Before Nazeer, there was Shahloul

Shahloul, as captured in a photo that appeared in a 1948 issue of LIFE magazine

"Shahloul was undeniably the most accomplished sire out of the entire Rabdan line of sires." - Philippe Paraskevas, The Egyptian Alternative, Volume II

Shahloul was a 1931 grey stallion, bred by The Royal Agricultural Society (RAS). He was a son of Ibn Rabdan and out of the mare, Bint Radia (Mabrouk Manial x Ghadia). 

Shahloul's sire line is that of Gamil El Kebir, an 1870 chestnut stallion bred by Ibn Subeyni  of the Mhayd Fid'an Bedouin tribe and purchased for Prince Ahmed Pasha Kamal. In Shahloul, this sire line is expressed as:

Shahloul->Ibn Rabdan->Rabdan El Azrak->Dahman El Azrak->Jamil El Ahmar->Gamil El Kebir

Sometimes, depending on the historical source that you are reading, Gamil El Kebir, as known in the RAS History book, is also called "Jamil El Kebir" or "Jamil El Ashkar El Kebir". 

Shahloul's tail female line is equally exciting, as he traces to Ghazieh, an 1850 grey mare, bred by Ibn Sudan of the Saba'ah Bedouin tribe and purchased for Abbas Pasha, prior to 1855. Many say that it was this mare that inspired Abbas Pasha's love for the Saqlawi Jedran strain horses and led him to collect as many of these horses as he eventually did. In Shahloul, the tail female line is expressed as:

Shahloul->Bint Radia->Ghadia->*Ghazala->Bint Helwa->Helwa->Horra->Ghazieh

The asterisk in front of Ghazala's name signifies that this Ali Pasha Sherif-bred mare (and the great grand dam of Shahloul) was purchased and imported to America by Spencer Borden, producing mares like Guemura and Gulnare. Incidentally, her dam, Bint Helwa, was the famous "broken-legged" mare of Crabbet Stud, whom Lady Anne Blunt listed first, above all the other horses in her herdbook, indicating how she felt about the mare. Spencer Borden said of Bint Helwa, "were it not for her injury, she would be a beauty, pure white, with a head such as Schreyer would seek as a model."  In Egypt, *Ghazala produced the mare Jemla, the dam of Serra, who foaled the Babson import, *Bint Serra I by Sotamm. The most interesting story of Shahloul's pedigree is that the majority of his pedigree is comprised of Ali Pasha Sherif-bred horses, approximately 16 horses (some of whom like Saklawi I, El Dahma & Farida Dabbani appear more than once) brought forward through the breeding expertise of Lady Anne Blunt, Ahmed Pasha Kamal, Prince Mohamed Aly Tewfik and Khedive Abbas II.  Also, the desert sources are closer up in Shahloul's pedigree, in some cases, only three to four generations removed. It reminds me of something I heard Cynthia Culbertson once say, “What we can say about the Straight Egyptian Arabian, very reliably, is that they are so close to that desert source, the only way one could get closer is with a desert bred that stayed in the homeland.”  A more royal history could not be had by any horse, especially by one who would exert his significance and influence in the breeding program of the RAS, in the way that Shahoul has magnificently done. In my mind, the quality of his genetic history is like a harbinger of the greatness that was still to come. Shahloul's full brother was the stallion, Hamdan (the sire of Anter) and his full sister was Samira (the dam of Zaafarana), proving a breeding nick or "nickabiity" that existed between Ibn Rabdan and Bint Radia. Further underscoring the almost magical cross of these two horses, noted breed historian and authority on the Egyptian Arabian horse, Judith Forbis, coined a name for the full siblings sired by Ibn Rabdan and out of Bint Radia. She called them "the fabulous four".

