Major Mac V

Major Mac V (Maclintock V x Majors Tiffany GA) as photographed by April Visel

Major Mac V, a 2012 dark bay stallion, is a son of Maclintock V (Desperado V x Marigold V) and out of Majors Tiffany GA (DS Major Afire x Sabrina GA). Bred by the late Sheila Varian, the blood of Rodania, a desert warrior of great fame, courses through his tail female line.  Rodania was bred by the Ruala tribe of the Anazeh Bedouins and captured by Tais Ibn Sharban of the Saba'ah tribe from Sheikh Sattam Ibn Shalan in 1880. The Blunts eventually purchased the mare from Tais Ibn Sharban and imported Rodania to their Crabbet Park Stud in England, circa 1881.

At first glance, the magnitude of the sire line is intimidating, a genetic chain of unspeakable power, a multi-generational reminder of the significant impact these horses have had, in furthering Sheila Varian's vision into the future, a year at a time, until we find ourselves here, 60 years from when she started:
Major Mac V>Maclintock V>Desperado V>Huckeberry Bey>Bay El Bey>Bay-Abi
However, if you look more closely at the sire line, past Bay-Abi and his sire Errabi, past Arabi Kabir and Image, you will find the name of *Mirage, a sparkling white Saklawi stallion bred by the Saba'ah Bedouin tribe and purchased by King Faisal of Iraq, who gifted the horse to the Italian Ambassador at the time, Giacomo De Martino,  eventually consigning the horse to a Tattersall's auction. In 1923, *Mirage was purchased by Lady Wentworth of Crabbet Stud for use as an outcross stallion, however, she never used him and he was sold to Roger Selby of America.

In all that has been written about *Mirage, we know that he was a beautiful horse, approximately 14.2 hands, 1,000 pounds, with a brilliant white coat and of a fine, classic type, which he maintained even into advanced old age. One of the more interesting comments concerning *Mirage was made by Daniel C. Gainey, within Dr. Ameen Zaher's book, Arabian Horse Breeding and the Arabians of America. He felt that the most correct horses and those closest to his ideal, reflected select Skowronek lines, combined with RAS bloodlines, particularly those horses sired by the stallion, Dahman and out of the mare, Bint Yemama. To which, he recommended adding "a dash" of *Mirage blood, to capture a quality of the movement he observed in the *Mirage offspring and called an "airy way of going". In addition to the sire line,  Major Mac V has crosses to *Mirage through Huckleberry Bey's dam, Taffona and Marigold V (the dam of Maclintock V),  for a total of 5 lines to *Mirage.

What's even more interesting about Major Mac V, now that we understand how much *Mirage blood is bound in his pedigree, are the other bloodlines mentioned by Daniel C. Gainey. Major Mac has multiple lines to Skowronek, primarily through his sons *Raseyn and *Raffles, as well as crosses to Dahman through *Zarife, Bint Yamama through *Fadl and *Roda. On a somewhat related note, it is also interesting to point out that Major Mac V carries additional Egyptian blood in his pedigree, through crosses to*Ibn Moniet el Nefous and *Soufian (sources of Dalal Al Zarka through Moniet el Nefous, as Daniel C. Gainey believed that this particular mare was also important in the creation of his ideal Arabian horse), plus the older Egyptian blood of Gulastra (Astraled x Gulnare) and interestingly,  Gulnare, in a separate cross with the stallion, Rizvan (Ibn Yashmak x Rijma).

Sheila wanted something a little different for Major Mac V and this video, which is the inspiring centerpiece of this blog, also serves as the best way to give a voice to what "different" really meant for Sheila.

"You know what I want for this horse? He doesn't really have to go to the arena. I believe in him. I wanted something that was clean, pure and honest for this horse." - Sheila Varian

Lester Buckley is unique in the world of horses, embracing several disciplines, from colt starting to cutting to dressage. He has trained under some of the most legendary horsemen in the world like Ray Hunt, Willie Richardson and Hannes Muller.  Shaped by a classical foundation that at its core, preserves dignity and in turn, creates empathy for the horse,  Lester Buckley doesn't ask more from the horse, than what the horse is able to give him. In the video, he tells us of a sign that hangs in his barn which says, "Together is a beautiful place to be." You see this spirit of relationship come alive on the screen, as he rides in unity with Major Mac V. Through Lester, Sheila defined what she wanted for Major Mac V. And despite never setting a single hoof in a show ring, Major Mac V has developed quite a worldwide following, as Arabian horse people realize the genetic value that this horse presents, as well as what Major Mac V personally meant to his breeder...she believed in him.

