Fifi loves Sidkii

The dam of Ramiah was the Anter daughter Fifi, out of the Nazeer daughter, Mamlouka, a Bint Bint Riyala grand daughter. It is interesting to note that in this pedigree, the Kuhaylah Rodaniyah mare, Mamlouka, following the breeding principle established by the Blunts so long ago, was bred to the Saqlawi stallion, Anter, to produce Fifi. Lady Ann Blunt would have been pleased, I think.

"She is to be covered by Seglawis only."-Lady Ann Blunt, as quoted by Judith Forbis, Authentic Arabian Bloodstock (I), (p. 238)

In addition to producing Ramiah, Fifi also produced the stallion *Sidkii, in 1975, by Aseel, an EAO stallion who traces to the influential mare, Farida in his tail female line. *Sidkii  was imported to America by Don Ford of Lancer Arabians in Reddick, Florida, he did not remain long at the farm, as in October of 1980, Donald Ford held a landmark sale, Lancer's Night of Nights, Sale of Sales, dispersing all of his Egyptian horses, including the stallion *Asadd+++. The dispersal brought six million dollars for all the horses, with a sale average of approximately $200,000.00 per horse. 

Unfortunately, *Sidkii was not bred to many straight Egyptian mares and has left behind only a handful of straight Egyptian horses, including the stallions Le Commander in 2000, Maarkii and Sidkii II in 2001. The most exciting of his offspring is a daughter named Bint Rudaynah, who is out of a Bint Romanaa daughter by *Zaghloul. That's double tail-female Malaka, double Bint Bint Riyala and pure-in-strain Kuhaylah Rodaniyah. While this particular family is more numerous at the EAO than in America, Bint Rudaynah, owned by Karin Floyd of Tucson, Arizona, has produced two fillies: RukanahBintCeasareDHA in 2018 by Ceasare (Sahlih x J Zaziza) and Amurrah DHA in 2020 by Treff-Haven Latif (Treff-Haven Emir x Bint Lebleba). Bint Rudanyah is currently in foal to Baroud DHA (Treff-HavenSabeel x Bint Matala). This is all very exciting news, as Bint Rudanyah, through the efforts of Karin, has rescued this little family of *Sidkii and Fifi from impending extinction. The world, 10 years later, seems so much brighter (than it did in 2011) for this particular combination of bloodlines, again, thanks to Karin.

***This blog was originally written in May of 2011 and updated in July 2021, thanks to Karin Floyed, who contacted me with the ownership and production record of Bint Rudaynah. Thanks Karin!

I must give credit for the photo of *Sidkii, which was taken by Johnny Johnston and the photo of Fifi comes from the EAO but I don't know who the actual photographer was.

A Bright Red Sun Over Egypt

"The Sun, the hearth of affection and life, pours burning love on the delighted earth."-Arthur Rimbaud

The EAO mare, Rayah, shines with a beauty so fierce, she is like the sun, when it is the strongest in the sky and you look for your pair of sunglasses to shield your eyes. She has a very strong body, with a very nice shoulder, well-muscled forearms that are proportionately longer than her cannons and a full hindquarter.

Rayah  is a daughter of the stallion Hafeed Anter, a son of Wahag, out of the Alaa el Din daughter, Basima, who traces in tail female to the root mare of the Hadban strain, Venus. Wahag is a Dahman Shahwan horse by strain, sired by the Hamdan son, Anter and out of Kamar, who traces through Layla to Bint Sabah, the same mare who produced *Bint Bint Sabbah, the mare that Henry Babson imported from Egypt in 1932. So, while we have a Saqlawi influence through Anter, neither side of the pedigree is tail-female Saqlawi, as was recommended by Lady Ann Blunt in breeding the Rodania horses, a long time ago.

