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