of this horse?  On an Arab guy's Twitter page, I found the photo and after translating his post which was written in Arabic language, I learned that this is a 2008 stallion, named Magic Mon Ami, bred by Fontanella Magic Arabians in Italy.

Naturally, with this newfound information, I was interested in learning more about this horse; specifically, my main focus was to look for the presence of Egyptian Arabians  in his pedigree. His sire, FS Bengali (Kubinec x Om el Sanadiva) has lines to Aswan (through Balaton), Shaker el Masri and Hadban Enzahi (both through the German-bred mare, Mohena, from the Om el Arab program). Additionally, there are two lines to older Egyptian blood, through the Babson imported mare, *Maaroufa (through the mare, Sadal Melik). However, all of these Egyptian lines are far back in the pedigree, only as close-up as the sixth generation and I felt that there had to be a prepotent Egyptian horse, closer up, to explain what I was seeing with my eyes.

Magic Mon Amour (Windsprees Mirage x Al Amyra)

Magic Mon Amour is a double granddaughter of Thee Desperado, the sire of Windsprees Mirage (her sire) and of BJ Thee Mustafa (the sire of Al Amrya, her dam). Now, it starts to make sense, as she is so classic in her good looks and even though she is a granddaughter, she reminds me of the Desperado daughters that I have been fortunate to meet. That's how influenced she is by Thee Desperado! In addition to Thee Desperado, Magic Mon Amour has a line to the Pritzlaff-bred stallion, Rasmoniet RSI (*Rashad Ibn Nazeer x *Bint Moniet el Nefous), as well as three additional lines to Aswan, through the Russian horses: Nega, Kilimandscharo and Nevada. She also has lines to *Maaroufa, to create more common ground with FS Bengali. When you add all of these Egyptian horses together, Magic Mon Ami has approximately 20% Egyptian blood, with half of that coming from Thee Desperado.

In studying Magic Mon Amour's pedigree, I just couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu. The more I studied her pedigree, the more familiar it became. I had not only seen this pedigree before but I had studied it. I thought and thought and thought but for the life of me, I couldn't remember where I had seen the pedigree before. When I was working on the blog for Wolkenzorro+// and studying the pedigree for the Egyptian sources of the black color, it hit me, like a ton of bricks. How could I forget?

Magic Magnifique (True Colours x Magic Mon Amour)

I had been getting marketing-type emails, earlier this year, for a very lovely black stallion, a son of True Colours (Thee Desperado x Daheda), who is owned by Kathleen Ohlsson of Sweden Arabian Stud. Perhaps, you have been receiving the same emails too?  The stallion's name is Magic Magnifique and he is a maternal sibling of Magic Mon Ami, as both horses are out of Magic Mon Amour. They are actually a little more than half brothers, as True Colours has a line to Hadban Enzahi (Nazeer x Kamla) through his dam, Daheda, while FS Bengali has  Hadban Enzahi  through the Om el Arab stallion, Sanadik el Shaklan.  Magic Magnifique is an impressive horse. Not only is it  difficult to find black-colored horses with a high level of refinement and elegance but it is extremely tough to photograph black horses, manipulating the light to convey their abundance of beauty. My compliments to the photographers of Magic Magnifique, for the many wonderful photos taken of this most beautiful horse. I am amazed that the horse in the photo that I like, is a brother to another horse, the subject of an email that I also enjoyed receiving. In my mind, it underscores the consistency of a broodmare like Magic Mon Amour and for the family of horses she is producing, despite the variety of stallions that she has been bred to, beyond True Colours and FS Bengali.

I checked the breeding record of Magic Mon Ami and I found it interesting that he has been bred to daughters of True Colours like Zahira by Musica and Magic Roby. I am not sure if this cross has anything to do with how well his dam crosses with True Colours, as she also produced a younger full brother of Magic Magnifique, Magic Suleiman in 2010.