Ramiah, as we read before, was sired by the Alaa el Din son, Mohawed, a pure-in-the-strain Kuhaylan Rodan stallion, as Alaa el Din is out of Kateefa, a Bint Rissala daughter while Rafika, Mohawed's dam, is out of the Yashmak daughter, Om el Saad, a Bint Rissala grand-daughter. Ramiah's dam, Fifi, a chestnut mare by Anter and out of Mamlouka, a Malaka daughter and a Bint Bint Riyala grand-daughter.

So, it is interesting, in light of the Lady Ann Blunt quotation that we have been studying, regarding the recommended breeding of a Kuhaylah Rodaniyah, always by a Saqlawi stallion. How effective, really, is that statement in today's age, so many years later after both, Lady Anne Blunt and Rodania were alive?  Rayah is the end result of a predominantly Kuhaylah Rodaniyah mare, blended with Hadban and Dahman strain horses. What is interesting about this combination, is that despite the influences of the Dahman and Hadban strains, we see physically, the evidence of the Kuhaylan Rodan family in Rayah. She looks like what her pedigree tells us she is, she looks her strain. When Lady Anne Blunt was alive, the blood of Rodania and her progeny was not as diluted as it is today. It is very difficult to say with any certainty that a Kuhaylan Rodan will look like a Kuhaylan Rodan or that a Dahman Shahwan will look like a Dahman Shahwan. Here, within this small piece of the Kuhaylan Rodan family, we have studied three horses: Goudah, Rawwah and Rayah and it is only Rayah, who bears any physical resemblance to what we have come to understand as Kuhaylan Rodan type. Maybe, in Rayah, the deciding factor, genetically, which influenced her phenotype to be Kuhaylan Rodan in look, is the presence of the mare Kateefa, a Bint Rissala daughter, on the sire side of the pedigree, to intensify the sources of Rodania blood already present in the dam side. That's something to think about.

EnJoy,
Ralph

PS Many thanks to Judi Parks for the photo of Rayah

A Little Something About Wasel

The *Ibn Hafiza daughter, Wasla, out of Enayat, a *Morafic daughter, was bred multiple times to Mourad, a Gassir son out of the Moniet el Nefous daughter, Mabrouka.  This union produced the full sisters Bint Wasla, Wadhah and Khawater, as well as the full brothers: Wadoud, Hammad, Zaydoon and Wasel, pictured above.

As we have also seen in the lovely Mangoomah, Wasel's tail female line also traces back through the Inshass mare, Yaman, to the Rodania family, through Bint Rissala. Remember that in Egyptian breeding, the Rodania line is available only through Bint Rissala  and Bint Riyala and no other Rodania-line horses, as exists in Crabbet breeding and beyond that, in the general list Arabian horses.

"She is to be covered by Seglawis only."-Lady Ann Blunt, as quoted in  Authentic Arabian Bloodstock, (p. 238), Judith Forbis

Wasel, a 1983 stallion.  is the end result of a Kuhaylah Rodaniyah bred with a Saqlawi, as Mourad is a Saqlawi strain horse, tracing to Moniet el Nefous in the tail female line.  As a matter of fact, there are two lines to Moniet el Nefous in Wasel's pedigree, both through her daughter Mabrouka, the dam of *Morafic, who for many people was the ultimate representative of the Saqlawi strain. A double dose of Mabrouka not only concentrates Moniet,  it intensifies the influence of Sid Abouhom. I also noticed that Mabrouka appears in the pedigree a bit closer than I ever remember in a contemporar Egyptian horse, as she is the paternal grand-dam of Wasel.

Wasel has seven lines in his pedigree to the RAS foundation horse, Ibn Rabdan, a strong and substantial horse. One of these lines is very close up in the pedigree, as Ibn Rabdan appears as a great-great-grand sire. As Wasel's body is comprised mainly of rounded, curvy lines,  in an equally strong body; we understand from where this phenotype comes from...it is Ibn Rabdan. Together with the influence of Sid Abouhom and Sameh, we also understand why  in Wasel, we find an overabundance of substance, strength and power. He is one of the most strongly-built Egyptian Arabian horses that I have seen. Wasel  is built like an old-time horse, with functional conformation and yet, if you pay attention to the details, particularly the definition of bone in his face and the quality of his skin, you will notice that Wasel is clean and elegant, which I attribute to the double dose of Moniet el Nefous.

