28 October, 2019

From Pride of Poland to the European Championships

In the summer, Arabian Essence TV made the videos available for all of the 21 horses consigned to the Pride of Poland sale. I watched all the videos and very quickly, made a list of my favorite horses:
  1. Anawera (Piaff x Altamira)
  2. Cheronea (QR Marc x Chimera)
  3. Potentilla ( Ekstern x Panonia)
  4. Karola (QR Marc x Karolina)
  5. Pianova (Eden C x Pianissima)
I watched the videos some more, studied the pedigree of each horse, went back to the video and frame-by-frame, evaluated conformation, movement and overall breed type. Only then, was I able to refine my selections further, hoping to identify the one or two horse(s) in the sale, that if given the resources to do so, would be the mare(s) that I would purchase. It's an exercise that develops and sharpens the skills needed for selection, similar to the process judges must work through, while on assignment at a show.

It wasn't easy, I mean, these are all beautiful mares and any one of them would be a treasure to bring back home and build a viable breeding program. However, not every horse possesses that little something that places it ever closer to the image I carry in my head of the perfect horse. So I worked some more on the list, looked at it, scratched a horse, went back, added the horse back in, went back to the list, scratched that horse and then another, went back and added the horse that I scratched already two times, back in...it went like this for the rest of the afternoon. For the next few days, I thought about each mare, comparing/contrasting them in my mind, weighing heavily their merits against their minuses. A few days later  I came up with a shorter list but still, unable to get it down to only one or two horses:
  1. Cheronea (QR Marc x Chimera)
  2. Anawera (Piaff x Altamira)
  3. Potentilla ( Ekstern x Panonia)
The Ekstern daughter, Potentilla, was my favorite mare, hands down. She is a strong-bodied mare and very correct, with outstanding Arabian horse type, not extreme or exotic but clean, dry and elegant. Her dam, Panonia, is a *Eukaliptus daughter and in my opinion, the cross of Ekstern on *Eukaliptus daughters results in outrageously beautiful horses. It's one of my favorite crosses. Also, the mare family that Panonia belongs to, is one of the most enduring families in Polish breeding. Potentilla traces in her tail female line to the 1810 mare, Szamrajówka, bred by one of the oldest of the Polish studfarms, Count Branicki's Biala Cerkiew Stud and is the foundress of Polish female family number 12, which is known as the family of the "P" named horses, hence her name-"P"-otentilla. What sold me the most on Potentilla is her movement...she trots like her sire. There is a moment of hesitation to her gait, a suspension,  when she powerfully pushes her body up and forward. She is airborne in that moment, all four feet are off the ground. It's a unique and rare style of moving that over the years, I have only observed in a few horses, not only in the Arabian horse breed, but other breeds of horses as well. When I see it, it brings joy to my heart and a yearning to own a horse like that. It's one of the most beautiful things that horses can do.
Selecting a second horse from the Pride of Poland offering was much tougher, as I found myself flip-flopping between the Piaff daughter, Anawera, who is out of the Ekstern daughter, Altamira. Her dam line includes the legendary Polish mares like the *Fawor daughter, Albigowa, the Celebes daughter, Algeria and the Pietuszok daughter, Algonkina. Her pure Polish pedigree is what makes this mare, like Potentilla,  the diamonds, among all the precious gems in the sale. Interestingly, her maternal sister, Adelita (by Kahil Al Shaqab) was also listed in the sale.
The QR Marc daughter,  Cheronea, very similar in phenotyoe to Potentilla, is out of the mare, Chimera, an Emigrant daughter who traces in her tail female line to Milordka, who physically, possessed such overwhelmingly Saqlawi strain characteristics that noted author, founder and first Secretary of the Polish Arabian Horse Society, Dr. Edward Skorkowski, while lacking the strain classification for her on paper, made the decision to catalogue her as a Saqlawi-strain horse because of her phenotype:
As I type this blog today, I am still agonizing the choice of Cheronea over Anawera, who is a beautiful mare, very classic type and yet, she has the substance that I like to see in mares. Plus, her dam is an Ekstern daughter. If you follow this blog and you read my post on Ekstern, then you already know who I picked as number 2. For me, after having watched the videos a few more times, it came down to the two bay-colored mares, lot #4, the QR Marc sired Cheronea (out of the Emigrant sired Chimera) and Potentilla. However, if it came down to choosing only one horse, without hesitation, it would be Potentilla, because I know of the influence that Ekstern exerts through his exceptional daughters. 

