01 March, 2009

Jurneeka: An Egyptian Queen

Khemosabi++++ is the most beloved of all Arabian Horses and the most widely recognized Arabian Stallion, by name, in our world community. What most people don't know is that Khemosabi had a high percentage of Egyptian Arabian blood flowing in his veins. Egyptian? Yes, that's right. The source of the Egyptian bloodlines? His dam, Jurneeka.

Jurneeka, foaled in 1958, was a daughter of Fadjur and out of the mare, Fadneeka. Both Fadjur and Fadneeka were sired by Fadheilan, a *Fadl son. This horse, Fadheilan is the source of the Egyptian blood present in Jurneeka's and in her son, Khemosabi's pedigree, as Fadheilan is half-Egyptian. Henry Babson imported the stallion, *Fadl, bred by Prince Mohamed Aly Tewfik in Egypt. Six years after importing *Fadl, in 1938, Henry Babson also imported a group of Arabian Horses from Poland. In this importation was the mare, *Kasztelanka. Bred to *Fadl, she produced this stallion, Fadheilan.

Jurneeka was a versatile and talented mare. She was a great ambassador for the Arabian breed.
The photograph shows her in Dallas, Texas, 1964, winning the US National Reserve title in English Pleasure with Jeff Wonnell riding her. John Rogers, the owner of *Serafix, is standing next to Jurneeka. In addition to winning the English Pleasure reserve, Jurneeka was also the reserve Western Pleasure horse, in the same year. She was a beautiful mare, embodying the standard of a classic Arabian mare. Jurneeka was rewarded for her beauty, as she was also a US top ten mare in 1963, as well as a Canadian top ten mare, multiple times. At the Scottsdale show, in 1963, Jurneeka attracted the attention of the Husbands, who eventually purchased her from Jeff Wonnell, setting the stage for the superstar horse that was Khemosabi.

Jurneeka produced 8 foals, 5 of which were champions: Jurdino (by Regis), Per Se (by *Bask), El Paso Grande (by *El Paso), Conquest and Khemosabi (both by Amerigo). However, it was Khemosabi, with almost 1300 offspring sired, who spread the influence of this American Egyptian Queen, farther and wider than anyone could have ever imagined in the 1960's.

EnJoy,
Ralph

***Many thanks to Jane Karr, for reading this blog and asking about the great Khemosabi. This is dedicated to you. This article and others that I have written appear within The Arabian Breeders' Magazine, Volume I, Issue I******

2 comments:

  1. Well written. Jurneeka had a wonderful Egyptian heritage. She was highly intelligent and athletic. She also had classical Arabian type. I rode her extensively, including at the Canadian Nationals in 1966 where she was Reserve Champion in the English Pleasure Championship and a Top Ten Mare at halter. She was sensitive. She grew on me. We did not get along very well at first; I thought that she was too skittish and strong-willed. Over the years, we became very close. Jurneeka would always try her best when the classes were the most important. She loved applause and bands. My father rode her in the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California on New Year's Day a couple of times. He said she was by far the best mount that he ever had for the Rose Parade. We assume that Jurneeka thought that the bands and the crowd were there just for her. She was very special in her own right.

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  2. Thanks Paul, for the insight you shared with all of us, concerning Jurneeka. I believe that sensitive horses help us to become better horseman and in the process, these are the relationships we never forget.
    Have a great day.
    Ralph

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