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.