The Greatest Love Story Ever Told

 

Monticello V (Jullyen El Jamaal x Mosquerade V) as photographed by Stuart Vesty

"What I think created the really amazing horses that she was breeding was her uniqueness. She put everything into those horses. Her sensitivity, her thoughtfulness, her sharing, everything that she reserved for mankind - she put into those horses. It was where she put her genius." - Kristin Reynolds on Sheila Varian, in Mary Kirkman's book, The Story of a Legendary Horsewoman, published by Arabian Horse Times

Monticello V is a 2006 stallion, bred by Varian Arabians and owned by Carolyn Lesley of Lesley Farms LLC, located in southern Oregon, almost at the California border. He represents five generations of Sheila Varian's breeding program, through his dam, the premier Varian broodmatron, Mosquerade V and her ancestors: Huckleberry Bey, Moska, Bay el Bey and Baychatka, top-crossed with Jullyen El Jamaal, who also carries a line to Bay el Bey. You know what I found interesting? His Egyptian heritage. Monticello carries approximately 20% Egyptian influence, primarily through Ruminaja Ali, who incidentally, competed with Huckleberry Bey in 1979, winning US National Champion Futurity Colt, while Huckleberry Bey went Reserve. It is interesting to find both horses, who share this unique history, in one pedigree. Monticello V also carries the blood of Nabiel, Shaker El Masri and *Fadl. 

Through *Bachantka, one of three Polish mares imported by Sheila Varian, Monticello V becomes part of the colorful history that is a very real part of these horses. In 1844, Count Juliusz Dzieduszycki traveled to Alexandria, Egypt and having obtained letters of recommendation that he could present to a Bedouin Sheykh; he journeyed into the desert to meet the various horse breeding tribes, in the hope of securing their very best horses. The Count purchased seven stallions and four mares and would export these horses to the breeding farm he had inherited from his father, Jarczowce. One of the four mares he purchased was Mlecha, who founded an enduring line in Polish Arabian horse breeding. Her descendants eventually moved to his brother's farm, Jezupol, and from there, to the Janow Podlaski Stud, where her bloodlines have remained relevant to the present day. In tail female line, Monticello V traces to Mlecha, a Kuhaylah Dajaniyah by strain. 

There is another interesting story involving Count Juliusz Dzieduskycki and the stallion, Bagdad, who is also found in the tail female line of Monticello V. Count Juliusz's father, Count Kajetan, had not been successful in purchasing the Arabian stallion, who was represented  by a popular bloodstock agent of the time, Nicholas Gliocco. Count Kajetan sent his son Juliusz, in the hope that he would have more success in purchasing the horse. Using all of the money his father had given him for the purchase, as well as his own, plus the carriage, harnesses and the horses he had brought with him, Count Juliusz was successful in purchasing the stallion, Bagdad. One would argue that Count Juliusz, in his impulsive eagerness to please his father, had been taken advantage of by the experienced agent, Nicholas Gliocco. However, Bagdad soon proved to be worth every penny paid, through the offspring he sired. Monticello V, so many years later, continues to prove the wisdom of Count Juliusz's decision to use everything he had at his disposal, in order to purchase Bagdad.

Monticello V is an amazing athlete, having earned multiple National Championships, in two countries, between the years 2009 and 2017, all in Western Pleasure, as a Junior horse, in the extremely  competive open classes and the Adult Amateur classes. In all of the social media and advertising dedicated to him, he is referred to as, "the Western Phenomenon". I remember seeing him at the Central Park show in New York and I was impressed with his charisma, that is, a larger-than-life presence that oozed from every pore of his body. How rare it is to find horses who possess extraordinary athletic ability, coupled with a willingness and generosity of character to endure the challenges that a horse will face in the showing environment, through changing sights, sounds and scents.  Yet, despite the sensory overload, Monticello V remains authentic to his Bedouin roots and one can easily imagine him living in a tent with his family in a far-away desert.  

As a breeding stallion, Monticello V is recognized for siring beautiful horses, who are correct and functional, with the beloved Varian temperament. He is what his pedigree says he is, a Varian-bred stallion who passes on the trademark qualities that are synonymous with the Varian brand. Monticello V has been bred to a wide variety of mares, i.e. daughters of *Kordelas, Magnum Psyche, Marwan Al Shaqab and Khadraj NA plus Varian-bred daughters of Major Mac V and Sundance Kid V. He has even sired extremely competitive Half-Arabian foals of color, i.e. Buckskin and Palomino, out of Quarter Horse mares. As a sire, he has impressive statistics behind him, in terms of siring get who consistently win at the regional and national levels in the Western discipline.  

Monticello V with his owner, Carolyn Lesley, as photographed by Stuart Vesty

"According to the sayings of our forebears, we should judge the horse more by his character [moral attributes] than by his appearance. By outward indication one can judge the breeding. From character alone, you will have confirmation of the extreme care which is taken in breeding and of the vigilance which has been exercised to adamantly prohibit misalliances." - Emir Abd el Kader, from the book: Horses of the Sahara by General Eugene Daumas & quoted in Orzel: Scottsdale's Legendary Arabian Stallion by Tobi Lopez Taylor

As important as his show ring wins and siring prowess are, it is the enormous capacity of Monticello's gigantic-sized heart, that perhaps, is his greatest story, the center of which focuses on the love that is truly possible between horse and man. On the day that Carolyn's mother was diagnosed with a terminal illness, the beloved purebred gelding they owned together, tragically died. It was a very grim and challenging time for the family and love for each other is the only thing that held them together. However, there is an old saying about one door closing, while another door opens and it is through that open door that Monticello V entered, maybe looking for exactly the same thing that Carolyn and Mary were also looking for and instantly found in Monticello V. Carolyn would later recall,  "I think Monticello sensed his role immediately when my Mom walked into his stall.” The bond that Monticello V quickly established with Mary, Carolyn's mother, not only sustained her in this time, it carried her through to the end of her life, all for the love of a horse.

