19 April, 2021

The Triple Crown of Integrity, Decisiveness & Idealism


Haddiyah (Amaal x *Nihal)

Haddiyah, a 1975 grey mare, was bred by Gleannloch Farms. Sired by Amaal (*Morafic x *Bint Maisa el Saghira) and out of *Nihal++(Anter x Neamat), one of ten Anter daughters that Gleannloch imported from Egypt. *Nihal was imported in 1968 and in 1971, she was named a US National Western Pleasure Champion, as well as a Top Ten English Pleasure Champion. The ++ after her name indicates that she was honored with a Legion of Merit. 

One of the things that I love most about the Arabic language is how one word can elicit so many beautiful thoughts, all at one time. And so it is with Haddiyah, an integrous name which inspires fresh idealism, born of a decisive spirit, laser-focused on fulfilling her destiny. Can you think of a more perfect name for a promising broodmare like Haddiyah? In his extraordinary book, The Egyptian Alternative, Volume II, noted author and breeder, Philippe Paraskevas wrote, 

"Nobility, timber and character defined Anter in his day as the Waley El Abd [the crown prince] of Inshass, the heir-apparent to Hamdan as sire of the King's khassa." 

As a maternal granddaughter of Anter, one is not surprised by the noble character that Haddiyah possesses and this very special mare, I feel, was appropriately named by her breeders, the late Douglas & Margaret Marshall of Gleannloch Farms. 

Hadban Enzahi by strain, Haddiyah, in her maternal line traces to Venus, an 1890 chestnut mare who was imported to Egypt and was later incorporated into the stud of Khedive Abbas II. However, if you study the 4th and 5th generations of her pedigree, you will learn that Haddiyah is one of those horses who is a little bit of everything and therefore, despite our breed tradition, it is challenging to box her within a strain, only because of her tail female line. In studying her eight grandparents, she is as much Saqlawiyah, as she is Hadbah (31.25%), plus a slightly smaller percentage of the Dahman strain, approximately 25%. If you go out one more generation, to the great grandparents, the Saqlawi and Dahman strains reverse percentages of influence and we pick up the additional strain of Kuhaylan Mimriah, through the double dose of Mansour. 

Haddiyah was owned by William Hewitt and Patricia Wiman of Friendship Farm in East Moline, Illinois. Over the course of her breeding career, she produced 10 straight Egyptian foals, of which 8 were fillies. She was bred primarily to the stallion, Al Metrabbi (*Morafic x *Sammara), who sired 5 of her foals, including the only sons she produced. She was also bred multiple times to Rofann (*Soufian x Bint Romanaa), producing 3 daughters and interestingly, the only breedings that resulted in a color other than grey! 

  • 1984: Hayii, grey mare sired by El Naseet (Ibn Morafic x Sadeekah)
  • 1985: Haadaya, grey mare sired by Al Metrabbi (*Morafic x *Sammara)
  • 1986: Hajii, grey stallion, sired by Al Metrabbi (*Morafic x *Sammara)
  • 1987: Hadibah, grey mare, sired by Al Metrabbi (*Morafic x *Sammara)
  • 1988: Hakika, grey mare, sired by Al Metrabbi (*Morafic x *Sammara)
  • 1989: Al Haram, grey stallion, sired by Al Metrabbi (*Morafic x *Sammara)
  • 1990: Hadiyi, bay mare, sired by Rofann (*Soufian x Bint Romanaa)
  • 1991: Habbi, chestnut mare, sired by Rofann (*Soufian x Bint Romanaa)
  • 1992: Bint Haddiyah, grey mare, sired by Makhsous (*Sultann x *Nabda)
  • 1994: Haynna, bay mare, sired by Rofann (*Soufian x Bint Romanaa)

