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.