In the late 1980's, Wasel was one of three EAO stallions (Adl and Shadwan were the other two horses), exhibited at the first Arabian Horse at Home celebration in Jordan, to represent his country, Egypt and the EAO breeding program.. In speaking with people who had the opportunity to see Wasel, immediately they remember his movement, which like his conformation predicts, was powerful. As a breeding stallion, Wasel was used in the EAO breeding program, siring daughters like Akaber, Garadah, Mamfees and Lora, out of Enayah, an Adaweya daughter by Nawaf. he also sired sons like Gomaa, Masashooq, and Sonbol out of the Alaa el Din daughter, Safinaz. Wasel also sired horses, Esalla Al Shaqab out of the Gad Allah daugter, Naasah and Yazeed Al Shaqab out of the Adeeb daughter, Taba (who traces in her tail female line to the King Ibn Sa'ud mare, El Kahila) for Al Shaqab in Doha, Qatar.

Al Mamlkah owns a beautiful grey mare named Setelkoll Raheem. She is a daughter of the mare Farha, a Wasel daughter out of Sofsafa. Many people agree over this mare's beauty, as in 2002, Setelkoll Raheem was named the International Supreme Champion Mare at El Zahraa. She has already produced foals by Farouk Sakr, including a filly named Ameera Mamlkah, who, like her dam is a show champion, earning Champion Filly in the 2008 Egyptian National Show.

"The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives."-Billy Graham

Wasel is no longer alive, having died in 1997 but his influence will continue, as an important and vital piece of the EAO breeding program. In strength, we will always find the courage to continue...that's what he still offers us.

EnJoy,
Ralph

PS Many thanks to Judi Parks for the two photos of Wasel and to Al Mamlkah for the beautiful photo of Setelkoll Raheem. I don't know from where the Ibn Rabdan photo comes from.

Ramiah: 2 S(u)ns

"There was never a great man who had not a great mother, it is hardly an exaggeration."-Olive Schreiner

Ramiah was bred by the EAO and became an important broodmare for El Zahraa. She was sired by the Alaa el Din son, Mohawed, a pure-in-the-strain Kuhaylan Rodan stallion, as Alaa el Din is out of Kateefa, a Bint Rissala daughter while Rafika, Mohawed's dam, is out of the Yashmak daughter, Om el Saad, a Bint Rissala grand-daughter. That's double Bint Rissala, double Rodania. Ramiah's dam, Fifi, a chestnut mare by Anter and out of Mamlouka, a Malaka daughter and a Bint Bint Riyala grand-daughter. Remember that in Egyptian breeding, the Rodania line is available only through Bint Rissala  and Bint Riyala and no other Rodania-line horses, as exists in Crabbet breeding and beyond, in the general list horses. In Ramiah, we have both horses present, both Rodania branches, both Rodania sources of this precious and very powerful blood. The only line in Ramiah's pedigree which is not Kuhaylan Rodan, is Anter, a son of Hamdan and Obeya. He is Saqlawi, tracing through Radia to the celebrated mare, Ghazieh. The people closest to the Rodania blood, the people who purchased her and brought her out of the desert, to England,  Lady Ann and Wilfrid Blunt, felt that the best way to breed horses of the Kuhaylan Rodan strain, were to combine them with only horses of the Saqlawi strain.