Windsprees Mirage (Thee Desperado x GL Lady Mirage)

The most interesting aspect of Magic Mon Ami's breeding record is found through another horse, the Italian National Champion Stallion, Windsprees Mirage, his maternal grandsire. Magic Mon Ami has been bred to Windsprees Mirage daughters and granddaughters, further intensifying the bloodline of Thee Desperado in the majority of his get, for example, Magic True Black (Magic Mon Ami x Magic Roby) has four lines, two lines on each side of the pedigree, sire and dam. And perhaps, the greatest lesson, beyond learning the identity of the horse in the photo, is witnessing the prepotence of Thee Desperado at work in these particular horses. Used in combination with a wide variety of bloodlines like Russian, Polish, Spanish, Crabbet, Davenport and multiple sources of American Foundation breeding; his influence is unmistakable, as we see in these beautiful horses, like Magic Mon Ami and Magic Magnifique.

Ekstern: A Most Extraordinary Horse

Ekstern (Monogramm x Ernestyna)

I have been receiving the email notices from Tutto Arabi, announcing the lots that have been consigned to the Pride of Poland Auction, to be held on August 11th. I quickly scanned the list and discovered that two Ekstern daughters are also part of the sale:

• Lot #10 - Pustynna Malwa, a grey daughter out of Pustynna Roza, an Emigrant daughter
• Lot #15 - Potentilla, a bay daughter out of Panonia, an Eukaliptus daughter

For me, after having watched the videos, it came down to two bay-colored mares, lot #4, the QR Marc sired Cheronea (out of the Emigrant sired Chimera) and Potentilla, who combines two of my favorite Polish horses: Ekstern and Eukaliptus. However, if it came down to choosing only one horse, without hesitation, it would be Potentilla, because I know of the influence that Ekstern exerts through his exceptional daughters, like Potentilla.  

Perhaps you are not so sure as to who Ekstern is? The most amazing thing about Ekstern's life is that it almost didn't happen at all. His sire, Monogramm (Negatraz x Monogramma) did not appeal to Andrzej Kryztalowicz, the Director of Janow Podlaski and an old-time Polish breeder, distrustful of Russian bloodlines. Plus, he did not like chestnut colored horses, which Monogramm is. If Monogramm were to go to Poland, it would depend solely on the enthusiasm of the highly esteemed master breeder, Ignacy Jaworoski, the Director of Michalow, who together with Izabella Pawelec-Zawadzka had fallen in love with the horse, as Monogramm entered the main arena at the 1988 US Nationals. Bill Bishop, who had purchased the horse from Dick and Kay Patterson of Patterson Arabians in Sisters, Oregon, was not interested in leasing him to anyone. It was only through the strong determination of Ignacy Jaworoski, plus the intervention of friends like Izabella Pawelec-Zawadzka, who advocated for Monogramm in Poland, while Tomasz Skotnicki worked on Bill Bishop in America.  What seemed at best to be a very remote possibility, became reality five years later, setting the stage for not only Ekstern, but also, for the return of  the *Bask line to Poland, as well as that of Mammona, who was captured and taken from Poland as a foal. Monogramm was used for the 1993 and 1994 breeding seasons at Michalow and was so successful, that he continued to breed mares (through frozen semen) until 1997. Ekstern was born in 1994, one of 29 Monogramm-sired colts in his first foal crop. Jerzy Bialobok, who became the Michalow Stud Director said of Ekstern, " Already during his first days we could see the great beauty of this horse." 

I think that Ekstern has much universal appeal, that is, regardless of which bloodline you subscribe your interest to, you will find Ekstern attractive. Ekstern possesses unbelievable breed type, in a most harmonious way. He is close-coupled with a strong and smooth top line. He is well muscled, with a circular body that delivers the power for his electrifying movement. His head is short and wide, dry and elegant with the biggest, blackest eyes I have seen in a very long time, also with a inner sparkle that hints of an abundant joy that resides deep within this horse. He has great tail carriage, very fine, black pigmented skin, elastic nostrils that maintain a beautiful shape when fully dilated and short, tippy ears. He is a most photogenic horse but to capture the full essence of Ekstern, one must see him at liberty, where his physical beauty, his brilliant movement and engaging personality all come together in a most overwhelming way.

