all for the love of a horse...: A Revolutionary Way of Thinking

08 November, 2020

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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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.

08 November, 2020

A Revolutionary Way of Thinking

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