There are many touching moments in this refreshingly honest, short film (you will need some tissues) as man and horse work together and enjoy each other's company.  In these days when we find ourselves so distant from each other, a horse like Major Mac V reminds us, that life can only get better if we all just believe in the power of love, kindness and generosity of spirit. It's not just about us, its about all of us and that, is a beautiful thing to believe in.

*Lancers Asmara+

In October of 1980, Donald Ford held a landmark sale, Lancer's Night of Nights, Sale of Sales, dispersing all of his Egyptian horses, including the stallion *Asadd+++, who sold for $1,525,000. The Fords earned six million dollars, with the sale average approximately $200,000 per horse. The mare, *Lancers Asmara+ was sold for a little less than the sale average ($150,000) to Tom Chauncey (who also purchased *Asadd+++), then, a record auction price paid for a straight Egyptian mare.
An American National top ten mare and twice Reserve World Champion mare, *Lancers Asmara+ is by Seef and out of Hebah, an *Ibn Hafiza daughter out of Nazeera. For me, this mare, Nazeera, is very interesting, as her name is like that of her sire, with an "A" added, to indicate her feminine gender. Why was she named so, I've always wondered? Is it because she so strongly resembled Nazeer, either in body or spirit, that a feminine version of the name was more appropriate and would forever record the similarity of father and daughter?

Nazeera (Nazeer x Malaka)

A  strong-bodied grey mare, Nazeera was foaled in 1954, out of Malaka (Kheir x Bint Bint Riyala). Malaka was an excellent broodmare for the EAO, producing horses like the stallions, Azmi (who was exported to Russia in 1958 and renamed Nil), Waseem and the mares, *Salomy, Mamlouka and Samia, in addition to Nazeera. In Egyptian breeding, the family of Rodania and thereby, the Kuhaylan Rodan strain, is represented via two branches: through Bint Rissala and Bint Riyala, whom Malaka traces to.  Nazeera, an influential broodmare like her dam; her progeny matured to become mares of great significance in straight Egyptian breeding, i.e. *Omayma, *Romanaa II, Bint Nazeera, Amani (the dam of *Asadd+++), Kawmia, *Manzoura and *Serenity Luftia.

While *Lancers Asmara was bred to stallions outside of straight Egyptian breeding like the *Bask sons, Fire Alert++ and Ben Bask; she was also bred to Egyptian stallions like *Asadd, *Sultann, Ansata El Hasan (his dam,*Mawaheb, is a daughter of Amani, a maternal sister of *Lancers Asmara+)  and the full brothers: Ansata Raja Halim and Ansata Halim Shah. Her daughter by Ansata Halim Shah, Halims Asmara, was bred to Classic Shadwan (Alidaar x Shagia Bint Shadwan), producing GR Amaretto, a breeding stallion for Anette Escher of Gestut Rothenberg.

GR Amaretto (Classic Shadwan x Halims Asmara) as photographed by the late Erwin Escher

While the Malaka line is recognized daughter-to-daughter for producing key broodmares; I found GR Amaretto interesting because he sired like the female members of his family produced, however, the influence of Malaka in GR Amaretto's get, comes through the paternal side, instead of the maternal side. GR Amaretto, who died in 2017, leaves several daughters,  insuring that the genetic value of mares like *Lancers Asmara+, Nazeera and Malaka, no matter which side of the pedigree you find them, remain a vital part of the Egyptian gene pool.

Al Maraam

Al Maraam, photographed by Darryl Larson in 2002

Just as The Vision HG was the first foal born to Belle Staar, do you know that Al Maraam was the first foal produced by The Vision HG? Ariela had leased Imperial Imdal and a few months before the lease came to an end, Vision was bred to Imdal and she settled, giving birth to Al Maraam the following year and through him, established her globally significant family of sons which includes horses like Al Ayal AA, Al Lahab and Al Raheeb AA to name only a few. Do you know what the name "Al Maraam" means? His name means "the passion".