So, on this last Sunday morning of October, a dark, rainy, damp and cold morning made especially for hot cups of coffee and video watching, I found the newest videos that Arabian Essence TV uploaded from the European Championships, which were held this past weekend in Verona, Italy. Much to my surprise, guess which horses competed in Class 7, the 7-9 year old mare class? My one,two pick from the Pride of Poland sale!

Potentilla earned a 2nd place in the class, having earned a score of 91.90. She moved forward to the Senior mare championships but unfortunately she placed 7th in the Championship class:
While Cheronea placed 6th, earning a score of 90.90:
Congratulations to the new owners of these beautiful mares and best wishes to you, as you move forward with these wonderful mares in your respective breeding programs.

20 October, 2019

Inspire: Fahad Al Rayyan

So, I was watching this beautiful Arabian Insider video, really enjoying it, when all of a sudden, a most amazing horse appears on the television screen. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on edge, as if I had seen a ghost.
ANSATA NILE PASHA?????
It can't be...he has been dead for several years now.

Ansata Nile Pasha was a *Jamil son, out of the mare Ansata Nile Dream (Ansata Ibn Sudan x Ansata Nile Queen). What's really interesting about Ansata Nile Dream is that her dam, Ansata Nile Queen, was also a daughter of Ansata Ibn Sudan (out of the *Ansata Ibn Halima daughter and Babson cross, Falima). In this little corner of the pedigree you have a stallion that was not only bred to his own daughter;  but also, Falima and Sudan were paternal siblings!

Ansata Nile Pasha was also a rosewater horse, which for me personally, is not only a coat color but also, a unique type of Arabian horse. I believe that the more intensely speckled the horse is, the more distinctive he is in type. Dr. Nagel, expressed a similar sentiment in his wonderful book, Hanan. He said that the flea-bitten horses were more refined, typier horses with generally, no markings and possessing very dark skin pigmentation. Dr. Nagel also feels that intensified Arabian type and the flea-bitten color were in some special way linked together. Maybe, this is why I feel the way I do about horses like Ansata Nile Pasha, influenced by Dr. Nagel, through his books and articles. He is a giant in our community.

So, today, this is my gift of inspiration to you dear reader, a soul stirring video, courtesy of Arabian Insider and Al Rayyan Farm. Only 4:08 minutes long from start to finish, at approximately 3:05 (and running for 30 seconds) appears the Ansata Nile Pasha look-a-like and Sinan Al Rayyan son, Fahad Al Rayyan . His dam, Noof Al Rayyan is a daughter of Ansata Nile Pasha (I KNEW IT) out of RN Farida who also appears in the video, as one of the foundation mares of Al Rayyan Farm. At one point in the recent past, RN Farida was considered by many people to be the most exotic Arabian horse of that period in time. Her beauty was discussed everywhere that Arabian horse enthusiasts congregated, whether in person, in print or on line. An important broodmare for Al Rayyan, RN Farida is a Salaa el Dine daughter out of the Hadban Enzahi daughter, Noha, a mare who resulted from also, the breeding of paternal siblings, as both Nadja and Hadban Enzahi were sired by Nazeer. Considering the  genetic legacy that he descends from,  Fahad Al Rayyan, who was a 2009 Champion colt at the Qatar Nationals, will insure that Ansata Nile Pasha remains relevant and vibrant in our gene pool, furthering his blood farther in this world.

14 October, 2019

Nawaal in Milan

The Straight Egyptian World Championships were held this past weekend. I scanned all the thumbnails on You Tube, looking for the horses that I have been following this summer. With heartfelt gratitude to Arabian Essence, I found the video of Nawaal Al Rayyan, showing in the 7-year old and older mare class. Nawaal Al Rayyan is a 2012 grey mare, sired by Ansata Sokar (Imperial Madheen x Ansata Samantha) and out of Nadrah Al Rayyan (Ashhal Al Rayyan x Ansata Nefer Isis).

In the first few seconds of the video, my heart soared, as this confident mare marched her way into the arena, head held high, regally surveying the environment that she was entering. Her trot is bold, powerful and purposeful. She covers alot of ground, considering that she is held back by a lead, in the hands of a human who can only run so fast. But, it is more than the gait, it's more of Nawaal's self-expression through her attitude and self-carriage, which conveys her fearlessness and proud bearing. The first few seconds of the video reminded me of the email blast that I had received from Arabhorse.com several weeks prior to the Menton show. The way in which Nawaal stood in the photo that was embedded in the email, with her puffed up chest, head held high and that "I'm going to rule the world" look of self-confidence, she looked more like a King and less like a Queen! This is the attitude that she entered the ring with but something happened because in her stand-up in front of the judges, she transformed into a edgy, fractious mare, ready to jump out of her skin. What happened to my warrior princess? I'm dumbfounded as this is a mare with a lifetime of experience, having traveled to America to show as a three year old in the American Egyptian Event. Nawaal is not a stranger to the show ring. The video doesn't capture a 360-degree view of the show arena, so not sure what non-horse friendly stimuli may have been occurring, just outside of the camera's view.