"Wilfred Scawen Blunt consigned Rodania to Class 2 of the Crabbet horses (though Lady Anne apparently considered her Class 1) and wrote, 'She may give sires to Class 2. She is to be covered by Seglawis only.' He was right, for this has generally been the best 'nick' over the years, providing the extra refinement needed by the strain."-Judith Forbis, Authentic Arabian Bloodstock (I), (p. 238)

The Blunts held a  deep appreciation for Rodania, as the mare reminded them of their beloved English Thoroughbred. When we read  the words of the Blunts, we need to recognize that the Kuhaylan Rodan Arabian Horse of today, is a much different horse than existed in the Blunt's time period. Today's Kuhaylan Rodan strain horse is also very deeply influenced by the other ancestors present in his pedigree. While the early Kuhaylan Rodan horses may have been coarse, today's Kuhaylan Rodan remains as one of the most beautiful and sought after horses of the breed, just as much a "classic" in his look, as a Dahman or Saqlawi strain horse.

Ramiah, when bred to Gad Allah, a stallion of the Hadban strain tracing to Hind through Yosreia,  produced the stallion Goudah, pictured above left, playing in the snow.  Goudah became a celebrated dancing horse in Egypt and eventually in Saudi Arabia too, where he participated in ceremonial parades which helped to spread his fame even farther. He was gifted to the the Prince of Wales by His Royal Highness Prince Al Waleed bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud, one of the Arabian Horse's staunchest supporters. Goudah now makes his home with Jenny Lees at her Pearl Island Arabians, in Herfordshire, England. Goudah does stand at stud and it's a great opportunity for straight Egyptian breeders, to reinvigorate their breeding programs with the vitality of the current EAO bloodlines. When Ramiah was bred to the stallion, Rashdan, a Dahman Shahwan tracing in his tail female line to Bukra, she produced  Rawwah, pictured above right. Rawwah has been an important sire for the EAO, influencing each foal crop with his classic, old-world type, wonderful temperament and powerful movement.

Both stallions are similar in their phenotype, despite having different sires and it makes me wonder over the  influence that Ramiah contributed to each stallion and to a stronger extent, the impact of the Rodania family, for influencing strong and functional confirmation and for consistently producing horses who have "extraordinary strength and style of going."  Both Goudah's and Rawwah's masculine bodies are comprised of rounded, curvy, circular lines, with powerful laid back shoulders, muscled hindquarter, strong backs with noticeable withers, well-muscled gaskins and forearms, proportionately longer than their shorter cannon bones, plus extreme tail carriage. Both stallions convey great power and electrifying, ground-covering  movement as they move forward, using their back muscles and driving off of their hocks. It is personally exciting to see horses move like this. No, actually, it is deeply satisfying to know that in Egypt, horses are still bred  with the same vitality and vigor, that the Blunts found in a long-ago brave desert mare, who carried scars on her belly and chest, as proof of her courage. She was a real desert war horse, who is still very much alive today.

EnJoy,
Ralph

PS-Credit must be given to Judi Parks for the picture of Ramiah, Jenny Lees for the picture of Goudah and Rania Elsayed for the picture of Rawwah. Without these people, this story could not have happened. Many thanks. 

A New Queen on the Horizon

"A beautiful woman can be painted as a totem only; not as a woman, but as a Madonna, a queen, a sphinx."-Saul Steinberg

Mangoomah is a daughter of the EAO mare, Wadhah (Mourad x Wasla) and a new name to add to the line of queens, since the reign of Moniet el Nefous.

Moniet el Nefous
Adalat
Tee
Mangoomah

Wadhah's tail female line traces back through the Inshass mare, Yaman, to the Rodania family, through Bint Rissala. This is an extremely powerful family of horses, not only within straight Egyptian lines but in all Arabian Horse bloodlines. An amazing number of United States National Champions, both stallions and mares, carry the influence of Rodania in their pedigrees.

