Al Maraam, photographed by Darryl Larson in 2002 |
“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 WhedonAt 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 |
Al Maraam, photographed in 2006 |
Al Maraam, photographed at Albadeia by Susanne Ernst |
Al Maraam, photographed by Javan in 2012 |
Al Maraam (Imperial Imdal x The Vision HG) photographed by Shira Yeger in 2010 |
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
Thank you for the lovely story on Al Maraam, a truly great ambassador for the breed and a horse much beloved here. None are so fortunate as we are to have Maraam's daughter Sofsof, who has proven herself as broodmare supreme over and over and left us wonderful progeny over the years. Covered by Shams Sharav AA for a 2021 foal Sofsof rules over our broodmare herd and has known always that she's Numero Uno.
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