How significant is Ekstern? Despite a very pronounced Saklawi phenotype, in sire line, he traces from Monogramm-to-Bask-to-Witraz-to-Ofir, the Kuhailan Haifi son taken from Poland as a six year old. In tail female line, Ekstern traces through his dam, Ernestyna (Piechur x Erwina) to the *Naborr daughter, Estebna and from her, all the way back to Milordka, bred by the Sanguszko family of Slawuta Stud and foundress of Polish female family number 5. As Monogramm restored the *Bask line for Poland, *Naborr did the same for the Ibrahim sire line and it is especially touching to find both of these horses in what is for me, a unified Polish pedigree (pre-war & post-war), which reads like a celebration of Poland's continuing love for the Arabian horse. It is also interesting to consider that Dr. Edward Skorkowski, who strongly believed in maintaining a balanced breeding program to insure the survival of distinct strain types, considered Milordka a Saklawi strain mare, because she strongly embodied the characteristics of the strain. No surprise that her descendant, Ekstern, would also embody strong Saklawi type.

As a show horse, Ekstern was a charismatic stallion, winning many fans at every show that he was entered, starting as the Polish National Junior Champion in 1995 to Polish National Senior Champion, All Nations Cup Champion and World Champion, all in 2000. Jerzy Bialobok remembers, "Ekstern always liked to show, it was clear that it gave him pleasure."

As a sire, Ekstern has proven to be exceptional, with a record number of excellent daughters produced. Ekstern, in my opinion, despite siring Esparto, is one of the great broodmare sires, that is, a smaller number of genetically unique stallions, who only come once in a while and establish their influence through their daughters. Again, in my opinion, it is through the maternal side of the pedigree, where Ekstern will continue to exert his influence, long after he is gone from this earth. His daughters are unmistakably like him in phenotype, movement and spirit, with that "look-at-me" attitude that springs from an in-born joyful self confidence. His daughters have not only matured into broodmares of great influence, they have also produced daughters and in some cases, granddaughters of significance. In 2016, the Ekstern daughter, Pepita, a very beautiful fleabitten mare, was sold at auction for $1.4 million Euros, a record price in any time but especially so today, as horses are not selling easily. His other daughters like Wilga, Palanga, El Emeera, Wieza Roz, El Ghazala, Laranda and Cenoza are equally wonderful. It is almost impossible to capture all of his get and even his grand get, within the limited amount of space in a blog. However, with that said, mention must also be made of his daughter, Ekliptyka, who produced the very exciting Champion stallion Equator by QR Marc, a popular horse in the current world stage, adored by many people all over the world, including myself.

In thinking about Ekstern and trying desperately to find words that accurately describe what happens to me when I think of him,  I am reminded of something I once read by Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, a popular Indian mystic who was also known by the name of Osho,

“...to help you die to the mundane and to the ordinary so that the extraordinary explodes in your life. ”

A great horse is just that, an "explosion", the beauty of the horse so overwhelming to the senses, that it is not possible to continue thinking about horses in the same way.  This new horse becomes the standard, against which all other horses are measured. The force at which Ekstern comes into a life, has the power to turn everything upside down and inside out. I hope that when you think of Ekstern or see his photograph, that you will be as awed as I continue to be and experience all the wonder from this most extraordinary horse's life. He really is that...EXTRAORDINARY.

****It is with overflowing gratitude that this blog is lovingly dedicated to Ignacy Jaworoski, Izabella Pawelec-Zawadzka, Tomasz Skotnicki and Bill Bishop for all they did to provide the genetic fiber through Monogramm, which made a most wonderful horse like Ekstern possible. 