“Passion. It lies in all of us. Sleeping... waiting... and though unwanted, unbidden, it will stir...open its jaws and howl. It speaks to us...guides us. Passion rules us all. And we obey. What other choice do we have? Passion is the source of our finest moments. The joy of love... the clarity of hatred... the ecstasy of grief. It hurts sometimes more than we can bear. If we could live without passion, maybe we'd know some kind of peace. But we would be hollow. Empty rooms, shuttered and dank. Without passion, we'd be truly dead.” - Joss Whedon 

At first glance,  you will notice that Al Maraam's tail female line goes back to the 1946 mare, Zaafarana, sired by Balance, and out of Samira, a full sister to the important stallion, Shahloul. Zaafarana was celebrated in her time for having brilliant action and "a ceremonial presence". She was an excellent broodmare, passing on her athleticism to her sons *Talal (by Nazeer) and Amrulla (by Sid Abouhom), who became champions and much loved racehorses in Egypt.

The Vision HG, bred in America by the Geurin family of Hamilton Gates Farm, is the product of what appears initially to be paternal siblings (both Thee Desperado and Belle Staar were sired by The Minstril) but if you look at the dams (AK Amiri Asmarr and Alia-Aenor), they are both daughters of TheEgyptianPrince. So, Vision's sire and dam are a bit more related, not close enough to be full-siblings-in-blood but much closer than just saying paternal siblings. However, there is a different story to tell, which, if you dig deeper, is hidden within the pedigree, involving a recurring cross that not only establishes common ground on both sides of the pedigree; actually, this cross represents 42% of the entire pedigree!  This cross is Nazeer, combined with Moniet el Nefous. Approximately 36% of this combined bloodline comes by way of Mabrouka (Sid Abouhom x Moniet el Nefous), while a smaller percentage, 6%, is contributed by her full sister, Mouna (Sid Abouhom x Moniet el Nefous). It is important to say that the stallion, *Morafic, with seven lines in the pedigree (27%) is by far, the more utilized way in which the Mabrouka bloodline appears in the pedigree of Al Maraam.  It's also, by virtue of the strain of the individual horses involved, a very powerful Saqlawi presence in the pedigree. A little more than a third of the pedigree, including the tail female line, is representative of the Saqlawi strain.

In phenotype, Al Maraam was magnificent, possessing a powerful and correct appearance. He had a very nice laid-back shoulder, a broad chest, a strong, level and smooth topline and an equally substantial hind end, with well-muscled gaskins. Through Dalia++, the dam of Imperial Imdal, flowed the blood of the mare Rodania, from where I believe that Al Maraam drew his strength.

In spirit, Al Maraam was kind, easy-going, sweet and very people-oriented.  He was not a noisy or belligerent stallion; on the other hand, he was quiet, focused and carried himself with dignity. He also was a super intelligent horse, very willing and easy to train, quickly figuring out what was being asked of him. He was so compliant! Many times, you only had to show him once and he "got" it. There wasn't anything that Al Maraam would not try, for the people he loved. He was a soulful horse, a happy horse, from whom an abundance of kindness flowed. Many of his get are like their sire, easy horses to live and work with.

In 1999, as a yearling, he was the Reserve Junior Champion colt at the All Nations Cup in Germany.  Later in the same year, Al Maraam went to Paris, to the Salon du Cheval, where he placed in the top five colts in the World Championships. He also placed second in the European Championships and two years later, he would earn first place at the same show!

Al Maraam, photographed in 1999

In 2006, Al Maraam was named the Israeli National Reserve Champion stallion. Do you know that Al Maraam's paternal brother, Laheeb, was the first straight Egyptian stallion to be leased by the Polish State Studs? Shortly after his Israeli win,  Al Maraam became the second straight Egyptian stallion to be used in Poland for breeding. His daughter, Parmana (out of Palmira), bred by Michalow State Stud was the high selling lot ($180,000 Euros) at the 2018 Pride of Poland Sale. Yes, THAT Parmana.

Al Maraam, photographed in 2006

Shortly after returning from Poland, Al Maraam went to Egypt, where he stood at stud for Albadeia, for the 2009 and 2010 breeding seasons. Nasr Marei had said of Al Maraam, "I firmly believe as a breeder that one has to have a dynamic approach to breeding and be very careful in selecting horses used in the program. As a breeder, I can see always areas that can be improved in the quality of my herd. Even though he was a horse that I never have seen, except in pictures; I was interested in Al Maraam's conformation and of course, in his pedigree."

Al Maraam, photographed at Albadeia by Susanne Ernst

He sired some exceptional horses for Albadeia, most notably a black stallion named Damess Albadeia (out of Farha Albadeia), as well as three fillies who were very competitive in the European showrings in 2015: Dorrah Albadeia (out of Zaghroudat Albadeia), Asalah Albadeia (out of Kenooz Albadeia) and Wahg Albadeia (out of Badeea Albadiea).