Tragically, the beautiful Haddiyah died in 1994. She was 19 years old.  Haddiyah represented the one and only cross of her dam, *Nihal, with *Bint Maisa el Saghira, an equally versatile mare. While one can argue that Haddiyah was not the sole representative of the Anter/*Bint Maisa el Saghira cross, as the 1967 chestnut mare, Dahma Il Ashekwar, sired by the Anter son, *Fahidd, was out of *Bint Maisa el Saghira.  However, Haddiyah also has a double dose of *Morafic blood, so I feel, that the Haddiyah version, leaning more towards the Saqlawi strain, differed from the cross which resulted in Dahma Il Ashekwar. Regardless, Haddiyah's blood remains in the straight Egyptian gene pool, with 65 descendants through the present day. Her daughters were equally prolific as she herself was, in her 10-year career as a broodmare, producing foals for breeders like Ansata Arabian Stud, Silver Maple Farm, David & Martha Lucas of Whitehaven Farm, Julie Durral, Mary McGehee and Betty Skinner to name a few of the people connected to this wonderful mare and her unique cross of bloodlines. In closing, it is these breeders we need to thank, for preserving the unique combination of Anter and *Bint Maisa el Saghira, while insuring the perpetuation of these bloodlines for future straight Egyptian breeders.

17 April, 2021

Parallel Lines: *Penicylina to Pilarosa

*Penicylina (Palas x Pentoda), as photographed by Jerry Sparagowski

In the mid-eighties, within the pages of Arabian Horse World magazine, I found *Penicylina. I still remember the wonder and awe that I felt, when I saw her photo for the first time. I thought she was one of the most beautiful mares that Poland had ever produced. A 1976 mare bred by the Janow Podlaski Stud, she was purchased in 1985 by David H. Murdock of Ventura Farms. The following year, *Penicylina was named the 1986 United States National Champion mare. Her name was interesting to me, because in the Spanish language, the name "Penicylina" means "medicine" and one can say that her extraordinary beauty was medicine for all of us afflicted with "Arabitis" and therefore, deeply in love with the Arabian horse.

The maternal granddam of *Penicylina was Piewica, a Priboj (Piolun x Rissalma) daughter out of the Ofir daughter, Wlodarka. Piewica was bred by the Tersk Stud and exported to Albigowa Stud in the fifties. At Janow Podlaski, Piewica is credited as the root or source mare of the highly esteemed "P" line of horses. Before her importation to America, *Penicylina left 2 daughters at Janow Podlaski, Pektyna, sired by *Bandos and Pensylwania, by *Enoss, a *Bandos son out of a Czort daughter.

By virtue of her sire, Palas, who was sired by Aswan (Nazeer x Yosreia) and out of a Nil (Sid Abouhom x Malaka) daughter, *Penicylina carried 37.5% Egyptian blood. Bred to Ruminaja Ali, she produced a colt in 1994, who was named Penacle VF. It would be the one and only time that she was bred to a straight Egyptian horse. How I wished, at that time, that she had been bred to Ansata Halim Shah  (Ansata Halim Shah x Sundar Alisayyah) instead! It was a thought that ran in the back of my mind for a very long time. Certainly, if she were my mare, that is what I would have done.

I don't remember when I saw Pilarosa for the first time. Was it Menton? Was it Pride of Poland? Prague? But I do remember the hair on the back of my head standing on edge, as I experienced déjà vu. Pilarosa, a 2008 mare, also bred by Janow Podlaski Stud, is an Al Adeed Al Shaqab daughter out of Pilar (Fawor x Pipi). There are a few things that are very interesting about Pilarosa's pedigree, for example, her maternal line traces back to Piewica, through her daughter, Pierzga, sired by Negatiw. 

*Penicylina->Pentoda->Piewica
Pilarosa->Pilar->Pipi->Pilarka->Pierzga->Piewica

In *Penicylina's maternal line, her dam, Pentoda, is sired by a Negatiw son (*Bandos) and out of Piewica. Bandola, the dam of *Bandos is also the dam of Banat, the sire of Pipi, who is out of Pilarka, the Palas daughter out of Pierzga. Pipi, incidentally, is the dam of Pilar (by Fawor), the dam of Pilarosa. So, while *Penicylina, as an individual, is not physically present in Pilarosa's pedigree; the ancestral elements present in *Penicylina's pedigree, are also present in the pedigree of Pilarosa. Those are the "parallel lines" that the title of this blog intimates. 

