Usamah Alkazemi - Forever a Champion

Today, is a sad day in my life, as I have learned the tragic news that one of the most significant people that I have ever known, Usamah Alkazemi, has died. Tears roll from my eyes and flood my heart with sadness. I was really blessed, beyond any human comprehension, to have known Usamah, which makes having to now say "goodbye" difficult. Usamah, to me, was like a father, a brother, an uncle and a friend...all rolled into one person. It's like my father has died, all over again and all I can think is why do good people die and what did I do in my life to deserve a friend like Usamah?

Seven years ago, I was able to visit Kuwait for the first time and the memory of Ezzain continues to burn brightly within my mind and heart. As I flew in the airplane to a part of the world so unfamiliar to me, little did I realize how my world would be turned upside down and inside out and a new standard of excellence would replace all that I have ever understood. Ezzain remains the closest that I will ever come in this world, to experiencing heaven on earth. It was that perfect, a paradise, like the garden of Eden. Never, have I seen a place as beautiful as Ezzain Arabians. I will always be grateful to Usamah for making it possible for me to experience this Eden, the garden he created. I left Kuwait a changed person, inspired by all Usamah had created and his personal vision for the straight Egyptian horse.  I think of Annesilnefous and his full sister, Dorrah, Ekramilbari, Badrilbdoor and Shamsilshmous, both daughters of Azhaar, the Nooreddine-sired daughter, Albaheiah and her son, Thettwa...and how each of these horses defined Ezzain Arabians,  a  reflection of a unique beauty that Usamah intimately understood and brought forth into this world.  A level of beauty that did not exist prior to Ezzain and represented all that Usamah believed in and stood for. It's not possible that a beauty of this kind could exist in this world without interference, so one can say that Ezzain, at its very core, was the breath and pulsing heart of Usamah, who gave it life in this world and therefore, the opportunity to inspire others like me, who would leave Ezzain and tell others of the experience. Such was the man we knew as Usamah and the legacy of Ezzain Arabians, his uniquely personal expression of God's infinite kindness and mercy, manifested through the beauty of the Arabian horse.

And now, one of the most challenging things in life will be to say goodbye to Usamah, when all I want to do, is to hear his melodious voice on the other end of the telephone, as he returned the salutation of "hello, my wonderful friend, it's great to hear your voice!" Life continues to change and look so differently from the life I knew and loved. I am not so sure that I really like what life is now becoming and the new world that I find myself walking in, without the company of dear friends who inspired and encouraged me to keep walking.