Al Maraam, photographed by Javan in 2012

When he returned from Albadeia, he traveled to the United States, standing at stud for one season, siring several horses for American breeders like Inga Applequist, Manny Vierra, Richard DeWalt and Raymond Mazzei.

Al Maraam (Imperial Imdal x The Vision HG) photographed by Shira Yeger in 2010

Ariela, the birthplace and for many years, the home of Al Maraam, remains steadfast to his legacy, furthering his continuing influence within the program. Latifah AA, the 2007 Israeli National Champion Mare, in addition to being the 2003 Israeli National Champion filly, is an outstanding Al Maraam daughter within the Ariela program. As great as this mare was as a show horse, she has been an extraordinary broodmare, producing the full siblings by Nader el Jamal: Labibah AA, a multi-champion mare in Israel and Europe who will compete this month in the World Championships in Paris for Al Thumama Stud in Qatar, Lutfina AA, who like her sister is a champion in many countries, Leia AA who is owned by Hanaya Arabians and a German National Champion Stallion, BK Latif. When bred to Shams Sharav AA, Latifah AA also produced Lenaya AA, who like her dam, is a vital broodmare in the program. Lenaya was bred to Kenz Al Baydaa, producing a filly who became the 2019 Silver Champion at the Israeli Egyptian Event. Ariela has decided to retain Lenaya's filly for their breeding program, deepening further, the contributing influence of Al Maraam in the program. Another exciting Al Maraam daughter is Nawaal AA (out of the Ansata Selman daughter, Insha Sha Latifah), who produced by Al Ayal AA, Emmy Cass, a beautiful mare who made her show ring debut very recently, placing in the top five senior mare championships at The Egyptian Event, held in Verona.

For my friend, Tzviah Idan of Israel, Al Maraam also sired a 2004 daughter, Atiq Sofsof, who was the first filly foaled at Idan Atiq Arabian Stud, after a period of five colts, born one right-after-another.  Tzviah and her partner at Idan Atiq, Kuti Aharon, had imported the 211 Zohair daughter, 230 Ibn Galal I from Babolna in 2000, whom they bred to Al Maraam. There was high expectation for this foal and Tzviah and Kuti were not disappointed. Atiq Sofsof remains in the Idan Atiq breeding program.

Through the pages of this blog, I have expressed the deep sorrow that is left, whenever a beloved horse dies. Sometimes, the sorrow is felt a little deeper, especially when a personal connection to the horse exists. For many years, Al Maraam lived his life, while I lived mine; neither life intersecting with the other. I knew of him, I admired him and unfortunately, I acted as if he would live forever. And now, when hindsight meets the finality of death, one asks hard questions or rather, questions with answers that might make sense today but back in the day, had no relevancy to where I found myself in that time. How did life move so quickly? And perhaps, that is one of the greatest lessons that I have learned from the life of Al Maraam, that is, that life is far too precious, for any of it to be taken for granted...or, wasted. We have the opportunity to make life a blessing for others, just as Al Maraam made his life a blessing for many breeders, all over the world.

“I remember when your name was just another name that rolled without thought off my tongue. Now, I can’t look at your name without an abundance of sentiment attached to each letter. Your name, which I played with so carelessly, so easily, has somehow become sacred to my lips. A name I won’t throw around lightheartedly or repeat without deep thought.” - Jamie Weise

Bedouin Beauty: The Rosewater Horses

Ambition (*Bask x Bint Ambara)

"His withers rise to a neck far reaching upwards, below a breast blood-stained, like a stone on which saffron is ground." - Salaam ibn-Jandal, from The Classic Arabian Horse

In The Classic Arabian Horse,  Judith Forbis tells us that the Bedouins classified grey coloured horses (al ashab) into seven distinctive types, of which she wrote,  "the most favored was al ashab al marshoush, and he resembles the bird and is the strongest and tallest and he is called al thobabi (flea-bitten)." Dr. Hans Nagel, in his book, Hanan, says that the Bedouin considered the flea-bitten grey coat color to be the original wild color, which returns to the horse, as part of the aging process. And Lady Wentworth, in her famous literary work honoring the breed, her mother and the Crabbet Park breeding program, said that the color grey is indigenous to the Bedouin horse and proof that a grey colored Arabian horse is purebred, free of common blood.