However, there is something that further connects these two horses for me, on a very deeply personal level. Do you know that Pilarosa, by virtue of her sire (and through Palas, the sire of her maternal great grandam, Pilarka) carries almost 58% Egyptian blood in her pedigree? Yes, that's true but what makes my hair stand on end is Ansata Halim Shah, her paternal grandsire, combined with Ruminaja Ali. As I explained previously, *Penicylina was bred to Ruminaja Ali and while at the time, the news was exciting, secretly, I longed for *Penicylina to be bred to Ansata Halim Shah instead. I felt that *Penicylina was strong in Saqlawi type, with a longer back and a longer neck; while Ansata Halim Shah, inspired Egyptian breeders with a new standard of classic type, harmony and grace. While *Penicylina was never bred to Ansata Halim Shah, Pilarosa is as close as we will ever come to  combining the genetic legacy of *Penicylina's family with the blood of Ansata Halim Shah and Ruminaja Ali. Not to mention, a young man's long ago dreams and his version of the golden cross.

14 April, 2021

Thettwa Ezzain


As it normally happens for me, I found this video of Thettwa Ezzain (NK Qaswarah x Albaheiah Ezzain) yesterday, while looking for photos of another horse. Al Jawhara Stud appears in the background, a noteworthy Kuwaiti breeding farm of Mr. Nasser Zaid Saad Al-Saeed. As I watched the video, my mind went elsewhere, recalling a very special man, the late Mr. Usamah Alkazemi, and the unforgettable horses he bred and raised, at the stud farm he named, Ezzain. 

The Ezzain horses who remain personal favorites shared common ground in Ansata AlMurtajiz, a son of Ansata Hejazi out of Ansata Samsara. In Thettwa's pedigree, Ansata AlMurtajiz is the sire of Nooreddine Ezzain, the sire of Albaheiah, one of the prettiest mares I have ever met. While Thettwa is black as the night, Albaheiah is brilliant white, like new fallen snow, magnified by the sun's rays. She was not a slightly built mare, I think her substance was a quality I appreciated. She was also refined, graceful and elegant. She has very fine, black skin which accentuates every line, every curve in her balanced body. Her muzzle is very much like her paternal grandsire with elastic nostrils that become enormous, while moving. She is smooth and strong over her top line and her tail carriage is extreme, with the tail carried like a flag, away from her body. 

As beautiful as Albaheiah is, one must stop to acknowledge her very interesting pedigree and the close relationship between her sire, Nooreddine Ezzain and her dam, NK Nakeebya, who trace back to the mare Nashua, a Salaa el Dine-sired daughter out of Lotfeia, an important broodmare for Katharinenhof, having also produced the stallion, Nejdy. Nooreddine is out of the Nashua daughter named Nada (by Adnan) and Nakeebya is out of the Nashua daughter named Nabilah (by Nahaman). To further underscore how closely related Nooreddine and Nakeebya are, Nahaman and Adnan, are also Salaa el Dine sons. Nahaman is out of Ameera (Madkour I x Hanan), while Adnan is out of Ghazala (Ghazal x Hanan). Hanan is common ground for both horses. The difference between Nahaman and Adnan comes down to only two horses-Madkour and Ghazal. However, I must point out that Ghazal is the sire of Moheba II, the dam of Madkour I. How small is the genetic difference between these two horses? 

While he himself is grey, as is Thettwa's dam,  NK Qaswarah sires horses of color. He has produced a good number of bright bay horses and like Thettwa, the more elusive black color. Thettwa is one of three black horses I met at Ezzain in 2013, the other two horses are Ekramilbari and Alttafilbari. In everything we know about the Bedouin, we understand that the Bedouins preferred darker colored horses and the black horse was favorite, followed by the dark bay and the dark chestnut. The black horse was so highly regarded, that only the Sheikhs rode the black horses. Hadban in strain, Thettwa is the very best of his dam, enhanced by the unique qualities of his sire and the color of his coat. He is the ultimate in both breed type and conformation, while possessing the most special of all coat colors, a  worthy mount for the most noble of all Sheikhs.

