EYE-witness: Ansata AlMurtajiz

Ansata AlMurtajiz (Ansata Hejazi x Ansata Samsara) photographed by Usamah Alkazemi's son, Jaber, at Ezzain Arabians, Wafra, Kuwait

Sometimes, a horse comes into your life in the same way that light, as soon as you flip the switch on the wall, floods a previously darkened room. At first, the light overpowers your eye and it takes a few seconds to adjust to the brightness but when that time has passed, you can not only see things more clearly, you see everything that is in the room, right down to the very details. So, it is with Ansata AlMurtajiz, an Ansata Hejazi son out of Ansata Samsara (Prince Fa Moniet x Ansata Samantha). His beauty was so breathtaking, like the light, he overwhelmed all sensory responses. Up until the time that I became aware of Ansata AlMurtajiz, I had met other horses who possessed a soulful countenance, conveyed through deep and luminous black eyes; however, Ansata AlMurtajiz was uniquely different. His eyes were larger, deeper,  more luminous black and yes, I dare to say, conveyed a spiritual force that I had never encountered before. Through his eyes, Ansata AlMurtajiz communicated with you, on a level that maybe, human beings don't normally have a lot of practice with. You just knew, without anyone telling you, that you were in the presence of some one who was really special or, extraordinary. Carl Raswan believed that our modern ways of equine husbandry, focused only upon the horse's physical form and animal mind, prevents us from engaging in an intimate connection with these creatures and dulls our senses, so that we no longer communicate or even, understand their souls. So, just who was this special horse we knew as Ansata AlMurtajiz  and how to better understand him?  Perhaps, the best place to start, dear reader, is through his family, that is, those horses who preceded him.

Bint Samiha (Kazmeen x Samiha)

Ansata Sudarra, the dam of Ansata Hejazi (the sire of Ansata AlMurtajiz), is a daughter of Ansata Abu Sudan, a son of *Ansata Bint Misuna, a Nazeer daughter (out of Maysouna). The mare, Bint Samiha,  appears as both a paternal granddam and a maternal great-granddam in the pedigree of *Ansata Bint Misuna. When bred to Ansata Ibn Sudan (to produce Ansata Abu Sudan), things become interesting. The three additional lines to Nazeer, in the pedigree of Ansata Ibn Sudan (through *Ansata Ibn Halima and * Ansata Bint Mabrouka)  further intensifies the influence of Bint Samiha blood in Ansata Sudarra. Crossed with Ansata Halim Shah, four more lines to Bint Samiha are added, concentrating the influence of this Hadbah strain mare even more, on the paternal side of Ansata AlMurtajiz's pedigree. On the maternal side of the pedigree, through Ansata Samsara, we find  seven more lines to Bint Samiha, three of those lines through Prince Fa Moniet and four through Ansata Samantha.   The combined influence of  Bint Samiha, in Ansata AlMurtajiz's pedigree is approximately 25%! Remember, Bint Samiha is an 1825 mare, who appears far back in the pedigree, as one would expect her to be and yet, she yields a significant presence in the pedigree.

Ansata Delilah (Ansata Shah Zaman x *Ansata Bint Misr)

What I also found interesting is the similarity in phenotype between Bint Samiha and Ansata Delilah, whose pedigree is influenced at approximately 18.75% by Bint Samiha.  However, Ansata Delilah was sired by an intensely-bred  Saqlawi stallion, Ansata Shah Zaman, who added more length to her frame. Ansata Delilah also had a strong topline, which as you can see in the above photo, remained even into her old age. Ansata Delilah’s enchanting expression was magnified through her large, black eyes which had the power to captivate anyone who met her face-to-face. She also had fantastic tail carriage, whether at rest or in movement. Why focus on Ansata Delilah, over the other horses who also carry the influence of Bint Samiha? Well, Ansata Delilah appears in both of the tail female lines of Ansata AlMurtajiz, in the same position (great-granddam) and represents 25% of Ansata AlMurtajiz's pedigree. Her daughter, Ansata Samantha, by Prince Fa Moniet, who is the maternal granddam of Ansata AlMurtajiz, also had large, dark, expressive eyes like her mother, suggesting that these eyes were passed from one generation to the next. Ansata Samantha had an ideal topline that was as smooth, as it was strong and excellent tail carriage, both of which she passed on. Can large, expressive eyes, a strong and smooth topline, tail carriage and the intangible qualities that correlate with an enlightened being be genetically tied with the female line of Ansata AlMurtajiz and possibly, runs back farther than Ansata Samantha and Ansata Delilah? Do we conclude that these qualities originated with *Ansata Bint Bukra, or a long ago ancestor? Could any or all of these qualities come from the maternal line of Nazeer, meaning, Bint Samiha or do we look further back, maybe to the desert and an ancient mare that belonged to a long ago Bedouin breeder? I am not sure that these are questions, for which answers exist but still, it makes me wonder.