Despite what I just wrote, at 1:35 into the video until about 1:44 (and again at 2:05 to 2:20), Nawaal stands long enough so that we can see that she is strong of body and very correct, with no compromise in breed type. She is amazing, taller than I remember, with an equal distribution of her body mass, meaning, she has a powerful front end and an equally powerful hind end. She is smooth and her neck is beautiful, well set, flowing out of the wither and when it meets her head, it forms a very nice mitbah. She is just beautiful, not exotic or extreme, just clean and dry, a horse born of the desert.  In an Arabian Horse World article (written by Denise Hearst), Sheikh Hamad said of Nawaal, "she is a complete mare."

In looking at Nawaal's tail female line, you will find Ansata Nefertiti by Ansata Halim Shah and out of Ansata Sudarra. She is not only Nawaal's great granddam; she is also Ansata Hejazi's full sister. She was bred to Prince Fa Moniet to produce the beloved mare, Ansata Nefer Isis, who in turn was bred to Ashhal Al Rayyan (Safir x Ansata Majesta) which resulted in Nawaal's dam, Nadrah Al Rayyan. Sheikh Hamad said, "The Ashhal Al Rayyan daughters inherit his classic aura and have proven to be excellent producers." Again, Nawaal, by her very existence, proves how right Sheikh Hamad is. What is also interesting about this tail female line (which goes back to *Ansata Bint Bukra through her Sameh daughter, *Ansata Bint Misr) is that it is doubled, however, in a slightly different form: that is, via the *Ansata Ibn Halima daughter, Ansata Samantha. Ansata Sudarra and Ansata Samantha were half siblings, both mares are daughters of Ansata Delilah (Ansata Shah Zaman x Ansata Bint Misr).

Another sibling surprise is Imperial Madheen, the sire of Ansata Sokar, who is a son of the German-bred stallion, Messaoud, while Ashhal Al Rayyan is a maternal great grandson of JKB Masouda, a full sister of Messaoud! This  Madkour x Maymoonah cross represents 30% of the pedigree! Sheikh Hamad says that Nawaal is a very nice horse to be around and Messaoud was also known to be pleasant in character, seeking and enjoying the company of human beings. Having known both *Orashan and *Imperial Madheen, I agree. It's a very clever pedigree, primarily drawing on the strength and the consistency of the Ansata breeding program, approximately 65% of the pedigree.

At the end of the day, the judges agreed and Nawaal Al Rayyan earned first place in the 7-year old and Older mare class and from there, competed against the winners from the other senior mare classes and was named the Gold Champion Senior Mare of the Straight Egyptian World Championships.

***Just a reminder that this blog is not a forum. Comments addressing shows, showing practises, judges, ring stewards, handlers etc. will be moderated. This blog is exclusively focused on the straight Egyptian mare, Nawaal Al Rayyan. Thank you for your anticipated cooperation.***

13 October, 2019

DeSha Effendi: More Thoughts on a Matter of Strain

Bred by DeShazer Arabians and now owned by Christine Emmert, this is the 2014 grey mare, DeSha Effendi, sired by a Laheeb Al Nasser son (out of an Adnan daughter) and out of a mare that combines the blood of Ruminaja Ali with Anchor Hill, Glorieta and the straight Egyptian bloodlines of Martin Loeber's Plum Grove Farm. If you follow the tail female line, through the three Ramses-prefixed horses: Effendi, Safina and Sadaka and continue past the four generations of EAO, Inshass and RAS breeding (Yomna, Ameena, Yaman & Yaquota), eventually, you will arrive at Rodania, who is present in Egyptian breeding through her daughter, Rose of Sharon (sired by the desert-bred stallion, Hadban). She, in turn, was bred to the Ali Pasha Sherif stallion, Merzuk and produced the mare Ridaa. When Ridaa was bred to the Ali Pasha Sherif stallion named Mesaoud, she produced the mare Risala. Risala's daughter by Ibn Yashmak, Bint Risala (a great-great grand-daughter of Rodania) is one of the two Rodania descendants incorporated into the RAS breeding program and the Rodania descendant we find in the tail female line of DeSha Effendi, not only through her dam but also through her sire, DeSha Wahiid (through different sources like Om el Saad & Yashmak), making DeSha Effendi a pure-in-the-strain Kuhaylah Rodaniyah. If this mare were chestnut, the Rodania line would be especially impactful in her phenotype but she is grey and I have found that the grey-colored horses from this family are physically different in type from the chestnut-colored Rodanias. But do not be fooled! While not physically evident in this particular individual, genetically, this is a continually powerful mare line, not only in Egyptian breeding but across all bloodlines in the Arabian horse world! At one time, my friend, Gari Dill-Marlow, was studying the maternal lines of the United States National halter winners and the Rodania line horses were consistently victorious in earning top national honors. Despite the 150 years that separate us today from the birth of Rodania, this mare remains relevant and genetically vibrant in today's gene pool and still exerts her influence through many generations of her progeny. This fact is made even more amazing within Egyptian breeding, when you stop for a moment to consider that Rodania entered the Egyptian gene pool through only two mares!

