Tagweed

They called him classic, a legend and considered him to be the most precious of all treasures,  one of the marvels of modern Egyptian Arabian horse breeding...for all of the admiration felt for Tagweed, and believe me, the love expressed for him is truly a global phenomenon, he was beyond all of those words, as they didn't fully capture the essence of who Tagweed really was or the overwhelming capacity of love felt for him by the Egypt that loved him, I mean really loved him. Maybe you landed on this page and you are not sure who Tagweed is? Tagweed was an Egyptian Arabian horse, bred by the Egyptian Agricultural Organization (EAO) but he was more than that, his physical appearance was like "a living history book" and recalled horses of another time and despite the modern age in which he lived, deep within his heart resided a spirit of royalty, "an old soul". He really lived his destiny,  he was a King and El Zahraa was his throne and...he knew it. Contrary to popular opinion, the EAO still breeds (always has) wonderful straight Egyptian Arabian horses and Tagweed was not only the proof of it, he was the living pulse of blood that coursed through "the heartbeat" that is El Zahraa.

Tagweed was a 2004 son of the great Gad Allah (Adeeb x Omnia), out of the beloved Tee (Adl x Bint Ibtisam). In the early days of his career, Tagweed was a promising young sire, in great demand by Egypt's growing population of private breeders. As his sons and daughters matured into breath-taking horses, his siring excellence was proven and his role as a crucially important stallion and replacement for his sire, could not be denied. In an interview with Pat Canfield, published by Desert Heritage Magazine, Ahmed Hamza, chairman of the EAO said,

“I  want  to  return  the  EAO to  its  days  of  glory.  I  want  El  Zahraa  to  re-emerge  as  the soul  of  the  Arabian horse. It  must  become  the  place  where people  come  to  get  the  best  horses”.

Certainly, his words could not be any more prophetic, when one fully considers Tagweed. Bred cleverly by the EAO, his sire Gad Allah was out of the Akhtal daughter, Omnia, while his dam Tee was out of the Akhtal daughter, Bint Ibtisam. Akhtal, a very elegant grey stallion, was an important sire for the EAO, siring 55 foals, most of which were retained in Egypt. And yet, for as great as Akhtal was, Tagweed's pedigree was filled with stallions who were also vitally important to the EAO breeding program: *Morafic (Nazeer x Mabrouka) and his son, Shaarawi (out of Bint Kamla), *Tuhotmos (El Sareei x Moniet El Nefous), Anter (Hamdan x Obeya), Ikhnatoon (*Farazdac x Bint Om El Saad) and his son, Adl. One of the more interesting aspects of Tagweed's pedigree is found through Adl and his dam, Enayah and the dynamic legacy of Adaweya (Enayah's dam) hard at work in Tagweed's pedigree, that is, an Adaweya daughter (Enayah) produces a son (Adl), who sires an influential daughter (Tee) and who, in turn produces an influential son (Tagweed). It's a pattern that we find repeating over and over again, whenever you see Adaweya in the pedigree of a straight Egyptian horse. To further underscore how special Tagweed was, we find one of the most royal tail female lines in Egyptian breeding through Ibtisam (Nazeer x Mouna), whose dam, Mouna, was a daughter of the Queen of Egypt, Moniet El Nefous! This was the heritage of the horse we knew as Tagweed and the promise made by all of his ancestors, that his star would be very bright...and it was indeed.

Timeless in physique and Saqlawi by strain, possessing a strong body, coupled with the grace and elegance that is, the very essence of this strain; Tagweed embodied the characteristics one associates with Saqlawi horses, that is, a longer back, longer legs, a longer neck that was well-set, flowing like a palm frond out of powerful, laid back shoulder and a broad, muscled chest. His head was pure enchantment and like a sculpture, finely shaped with big, black eyes, a delicate muzzle and huge nostrils. He was the quintessential Arabian dream, come-to-life and for many Egyptian breeders, he became the living standard, against which, all other horses would be measured. And so, sadly, our larger-than-life champion suffered from a tumour in his throat, that made the very act of breathing challenging and at 14 years of age, he died and  the world, was painfully forced to say good-bye to Tagweed.  A year later, the living legacy that he left us with, insures that his star will continue to shine brightly and yet, the individual that charmed us, to the core of our very being,  is still missed, by all of us who knew him.

***Tagweed died in March 2018  and since then, I have been republishing my blog memorial to him. He was a very photogenic horse and there are many photos of him that are my favorite but this one photo, well, it is in another category of favorite. Many thanks to the photographer, Mohamed Abdo, as he brings Tagweed to life for me, everytime I see the photo.****