Naseem Al Rashediah: The 2020 Gold World Champion Straight Egyptian Stallion

Naseem Al Rashediah (Al Adeed Al Shaqab x Nabaweyah Ezzain)

Naseem Al Rashediah is a 2014 grey stallion, bred by Mr. Rashid A. Rahman Al Jasmi of Al Rashediah Stud in Bahrain. A son of the late Al Adeed Al Shaqab (Ansata Halim Shah x Sundar Alisayyah); Naseem Al Rashediah is out of  Nabaweyah Ezzain (Ansata AlMurtajiz x NK Nakeebya), a bay mare bred by the late Mr. Usamah Alkazemi of Ezzain Arabians in Kuwait.

At first glance, what I found interesting about Naseem Al Rashediah's pedigree is that he is a pure-in-the-strain Hadban Enzahi stallion, as both Al Adeed Al Shaqab and Nabaweyah Ezzain trace in their tail female line to Venus, an 1890 chestnut mare who was imported into Egypt for Khedive Abbas II. What's even more interesting is how these sources of Hadban blood are combined in one horse, as on the sire side, the source of Venus runs through the AlBadeia breeding program and is brought forward by Imperial Egyptian Stud.  While on the bottom (the dam side of the pedigree), we see the Venus source run through Dr. Nagel's Katharinenhof breeding program and is brought forward via the Ezzain breeding program. I know that some enthusiasts will scoff at the pure-in-the-strain designation, however, when you look deeper, that's how you will discover that the strain designation is further strengthened with every line to Nazeer (Mansour x Bint Samiha), which is also a line to Venus. Between sire and dam, there are approximately 63 lines (give or take) to Nazeer! Not to mention that the stallion, Madkour, brings in more Venus blood (through Kamla) and the stallion, Nejdy, brings another line to Venus through Lotfeia. If I add all the sources of Venus blood, through Nazeer and Kamla, there are approximately 66 lines to Venus! 

The great equalizer in the pedigree, establishing common ground (as an outcross or alternative source of blood) on both sides of the pedigree, is the Dahman Shawan stallion, Ansata Halim Shah, the sire of Al Adeed Al Shaqab and the paternal great grandsire of Nabaweyah Ezzain, however, Ansata Halim Shah also appears in NK Nakeebya's pedigree an additional four times (3 times in the 5th generation and once in the 7th generation, through his son, Salaa el Dine). If you haven't picked up on what I just said, this stallion, Naseem Al Rashediah offers straight Egyptian breeders a very concentrated source of Hadban Enzahi and Dahman Shawan breeding through the mares Bint Samiha (Kazmeen x Samiha), Ragia (Ibn Rabdan x Farida) and Bukra (Shahloul x Bint Sabah).

NK Nakeebya (NK Hafid Jamil x NK Nabeelah)

The maternal granddam of Naseem Al Rashediah is the mare, NK Nakeebya (NK Hafid Jamil x NK Nabeelah), who was an important broodmare for Ezzain; her daughters have also produced well and in turn, their progeny are maturing into influential roles for other straight Egyptian breeders. Mr. Usamah Alkazemi once said, "NK Nakeebya was a heavenly gift, a super producer with whichever stallion that was tried."

Nakeebya is a stretchier mare, with a lot of scope. Looking at Nakeebya, one cannot help but notice the added length to all of her lines in her body. She has a fabulous long neck, well set on her body, longer, well-muscled forearms, shorter cannons, a deeper heart girth, a strong and smooth topline and generous, powerfully muscled hindquarters. Many of these qualities are the phenotypical characteristics that we observe in her grandson, Naseem Al Rashediah.

Naseem Al Rashediah's dam, Nabaweyah Ezzain (Ansata AlMurtajiz x NK Nakeebya)

When NK Nakeebya was bred to Ansata AlMurtajiz, she produced Nabaweyah Ezzain, who matured to become a National Champion mare of Bahrain and a wonderful broodmare for Mr. Al Jasmi, as evidenced by her son, Naseem Al Rashediah. It is important to point out that Nabaweyah's full sister, Safeyyah, remained at Ezzain, producing beautiful foals for Mr. Usamah Alkazemi. 

NK Nakeebya, owned by Mr. Salah al Turkit of Alward Arabian Stud in Kuwait, powerfully illustrates why a mare is considered influential within a breeding program. As an individual specimen, she is a beautiful mare in an extraordinary way but she has produced daughters who are better horses than she is. Her continuing influence or rather, her vibrant legacy, is a powerful lesson demonstrating what is the role of a foundation mare within a breeding program, that is, a mare who consistently produces a level of quality, far greater than her own. It is a very exciting time with regard to the number of up-and -coming horses, as we wait and wonder specifically over the influence that her grandson, Naseem Al Rashediah, will exert on our global community of straight Egyptian breeding.

***Originally published on September 29, 2019, this blog post is being updated to recognize Naseem Al Rashediah's significant win on October 18th, at the 2020 Straight Egyptian World Championships, Milan, Italy. Naseem Al Rashediah placed first in the four year old stallion class and in the stallion championships, was named the Gold Champion. Congratulations to Mr. Rashed A. Rahman Al Jasmi, Al Rashediah Stud, Bahrain.***