12 October, 2019

NK Nada - A Matter of Strain

At first glance, you may miss that NK Nada is a result of a half-brother/half-sister breeding combination, as both her sire, Adnan and her dam, Nashua, are paternal siblings, sired by Salaa el Dine. Bred by Dr. Nagel of Katharinenhof in Germany, owned for several years by Usamah Alkazemi of Ezzain in Kuwait; she is now owned by Al Waab in Qatar.

In Dr. Nagel's new book, The Arabian Horse: Nature's Creation and the Art of Breeding, he writes about the stallion Adnan. He said, "The mares bred by Adnan became one of the strongest and finest group on the farm and they were the easiest to breed from amongst all of the available families. Adnan's contribution to the Hadban line was highly positive. He transmitted to them the required balance of body structure which needed improvement in many horses belonging to this family." Adnan was out of Ghazala, a daughter of the Dahman stallion, Ghazal and out of Hanan, an Abeyyah. As Nashua and Adnan were paternal siblings; Salaa el  Dine and Ghazala were maternal siblings.

In tail female, NK Nada is a Hadbah, tracing through her maternal line back to Venus. However, if we go to the 4th generation of Nada's pedigree, the generation of the great  grandparents, we see something totally different, in terms of which strain impacts her most. Approximately 37.5% of her pedigree is Dahman and an equal percentage is Abeyyan. The Hadban strain is a small percentage of influence, at only 12.5% of her pedigree, as is Kuhaylan Rodan. In the next generation, the strain percentages support a Dahman influence at 37.5%, with half of this percentage coming from the sire side and half from the mare side. The Hadban strain represents 18.75%, as does the Abeyyan strain, while the Kuhaylan Rodan strain is 25%.

So why is all of this important you ask? Studying the tail female line is only a small part of this horse and may not present a balanced picture of all the influences that resulted in this wonderful mare. And, most importantly, the intensity of the crosses, that is, half siblings bred to each other, occurs in two generations, back-to-back: her parents and grandparents, which concentrate all of the ancestral elements brought forward by these four individuals. This is a small example of why it is important to study pedigrees, so that you may gain a better understanding of the horse that stands in front of you.

10 October, 2019

Inspire...Day 5: Simeon Sehavi

Simeon Sehavi is an Asfour daughter, out of Simeon Sheba. Bred by Marion Richmond of Simeon Stud in Australia, she traces to the root mare of the Hadban Enzai strain, Venus, an 1890 mare imported into Egypt for Khedive Abbas II. Do you know that Venus was known by a different name, that of Shekra Zefra? To me, this name makes more sense than Venus, a name that is not Arabic in origin. Do you know that Shekra is another name for the chestnut coat color? Venus, her daughter Hadba and her granddaughter, Bint Hadba el Saghira were all chestnut in body color.

While Simeon Sehavi is Hadbah Enzahiyah by strain, if you study the tail female line of each grandparent, you will find four distinct strains: Dahman (Malik), Abeyyan (Hanan), Saqlawi (Ra'adin Royal Star) and Hadban (Ibn Galal V). What is also interesting is Simeon Sehavi's maternal granddam, Ibn Galal V, a 1973 chestnut mare, bred by Babolna State Stud in Hungary. Despite the fact that Simeon Sehavi is only 25% Hadbah, she bears a strong resemblance to Ibn Galal V, who was 75% Hadbah in strain, as her paternal grandsire (Galal), paternal granddam (Mohga) and maternal granddam (Rida) were all Hadban strain horses. Only her maternal grandsire (Ibn Maisa) was of a different strain. He was Dahman.

It's also interesting to study the history of the strain names and in this case, how the Hadban name came about. Originally, the horses of this strain became known as Hadban because they descended from a mare who had a long, bushy and thick mane, so profuse, that it covered her withers, her shoulders and down to her forearm completely. A substrain of the Kuhaylan strain, the Hadban horses are not extreme in their characteristics and therefore, combine well with horses of other strains, which we see in this beautiful mare's pedigree.

