My Favorite Martian

I've hesitated to write about *El Mareekh. I mean, I wanted to do a blog on him but there is so much already written about him, by people who knew him personally and like me, were equally inspired by him. What can I offer on *El Mareekh that hasn't already been said about him?

*El Mareekh, whose name in Arabic means the red planet in outer space we know as "Mars", was sired by Aseel, a 1967 son of Sameh, out of Inas, a great-granddaughter of Farida. At first glance, I understand this cross as yet another example of the classic breeding formula, that is, to blend Saqlawi strain horses (Sameh), with those from the Dahman Shahwan strain (Inas).

His dam, Rawayeh on the other hand, represents one of the strongest and most enduring mare families, not only in Egyptian breeding but, all over the world! She, is a 1965 daughter of Alaa el Din, out of Rahma and really, the source of all that I find so fascinating about *El Mareekh. Alaa El Din was a chestnut son of Nazeer, foaled in 1956, out of the Shaloul daughter, Kateefa, a daughter of Bint Rissala, while Rahma, was a 1951 bay daughter of Mashhour, out of Yashmak, also a Bint Rissala daughter. Kateefa and Yashmak were maternal sisters, which makes Rawayeh a pure-in-the-strain Kuhaylah Rodaniyah, as she traces through the tail female lines of both her sire and dam to Rodania.  I find it fascinating, when one remembers that the Blunts, having purchased Rodania in the desert and importing her to to England,  felt that the best way to breed horses from this family was in combination with the Saqlawi strain and not with each other, for fear of breeding horses who were coarse. However, in The Egyptian Alternative Volume II, celebrated author Philippe Paraskevas said,

"...anecdotal evidence at the E.A.O. and outside it suggests that at the very least some Rodan stallions may have dramatically enhanced dryness and points of beauty in the heads of some Saklawi mares, not to speak of their own brand of superior athleticism (if it is permissible to describe their extreme trotting action as such)."

What I also find interesting about Rawayeh, is found through the stallions, Nazeer and Mashhour, who were more closely related than people may realize. Nazeer's granddam, Samiha and Mashhour's dam, Bint Rustem are maternal sisters, as both mares are daughters of Bint Hadba el Saghira! In a breed that emphasizes the influence of the dam, over the stallion, it is truly amazing, on this side of the pedigree, to learn first of the concentration of the Kuhaylan Rodan strain, as well as the additional concentration of the Hadban Enzahi strain, through very similar sources.

This influence, when combined with the pedigree of Aseel, further intensifies the percentage of the Hadban Enzahi strain, again, through the same sources, as the dam of Aseel, Inas, is sired by *Morafic (a Nazeer son) and out of *Ghazalah (a Mashhour daughter) thus, repeating the combination of sires intertwined in the pedigree of Alaa el Din and Rahma, and guess what? The stallions appear in the same order, as they do in Rawayeh's side of the pedigree!

1953 Breed Standard by Gladys Brown Edwards

The Rob Hess photo of *El Mareekh is one of my favorite photos of him. You know what the photo reminds me? Our breed standard.  Prior to the 1970's, before our Arabian breed standard was revised to depict a more modern horse, the breed standard presented a horse who was conformed more like *El Mareekh, with a laid back shoulder, an arched neck that is well-crested, balanced by an equally strong and muscled hind end. Still, so many years after his death, I get goosebumps when I realize how many of the above listed conformational points were embodied by *El Mareekh. He was not only correct but a harmonious, strong-bodied horse! *El Mareekh was campaigned in the main ring stallion halter classes, handled by Gene Reichardt, earning top ten honors in Scottsdale and also, at the US Nationals, both wins in 1981.

"Bred to the Alaa el Din daughter, Rawayeh, one of the better Rissalas of her day, Aseel gave us El Mareekh, another horse that should have stayed in Egypt at all cost, and another outcross of untold potential; this time twice removed from Sameh, with a decidely pleasant head and astonishing athletic ability - nothing less than a dream Arabian." - Philippe Paraskevas, The Egyptian Alternative, Volume II

As a breeding stallion, he sired approximately 40 horses in his very short life time, having passed away unexpectedly, a few years after his importation. Had he been able to live a longer life in Egypt and sire more foals than he did in America, one cannot help but think of the greater legacy that *El Mareekh would have then enjoyed, had he remained at the EAO. And yet, I am smart enough to realize of the living legacy that in fact, he did leave in America, primarily through his son, Ibn El Mareekh, his grandson, Hi-Fashion Mareekh, great-grandson The Elixir, great-great-grandson, Alixir and great-great-great grandson, Bellagio RCA! It is through these horses and many more like them, that the memory of a beautiful horse like *El Mareekh continues to inspire us almost 40 years after his death.

***Originally published June of 2020***