Shahloul (Ibn Rabdan x Bint Radia)

In almost every book written, we know that Shahloul was a beautiful horse, possessing many of the unique hallmarks which make this breed famous and different from all other breeds of horses, like large, black expressive eyes accentuating the look of intelligence in a noble head, a well-set longer neck, fine, thin skin and very high tail carriage. Dr. Ameen Zaher in the EAO herdbook wrote, "best eyes, head and neck which was arched and very lovely." However, Shahloul was also criticized for weaknesses in the legs, a flaw that was also mentioned in the herd notes written by General Von Szandtner and Dr. Mohamed Marsafi. You can read these comments in the celebrated second volume of Authentic Arabian Bloodstock, written by beloved author, Judith Forbis.

If Moniet el Nefous was the only horse that Shahloul sired, his historic influence as a sire of great renown would still be assured. However, the mark of a really great sire, is found in the quality of his get and Shahloul sired influential daughters and sons. Think of key mares like Kateefa, the dam of Alaa el Din, Bukra, the dam of *Ansata Bint Bukra, Maisa, the dam of *Bint Maisa el Saghira and Om el Saad the dam of Bint Om el Saad.  Shahloul also sired sons who matured into influential stallions like Mashhour, who sired Seef and of the stallion, El Sareei, who sired *Tuhotmos. It is as Philippe Paraskevas wrote in his book, "On a get-of-sire basis, Shahloul's track record is outstanding. It is easily correlated to his achievement of a high degree of balance between Saklawi and Koheilan attributes, along with balancing Rabdan influence. In view of his accomplishments we can only wish that he had been bred more at the E.A.O. where the Shahloul legacy was an inspiration."

So, maybe you are reading this blog and feel that my praise of Shahloul is misplaced and more deserving for Nazeer? Without Shahloul, Nazeer could not have enjoyed his tremendous success as a sire. There would not have existed the foundation that Shahloul established, thereby enabling Nazeer to build upon it. Shahloul, most especially through his daughters, proved that a greater stallion would be hard to find and that the success of the Saklawi I sire line within the EAO breeding program in later years was because a horse like Shahloul came first, used as judiciously as he was in the program and therefore, clearing the stage for horses like Sheikh el Arab and Nazeer to enjoy the runaway success that they did.

***This blog is lovingly dedicated to Philippe Paraskevas in gratitude for the volume of work he has written, in celebration of the still relevant, dynamic and vibrant horses of Egypt past, like Shahloul, who remain the very heart of the EAO breeding program.***

*Habeebaa

 

When I visited Kuwait in 2013, I was impressed with the kindness and respect that Kuwaitis extended freely to one another. There was a particular word that I soon started to recognize in conversation...Habibi. It seemed to be a very special word, used affectionately, like a term of endearment. It sounded sweet, in a most touching way and I soon learned that Habibi was used in the same manner that we use the words "beloved", "darling" or even, "sweetheart". The name, Habeebaa, is a variant of Habibi. One look at *Habeebaa, with her big, black eyes and kind, soulful expression and I understand why she was named with so sweet a name. *Habeebaa, a 1969 mare, was sired by El Araby (*Morafic x Hafiza) and was out of *Bint Hanaa (El Sareei x Hanaa). Like her sire,  dam, granddams (Hanaa & Hafiza) and great granddams (Zareefa & Mahfouza) she was bay in colour. *Habeeba was one of only five foals sired by El Araby.

In 1968, Gleannloch Farms imported *Bint Hanaa, in foal with *Habeeba and *Gamilaa, *Bint Hanaa's daughter by *Morafic.

 *Habeeba's maternal great granddam is a mare named Hind. This is not the same Hind (Ibn Rabdan x Bint Rustem) that we find in the pedigree of the Sheikh el Arab daughter, Yosreia. Like the mare, El Kahila, this mare, Hind, was a gift made in 1945 by King Ibn Sa'ud to King Farouk. Hind was sired by Obeyan El Safi but we know absolutely nothing about her dam. In a later edition of the Inshass Herdbook, published in the early 70's, Hind is listed as a Saqlawiyah. When Hind was given to King Farouk, Hind was three years old at the time.  Three years later, she produced Hanaa by El Belbesi, a son of the Dahman Shahwan stallion, El Zafir (Awad x Bint Dalal) who traces in his tail female line to the mare, Bint el Bahreyn, imported to Egypt in 1903 from the stud of Rais Issa Ibn Khalifah as a gift for Khedive Abbas II.

