THE MIGHTY EIGHT

The 2020 Straight Egyptian World Championships were held over a weekend in mid-October. This wonderful show, which is more of a showcase and celebration of the straight Egyptian Arabian horse, was held in Milan, Italy and attracted a diverse group of 4+ year old stallions. In a year dominated by a global pandemic which limited the opportunities to show horses, fourteen stallions were expected to compete; however, when the day of the show arrived, only the eight stallions listed below, the MIGHTY EIGHT, the sons of ancient desert warriors, were ready to do battle for their right to be named Champion, among champions:

Class 7A:

Naseem Al Rashediah 

(Al Adeed Al Shaqab x Nabaweyah Ezzain) 

1st Place & Gold Senior Stallion Champion

Hanine Al Shahania 

(Al Adeed Al Shaqab x Shomos Al Nasser) 

2nd Place

Saeid Al Farida 

(Madeen Al Nakeeb x Imeila)

Bronze Senior Stallion Champion

Aaron De Pigall 

(Fa Nile Safir x Mas Magidaa)

H Geyser 

(H Glamours x Gazelle)

Class 7B:

Bebars Al Farida  

( Imperial Baarez x Salma)

1st Place & Silver Senior Stallion Champion

Class 7C:

Aziim Al Maar 

(Amar Al Rayyan x Imperial Maysama) 

1st Place

MH Maarbiel 

(Mahmoud Shah x Maralisa)

2nd Place

Again, Arabian Essence TV makes the show a wonderful experience for those of us who are not able to be physically present, through the videos uploaded to both their website and You Tube channel.  If you haven't yet discovered this wonderful resource, then I encourage you dear reader to do so. You can click on the hyperlink that I embedded, which will take you to the results page for the show on the Arabian Essence TV website. 

I had been looking forward to the show and the opportunity to see Naseem Al Rashediah, an exciting Al Adeed Al Shaqab son out of the beloved mare (and Bahraini National Champion), Nabaweyah Ezzain, an Ansata AlMurtajiz daughter. I was happy to see the continuing influence of the late Al Adeed Al Shaqab, not only as the sire of Naseem Al Rashediah but also the sire of Hanine Al Shahania (out of Shomos Al Nasser) and the maternal grandsire of Aaron De Pigall (his dam, Mas Magidaa, is a daughter). 

Outside of Naseem Al Rashediah, whom I greatly favored, my eyes drifted to the one horse whom I felt was representive of what has become, especially in the last 15-to-20 years, a global community of straight Egyptian breeders. This particular horse is named Saeid Al Farida, who earned a Bronze Senior Stallion Champion title. 

Bred by El Farida Stud and co-owned with Salayel Stud, Saeid Al Farida is a son of Madeen Al Nakeeb, a NK Hafid Jamil son out of Madoorah, an Imperial Madheen daughter; while his dam, Imeila, is sired by Imtaarif and out of Nimeelah, a Nigmh daughter. This pedigree represents the global impact of straight Egyptian breeding as it unites so many breeding programs together: EAO blood blended with Ansata, Gleannloch, Imperial Egyptian Stud, Katharinenhof, the St. Clairs, Darla Bryant, Downing Arabian Stud, Dr. Siegfred Paufler, Bob Thorndike, Russ & Mildred Jameson, Al Nakeeb and Yorklyn Arabians (the home of the late black stallion, Justynn). 

By the time I got to class 7C, I was already overwhelmed by the quality and depth of the stallion class. It would not be easy for Naseem Al Rashediah as he embarked on his quest for the World Champion title! This was really an amazing group of horses. I did not envy the job that the judges had before them, in selecting the champion. And that's where it all came undone for me. For that is where, the world turned upside down, when I discovered the biggest surprise of them all, MH Maarbiel, whose sparkling white body with deeply pigmented dark skin, stretched over a compact and balanced body, encased in flowing, circular lines. His large, fully black eyes directed attention to a clean, dry head, a reminder of his unique desert heritage. He was familiar in both name and phenotype. Although I knew nothing of this horse, I felt like I had seen him before. 

