all for the love of a horse...: Galagel Albadeia: The World Champion's Sister

07 December, 2019

Galagel Albadeia: The World Champion's Sister

Galagel Albadeia (Imperial Madori x Imperial Orianah)

The Albadeia breeding program, one of the oldest EAO based breeding programs in the world, was solely focused on utilizing EAO-bred stock, concentrated in the blood of the great stallion Nazeer. It wasn't until the mid-90's, when Dr. Nasr Marei made the decision to incorporate the blood of a horse born outside of Egypt. In one of his last interviews, published by Desert Heritage Magazine posthumously, Nasr Marei tried to explain to Judith Wich-Wenning the immense responsibility that he felt for the Albadeia breeding program, as created by his grandfather and father,

My father entrusted me with a treasure and left me with a great foundation herd. I started reviewing the qualities of my horses and breeding program. With my greater international exposure to the world of Arabian horses, I realized that I needed to get rid of some undesirable characteristics and enrich my gene pool with more desirable ones. To do so, I had to reach out and infuse some distant bloodlines.

Nasr bred his mare Anhar Albadeia (Ameer Albadeia x Bint Bint Yosreia) to the American-bred straight Egyptian stallion Imperial Madori (Imperial Madheen x Imperial Orianah) owned by Omar Sakr, which resulted in the full sisters: Gelgelah Albadeia in 1995 and Galagel Albadeia in 1996.

Galagel has been an outstanding broodmare for Albadeia. She was bred to the stallions: Farid Albadeia (Shakawa & Sonbolat), Magd Albadeia (Gamrah & Rahhal), Laheeb (Qaherat), Simeon Sharav (Ghalia, Ghaliyah & Haytham) and has produced a record number of daughters versus sons. With that said, her son by Simeon Sharav (Asfour x Simeon Shuala), Haytham Albadeia, is outstanding, earning him the title of Egyptian National Reserve Champion colt two times, as well as multi Reserve Champion Stallion wins in Europe, before being leased by Janow Podlaski Stud for breeding. Haytham's Bialka-bred daughter, Eltika (out of Elatha) was one of five horses consigned by Bialka to the summer sales in 2017. She is now owned by a breeder in Mongolia.

Ghalia Albadeia, Galagel's 2005 daughter by Simeon Sharav was retained by Nasr for the Albadeia breeding program and has produced already two daughters sired by Saad Albadeia (Al Adeed Al Shaqab x Isaad Albadeia). In the interview with Judith Wich-Wenning, Nasr also said of Simeon Sharav,

"Simeon Sharav produced some great foals. The strongest influence he consistently passed on to his get was the great shoulder, upright long necks, beautiful heads and lovely body."

No longer owned by Albadeia, Simeon Sharav was sold to another breeder in the country of Iran. However, his deep influence will continue as a vital component of the Albadeia program. It will be immensely interesting to see how the foundational bloodlines that go back to the very beginning, now infused with contemporary Egyptian breeding (as personally selected by Nasr) will prosper and continue to move forward into the future, not only within Albadeia's program but also, the breeding programs started by other breeders, outside of Albadeia.

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MY FAVORITE WEBSITE

If you want to understand the desert Arabian horse on a deeper level, then you will want to visit Daughters of the Wind, a blog maintained by Edouard al-Dahdah, since 2008. It's my favorite place to visit, on a regular basis. For me personally, the information that Edouard presents is at times so profound, that I find myself weeks, even months later, still thinking about what he has written. I consider him a treasured source of inspiration and for the times that I don't feel like writing anymore, a significant source of encouragement. In one place, you will be able to read of the horses, their heritage; as well as the culture, traditions and the geography of the land, from where they originated. I strongly encourage you to visit his blog to broaden your understanding and deepen your appreciation for the Bedouin-bred horse.

MY FAVORITE WEBSITE X 2

The Horse In Word and Picture is the blog of Rania el Sayed, a very talented photographer, whose equine photography is second-to-none. I still remember when I first learned of Rania, it was all because of the late Dr. Nasr Marei. At the time, Nasr published an article that featured Rania's photography. I was thrilled by the photography and later, "meeting" Rania was one of the highlights of my horse life. I loved her photo of Mangooma and Rania, in an act of kindness never to be forgotten, let me use her photo in my blog. Thanks Rania for all of your support. You'll love Rania's blog and all of the equine topics she covers, including the straight Egyptian Arabian Horse. She really pushes me to think deeply about things that I haven't thought in a while. And you don't have to join Facebook, to read her posts. .