*Habeebaa did not live a very long life, she died at age nine. She produced the dark bay mare Gemaal in 1973, a prolific mare for Bentwood Farm and a grey stallion, Habib Al Kol in 1975, both sired by *Sakr. 

Habib Al Kol (*Sakr x * Habeeba) as photographed by Rob Hess

In 1978, she gave birth to her last foal, the grey mare, AK Jaliya by *Zaghloul. How is *Habeebaa represented in our Egyptian gene pool today, you ask?  Her granddaughters like Asafra (NaIbn Moniet x Gemaal), whose progeny, many of which are sired by The Minstril and Thee Desperado, are cherished as part of the vibrant Arabians LTD breeding program and also, AK Maliya (TheEgyptianPrince x AK Jaliya) whose progeny represent some of the finest horses bred at Kehilan Arabians. Overseas, her great granddaughter, Konouz (Imperial Mahzeer x Imperial Kaliya), when bred to Ashhal Al Rayyan, produced the beloved stallion, Suhal Al Nasser, in demand all over the world.

So, the next time you turn to your special person and call him or her, "darling", stop for a moment and remember that once, a sweet mare named Habeebaa lived.

His Name was *Orashan

Why do some stallions become better sires of daughters than sons? *Orashan was one of these incredibly special stallions.

His most famous daughter, BB Ora Kalilah, produced Imperial Baarez. Another famous *Orashan daughter is Imperial Orianah, who produced Imperial Madori, the sire of the 2019 Bronze World Champion Stallion, Adham Saqr.

Barbara Griffith once said of him, "Perhaps *Orashan's greatest contribution is his ability as one of the great Egyptian Arabian broodmare sires."

*Orashan's dam was the mare Ora (Ibn Shaker I x Omera). This mare, in her tail female line, traces to the Bahraini mare, Bint el Bahreyn, whom we also find in the tail female line of horses like El Sareei and *Bint Maisa el Saghira. Ora, combined with Messaoud intensifies the influence of Zareefa, who appears 5 times in the pedigree of *Orashan: twice through her son, El Sareei, and one time each through her daughters: Maisa, Bint Zareefa and Elwya. The Shaloul son, El Sareei, a crucially important horse for the EAO, sired mares who figured prominently in Egyptian breeding like Bint Nefisa, Malacha, Mohga, Amani, Salomy to name a few. Could Zareefa be the common denominator and thereby the reason why, stallions like El Sareei and *Orashan sired a record number of daughters who matured into broodmares of significance?

The tail female line of *Orashan's sire, Messaoud,  traces to the Halima daughter, Moheba and ultimately, to the Dahmah Shahwaniyah mare, Farida. This is the same tail-female line of the classic stallion, *Ansata Ibn Halima, who sired influential horses of both genders equally. However, *Ansata Ibn Halima daughters were treasured by their owners and many became significant foundation mares for other breeders.

In his latest book, The Arabian Horse – Nature’s Creation and the Art of Breeding, Dr. Hans Nagel says of nickability, "This occurs when a certain sire and a certain mare always produce perfectly nice foals. This is called “good nickability."

*Orashan was a second generation, pure-in-the-strain Dahman Shahwan horse, as both his sire and dam were pure-in-the-strain Dahman horses, who blended in an almost magical way (nickability, as defined by Dr. Nagel in the above paragraph), to produce a strong, consistent broodmare sire and the most wonderful horse we once knew as, *Orashan.