If you have been a long time lover of straight Egyptian Arabian horses, then you will understand what I am about to say. The use of the initials "MH" together with the name of "Maar", in my understanding, signifies the presence of the mare, RDM Maar Hala, an El Hilal daughter out of Maar Jumana and one of the most beloved Egyptian broodmares of all time. She remains the cornerstone of Rancho Bulakenyo's breeding program, still relevant in many breeding programs, after all these years, as I am about to explain. So, you can imagine dear reader, how curious I was to learn of the genetic sources that created this lovely stallion, MH Maarbiel. Foaled in 2007, MH Maarbiel is sired by Mahmoud Shah (Kerim Shah x Mahalia Bint Maartrabbi) and out of Maaralisa (Crusader x Maartrabbi).  At first glance, you will notice that the dam of Mahmoud Shah, Mahalia Bint Maartrabbi and the dam of MH Maarbiel, Maaralisa, are maternal sisters. Both mares are out of Maartrabbi, sired by different stallions.

Maartrabbi, an American-born mare, was bred by the late Dr. Felino Cruz of Rancho Bulakenyo in California and sold to Dame Josephine Barstow Anderson of Malthouse Arabians in 1989, where she became an important broodmare for her program. A daughter of the *Morafic son (out of a *Morafic daughter), Al Metrabbi++, she was out of RDM Maar Hala (El Hilal x Maar Jumana), whom most breeders consider to be a source for "the big, dark El Hilal eyes". However, what is really interesting is how her blood is used in combination with the bloodlines of other Rancho Bulakenyo horses that really piqued my interest. For example, Mahmoud Shah is a son of Kerim Shah, a Prince Ibn Shaikh son. Prince Ibn Shaikh was a son of Shaikh Al Badi out of RDM Maar Hala, also bred by Dr. Felino Cruz. Although Maartrabbi was sold as a yearling, before she could contribute to the Rancho Bulakenyo program, it is also very interesting that her influence would return to the farm in the form of her son, Maarauder MH, by Crusader (Salaa el Dine x AK Kastana) and a full sibling to Maaralisa, the dam of MH Maarbiel! RDM Maar Hala is a hugely important component of MH Maarbiel's pedigree, approximately 25% or one quarter of the pedigree (the percentage of influence ascribed to a grandparent). 

While most of my attention was dominated by the presence of RDM Maar Hala, I did notice that the dam of the Bentwood-bred Kerim Shah is Siralima, an *Ansata Ibn Halima daughter out of Asal Sirabba, a 1958 grey mare sired by Sirecho and out of the Babson mare, Habba.  This is one of my favorite lines in straight Egyptian breeding, now found in some of the most esteemed breeding programs in the world, for example, the beloved and globally influential stallion, Laheeb, bred by Ariela Arabians in Israel. 

On a smaller note, it is interesting to point out that the double dose of Maartrabbi, also means a double dose of her sire, Al Metrabbi++, which in turn, also means a double dose of Al Metrabbi's dam, *Sammara (*Morafic x Sameera). But if you look a little deeper, you will discover that AK Kastana's dam, Nadafi, is also a *Sammara daughter, introducing a third line into the pedigree for this 1960 EAO-bred mare, bumping up her percentage of influence to a little more than 10%! 

The stallion Nabiel, with Bill Trapp holding the lead 

The "biel" in MH Maarbiel's name also points to the presence of Nabiel (*Sakr & *Magidaa), the sire of Naazim, who in turn sired Mahalia Bint Maartrabi, tha dam of Mahmoud Shah. The presence of Nabiel reminds me that the late Bill and Pat Trapp of Arabest Stud Farm, used El Halimaar (El Hilal x RDM Maar Hala) on the Nabiel daughters, discovering a wonderful nick between both stallions, in their breeding program. 

El Halimaar with Bill Trapp and Dr. Felino Cruz

Such is the rich heritage that is expressed through the genetic fiber of a horse like MH Maarbiel. It makes me wonder over how this horse will be used in the future. Hopefully, those will include foals born out of daughters of Laheeb and the grand-get of El Halimaar. 

