Sinan Al Rayyan

Sinan Al Rayyan (Ansata Sinan x Al Wajba Al Rayyan)

An impression from my trip to Kuwait, was the reverent tone used when speaking about Sinan Al Rayyan. Very quickly, you knew that this stallion was not only respected but also, inspired awe and wonder, as only charismatic horses can do. A 2002 stallion bred by Al Rayyan and owned by Al Waab, Sinan Al Rayyan is sired by Ansata Sinan (Prince Fa Moniet x Ansata Nefara) and out of Al Wajba Al Rayyan (Safir x Ansata Sharifa).

At the Menton show, earlier this summer, his 2010 daughter (and Bronze Champion mare), Maisa Al Nasser (out of Zenubia Al Nasser), fell into my consciousness and has quickly become one of my favorite horses. Maisa Al Nasser reminded me of my Kuwaiti experience, which now, feels "prophetic", heralding the many horses that would come later, as Sinan Al Rayyan has been a strong and consistent sire, of both genders. Americans will remember the excitement caused by his bay son, Shaheen Al Waab, when he was in America.

In studying his pedigree, I found it fascinating that the majority of  influence comes from 4 individuals: Ansata Halim Shah and his sire *Ansata Ibn Halima, *Ansata Bint Bukra and Moniet el Nefous. While Ansata Halim Shah and his sire exert a higher percentage of influence in the pedigree, each roughly around 25%, Moniet el Nefous and *Ansata Bint Bukra contribute approximately 10% influence each. The outcross blood comes by way of Dr.Nagel's program (Hanan) and the Babson horses (Fada) that are part of Prince Fa Moniet's ancestry.

Looking beyond the individuals in the pedigree to the strain of this horse, he is predominantly Dahman, as 62.5% of the pedigree is comprised of horses of this strain, primarily through the blood of Bukra and Farida. This explains a lot, as the bodies of the horses that Sinan Al Rayyan has sired are balanced and harmonious bodies, meaning, that if you were to divide the bodies in thirds, each third is of equal proportions. Also, you see the influence of Moniet at work here, as you see a little more length in the neck, with a little more stretch in the poll and a finer mitbah, as well as a little more length in the back and in the forearms. Dahmans, when bred deeply within the strain, tend to become a little thick and chunky. So, that 10% of Moniet helps to counteract that tendency and we see a bit of that stretchiness in the get sired by Sinan Al Rayyan.

There's a hint of something else too, something that is familiar in the hind ends of the Sinan Al Rayyan-sired horses. They are rounder, fuller, well-muscled, all the way down into the gaskins, enabling them to drive their bodies forward, in a powerful way. I recognized this conformational quality or rather, "voluptuousness" and looked for Sameh's influence, expressed through his daughters: *Ansata Bint Misr and *Ansata Bint Sameh, approximately 5% of the pedigree.

Now 17 years old and approaching the twilight of his breeding career, I hope this blog will encourage breeders, if they haven't already done so, to breed their best mares, especially the uniquely bred, non-Ansata bred mares to Sinan Al Rayyan.

Ansata Delilah...Part 1

Ansata Delilah (Ansata Shah Zaman x *Ansata Bint Misr)

*Ansata Bint Misr produced the important broodmare, Ansata Delilah, in 1972, sired by the super Saqlawi stallion, Ansata Shah Zaman. Judith Forbis said of Delilah, "A regal attitude, a proud demeanor and an independent soul marked Delilah from the day she was born."