Remembering NK Hafid Jamil

NK Hafid Jamil (Ibn Nejdy x Helala) as photographed by Arlette Studer

Seven years ago, when I visited Ezzain Arabians in Kuwait, I came face-to-face with the profound impact that NK Hafid Jamil had exerted within the Ezzain breeding program, creating a unique horse possessing a level of refinement and elegance that I had never encountered before. Since those glorious days spent at Ezzain, I have not been able to look at Arabian horses in the same way that I had previously. The Ezzain horse, which NK Hafid Jamil was such a large part of, unexpectedly turned my world upside down and inside out and I found myself inspired, with a new vision and a new standard of excellence. There are few stallions who are capable of consistently siring excellent horses of both genders and NK Hafid Jamil, over the course of his beautiful life of twenty three years, matured into a globally influential breeding stallion, siring wonderful sons like NK Qaswarah, Jamal El Dine and NK Nadeer, as well as equally outstanding daughters like NK Nakeebya, NK Al Amirah and NK Aziza.

NK Qaswarah (NK Hafid Jamil x NK Nariman)  as photographed by Jennifer Ogden

When Usamah Alkazemi purchased NK Jurie (the first foal sired by NK Hafid Jamil), he became enamored over the cross of NK Hafid Jamil with NK Nariman (one of the most important Salaa El Dine daughters to be utilized in the Katharinenhof breeding program). Of NK Jurie, Usamah explained, "she is the jewel and was the horse that tied me to Dr. Nagel's program." Usamah proceeded to purchase all of the offspring produced by these two horses, including  NK Qaswarah, the primary way in which the influence of NK Hafid Jamil is felt at Ezzain. In 2013, the breeding program included six NK Qaswarah sons and fifteen daughters. While NK Qaswarah represented NK Hafid Jamil through the sire side of the pedigree; Ezzain also had at the time, three NK Hafid Jamil-sired daughters: Dhuha AlNakeeb, Jenan AlNakeeb and the mare that started it all, NK Jurie.

For me personally, NK Hafid Jamil took my understanding of straight Egyptian breeding to another level, well beyond a traditional understanding of selection, based on key conformational traits. I was not a fan of his sire, Ibn Nejdy, namely his pigmentation issues. Ibn Nejdy had a fabulous front end, which included a beautiful neck, well set, with a flowing line that ran gracefully from his wither (with no dip) and all the way to the poll. He had well-muscled shoulders that many horseman would consider ideal. NK Hafid Jamil, conformationally, was like his sire, a front-end horse and a celebration of all the breed characteristics that we cherish. However, from behind, the muscling was not equal, his croup was high and his hind legs were straight.The curvey, upward, gently flowing line of his neck was outrageously beautiful but so was the underline, resulting in a neck that was not heavy, it was elegant, more so than any stallion that I had ever seen before. However, the angle at which his head connected with his neck, also contributed to this look of lightness, by creating an extra-fine throatlatch. The features of his head were equally dramatic, with large, black eyes, placed lower on a head that was clean and dry, with fine skin that accentuated the prominence of bone and vein. His head conveyed what he was, a son of the desert.

The curvey, flowing shape of NK Hafid Jamil's neck was beautiful but so was the underline, resulting in a neck that was not heavy and elegant, more so than any stallion that I had ever seen before.

I once had the opportunity to read a very good, realistic and transparent article about NK Hafid Jamil, published on straightegyptians.com,  which examined all of the horse's strengths, as well as his weaknesses.  Dr. Nagel was not only honest in his assessment; he acknowledged that as an individual, he was like two horses: one horse in the front, the other in the back but it was what he said about a breeder's responsibility to not only recognize the flaws but to work with them, just as you would work with the favorable attributes, in order to breed a foal that is not only more improved than the parent; the resulting foal optimizes all of the outstanding qualities that the parent possesses. Maybe my recollection of the article simplifies the answer into more of a common sense statement but what Dr. Nagel offered me, at this moment in time, was a different mindset, which is, to look at a horse for all that he can offer you, instead of looking at a horse for all of the risks he presents.  But isn't this the way that we should look at all of life, even beyond breeding horses? This is the greatest lesson that came from the horse we knew as NK Hafid Jamil and from the man who stood behind him. And today, as I embrace the tragic news of NK Hafid Jamil's death this past November, this is how I will always remember him, all for the love of a horse and the teacher of a great life lesson.