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.