all for the love of a horse...: Dr. Ibrahim Zaghloul

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

7 comments:

UnknownFriday, March 18, 2011 5:55:00 AM
Ralph

Thank you so much for posting that deeply felt tribute to Dr. Zaghloul. He truly was a great force for knowledge, integrity and love of the Arabian horse. He so appreciated all the prayers and thoughts that came to him in the past few months.
We had planned to do an oral history of his time with the horses but sadly we did not have the time.
I am so glad that his last interview came in time so that people could be reminded of who he was.
As with so many of you, I will miss him greatly.

Very best regards,
Pat Canfield
ReplyDelete
Replies
JudiFriday, March 18, 2011 10:52:00 AM
Ralph... Thank you for your tribute to Dr. Zaghloul. He was a dear friend to me and yes as Pat stated a great force for knowledge, integrity and love for the Arabian horse.

I will always remember my many discussions with him about the breeding of Arabian horses and the sharing of our mutual passions about these wonderful horses. I will also always be eternally grateful to Dr. Zaghloul for his agreeing to breed Ramiah to Hafid Anter in an attempt to preserve the Sheykh Obeyd lines at the EAO. Rayah lives on in their breeding programme yet today.

Yes, he left us way too soon.

Goodbye my very dear, dear friend, I will miss you very much.

Judi Parks
ReplyDelete
Replies
KristinFriday, March 18, 2011 11:40:00 PM
Lovely tribute.
ReplyDelete
Replies
JoeFSaturday, March 19, 2011 8:36:00 PM
wonderful tribute Ralph. Dr. Zaghloul is so deserving of this as a real steward to the breed.
ReplyDelete
Replies
Anthony PontrelloMonday, March 21, 2011 4:35:00 PM
Dr. Zaghlou was a fountainhead of both knowledge and love of the Arabian horse. A wonderful tribute and beautifully written, as always, Mr. Ralph.
ReplyDelete
Replies
sewa mobilMonday, March 28, 2011 1:03:00 PM
Nice article, thanks for the information.
ReplyDelete
Replies
Ralph SuarezTuesday, March 29, 2011 8:22:00 AM
posted on behalf of Emadeldin Zaghloul:

Dear Ralph:

Thanks for your meaningful funeral tribute in the memory of my father.
I was overwhelmed with your gentle words; I appreciated it so much.

Thanks everybody for your sincere sympathy condolences that truly offer support and show your care at this difficult time , I would like to express my sincere feelings to all of you .

I would ask you Ralph to pass a lot of thanks on to your friends on behalf of my family and I. You don’t know how much difference your words made .

Emadeldin Zaghloul son of Dr. Ibrahim Zaghloul
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

MY FAVORITE WEBSITE

If you want to understand the desert Arabian horse on a deeper level, then you will want to visit Daughters of the Wind, a blog maintained by Edouard al-Dahdah, since 2008. It's my favorite place to visit, on a regular basis. For me personally, the information that Edouard presents is at times so profound, that I find myself weeks, even months later, still thinking about what he has written. I consider him a treasured source of inspiration and for the times that I don't feel like writing anymore, a significant source of encouragement. In one place, you will be able to read of the horses, their heritage; as well as the culture, traditions and the geography of the land, from where they originated. I strongly encourage you to visit his blog to broaden your understanding and deepen your appreciation for the Bedouin-bred horse.

MY FAVORITE WEBSITE X 2

The Horse In Word and Picture is the blog of Rania el Sayed, a very talented photographer, whose equine photography is second-to-none. I still remember when I first learned of Rania, it was all because of the late Dr. Nasr Marei. At the time, Nasr published an article that featured Rania's photography. I was thrilled by the photography and later, "meeting" Rania was one of the highlights of my horse life. I loved her photo of Mangooma and Rania, in an act of kindness never to be forgotten, let me use her photo in my blog. Thanks Rania for all of your support. You'll love Rania's blog and all of the equine topics she covers, including the straight Egyptian Arabian Horse. She really pushes me to think deeply about things that I haven't thought in a while. And you don't have to join Facebook, to read her posts. .