AK Fanniya

AK Fanniya was a 1977 daughter of *Ansata Ibn Halima and out of *Narimaan, a *Morafic daughter out of *Deena, a pretty bay Sameh daughter. There's a Guy Clark song that I like very much that opens with the lyrics, "My favorite picture of you is the one where you're staring straight into the lens." I hear this song playing in my head, when I look at this photo of AK Fanniya, which is my favorite of this charming, elegant and wonderfully pigmented mare.

What's interesting about this particular mare are the two tail female lines, which trace back to Farida. *Ansata Ibn Halima traces through the Ibn Rabdan daughter, Ragia; while *Narimaan traces through the Shahloul daughter, Futna. Her flea-bitten coat coloring is a little more profuse than her sire, which would fool someone into thinking that she  favors *Ansata Ibn Halima in phenotype. However, in my opinion, I think she is more profoundly influenced by *Morafic, as her head is a little longer, a bit more narrow, with a higher eye placement than we observe in *Ansata Ibn Halima. It is my personal feeling (even though modern mtDNA science does not support Bedouin strain theory, as taught to us by Raswan) that combining two Saqlawi stallions on the maternal side of the pedigree,  have more to do with the appearance of attributes that we have learned to associate with the Saqlawi strain.

I also found the use of Nazeer interesting, as it is a more intense version of Brackett's formula, "let the sire of the sire, be the grandsire of the dam." In AK Fanniya, we find a Nazeer son, bred to a double Nazeer granddaughter, which also concentrates the use of Mansour, Nazeer's sire; as he is also the sire of Sheikh el Arab.

Ibn Rabdan and his son, Shahloul also appear multiple times in the pedigree, although I found it interesting that this father/son combination is better represented in *Narimaan's side of the pedigree, than in *Ansata Ibn Halima.

How is she represented today? AK Fanniya was bred by Bentwood Farm, who also, are the breeders of the few foals she produced in America, before she was sold overseas. Bred to a variety of Moniet el Nefous stallions, she produced two sons and three daughters, of which, only the daughters have produced progeny, the most successful being her 1983 daughter, AK Shahniya, by AK Shah Moniet, who in turn, produced a  daughter named Shameerah, by MFA Mareekh Amir. This particular mare is a producer of "kings", having produced two sons who are furthering the bloodline of AK Fanniya into the present day and beyond: Farres by Anaza El Farid and Shahim Al Nakeeb by NK Hafid Jamil. AK Fanniya's daughter, AK Athena, by Sar Ibn Moniet, has produced daughters by The Elixir (Hi-Fashion Mreekh x Jaliya), MC Alexsis and MC Elextris, both of whom have been especially prolific, producing horses who have done well at the Egyptian Event, the premier show for Egyptian Arabian horses in America.

Roses for June 8th

"A single rose can be my garden... a single friend, my world." -Leo Buscaglia

Walter Schimanski and John Fippen joined forces and purchased the 1958 Fa-Serr daughter, Rose of Egypt. Both men felt great appreciation for this black mare, a daughter of Fa-Abba, whose own mother was the 1932 imported mare, *Bint Bint Sabbah. Rose of Egypt was an older mare and by the time she was purchased in 1978, she was not an easy mare to breed and was considered "barren", unable to settle to any stallion. She had in fact a production record, producing 6 mares and 3 stallions:

• Little Egypt, 1962 bay mare, sired by Trojan (Tobruk x Rulyna)
• Ozark Rose, 1963 chestnut mare sired by Tobruk (Sulejman x Fazala)
• Serr Bruk, 1964 bay stallion sired by Tobruk
• Fadl Witez, 1965 bay stallion sired by Tante Witez (Witez II x Tanezah)
• Rosebud, 1966 bay mare sired by Tante Witez
• Star of Tobruk, 1967 mare sired by El Tobruk (Tobruk x Rosebruk)
• Tobruks Dancer, 1968 mare sired by El Tobruk
• Egypts Rose, 1971 bay mare sired by Iszi (Islam x Zadena)
• Egypts Al Metrabbi, 1973 chestnut stallion sired by Al Metrabbi (*Morafic x Sammara)