10 April, 2021

Portrait of A King

It is difficult (and a bit unfair) to judge *Tuhotmos from any photos, as they do not accurately capture his presence, which you really had to experience in person. Photos fell flat, in conveying this aspect of *Tuhotmos. He had much charisma and he had the ability to hold a person spellbound. I don't know how it happened, it just did. He would stand in a way that made you light-headed and weak in your knees, forcing you to take a deep breath, in order to stay upright. How could a horse like this be even possible? It was as if your mind and your eyes were suddenly disconnected and speaking a different language. Your eyes acknowledged the beautiful horse standing in front of you but your mind didn't know how to process it, for clarity and understanding.  He really commanded your attention. The bones in his face were very prominent and brought a heightened sense of drama to his facial features, as if a world class sculptor had just finished sculpting his face from stone. 
There were two interesting things about *Tuhotmos  and the first, was his size. At a distance, you realized that he was not tall in height. However, standing next to him, you felt that there was a lot of horse standing next to you. *Tuhotmos possessed an energy or an unamed quality of spirit that made him not only "feel" larger than he really was but also, it conveyed an emotional intelligence that was far greater than any horse and even, some humans possessed.  He focused on voice,  mannerisms and personal expression, to "read" people. He didn't have a lot of patience for people who would "baby-talk" to him and force their humanity upon him. He would be more responsive, if you stayed back and admired him, waiting for him to then, engage with you. It was as if he was able to read your thoughts. I know that sounds weird and I apologize  for the new-agey, anthropomorphic descriptions. However, there were other people who were also affected by their personal encounter of *Tuhotmos. Two of those people made him into artwork forever: Robert Vavra and Karen Kasper. 

*Tuhotmos was a critically important sire at the EAO, actually, the number one stallion in the program, before his exportation in 1973 (January 31) to America, by Rick Heber of Ranchara Arabians. As a matter of fact, *Tuhotmos was so appreciated as a sire by American Egyptian breeders, that 5 of his sons and daughters were imported to America, before it was believed that the EAO would even sell the horse:
  • 1) The 1968 bay mare, *Subhaya, imported by Tom McNair
  • 2) The 1970 bay stallion, *Ramses El Dar, imported by Martin Loeber
  • 3) The 1971 grey stalllion, *Ansata El Wazir, imported by Don & Judi Forbis
  • 4) The 1970 grey stallion, *Darrag, imported by Rick Heber
  • 5) The 1971 chestnut mare, *Nazzli, imported by Gleannloch Farm
In his lifetime, *Tuhotmos would sire over 400 get and what is interesting is that a small percentage of those horses, 9%, were bred in Egypt. While the above listed horses did not stay in Egypt, it is comforting to know that his influence was not completely exported out of the country (whose colorful history is honored in his name) and that his blood also remained within the EAO breeding program. 

El Sareei (Shahloul x Zareefa)