A Revolutionary Way of Thinking

Thee Revolution (Thee Desperado x Bint Zaarina) as photographed by Carol Maginn, Bear Creek Ranch, Lockhart, Texas

OK, so you are probably rolling your eyes right now, as you think, "really Ralph, another Thee Desperado son? The blood of Thee Desperado is so widespread already. What's so special about this particular son and why do we need another?" I get it and well, those are great questions and if you will allow me to explain dear reader, let me tell you a story of Thee Revolution, a Thee Desperado son out of a very special and uniquely bred mare named Bint Zaarina, a Glorieta Zaarina daughter out of Anchor Hill Hamla. Bint Zaarina, with Shawn Crews at the lead, created excitement for lovers of the straight Egyptian horse in the nineties. A tall, stretchy and charismatic mare, Bint Zaarina was both, a US and Canadian National Top Ten Mare. It's hard to believe that this mare, with such a commanding presence, has been dead seven years. To all who saw her in the show ring, she was like the title of a popular country music song, "Ten feet tall and bulletproof". She was really that and more. In a tribute to Bint Zaarina, written by Marilyn Thomas and published on the Pyramid Society website, I smiled when I read, "When we first saw Zaarina, we thought she was a charismatic, young stallion." A powerfully-built mare, with an equally powerful personality, you were fooled into thinking that this larger-than-life mare would live forever. 

Bint Zaarina (Ruminaja Ali x Glorieta Zaarina)

Her damline remains an incredibly vibrant, powerful and influential mare line in straight Egyptian breeding. In the late forties, the American breeder, Daniel Gainey, impressed with Henry Babson’s Egyptian horses, wanted to incorporate Egyptian blood into his program and so, he purchased the mare *Mamdouha, a maternal granddaughter of Bint Samiha (the dam of Nazeer) who was in foal to the stallion Enzahi (Nabras x Fardous), producing *Gamila. Twelve years later, *Gamila was sold to the Atkinson’s of Anchor Hill Ranch. Bred to Anchor Hill’s straight Babson Egyptian stallion, Hadbah, she produced the extraordinary foundation mare, Anchor Hill Hamla, who would prove her influence through her progeny. Thee Revolution is a maternal great-grandson of Anchor Hill Hamla, tracing to her through  his maternal granddam Glorieta Zaarina, Anchor Hill Hamla's daughter by Ansata Abu Nazeer. Bint Zaarina was bred by Judy Sirbasku and owned for most of her life by Marilyn Thomas, Falconwood Legacy Bloodstock. She was bred primarily to Falconwood's chief stallion, Thee Gambler (Thee Desperado x Aliadaara), producing the full siblings: FW Vanity, FW Queen of Hearts, FW Zaariya, FW Zaanya, FW Al Gazi and FW Ali El Saban. Interestingly, Bint Zaarina travelled to the Canadian Nationals and the United States Nationals with Thee Desperado, who was also campaigned at the same shows. Thee Revolution, foaled in 1996, was her only foal, sired by Desperado.  

At the 2004 Egyptian Event, Thee Revolution was the unanimous winner of Most Classic Head. He was also a Reserve Champion in the 6 - 9 year old stallion class. His elegance, underscored by his fully black, large eye, will captivate you, as he did for so many people in 2004. Two years later, in 2006, Thee Revolution (Thee Desperado x Bint Zaarina) returned to the Egyptian Event and was unanimously named the winner of Most Classic Head. He had won the same title, unanimously, in 2004. He was also shown in the World Class Stallions 10 & over class, winning Reserve Champion, while Laheeb IASB was named the Champion. Thee Revolution, like many aged horses do, has matured into a very dry,  classically beautiful, desert horse. He's really like his dam, in a masculine form.

Although he has not enjoyed the full extent of opportunities that other Desperado sons have enjoyed (through no fault of his own), Thee Revolution is a proven sire and his owners, Bill & Kristy Whipperman of Infinity Egyptian Stud in Freeland, Maryland, have collected and analyzed his semen for shipping. A 24-year old stallion, Thee Revolution, at collection, has 85% motility, while 24 - 48 hours later, maintains a motility percentage ranging from 65 - 75%. Bill and Kristy have opened his book to a limited number of outside breedings and remain committed to furthering the influence of their very special stallion. What Bill and Kristy are doing, in the hope of perpetuating the influence of their stallion, will also be remembered as a significant opportunity for the straight Egyptian breeder to incorporate the influence of Thee Revolution within their programs, while he remains active and available for breeding.