MY FAVORITE BOOK

One of the questions that I am asked most frequently is which book(s) do I recommend? Judith Forbis', The Classic Arabian Horse, published in 1976, is MY FAVORITE BOOK...EVER. Prior to the publication of this book, we really didn't have anything that compiled the history, the bloodlines & breeding practices and conformation (including breed type) of the straight Egyptian horse in one volume. You had to dig through multiple sources, sometimes in languages foreign to one's own, to try and develop an understanding of the Egyptian Arabian horse. So, this is my recommendation to you today, especially if you are just starting, this is the most important book you will ever own. You can find the book on Amazon, previously owned, at a very affordable price.

A NEW FAVORITE BOOK

Many times, I have heard other enthuiasts say, "if only I could get into the mind of this breeder and understand the Arabian horse as he or she does!" Dr. William Hudson, a long-time breeder, weaves together his lifetime of experiences including the latest developments in equine genetic science with the history, art and culture of the Arabian horse. This is not the type of book that you will read, cover-to-cover, in one sitting. You will find yourself turning to this massive 1,500 page, 2-volume set, over and over. If you love Arabian horses and want to understand the breed intimately, on a deeper level, this is the only book you will ever need to own. If you are breeding Egyptian Arabian horses, I urge you to purchase this 2-volume set before you breed one more horse!

MORE FAVORITE BOOKS...

One of the questions that I am asked most frequently is which book(s) do I recommend? Previously, I mentioned Judith Forbis' THE CLASSIC ARABIAN HORSE which is a great introduction to the breed and to Egyptian Arabian horses specifically. But now, you have read that book and are ready to go deeper. So, this is the book that I recommend reading (VOLUME II ) without hesitation. It's fantastic. The depth of this book, within tail female lines, sire lines and strains found in Egyptian (EAO) breeding is not found anywhere else. If you are serious about the Egyptian Arabian horse, whether a breeder, student or enthusiast, you must read this book, at least once!

STILL MORE FAVORITE BOOKS

In the Preface, Dr. Nagel wrote, "Since it is claimed that the Arabian horse breed is one of the oldest on earth, one has to accept that it is also in the crossfire of many opinions which sometimes clash vigorously. There are obviously many doubts and errors, and the advocates of different concepts seem to be not ready to settle on a common stance. It should encourage the reader to think...The refreshing variety of thoughts surrounding this noble member of the great family of horses should not be lost." Whether you agree or disagree with Dr. Nagel, is not what is important but rather, the resulting thought that this book will inspire. I can't even tell you how many times I have read this wonderful book cover-to-cover. It's one of the more provocative books that I have ever read and each time I have read it, a part of the book that had not impacted me previously, will cause me to think deeply for days, weeks and even months at a time. So, dear reader, I recommend this book to you, in the hope that it will inspire you to think deeply about our breed and examine why, you feel the way you do.

"The ideal Arabian type is recognizable at sight to the experienced horseman and novice alike. It falls short of the ideal if it reminds one of another horse or breed. It falls short of the ideal if it is so plain and uncertain of type as to require a sign: 'This is an Arabian horse.' It falls short of the ideal if it is so coarse and masculine as to remind one of a small Percheron, at one extreme, or so highly animated and elf-like as to remind one of a gazelle at the other extreme. The ideal type stands out alone. You know it immediately when you see it."-Ben Hur, from his 1951 Western Horseman article, Type in the Arab

In the summer of 2006, when I discovered Blogger, the last thing on my mind was creating a blog. At the time, I had been participating in a popular Egyptian Arabian horse website and desired to find a website that would allow me to "cut-and-paste" the posts that I had written for future reference. From those humble beginnings, this blog was born. I'm not a professional writer and although I want to say that writing is a hobby; I think it is better to say that I write for the love of the breed. I've had the good fortune to meet a number of horses who are now considered legendary, as well as some really wonderful people, who are equally legendary. Over the years, people have suggested that I charge a subscription fee or pursue paid sponsorships but you know how money changes everything and this blog, after all, is a labor of love. So, there you have it, the story of the blog. Many thanks to the people who make this blog doable, for example, where would I be without any of the photographers, the "visual storytellers" of our breed, who allow me to post their pictures and to the authors of the many books and magazine articles that I have read over the course of 45 or so years, helping to educate a long ago kid, crazy in love with Arabian horses. And finally, an overwhelming amount of gratitude for you dear readers, for coming here to this place, to read, discover and celebrate this common ground we share, all for the love of an Arabian horse.

07 December, 2019

Galagel Albadeia: The World Champion's Sister

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