all for the love of a horse...: Amir el Hejra

19 December, 2020

Amir el Hejra

Amir el Hejra (Nader al Jamal x Kenya PG)

One of my favorite photographers is Bar Hajaj from Israel. I am grateful to my wonderful friends, Chen Kedar of Ariela Arabians and Tzviah Idan of Idan Atiq Stud because it is only through them that I learned of Bar Hajaj. And it is through Bar Hajaj, that I learn of horses that I really didn't know, like Amir el Hejra.

There is an interesting story behind this horse or rather, the interesting story belongs to his late sire, Nader Al Jamal, a son of Ansata Sinan and out of a Thee Desperado daughter, Savannah CC. Do you know he was bred in America? Yes, he was bred in Missouri by Joseph and Gail Mailloux at their Two Silos Farm, where the great Hadidi once lived. Do you know that Nader Al Jamal was originally named TS Atlanta? Chen Kedar saw the stallion at the 2006 Egyptian Event and immediately, fell in love with the horse but felt his name was not right. So, she leased the stallion under one condition, that TS Atlanta would be renamed Nader Al Jamal, which means "the rare beauty" in Arabic. Some of my favorite Ariela horses were sired by Nader Al Jamal like Shalimar AA, Labibah AA and Lutfina AA. I can now add Amir El Hejra to my growing list of Nader Al Jamal-sired horses.

Amir el Hejra's dam, Kenya PG, is a Botswana daughter out of Vivien PG, a daughter of Al Jahimm (Ansata Imperial x Alia Hasna). One of the things that I like most about the stallion Botswana is his maternal great great granddam, Nama. She was a *Morafic daughter out of *Bint Nefisaa, the foundress of a genetically vibrant female family within straight Egyptian breeding.

In tail female line (and through the Albadeia breeding program), Amir El Hejra traces to Zaafarana, a 1946 RAS-bred mare celebrated for her charisma, her outstanding movement and the dam of beloved horses like *Talal. Zaafarana traces to Ghazieh, a Saklawiyah Jedraniyah imported to Egypt for Abbas Pasha. Amir el Hejra is therefore, Saklawi in strain. I also noticed the common ground that connects the paternal side with the maternal side of the pedigree. Ansata Delilah is the great granddam of Ansata Sinan, however, she appears twice on the maternal side of the pedigree, both times through her son, Ansata Imperial (grandsire and great grandsire of Vivien PG). I appreciate the influence of this mare very much and I was really happy to discover the 8% influence that she exerts, as far back as she appears in the pedigree. The Ansata program reflects heavily on Amir el Hejra, approximately 36% of the pedigree. Gleannloch Farms exerts an equal percentage, possibly a little more than that, if we include some of the horses brought forward by the Imperial breeding program, which factors a little less than 20% influence. Albadeia, through the 1978 mare Hasnaa Albadeia, represents 6.25%, while the program of the late Hansi Heck-Melnyk of Serenity Farm is half the influence of Albadeia, at 3.125%. Even the Babson Farm has an equal amount of presence in the pedigree of Amir el Hejra, through the mare, Fada (Faddan x Aaroufa). When you look at the pedigree from this perspective, it really becomes a powerful and overwhelming story of the common ground that connects a diverse group of breeders, all for the love of a horse.

***Originally published August, 2020***

3 comments:

TzviahTuesday, September 01, 2020 1:19:00 AM
AEHejra was bred here and photographed here by Bar. Good showhorse who won several awards at halter and defeated our own beloved Nader son, a half-brother, who stood Reserve at an unforgettable EE some years back. Very well-bred and should make a great legacy on the breed overseas.
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Lena AwadMonday, February 15, 2021 1:52:00 PM
Some of the information written in this article are wrong, especially the name of the owner. He is not owner by Al Daar Stud but by El Hejra Stud from Jerusalem and was leased for two years by Al Danat Stud in Kuwait.
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Ralph SuarezTuesday, February 16, 2021 2:04:00 PM
Thanks Lena, for taking the time to visit my blog and read the article about Amir El Hejra. I removed the owner information, in favor of the information you have written within your comment. I try to present the most accurate information, using the resources available to me but as you were quick to point out, I don't always get it right. My apologies. Thanks so much for your visit. It makes me happy to know that these blogs are getting read by others!!!
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MY FAVORITE WEBSITE

If you want to understand the desert Arabian horse on a deeper level, then you will want to visit Daughters of the Wind, a blog maintained by Edouard al-Dahdah, since 2008. It's my favorite place to visit, on a regular basis. For me personally, the information that Edouard presents is at times so profound, that I find myself weeks, even months later, still thinking about what he has written. I consider him a treasured source of inspiration and for the times that I don't feel like writing anymore, a significant source of encouragement. In one place, you will be able to read of the horses, their heritage; as well as the culture, traditions and the geography of the land, from where they originated. I strongly encourage you to visit his blog to broaden your understanding and deepen your appreciation for the Bedouin-bred horse.