As I wrote in the blog for *Hadban Al Shaqab last week, no horse lives forever and the same reality that exists for Hadban, also exists for Thee Revolution, who actually, is 3 years older than Hadban and not getting any younger, as he is well within his senior years. In this community, I have seen too many really good stallions die, underused at stud, only to read breeders quickly express their "if only I had...". Well, here's a "heads-up" from me to you dear breeder...NOW IS THE TIME. Nothing lasts forever. Will you be ready when forever gets here? 

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If I were a mare owner...

*Hadban Al Shaqab (Ashhal Al Rayyan x Sundar Alisayyah) as photographed by the amazing April Visel, a true artist who "paints" with her camera

There are many living stallions in this community that catch my interest and attention. However, there are fewer stallions, who hold my interest long enough, to inspire a more serious level of contemplation, that is, to study them on a deeper level and that, of the role they exerted in siring their get. For some of these beautiful stallions, the interest soon fades, while for a fraction of these horses, the interest in them escalates and their presence dominates my heart, mind and soul. It's odd, to reach this point in my life, not having established the breeding program that I once believed that I would, as these stallions fit perfectly in the plan for creating the horse that I see in my mind's eye.  Time, if lived recklessly, without discipline, is a significant adversary whom I underestimated (there aren't that many mañanas as you think there are) and for some of these horses, I recognize that time is fading and the probability that I can move as quickly as I would need to move, is highly unlikely. Those are the perils of getting older and losing hope in dreams. But I digress, as this is not really about me but rather, this is about a most amazing horse whom I not only admire; I also really believe in him to affect the kind of change we need, for perpetuation of the straight Egyptian Arabian horse into the future. He most definitely is in that fraction of horses that I mentioned a few sentences ago. And want to hear the most amazing thing? I wasn't a fan of the stallion, Ashhal Al Rayyan. I can't really tell you why I felt this way, as he is beautiful, incorporating the blood of horses who are favorites of mine. However, it took his son and the amazing hind end (so round, so voluptuous, so powerfully muscled) that he passes onto his get, to convince me of how wrong I was about Ashhal Al Rayyan. 

*Hadban Al Shaqab is a 2001 stallion, sired by Ashhal Al Rayyan (Safir x Ansata Majesta) and out of Sundar Alisayyah (Ruminaja Ali x Imperial Sayyah). He is a maternal brother to the late Al Adeed Al Shaqab, as both horses were out of the same dam, sired by different stallions. However, what is interesting is that while Al Adeed Al Shaqab is sired by Ansata Halim Shah, Hadban's sire, Ashhal Al Rayyan, carries 50% of Ansata Halim Shah blood, through both of his paternal grandparents (Salaa el Dine and Aisha) in addition to his dam, Ansata Majesta. So, I consider both horses to be genetically closer than maternal siblings, when you factor Ansata Halim Shah's genetic influence in both horses. 

In his tail female line, dam-to-grand dam-to-great grand dams, *Hadban Al Shaqab traces to the Albadeia-bred mare, *Malekat el Gamal-> to Nagdia-> to Zahia, a grandaughter of Bint Samiha. Think of what I just wrote. This mare, Zahia, maternally, traces to Bint Samiha in 2 generations. Her daughter, Nagdia, is sired by Nazeer, a son of Bint Samiha. The breeding combination of Nazeer and Zahia, both Hadban strain horses, resulted in a pure-in-strain Hadbah, double Bint Samiha, who was named Nagdia. And yet, despite this, what I found really interesting, in terms of calculating the percentage of influence by strain, is that  while *Hadban Al Shaqab, as his name suggests, is Hadban Enzahi in strain,  that's not what the total pedigree says, in term of the strain of influence. Hadban, by percentage of influence is actually only 25% Hadban, including his tail female line. By comparison, he is 15.625% Kuhaylan Rodan and an equal percentage of Abeyyan. A smaller percentage,12.5%, is representative of Hadban's Saklawi influence. However, the strain which impacts the greatest influence (no surprise, since we understand the role that Ansata Halim Shah plays in the pedigree) is the Dahman strain, at 31.25%! So, the larger question becomes "Is*Hadban Al Shaqab really Hadban or is he Dahman"? My opinion is that this question must be answered individually, by you, dear reader, after thoroughly studying (comparison/contrast) the stallion and mare families that make up the genetic fiber that results in *Hadban Al Shaqab. 

