D Khattafah

I received an email announcement from Arabian Horse Magazine earlier this week, for the striking liver chestnut mare, D Khattafah, sired by Royal Colours and out of a Marwan Al Shaqab daughter, D Jowan. She will be competing in the Senior Mare classes at the upcoming show in Ströhen. Previously, she was named the Gold Champion Mare (unanimous) at the International B Show at Wels and the Silver Champion Senior Mare at the UAE National. No surprise over her wins, as this particular mare is impressive.

At first glance, you may think she is only 50% Egyptian, with all of the Egyptian lines coming from her sire, Royal Colours (True Colours x Xtreme Wonder) but surprisingly, her dam, D Jowan, contributes additional Egyptian lines through horses like Anaza el Farid, *Ibn Moniet el Nefous, *Soufian and even, *Fadl, raising the percentage of Egyptian blood to 53%.

I wanted to post the Menton video for a couple of reasons, the first of which is her spirit and attitude. From the moment she entered the ring, she exuded confidence and control over her emotional state. She was alert and curious, with her head held high, looking at everything that surrounded her, like you would expect from an Arabian horse. Her movement was forward and even, with more length to her stride and did not reflect the mind of a frazzled horse, moving without direction in short, erratic steps. In my lifetime, I have found chestnut colored horses to be a little different,  a little more sensitive, as compared to horses of other coat colors. So, in the Menton video, I was impressed with her handler, as he  did two things: he was respectful with the lead, not only with the amount of lead that he gave her but he also didn't pull or yank on her head.  The second thing that he did was to touch the mare, before he asked her to do something, reassuring her. You'll see this throughout the video, as it is not an isolated event. I recognize that what I am commenting on, has more to do with showing style, than with D Khattafah herself, but the respect for the horse within the showing style boosted the stability of her mind, which relaxed her body and allowed for her beauty to radiate out to all who saw the performance. In a few sequences of the video, we get to observe that marvelous trot with the momentary suspension that creates the floating movement that enchants all who see it (check about :50).  So, my compliments to her handler for the compassion he showed to this beautiful mare, allowing her to present herself with confidence, as opposed to fright.

This mare exudes so much femininity, elegance and grace. She has a strong, smooth top line with great tail carriage. She carries her tail high, even when she isn't moving. She has a beautiful length of neck, which is well set, with a clean throat latch and her head is not extreme but it is dry, with excellent skin quality, accentuating the prominence of the bone in her face, underscoring the look of a desert horse. I was a fan of this mare going into the show and post-Menton, I appreciate her beauty, both internal and external, even more. I'll be looking forward to watching her video, as soon as Arabian Essence TV uploads it to their You Tube channel.