*Tuhotmos had no Nazeer blood. He was a son of El Sareei and Moniet El Nefous. *Tuhotmos is a double Shahloul horse, maybe the only stallion in Egypt to be bred in this manner, as El Sareei is a Shahloul son and Moniet El Nefous is a Shahloul daughter. El Sareei (pictured) was a striking, metallic bay-coloured stallion. While the beauty of *Tuhotmos was very expressive through the details of breed type, he was also a muscled horse, harmoniously proportioned, with a beautiful neck. He sired National Champion horses in Dressage and Trail, as well as halter. *Tuhotmos, while definitely a blend of El Sareei's substance and Moniet El Nefous' feminine charm, favors his sire more than he does his dam. *Tuhotmos also represents another successful EAO "formula", that is, blending Shaloul with Sheikh El Arab (through Wanisa, Moniet's dam). With the heavy Nazeer lines in the present day, blending *Tuhotmos with Nazeer, replicates the  Mansour/Ibn Rabdan cross somewhat, which was the combination of bloodlines favored by General Pettko Von Szandtner. Almost 40% Saqlawi by strain (including his tail female line), *Tuhotmos was also 25% Hadban and Dahman, when one studies the strains of influence in the generation of his great grandparents. His sire, El Sareei, while we consider him Dahman, by virtue of his tail female line (Zareefa to Bint el Bahreyn), was actually influenced more by the Kuhaylan strain, almost 40% of his pedigree is of this strain (12.5% each of Kuhaylan Ajuz, Kuhaylan Jellabi and Kuhaylan Mimrah)! *Tuhotmos' dam, Moniet el Nefous, while sired by a Saqlawi stallion (Shaloul) and out of a Saqlawi mare (Wanisa), carries a higher percentage of the Kuhaylan strain (Kuhaylan Ajuz + Kuhaylan Mimrah), almost 40%, as compared to the Saqlawi strain, which is a smaller percentage of 25%, a percentage equivalent to the influence exerted on her pedigree from the Dahman strain. 
*Tuhotmos, age 26, upon arrival at Rancho Bulakenyo

*Tuhotmos was purchased by the Cruz family, after the death of Rick Heber and traveled from Wisconsin to his final home, Rancho Bulakenyo, in California. *Tuhotmos was 26 years old at the time. Jody Cruz said, "it was just an honor to have owned him." He lived comfortably, in the warm California sunshine, appreciated for the individual he was and the significance he had exerted in straight Egyptian breeding. *Tuhotmos lived a longer life, benefiting from the love and excellent care showered upon him by the Cruz family.  *Tuhotmos was 29 years & 3 months old at the time of his death. 

*Tuhotmos is one of those horses who shows us that while the recording of strain is a tradition within our breed, the modern DNA science is expanding our understanding of strain and of the characteristics which may or may not pass through the matriline, from one generation to the next. 

***Portrait of a King was originally published in July of 2006 .  I have updated his story a little bit, thanks to Dr. Jody Cruz for his memories of *Tuhotmos, as well as the photo. Also many thanks to Dr. William Hudson and his very significant 2 volume publication, The Matrilines of the Egyptian Arabian Horse. This blog is lovingly dedicated to both Dr. Jody Cruz and Dr. Hudson, in gratitude for their most awesome contributions to the breed.***

08 April, 2021

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!


03 April, 2021

The Great Genetic Mystery

Thee Desperado (The Minstril x AK Amiri Asmarr), as photographed by Javan 

El Araby (*Morafic x Hafiza), as photographed by Judith Forbis

One of the most extraordinary horses ever produced by the EAO was El Araby, a 1962 *Morafic son out of Hafiza. He inspired all who saw him with his incredible scope and outrageous beauty. Judith Forbis said of him, 
"Tall, elegant, long-necked, and very extreme of head, he had naturally brilliant park-horse action and carried himself as a mount of kings."
Tragically, in an unfortunate accident, El Araby was killed and Egyptian breeders, perpetually enchanted by his memory,  tried to reproduce another El Araby by crossing the bloodline of Hafiza, with that of *Morafic. Many wonderful horses resulted from this cross but never, a horse quite like El Araby. And so, in the not so long ago, it really made sense to outcross the mare, Asmarr (*Zaghloul x Nagliah) with a very concentrated source of Moniet el Nefous and Nazeer blood, as found in the stallion, TheEgyptianPrince. The result was the beautiful grey mare, AK Amiri Asmarr, who in turn, when bred to The Minstril, foaled a once-in-a-million bay-colored and extremely influential stallion, recognized globally as Thee Desperado. However, on this beautiful weekend, when we celebrate the greatest miracle ever, I must ask, what if, Thee Desperado was actually that long-desired reincarnation of El Araby? 


***photo credit to Javan for Thee Desperado and Judith Forbis for El Araby. Also, this blog was originally published as "El Araby...Then and Now" in November 2018***