*Urfah

In August of 1906, Homer Davenport arrived in Aleppo, the first stop on his amazing desert journey, to live amongst the Bedouin tribes in the hope of purchasing the very best Bedouin-bred horses for export to America. Ultimately, Davenport would purchase a total of 27 horses, 17 stallions and 10 mares, including *Urfah, a bay Saqlawiyah, of whom, Homer Davenport wrote in My Quest of the Arabian Horse:

"She walked with the grace of a well-bred woman; her tail would gracefully sway from side to side; her ears were ever in motion, and her eyes sparkled." 

*Urfah was a celebrated mare in the desert and the pride of her breeder, Dhidan al-Awaji, who only wanted to show Davenport the high level of quality that her two year old colt (*Hamrah) descended from.

"The mother out of sight, we turned to look at her two year old son. He seemed finer than others we had of the same age. There was an inherited dignity which the others did not have."

And this is where the story of *Urfah gets really interesting.*Urfah's Bedouin owner, a Shaikh of the Wuld Sulayman tribe of the Anazeh Bedouins, never intended to sell the mare to anyone.  *Urfah was the mare that everyone wanted but could never have. However, Davenport was a very lucky man and when he arrived in Aleppo, through some extraordinary circumstances, he met Akmet Haffez, a man who served as the liasion between the Bedouin tribes and the government.

"Then slowly and with a stride like that of of Sir Henry Irving, a noble, elderly looking Arab came forward. Anywhere he would have attracted instant attention."

Homer Davenport, a likable personality, quickly established a good relationship with Akmet Haffez, who agreed to also function as Davenport's guide, as he travelled in the desert. It is interesting that the name, "Haffez",  which is a derivative of the name "Hafiz", meaning "guardian", which is exactly the role that Akmet Haffez assumed, over Homer Davenport. The influence of Akmet Haffez amongst the Bedouin was significant and through him, horses possessing a remarkable level of quality, like *Urfah, were presented to Davenport for his consideration. When Akmet Haffez arranged for the purchase of *Urfah's colt, he also intended to purchase his dam and while he may not have initially succeeded in purchasing the mare, the idea of selling the mare at a good price, was planted in the mind of her breeder.  When *Urfah's owner returned with Urfah's yearling colt (*Euphrates), he told Akmet Haffez that he had decided to sell *Urfah. However, on the third day, when he failed to return with the mare,  a messenger arrived with the news that the price for the mare had increased, by an additional 50 pounds. Davenport agreed to pay the new purchase price and a soldier carrying the money was dispatched and soon enough, he returned empty-handed, as the additional money was no longer enough to purchase the mare. *Urfah's breeder had admired a revolver carried by one of the men in Davenport's party and he now also wanted the revolver, as part of the payment. Consumed with anger, Akmet Haffez sent his son, Fairot, accompanied by a soldier, to deliver the revolver and collect the mare. Apparently, "seller's remorse" had set in because when Fairot presented the revolver, *Urfah's owner had decided that he was no longer interested in selling his mare. Fariot had to take the mare by force. Dhidan al-Awaji, outnumbered and facing imprisonment, soon found himself losing a horse that he never really wanted to sell. When Homer Davenport reached Alexandretta, word of *Urfah's sale had spread and many people came out to see her before she left the land of her birth, sorrowful that she had been taken from her owner. Such is the dramatic story of *Urfah, recognized as "the pride of the Euphrates" and together with her son, *Hamrah, would become the most influential horses of the exportation.

How is *Urfah's influence represented in today's population of Arabian horses? One of the top Arabian sires in the world, with a record amount of offspring to his credit, Marwan Al Shaqab (Gazal Al Shaqab x Little Liza Fame) possesses multiple lines to *Urfah in his pedigree, through Kholameh (3 lines), Bay-Abi (2 lines) and Raffoleta-Rose (8 lines).

Another popular breeding stallion, Major Mac V (Maclintock V x Majors Tiffany GA) has approximately 20 lines to *Urfah in his pedigree, primarily through American-bred horses like Sedjur and Sankirah. Both stallions are only two examples of how her blood is brought forward into the present day, as combined with a variety of bloodlines from other countries, like Poland, Egypt, England and Spain.

Fair Sir (Sir x Lady Fair)

However, within the smaller Davenport preservation breeding community, compare Marwan Al Shaqab and Major Mac V with the stallion, Fair Sir, a horse who traced in every line of his pedigree to only the horses imported by Homer Davenport in 1906, including *Urfah, who not only appears 13 times in his pedigree, but is found no farther than the 6th generation of Fair Sir's pedigree!

114 years is a very long time, longer than most people will ever live in a lifetime and one would question *Urfah's relevance in the pedigree of any modern Arabian horse. However, when we celebrate the desert heritage of our horses, it is because of horses like *Urfah, who are the real desert sources in our desert breed's history. Without horses like *Urfah, there would be no desert tagline in this breed. And, don't you find it amazing that when word got around that *Urfah had been sold and arrived in Alexandretta for export, many of the Arabs who knew her story, went to see her before she departed, sorrowful for her owner that she was no longer part of him? That, should be enough to underscore the esteem that people felt for her, in her time!

Marwan Al Shaqab (Gazal Al Shaqab x Little Liza Fame) as photographed by Stuart Vesty

Isn't it interesting, that the genetic influence of *Urfah flows in the veins of an extraordinary stallion like Marwan Al Shaqab, a Qatari-owned stallion who not only restores the blood of *Urfah to the Arab world; he also inspires many people today, as *Urfah herself inspired people like Homer Davenport so long ago. The enormity of *Urfah's story, her legacy and the number of people who are connected through her, overwhelms me and that's why I need to remind you of the title of this blog, "all for the love of a horse". This love of the Arabian horse knows no borders and proves that we have far more in common, than the few things that may separate us.

***Just a few words of gratitude to the Davenport Arabian Horse Conservancy and the online pedigree roster . I have a huge amount of respect and admiration for Edouard al-Dahdah. Most of what I know and understand about the Asil Arabian horse comes through Edouard's wonderful blog, Daughters of the Wind. Thank you so much Edouard. I owe you so much. Jane Waldron Grutz authored a brilliant article published in the January, 2011 issue of Aramco World, titled Hafiz's Gift. If you don't have time to read Davenport's book,  I recommend the article as an alternative. The quotations that appear in boldface and italics regarding *Urfah, *Hamrah and Akmet Haffez all came from Homer Davenport's book, My Quest of the Arabian Horse, which is a must read for any Arabian horse lover.  And finally, to Charles & Jeanne Craver who have provided so much inspiration and encouragement, through a life lived in honor of the Arabian horse. I am proud to say that Charles Craver is one of my Arabian horse heroes and if I can do one tenth of all that he and Jeanne have accomplished in the Arabian horse world, I will have achieved a great victory in life.***