With a lot of confidence that she could still produce another foal; Walter and John purchased this mare and planned to breed her to Lothar, a *Fadl son out of Habba. Walter was concentrating on the Dahman Shahwan strain and the mare, *Bint Bint Sabbah. The resulting foal by Lothar and Rose of Egypt would be pure-in-the-strain Dahman Shahwan, as both tail female lines in the pedigree would trace to *Bint Bint Sabbah. Rose of Egypt was sent to Jan Parks' ranch and she would closely watch Rose of Egypt and as soon as the mare showed signs of heat, Jan would call Walter and he would trailer Lothar to the ranch, to breed to Rose of Egypt.

I am not sure what happened next or where and how the communication broke down as Rose of Egypt did go into a strong heat, however, instead of calling Walter as agreed, Jan bred Rose of Egypt to her stallion, AK Waseem Montaal (Amaal x Al Nahr Moroufa). HUH? Walter was devastated. He had loved this mare for a long time and had dreamed of a Lothar-sired foal. Unfortunately, this was not to happen as Rose of Egypt settled to AK Waseem Montaal.

Inshalla Imhotep (Ra'adin Inshalla x Shar Sabbah)

 In 1979, Rose of Egypt delivered what would be her last foal, a very pretty grey filly who was named Rose of Masada. Despite the grave error, all agreed that Rose of Egypt had produced well and the men were reluctantly happy, quickly recognizing that her line would continue in SE form. As Rose of Masada matured, Walter decided that she did not fit within his breeding program and so, Rose of Masada became a broodmare for John and Betty Fippen. She was bred exclusively to their Ra'adin Inshalla son, Inshalla Imhotep and in 1988, Rose of Masada produced a grey filly, whom the Fippen's named, Ms Rose. In June of 1995, my dreams, my wishes, all my hopes, took on flesh and bone and materialized in this lovely grey mare, Ms Rose.  While I understand the significance that a Lothar-sired foal out of Rose of Egypt may have had in the Masada breeding program, had this "mistake" never happened, I would not have had a rose enter my life, filling my senses to overflowing with her sweetness and with her beauty.

It makes my hair still stand-on-end to fully consider the implication of a horse named "Rose" in my life. As a Catholic, I am devoted to the most blessed Virgin Mary. As a child, I prayed the Rosary every night with my parents, always "sneaking in" a petition for an Arabian Horse. Roses have always been associated with the Blessed Mother and the strong scent of Roses has always been present whenever she has appeared on earth. As a young adult, I have always turned to Mary for everything, as I understood her to be the greatest intercessor, for our Heavenly Father, on our behalf. Many, many times I prayed to Mary for help, in fulfilling my horse dream. And here was this horse, who was not supposed to be born and is named "Rose".

"In my personal life, roses have great significance for me and whenever a rose enters my life, I know that only goodness will follow."

Be encouraged! Stand tall in your shoes and dream! DREAMS DO COME TRUE!

**Today, June 8th, would have been Rose's 31st birthday. For 20 years, she was a big part of my life, my best friend and I really miss her.**

Wolkenzorro+//

Wolkenzorro (Wolkenzauber x Midnight Lace)

Wolkenzorro+//  is a 2004 Half-Arabian horse, sired by Wolkenzauber, who is recognized as an American Warmblood, his pedigree combines Hanoverian breeding with Thoroughbred, Quarter Horse and Paint horse bloodlines. Wolkenzorro+//  is  really striking, he's not only a tall horse, measuring 16 hands but he is flashy, due to his unique black overo coloring and Arabian horse silhouette.  He calls attention to himself wherever he goes.