MY FAVORITE WEBSITE X 2

The Horse In Word and Picture is the blog of Rania el Sayed, a very talented photographer, whose equine photography is second-to-none. I still remember when I first learned of Rania, it was all because of the late Dr. Nasr Marei. At the time, Nasr published an article that featured Rania's photography. I was thrilled by the photography and later, "meeting" Rania was one of the highlights of my horse life. I loved her photo of Mangooma and Rania, in an act of kindness never to be forgotten, let me use her photo in my blog. Thanks Rania for all of your support. You'll love Rania's blog and all of the equine topics she covers, including the straight Egyptian Arabian Horse. She really pushes me to think deeply about things that I haven't thought in a while. And you don't have to join Facebook, to read her posts. .

MY FAVORITE BOOK

One of the questions that I am asked most frequently is which book(s) do I recommend? Judith Forbis', The Classic Arabian Horse, published in 1976, is MY FAVORITE BOOK...EVER. Prior to the publication of this book, we really didn't have anything that compiled the history, the bloodlines & breeding practices and conformation (including breed type) of the straight Egyptian horse in one volume. You had to dig through multiple sources, sometimes in languages foreign to one's own, to try and develop an understanding of the Egyptian Arabian horse. So, this is my recommendation to you today, especially if you are just starting, this is the most important book you will ever own. You can find the book on Amazon, previously owned, at a very affordable price.

A NEW FAVORITE BOOK

Many times, I have heard other enthuiasts say, "if only I could get into the mind of this breeder and understand the Arabian horse as he or she does!" Dr. William Hudson, a long-time breeder, weaves together his lifetime of experiences including the latest developments in equine genetic science with the history, art and culture of the Arabian horse. This is not the type of book that you will read, cover-to-cover, in one sitting. You will find yourself turning to this massive 1,500 page, 2-volume set, over and over. If you love Arabian horses and want to understand the breed intimately, on a deeper level, this is the only book you will ever need to own. If you are breeding Egyptian Arabian horses, I urge you to purchase this 2-volume set before you breed one more horse!

MORE FAVORITE BOOKS...

One of the questions that I am asked most frequently is which book(s) do I recommend? Previously, I mentioned Judith Forbis' THE CLASSIC ARABIAN HORSE which is a great introduction to the breed and to Egyptian Arabian horses specifically. But now, you have read that book and are ready to go deeper. So, this is the book that I recommend reading (VOLUME II ) without hesitation. It's fantastic. The depth of this book, within tail female lines, sire lines and strains found in Egyptian (EAO) breeding is not found anywhere else. If you are serious about the Egyptian Arabian horse, whether a breeder, student or enthusiast, you must read this book, at least once!

STILL MORE FAVORITE BOOKS

In the Preface, Dr. Nagel wrote, "Since it is claimed that the Arabian horse breed is one of the oldest on earth, one has to accept that it is also in the crossfire of many opinions which sometimes clash vigorously. There are obviously many doubts and errors, and the advocates of different concepts seem to be not ready to settle on a common stance. It should encourage the reader to think...The refreshing variety of thoughts surrounding this noble member of the great family of horses should not be lost." Whether you agree or disagree with Dr. Nagel, is not what is important but rather, the resulting thought that this book will inspire. I can't even tell you how many times I have read this wonderful book cover-to-cover. It's one of the more provocative books that I have ever read and each time I have read it, a part of the book that had not impacted me previously, will cause me to think deeply for days, weeks and even months at a time. So, dear reader, I recommend this book to you, in the hope that it will inspire you to think deeply about our breed and examine why, you feel the way you do.

"The ideal Arabian type is recognizable at sight to the experienced horseman and novice alike. It falls short of the ideal if it reminds one of another horse or breed. It falls short of the ideal if it is so plain and uncertain of type as to require a sign: 'This is an Arabian horse.' It falls short of the ideal if it is so coarse and masculine as to remind one of a small Percheron, at one extreme, or so highly animated and elf-like as to remind one of a gazelle at the other extreme. The ideal type stands out alone. You know it immediately when you see it."-Ben Hur, from his 1951 Western Horseman article, Type in the Arab

In the summer of 2006, when I discovered Blogger, the last thing on my mind was creating a blog. At the time, I had been participating in a popular Egyptian Arabian horse website and desired to find a website that would allow me to "cut-and-paste" the posts that I had written for future reference. From those humble beginnings, this blog was born. I'm not a professional writer and although I want to say that writing is a hobby; I think it is better to say that I write for the love of the breed. I've had the good fortune to meet a number of horses who are now considered legendary, as well as some really wonderful people, who are equally legendary. Over the years, people have suggested that I charge a subscription fee or pursue paid sponsorships but you know how money changes everything and this blog, after all, is a labor of love. So, there you have it, the story of the blog. Many thanks to the people who make this blog doable, for example, where would I be without any of the photographers, the "visual storytellers" of our breed, who allow me to post their pictures and to the authors of the many books and magazine articles that I have read over the course of 45 or so years, helping to educate a long ago kid, crazy in love with Arabian horses. And finally, an overwhelming amount of gratitude for you dear readers, for coming here to this place, to read, discover and celebrate this common ground we share, all for the love of an Arabian horse.