In the early 1990's, when Usamah Alkazemi began to formulate a plan of action to breed the horse he envisioned in his mind's eye, he visited Ansata Arabian Stud, as he had become aware that many of the horses he admired, shared common ground in the prefix name, "Ansata". It was on this visit that he met and selected Ansata AlMurtajiz. While we can say that NK Hafid Jamil, through his son NK Qaswarah is a cornerstone of Ezzain, so too, we can say that Ansata Hejazi, is important, through his son, Ansata AlMurtajiz, who established a level of quality and consistency that made it possible for NK Qaswarah to take the breeding program to the highest levels. When I visited Ezzain in 2013,  there were two Ansata AlMurtajiz daughters in the breeding program, Azhaar Ezzain (a full sister to Suror Ezzain), who is a mare of great influence, having founded a vitally important family of horses, like the exquisite mare, Shamsilshmous Ezzain. The other daughter is Alamirah Ezzain, who carries much significance personally for Usamah Alkazemi, her breeder. However, the influence of Ansata AlMurtajiz is also represented through his sons, Suror Ezzain and Nooreddine Ezzain, who sired two daughters each, who were active broodmares in the program at the time I met them. Even as a great grandsire, Ansata AlMurtajiz's influence continues to be felt! Nooreddine was represented in five horses, while Suror was represented in six! I don't believe that a more compelling statement can be made, as to why Ansata AlMurtajiz remains so significant in the Ezzain breeding program and later, as an important sire for Mr. Alaa Al Roumi of Al Rayah Arabians and Mr. Talal Al Nisf of Al Sharq Farm in Kuwait.

Sadly, Ansata AlMurtajiz died in 2016 but his influence (and that of his ancestors, like Bint Samiha) remains dynamic, vibrant and relevant, to the present day. The Breeders Cup for Straight Egyptian Arabian horses was held recently (February 17th through the 19th) at Bait Al Arab Arabian Horse Center in Kuwait. With many thanks to Arabian Essence TV, who made the videos of the show available on You Tube, I was able to watch the get and grand-get of Ansata AlMurtajiz who participated in the show,  like his beautiful daughter (out of Ghazalla, an Al Adeed Al Shaqab daughter), presented in class 8, the 7 - 10 year old mares. Her name is Ghazala Al Rayah, bred by Mr. Alaa Hamad Al Roumi of Al Rayah Arabians:

Also competing at the show, within the same class as Ghazala Al Rayah, was Sabika Al Sharg, an Ansata AlMurtajiz daughter out of Ansata Sabika, bred by Mr. Talal Al Nisf of Al Sharq Farm:

In Class 7A, the 4 -6 year old mares, I found Janna Al Ward, an Ansata AlMurtajiz daughter out of NK Nakeebya,  a hugely influential mare for Ezzain Arabians and a daughter of NK Hafid Jamil out of NK Nabeelah (Nahaman x Nashua). Janna Al Ward is bred and owned by Mr. Salah Ahmad Al Terkait of Al Ward:

Also in Class 7A, the 4-6 year old mares, I found Malak Al Konooz, an Ansata AlMurtajiz daughter out of Mahlisa Halima, bred by Al Konooz Stud:

The 4-6 year old entries were so numerous (29 total mares), the show ran an additional class, 7B, and within this class I found Feddah Al Rayah, an Ansata Al Murtajiz daugher out of Farida Al Rayah, also bred by Mr. Alaa Hamad Al Roumi of Al Rayah Arabians:

I also must mention that there were three Ezz Ezzain daughters and two sons at the show. Ezz Ezzain is an Ansata AlMurtajiz son out of Najeiah, a Nahaman daughter. Interestingly for me, Mohamed Al Mubaraki bred the mare, M.Naeema, out of Neama Sqr, who showed in the 4 - 6 year old mare class. Mohamed also bred M.Anan, a son of Ansata AlMurtajiz, out of Aroub Asayel, who was shown in the 7+ year old stallion class. It was at Al Mubarak Arabians, the beautiful farm of Mohamed Al Mubaraki, that I was blessed to meet Ezz Ezzain personally, seven years ago!  Khaled Faleh Sahab Musad bred the Ezz Ezzain daughters: Ajayeb Shaha (out of Cauley) and Ajayeb Shammah (out of HF Aida), both of whom showed in the 7-10 year old mare class. Additionally, an Ezz Ezzain son, Ezz Alsuhail, out of NK Miriam, bred by Ahmad Al Mutairi, was shown in the 4 - 6 year old stallion class, while Ezz Al Sedirawi, an Ezz Ezzain son out of Marreyah, bred by Al Sedirawi Arabians was also shown in the 7+ year old class. There were other horses in the show who claimed Ansata AlMurtajiz farther back in the pedigree, for example, Mr. Salah Ahmad Al Terkait of Al Ward, bred and owns a mare named Fajer Al Ward, who competed in Class 9, the 11+ year old mare class. Her dam is Sarrah Ezzain, an Ansata AlMurtajiz daughter.

In the winter of 2013, thanks to the kindness of the late Mr. Usamah AlKazemi of Ezzain Arabians,  I was finally able to meet Ansata AlMurtajiz. There are times in a man's life that bear significance and become treasured memories, for example, learning to drive a car, graduating college, getting married, the birth of your children. Among those cherished moments, meeting Ansata AlMurtajiz  remains one of the highlights of my life. He was more beautiful than any picture I had ever seen and yet, there was something about him, that enchanted me, in a very deep and profound way. As I walked away, he rose on his hind legs and hung his head over the wall of his stall to look at me, as I walked down the aisle. When I asked about it later, I was told that it was a thing that he liked to do. I turned and looked back at him and we made eye contact. It is a moment that I cherish and think of often. In that special moment, his deep inner beauty touched my heart and I knew it would be the last time that I ever saw him. I just knew.

***Originally published, March 2020. The words I have written can not fully convey the gratitude for Mr. Usamah Alkazemi's freindship and the deep sorrow I still feel for his death. And so, I lovingly dedicate this blog to his memory and the continued legacy of his straight Egyptian Arabian breeding program.***