Binte Romaana MH (*Hadban Al Shaqab x Romanaa Maara MH)

 *Hadban Al Shaqab is a proven breeding stallion, having sired a number of foals for Dr. Jody Cruz, of Rancho Bulakenyo in Los Osos, California, in whose care and leadership, Hadban's meteoric rise to success exploded globally.  *Hadban Al Shaqab's daughters have matured into the farm's most esteemed broodmares, as well as the mares who have become significant for other breeders. What are Hadban's siring strengths? Jody answered,

"He has proven to be a consistent sire of smooth bodies, excellent movement and correct conformation. His foals all have beautiful faces with big, black eyes and beautifully shaped and well placed ears."

Jody has retained a son, Aziz Ibn Hadban MH, out of his premier broodmare, Binte Aziza MH, in addition to the exquisite Binte Romanaa MH (out of Romanaa Maara MH) and her daughter, Romanaa Princess MH. Truly, in the company of these fine horses, you will begin to understand the esteem that Jody feels for his *Hadban Al Shaqab sons and daughters. 

*Hadban Al Shaqab, the Champion, as photographed by Darryl Larson, one of the most powerful visual storytellers of our time

As a show horse, *Hadban Al Shaqab was electricifying and all who saw him competing in the halter main rings eight years ago, were dazzled by his brilliance and overwhelmed by his abundant presence and charm. He was then, and continues to be, for many people, the quintessential image of a classic Arabian stallion. In 2012, *Hadban Al Shaqab was named a Gold Champion Stallion at the Egyptian Event, a Region 2 Champion Stallion, a US National Top Ten Stallion and a US Reserve National Champion Stallion, 8 Years and Older. 

*Hadban Al Shaqab "unplugged" at home...unwashed, untrimmed...living in his pasture and just happy to be a horse

Since 2018, *Hadban Al Shaqab has been owned by Robin Lee of Aleah Arabians in Deming, New Mexico, who told me,

"you cannot imagine what it is like to ride this magnificent grey horse in the desert or on the mountains. I can't even tell you how much I love this horse. I think he knows he has his forever person now!"

Hadban is very happy in his home with Robin, living in a pasture together with his mares, which helps to keep him youthful in appearance, as well as his demeanor.  He is siring with an amazing level of consistency for Robin. His daughter, Pharralayla, is a gorgeous mare, as are the upcoming fillies born in 2019 (Aleah Naamah H), 2020 (Aleah Farasha H) and a very striking colt (Aleah Prince H). I asked Robin, what she feels *Hadban Al Shaqab contributes to her program. Robin answered,

"A beautiful head and face including tight, little ears, extra length in the poll, great shoulders, a shorter, smoother and stronger back, tail carriage, superb legs and a very eye-pleasing overall structure throughout the body."

Robin is expecting eleven foals by Hadban in 2021, seven of those foals will be foaled out of Robin's mares. 

*Hadban Al Shaqab on left, Maariyah RAF (Richter MH x Bint Kachina MH) is on the right.

No horse lives forever and the reality is that *Hadban Al Shaqab is not getting any younger and is quickly, approaching his senior years. This is why I titled this blog post, "If I were a mare owner" because on a personal level, *Hadban Al Shaqab makes me wish that I owned a mare, just so I could breed to him. No kidding. He is that good, no, wait, scratch that, he is CONSISTENT in siring his outstanding type onto the next generation. Plus, history will reveal that *Hadban Al Shaqab sires mares who become influential broodmares, by establishing vibrant families of horses. In this community, I have seen too many stallions die, only to read breeders quickly express their "if only...". Well, here's a "heads-up" from me to you dear breeder...NOW IS THE TIME. Take action before it is too late and you run out of mañanas, because regret, well, that's not so easy to live with. I personally know that.