Midnight Lace (Al Baraki x Mariisiy Lailah)

In The Horse of the Desert, William Robinson Brown wrote of the influence of Arabian blood when crossbreeding with other breeds. He said, "The longer and more intense the fixation of type, the greater influence it will have in the cross. For this reason, the Arabian type, being the oldest and most fixed, has exercised the greatest influence in all the crosses historically recorded." Wolkenzorro's dam, Midnight Lace, is not only a straight Egyptian Arabian horse but she is very interestingly bred, a daughter of Al Baraki (Thee Desperado x Alijamila) and out of Mariisiy Lailah (Coaltown x Bint Bint Omayma). The Minstril (Ruminaja Ali x Bahila) is the sire of Thee Desperado and Bint Bint Omayma, as well as the full brother of Coaltown (Ruminaja Ali x Bahila). Of the 50% of Arabian blood that makes a horse "Half Arabian", approximately 31.25% of the Arabian horse blood is represented by Ruminaja Ali, Bahila and their sons, The Minstril and Coaltown.  A very small percentage, approximately 18.75% comes from Egyptian Arabian horses other than Ruminaja Ali and Bahila! Think of it this way, in the generation of the great grandparents, only three of the eight horses are different: AK Amiri Asmarr, Ansata Justina and Bint Omayma!

Coaltown, the sire of Mariisiy Lailah

While Wolkenzorro's sire is a flashy black  overo stallion too, his paternal grandsire, Winnetou, was purchased in Germany by Marion O'Connor, who said of him, "a fabulous black colt with lots of chrome, movement like a butterfly and the presence of a prince."

The Arabian side of the pedigree also exerts an influence on Wolkenzorro's rich, deep black color, as Midnight Lace and her sire and dam are black, as was Alijamila, Coaltown, Bahila and Gharib. Approximately 80% of Midnight Lace's pedigree is dominated by black colored horses!

Wolkenzorro+// (Wolkenzauber x Midnight Lace

Wolkenzorro+// has been trained under saddle in the discipline of dressage, with much success. That's how I learned about him. I was watching videos on Dressage Today Online, when I stumbled upon footage of Wolkenzorro+// participating in a Conrad Schumacher clinic. Despite his eye catching color which immediately grabs your attention, he possesses an overabundance of Arabian breed type, with rounded lines, close coupling, strong and smooth topline, gracefully arched neck, an expressive, short, wide head and a high carried tail. It's obvious that he has Arabian blood but his body, as a result of his work, accentuates the pleasing circular lines of the Arabian breed. In My Horses, My Teachers,  Alois Podhajsky writes about the effect that consistency in training has upon the body of the horse, "Correct work had made him more beautiful, his muscles had developed, and he moved cheerfully and powerfully in balance and harmony." It is not difficult to understand that Wolkenzorro+// has prospered under Mimi Stanley's guidance and experience, attracting many people who like me, appreciate his beauty and athletic ability. In 2012, this most handsome horse was named a National Champion Half Arabian Sport Horse Stallion. With Mimi Stanley as his partner, Wolkenzorro+// has been also a serious competitor under saddle, earning a National Championship in Third Level (2016) and Second level (2015), in addition to also earning a National Reserve Championship and several Top Tens in first through third levels. Incidentally, if you are wondering what the symbols "+//" after his name mean, Wolkenzorro+// was awarded a Legion of Excellence, having earned 240 points through regional and national wins in performance and in hand classes.

Zunny Delight (Wolkenzorro x PWA Mee Mee)

Wolkenzorro+// was bred by Marion and Patrick O'Connor of Cocolalla Creek Sport Horses and is owned by Sally Henry, Gladstone, North Dakota.  Wolkenzorro+// is triple registered as a Half Arabian, an American Warmblood and a Pinto stallion. He is a proven sire, with equally beautiful get, like the bay overo mare presented above, Zunny Delight, who is out of a purebred mare, PWA Mee Mee (Bachelor Bey x Magic Dancer), a double *Bask great granddaughter. Mimi Stanley continues to campaign Wolkenzorro+// in dressage, currently competing in FEI level tests and the horse continues to stand at public stud, for all those people who have always dreamed of "painting" a masterpiece of their very own.