In phenotype, Ansata Delilah's body was influenced by Ansata Shah Zaman (who added more length to her strong Misr body) and while different from her mother's body, she remained a curvey, circular horse, whose body, if divided into thirds, was of equal proportions. She had a strong topline,  which as you can see in the above photo, remained even into her old age.  Ansata Delilah’s enchanting expression was magnified through her large, black eyes which had the power to captivate anyone who met her face-to-face. Carl Raswan wrote that Ishmael had said, "Through thy eyes I see reflected the love of God and in their orbit I behold thy soul meditating upon the unseen." Thousands of years later, Ishmael could have said these same words to Delilah. She also had fantastic tail carriage, whether at rest or in movement, a quality that her grandson, Ansata Sokar (by Imperial Madheen) would inherit. An excellent broodmare with a stellar production record (5 daughters, 7 sons), including Ansata Sudarra, who, in turn, was bred to Ansata Halim Shah (also a tail female Bukra horse), producing Ansata Hejazi in 1992.  In my opinion, Ansata Hejazi celebrated the ancestral elements that have made the Ansata breeding program famous throughout the world. To me, he will always be remembered as an “old school” or “foundational” Ansata horse. Ansata Sudarra also produced the mare Ansata Nefara by Ansata Halim Shah, who when bred to Prince Fa Moniet (TheEgyptianPrince x Fa Moniet), produced an important stallion, maybe one of the most important to emerge from Ansata in the modern era: Ansata Sinan, who became a "cross-over" horse, that is, a horse sought after by breeders outside of straight Egyptian breeding, who appreciated his exquisite type and his ability to sire this classic look consistently, across a wide variety of bloodlines.

***Don't miss a wonderful article about the Bukra horses within The Arabian Breeders Magazine, Volume II, Issue II is The Dawning of a New Tomorrow: The Bukra Story***this blog is lovingly dedicated to Judith Forbis with gratitude, for the significant impact she has made upon my life, through the Egyptian Arabian horse.

Fa Adorah Mia

Fa Adorah Mia (Fa Ali Bey x Fa Bint Aanisah)

Fa Adorah Mia is a 2017 black mare, sired by an exciting black son of Justynn (Alixir x Bint Bint Justina) and out of Fa Bint Aanisah, who combines many of the important ancestral elements (Babson+Ansata Ibn Halima+Bukra+Sirecho) within Marilyn Lang's  unique, long-running, multi-generational breeding program at Fantasia Arabians, Sealy, Texas.

Fa Adorah Mia, through the Fa Daalim daughters: Fa Aanisah and Fa Badiiah Anniq, carries approximately 20% of Fa Daalim's influence in her genetic mix. Fa Daalim, a Daaldan son out of the *Ansata Ibn Halima daughter, Bint Fa Dena, was a beloved foundation sire for Marilyn.

Fa Daalim (Daaldan x Bint Fa Dena)

What's interesting about Fa Daalim is his Babson heritage. In addition to *Bint Serra, (he was one of a few horses who traced back to this mare in tail female line), Fa Daalim's pedigree also includes lines to *Bint Saada, *Bint Bint Sabbah and *Bint Bint Durra. While *Bint Bint Sabbah is widely represented in Babson breeding, the other two mares are not. Fa Daalim does not carry any lines to *Maaroufa, a prolific mare in the Babson program. However, Fa Daalim's genetic fiber does include *Fadl, Maaroufa's full brother.

Another interesting perspective is found in Fa Bint Aanisah,  Fa Adorah Mia's dam and a Fa Daalim granddaughter. If you follow her tail female line,  you will find the 1976 mare, Sar Falih Fatah, a Sar Fadl Halim  (*Ansata Ibn Halima x Sabrah) daughter out of Belle Yanaa, a Bel Gordas daughter.

Fa Bint Aanisah (Sir Habbas Pasha x Fa Aanisah)

Do you know the significance of this mare in the long line of mares deep within this tail female line? If I count all of the generations bred by Marilyn Lang, on both sides of the pedigree, the number of generations is 11. I don't know of many programs, still extant, who have bred so deeply as Marilyn's program has. Combining the carefully chosen ancestral elements I mentioned above; Marilyn has skillfully blended these elements to consistently produce strong bodied horses, with an abundance of classic Arabian horse type, like Fa Adorah Mia.