09 October, 2019

Inspire...Day 4: Ajman Stud

Founded in 2002 by the Crown Prince of Ajman, Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Ajman Stud is home to some of the most beautiful Arabian horses in this world. The program is diverse, representing a wide variety of blood, including the straight Egyptian mares: Loubna (Imperial Imdal x Imperial Kalatifa), her daughter by Al Ayad (the sire of Al Ayal AA) and Badawieh AA (Laheeb x Bahiha). Of course, one of the most beloved of all pure Polish mares, Kwestura (Monogramm x Kwesta) makes her home at Ajman, as well as the AS Sinans Pacha son (out of the beautiful Spanish mare Navarrone P), Escape Ibn Navarrone. This summer, the Menton show was a powerful, impactful experience for me.  Menton led me to Shanghai EA and his willingness to please his handler, despite the 'hustle-and-bustle' that surrounded him. In turn, Shanghai EA drove me to Ajman Stud and this magical video. I don't know if it's the wonderful guitar music that opens the video or the images of the world's most beautiful horses (I think it is a little of both) but after a long day at the office, it just puts my mind where it belongs, far from worry and stress, all for the love of a horse.

07 October, 2019

Inspire...Day 2: Pepita

Pepita, a 2005 grey mare, is an Ekstern daughter out of the *Eukaliptus daughter, Pepesza. Bred by Janow Podlaski stud, Pepita traces in her tail female line to the 1810 mare, Szamrajówka, bred by one of the oldest of the Polish studfarms, Count Branicki's Biala Cerkiew Stud and is the foundress of Polish female family number 12, which is known as the family of the "P" named horses.

Pepita is the mare that generated a "buzz" in and out of the Arabian horse community when she was sold in the 2015 Pride of Poland sale for a record price of $1.4 million Euros. A mature mare, already 10-years old, she was in foal to the stallion, Pogrom, at the time of her sale. The year prior, 2014, Pepita was named the Polish National Champion mare.

As it is with any horse posted on this blog, I need to point out to you, dear reader, the Egyptian influence in Pepita. Do you know that Pepita carries a small percentage of Egyptian blood? Approximately 5%, through the stallions Aswan (Nazeer x Yosreia) and Nil (Sid Abouhom x Malaka). 

After a long day at work and a heavy mind, nothing is more soothing than watching this most beautiful mare, while listening to the beautiful music. It's one of my favorites and from where I get inspired, all for the love of a horse.

06 October, 2019

Inspire: Emandoria

Emandoria, a 2004 grey mare, is a daughter of Gazal Al Shaqab (Anaza el Farid x Kajora) and Emanda, an *Ecaho daughter out of  the *Eukaliptus-sired, Emanacja. Bred and owned by Michalow State Stud, Emandoria traces to the Slawuta mare, Milordka, the foundress of Polish female family 5. You will remember from a previous blog that the recently deceased stallion, *Ecaho, traced to Woloszka in his tail female line. Why is this important? On the maternal side of Emandoria's pedigree, both tail female lines (the stallion and the mare) go back to these two horses: Woloszka and Milordka, who physically, possessed such overwhelmingly Saqlawi strain characteristics that noted author, founder and first Secretary of the Polish Arabian Horse Society, Dr. Edward Skorkowski, while lacking the strain classification for either mare on paper, made the decision to catalogue them as Saqlawi-strain horses because of their phenotype. Fast forward to Emandoria and this helps to explain the physical expression of Saqlawi type that her body makes in our eyes. A multiple World Champion and Polish National Champion, she is a beautiful mare who appeals to a wide variety of Arabian horse enthusiasts, regardless of the bloodlines that define their interest and/or their breeding programs.

Because this blog primarily focuses on horses of Egyptian bloodlines, it is important to point out that Emandoria is approximately 35% Egyptian in blood. Although 25% of her Egyptian blood comes through the stallion, Anaza el Farid (Ruminaja Ali x Bint Deena); she does carry additional Egyptian lines through the Palas daughters, Emigracja and Etruria, that of the straight Egyptian stallions: Aswan (Nazeer x Yosreia) and Nil (Sid Abouhom x Malaka). However, she also has additional Egyptian lines through Bint Kholameh (the grand dam of Kaborr), that of Gulastra (Astraled x Gulnare) and Ibn Yashmak (Feysul x Yashmak).

The Privelege video is so well done, as it not only joyfully celebrates the beauty of this particular mare but on a deeper plane, it captures the essence of the relationship that Raphael Curti shares with Emandoria, all for the love of a horse.