MY FAVORITE BOOK

One of the questions that I am asked most frequently is which book(s) do I recommend? Judith Forbis', The Classic Arabian Horse, published in 1976, is MY FAVORITE BOOK...EVER. Prior to the publication of this book, we really didn't have anything that compiled the history, the bloodlines & breeding practices and conformation (including breed type) of the straight Egyptian horse in one volume. You had to dig through multiple sources, sometimes in languages foreign to one's own, to try and develop an understanding of the Egyptian Arabian horse. So, this is my recommendation to you today, especially if you are just starting, this is the most important book you will ever own. You can find the book on Amazon, previously owned, at a very affordable price.

A NEW FAVORITE BOOK

Many times, I have heard other enthuiasts say, "if only I could get into the mind of this breeder and understand the Arabian horse as he or she does!" Dr. William Hudson, a long-time breeder, weaves together his lifetime of experiences including the latest developments in equine genetic science with the history, art and culture of the Arabian horse. This is not the type of book that you will read, cover-to-cover, in one sitting. You will find yourself turning to this massive 1,500 page, 2-volume set, over and over. If you love Arabian horses and want to understand the breed intimately, on a deeper level, this is the only book you will ever need to own. If you are breeding Egyptian Arabian horses, I urge you to purchase this 2-volume set before you breed one more horse!

MORE FAVORITE BOOKS...

One of the questions that I am asked most frequently is which book(s) do I recommend? Previously, I mentioned Judith Forbis' THE CLASSIC ARABIAN HORSE which is a great introduction to the breed and to Egyptian Arabian horses specifically. But now, you have read that book and are ready to go deeper. So, this is the book that I recommend reading (VOLUME II ) without hesitation. It's fantastic. The depth of this book, within tail female lines, sire lines and strains found in Egyptian (EAO) breeding is not found anywhere else. If you are serious about the Egyptian Arabian horse, whether a breeder, student or enthusiast, you must read this book, at least once!

STILL MORE FAVORITE BOOKS

In the Preface, Dr. Nagel wrote, "Since it is claimed that the Arabian horse breed is one of the oldest on earth, one has to accept that it is also in the crossfire of many opinions which sometimes clash vigorously. There are obviously many doubts and errors, and the advocates of different concepts seem to be not ready to settle on a common stance. It should encourage the reader to think...The refreshing variety of thoughts surrounding this noble member of the great family of horses should not be lost." Whether you agree or disagree with Dr. Nagel, is not what is important but rather, the resulting thought that this book will inspire. I can't even tell you how many times I have read this wonderful book cover-to-cover. It's one of the more provocative books that I have ever read and each time I have read it, a part of the book that had not impacted me previously, will cause me to think deeply for days, weeks and even months at a time. So, dear reader, I recommend this book to you, in the hope that it will inspire you to think deeply about our breed and examine why, you feel the way you do.

"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

In the summer of 2006, when I discovered Blogger, the last thing on my mind was creating a blog. At the time, I had been participating in a popular Egyptian Arabian horse website and desired to find a website that would allow me to "cut-and-paste" the posts that I had written for future reference. From those humble beginnings, this blog was born. I'm not a professional writer and although I want to say that writing is a hobby; I think it is better to say that I write for the love of the breed. I've had the good fortune to meet a number of horses who are now considered legendary, as well as some really wonderful people, who are equally legendary. Over the years, people have suggested that I charge a subscription fee or pursue paid sponsorships but you know how money changes everything and this blog, after all, is a labor of love. So, there you have it, the story of the blog. Many thanks to the people who make this blog doable, for example, where would I be without any of the photographers, the "visual storytellers" of our breed, who allow me to post their pictures and to the authors of the many books and magazine articles that I have read over the course of 45 or so years, helping to educate a long ago kid, crazy in love with Arabian horses. And finally, an overwhelming amount of gratitude for you dear readers, for coming here to this place, to read, discover and celebrate this common ground we share, all for the love of an Arabian horse.