In some horses who are born with a solid body color, the coat hairs, much like the hair of a human, "turns" grey, as the horse begins to mature. In Federico Tesio's book, Breeding Thoroughbred Horses, he explains it like this, "grey is not itself a coat, but a pathological discoloration of the only two basic coats which are the bay and the chestnut."  In some horses, the intensification of the white coat hair progresses to such a degree that the coat eventually loses all pigmentation and becomes a radiant, silvery white; while in other horses, a genetic phenomenon occurs affecting the chromosomes and the loss of the greying gene. The pigmentation of the coat hair is somewhat reestablished, resulting in the flecking (flea bites), which appear in a reddish tone or in some flea-bitten horses, a darker color altogether. In some horses, the flecking is so profuse, that the coat color appears to have a pale pinkish hue or better yet, a rosy color, i.e. rosewater horses. But why call it flea bites? Well, the flecking looks like bloody marks made by the bites of the insects, which always made me wonder why they couldn't come up with a better name than something so nasty as a flea bite?

The *Bask son, Ambition, out of the Comet daughter, Bint Ambara was profusely flea-bitten. When I think of flea-bitten horses, I think of him, as he was one of the horses of my youth who had a profound effect upon me and my developing appreciation for classic Arabian horse type. I adored this horse, in every photograph published of him. Bred by Lasma Arabians, Ambition was purchased by Mulawa Arabian Stud in 1975, where he remained as herd stallion until he died in 1985. The interesting thing about Ambition is that his sire (*Bask) was bay in color (his dam, Bint Ambara was grey) but *Bask's full sister, Bandola (the dam of *Bandos) was also flea-bitten and like Ambition, profusely so!

Bandola (Witraz x Balalajka)

At first glance, Ambition's pedigree appears to be influenced by grey horses (75%) but in studying his pedigree a little deeper, there's a bit of a pattern between horses of a bay color and grey. *Bask was sired by Witraz, a bay, who was sired by Ofir (also bay) out of Makata, a grey. While Bint Ambara is the result of two grey parents, her sire Comet, is the son of Abu Afas, a brown horse, out of Carmen, a grey. Her dam, Ambara, was sired by Wielki Szlem, a bay, out of Alhambra, a grey. The only horse who breaks the repeating pattern of top crossing  a colored horse onto a grey,  is the mare Balalajka, who is by a grey stallion, Amurath Sahib, out of a chestnut mare, Iwonka (although in the next generation, Alhambra is sired by a grey, Kaszmir, out of a bay mare Atfa). It is also interesting to note that Wielki Szlem, unlike his brother, Witraz, is the son of two bay-colored parents, infusing the maternal side of the pedigree with more of the bay color. Why does it matter if one ancestor has a bay body color and another is grey? Well, to me, it means that the flea-bitten color is not the end result of breeding homozygous grey horses but rather, it is a body color more commonly occurring in heterozygous grey horses.

Over the years, I have known flea-bitten horses of varying degrees of the color, however, it was the more intensely speckled horses, who caught my attention, as they were also distinctive (and unforgettable) in their presentation of breed type, as if they were a type unto themselves. Dr. Nagel, expressed a similar sentiment in Hanan. He said that the flea-bitten horses were more refined, typier horses with generally, no markings and possessing very dark skin pigmentation. Dr. Nagel feels that intensified Arabian type and the flea-bitten color were in some special way linked together. Dr. Nagel says,

"Bearing in mind that the colour chromosome is especially large and linked to many attributes, this indicates a valuable incentive for continuing to preserve an admired attribute from bygone times which appears to have become linked to a part of breeding history."

I also remember a Polish gelding whose flea-bitten coat felt so different when I touched him. The hair was very short in length, like the short coat that horses have during the hottest months of the summer, before they start to grow winter coats but this particular horse's coat possessed an extra-fine texture that really surprised me. I wasn't expecting it. The dark color of his skin intensified the reddish tint of his speckled coat, which at a distance, did really appear to be rose in color. All these years later, I still remember him, as I remember the rosewater horse of my youth, a horse who fueled my interest and my "Ambition" to understand these desert horses better, while celebrating their extraordinary and very unique characteristics.

***This blog post is lovingly dedicated to Dr. Hans Joachim Nagel, in gratitude for his most wonderful book, Hanan, in which he presents a most compelling school of thought on the origin of the Arabian horse.***