Black is the new BLACK

Atum (Silver SK x Aleah Al Moutribah)

“The Black was looking out on the open sea; his ears pricked forward, his thin-skinned nostrils quivering, his black mane flowing like windswept flame. Alec could not turn his eyes away; he could not believe such a perfect creature existed.”  - Walter Farley, The Black Stallion

Atum is a 2015 black stallion, sired by Silver SK (Thee Desperado  x AK Shalina) and out of Aleah Al Moutribah (Al Adeed Al Shaqab x TheMinstrils Aria). He was bred by Robin Lee and Sharon Kettwich. He is Dahman by strain, as he traces in his tail female line through Aliah Halima (the dam of TheMinstrils Aria) and her dam, Charm of Halima, to the *Morafic daughter, Nama, who is part of the *Bint Nefisaa family of horses which include the stallions, El Hilal and Nefisaan plus the mares: Moynese (Nefisaan's full sister), Narjisa (*Moftakhar), Nourah and Negmaa (*Ansata Ibn Halima). *Bint Nefisaa was a great-great-granddaughter of Farida, a line which ultimately runs to El Dahma, the Ali Pasha Sherif-bred mare long considered to be the root mare of the strain. However, if you look at the overall pedigree, the percentage of Dahman strain influence, including the tail female line, is only 20%. And of this percentage, more than half of that influence comes from Shaikh al Badi, the son of *Bint Maisa El Saghira (Bint el Bahreyn), who appears in the pedigree four times! The rest of the Dahman influence is through *Bint Nefisaa, as previously noted, *Ansata Ibn Halima (combining the 2 *Ansata Ibn Halima lines with the *Bint Nefissa line, means that Atum, foaled 74 years after the death of Farida, carries almost 1.50% of her influence) and *Ansata Bint Bukra.

Atum (Silver SK x  Aleah Al Moutribah)

Atum is a very gloriously stretchy horse, with length in his neck, legs and body. He is really lovely, especially for mare owners looking to incorporate increased scope within their program. One look at Atum and you just know that he has to have some Saqlawi influence in his genetic make-up.

"incorporating the Saqlawi type brings length back to neck and leg, which can be lost with intense use of Dahman and Kuhaylan strain types. It also yields finer bone structure and produces flatter and less prominent muscling. Too much Saqlawi can produce a long back and ears. Dahman type brings back an overall balance and harmony, including more dished heads and larger eyes, and shorter backs, but also has the tendency to produce shorter necks and legs, heavier muscling, and more bone."-Walter Schimanski 

And that's exactly where we find a very interesting story, through one of the most beloved mares in Egyptian Arabian horse breeding. The presence of Moniet el Nefous is further back in Atum's pedigree, due to the fact that she was a 1946 mare who started producing foals in 1950, approximately 70 years ago. Therefore, while she appears seventeen times in the pedigree, the percentage of her influence is a little more than 13%. It is through AK Shalina, the dam of Atum's sire, that the influence of Moniet el Nefous is magnified, as a little more than half of the Moniet  influence is brought forward through her. AK Shalina was the product of two paternal siblings (sired by *Ibn Moniet el Nefous) out of mares who were great-granddaughters of Moniet el Nefous. It is interesting that approximately half of AK Shalina's pedigree is influenced by Moniet el Nefous primarily through individuals like *Ibn Moniet el Nefous, TheEgyptianPrince, *Bint Moniet el Nefous, *Hoyeda and Ansata Shah Zaman.

Atum (Silver SK x Aleah Al Moutribah)

While Atum carries a percentage of Saqlawi that is a fraction higher than that of the Dahman strain, he also carries equal percentages of the Kuhaylan, Hadban and Abeyyan strains. On paper, it would be challenging to say which strain had the most influence upon Atum. However, standing in the presence of Atum, you are immediately impressed by the overall level of elegance, scope and overall refinement that this young stallion possesses, underscoring the type of balanced horse that Walter Schimanski bred for, when he skillfully combined individuals of the Saklawi and Dahman strains, as he explained in the previous paragraph.

Atum at the Arabian National Breeder Finals, Thursday night, 9/17/20

What does the future hold for this most wonderful horse, you might ask? Atum, at his very first show ever, was named the Scottsdale Supreme Gold Straight Egyptian Champion Colt/Stallion (all ages), class 223, at the Arabian National Breeder Finals. Atum, prepared for his most significant show win by Rodolfo Guzzo of Scottsdale, was handled by Marquinhos, a young trainer who is part of Rodolfo Guzzo's show team. Atum remains in training with Rodolfo Guzzo and one can only look forward to seeing this beautiful stallion again in the show arena, as he continues to build a spectacular show career. 

Atum, now a five year old stallion, is also a proven sire, having sired a son named Aleah Dhahab Aswad (out of Shalpashas Silver SSK and yes, she is Atum's paternal sister), who was recently sold to Carey Lynn Crance of Alaska.

CONGRATULATIONS ROBIN LEE & DEBBY LISTER!