I noticed something unique and a bit different about the position of the stallion, *Morafic, in the pedigree. He appears at the top, through the sire line of Gad Allah and then again, at the bottom, in the dam line, as the sire of Enayat. *Morafic appears for the third time, as the sire of Nagda, the grand-dam of Adeeb, who sired Gad Allah. Nagda, when bred to  *Tuhotmos, produced Nawal, the dam of Adeeb. The influence of Moniet el Nefous  is magnified, with five lines to her;  four of those lines are through Mabrouka, the dam of *Morafic, which not only concentrates Moniet but also Sid Abouhom. I also noticed that Sid Abouhom's position in the pedigree, is a bit closer than I have seen in other pedigrees. He appears as a great-great-grandsire. Understandably, when one looks at Mangoomah and appreciates her strong conformation and substance, you understand better the continuing influence of Sid Abouhom in the mare. Considering the number of times that Moniet el Nefous appears in the pedigree, one understands better why Mangoomah  also possesses much refinement and elegance. So, for me, I feel a nice balance in Mangoomah, between strength and substance combined with refinement and elegance.

Mangoomah's movement, through the eyes of those who have seen her, is powerful, maybe even surreal. In every account, her movement is so memorable, that it is the first thing most people mention, when speaking about Mangoomah. When I looked at her pedigree and saw the *Morafic daughter Enayat, no surprise that Mangoomah would also be a good mover, as Enayat produced the very successful show horse, *Sakr. I also noticed that

Sameh 

appears in the pedigree, as the sire of *Ibn Hafiza, who sired Wasla, the dam of Wadha. Rania Elsayed, an incredibly talented photographer, described the movement of Mangoomah, in her photo essay with Nasr Marei,  for straightegyptians.com, A Day At El Zahraa,

"She simulates the typical movement of the ostrich in the way she hits the ground powerfully with a hind leg and compacts the other, while stretching the front legs one after the other, covering as much ground as she can."

I was able to personally experience the powerful movement of Sameh, as seen through his daughters, *Serenity Sonbolah, *Fawkia and *Serenity Sabra. What amazed me most about the movement of these three mares was the elasticity of their hocks, which allowed such powerful, driving power in the hind end plus the strength of the back muscles, balanced by the freedom of the shoulder, allowing a range of motion in the front end, that I had never seen in an Egyptian horse before. It was the three Sameh daughters that Imperial Egyptian Stud owned, which made me appreciate the Sameh influence. When I read the descriptions of Mangooma's movement, I knew without looking at the pedigree, that Sameh must be present and I was happy to find him on the maternal side of the pedigree, as historically, this is the position where Sameh proves most influential.

There is one more horse in the pedigree, who I was also happy to see and her name is Bint El Nil, the dam of  Omnia, who in turn produced Gad Allah. The Hamdan son, Anter, nicked well with the blood of Yosriea, particularly through her daughters: Farasha and Shahrzada. The cross of Anter with Shahrzada produced the chestnut mare, *Dawlat and the grey mare, *Serenity Shahra, as well as Bint El Nil. This line has produced many great horses like the bay stallion, Kasr El Nil, who was imported into Germany and the Rancho Bulakenyo stallion, Richter MH.

Mangoomah has 16 or 17 lines in her pedigree to the RAS foundation horse, Ibn Rabdan. Multiplied as many times as he is in Mangoomah's pedigree, increases the probability that  Mangooma's body will be comprised mainly of rounded lines, very curvey, harmonious and balanced. In combination with horses like Gad Allah, Mourad and Sameh, who were not only powerful horses but possessed  much substance, predicts that Mangoomah would be built like an old-time mare; beautiful, elegant and refined with functional conformation in a substantial body. Mangoomah also proves to all the skeptics in the community, that the EAO never stopped producing excellent horses as was unfairly perceived, still maintains outstanding excellence in their gene pool and is still breeding fantastic horses, who become kings and queens, over all horses...like Mangoomah.

***Many thanks to Rania Elsayed for the beautiful picture of Mangoomah. You can read the story of Mangoomah within The Arabian Breeders' Magazine, Volume II, Issue I***