"They will carry you, never knowing the weight of your burdens and triumphs. If you let them, they will carry you through life, and life is hard, life is heavy. But a horse will make you feel weightless under it all." - from #cellosoul

Simeon Shifran

Simeon Shifran (Asfour x Simeon Shavit) as photographed by Stu Vesty

When I googled "Simeon Stud" last week and found the Stuart Vesty photo above, not only was the photo surprisingly unexpected, I was utterly dumbfounded by it. Simeon Shifran? I had to sit for a few seconds to compose myself and collect my thoughts, while I struggled to remain focused on the task at hand and for the reasons why I was searching for information on Simeon Stud in the first place.  All of that aside, really, it's a stunning photo,  memorable in its simplicity, focused only upon the horse. No wonder why Stuart Vesty is so successful as a photographer. Actually, scratch that, the man is not just a "photographer", the man is an artist. There are no special effects, flowers or people to compete with the horse in the photo. The expression of the horse is so powerful, I personally find myself thinking about the photo, long after I turn off the computer.  Maybe others will feel the same way too, as Stuart Vesty somehow, successfully captured THAT horse which lives deep within our subconscious mind. You know, the horse of our dreams.

I originally wrote this blog in January of 2011, having become aware of Simeon Shifran the previous summer, thanks to my friend Anne-Louise, who had met the colt in person - underscore the word, colt, because in my mind, up until last week, Simeon Shifran still looked more like a colt than a stallion.

Simeon Shifran (Asfour x Simeon Shavit), as photographed by Jenni Ogden

Ten years? How? How has that much time passed so quickly and where have I been, to have missed the metamorphosis of what once was a cute, charming, full-of-potential colt, into the take-your-breath-away, proven, mature Egyptian Arabian stallion photographed by Stuart Vesty?

At the time, I was impressed with all that Anne-Louise told me (she's really smart) and also, all that I saw in the Jenni Ogden photos,  like the deliciously curvey and harmonious body and his longer, well-arched neck, forming the sought-after angle that results in an airy, roomy throatlatch. Although I feel he is more correct in body than his sire was, possibly because of his dam, Simeon Shavit (sired by the Shaikh al Badi son, Anaza Bay Shahh and out of the 27 Ibn Galal V daughter, the incomparable Simeon broodmatron, Simeon Safanad). However, in the Stuart Vesty photo, one cannot miss the haunting similarity to his sire, Asfour (Malik x Hanan). Simeon Shifran, in his maturity, really favors his look.

Asfour (Malik x Hanan)

In the blog for Damess Albadeia, I mentioned a great interview done by David Gillet of Diamond Road Arabian Stud, titled 60 Years of Simeon, which was published within the 2017 issue of Arabian Studs & Stallions. If you are a fan of Simeon Stud as I am, I recommend it to you dear reader, you will enjoy reading the article and all of the thoughtful questions and answers. One of the questions that David asked Marion Richmond concerned the selection and introduction of home-bred stallion prospects into her breeding program. Marion responded that it was actually the late Nasr Marei, while visiting her, who asked, 

"Where are your colts? To which I, probably quite stubbornly replied, I don't keep colts, they are annoying, they need their own paddock and so on. But then Nasr reminded me that like all of us, my boys were getting older and perhaps I should start thinking of a succession plan...and so I did. That first year we kept a son of Asfour, Simeon Shifran."

While 27 Ibn Galal V, the Babolna-bred mare,  is crucially important in the Simeon Stud breeding program (and the maternal great-granddam of Simeon Shifran), Marion Richmond has blended her strong, continuing influence with that of Dr. Erwin Filsinger's Malik (Hadban Enzahi x Malikah) and the EAO's Hanan, bred together by Dr. Nagel to result in Asfour, as well as adding Anaza Bay Shahh, bred by Les and Lois St. Clair and the stallion, Sankt Georg who combines Ansata breeding with the horses of Richard Pritzlaff.  While it is a much easier task to select beautiful horses and create a "collection"; it is quite another thing to select horses who complement each other and then, to combine these horses genetically to create an individual who is better, than the horses that Marion started with. It's that unique place which few breeders ever reach, that is, where science and art come together. It is a testament to Marion's breeding expertise, her knowledge, her instinct and artisitic eye, to have blended all of these influences together, resulting in the magnificent horse we know today as Simeon Shifran.

Another interesting point to make about Simeon Shifran, is that while he is 25% Hadban Enzahi including the tail female line through 27 Ibn Galal V; he carries a higher percentage of Dahman influence than he does of Hadban, approx. 37.5%, combining multiple sources of Dahman strain bloodlines through mares like El Dahma and Bint el Bahreyn. 

In the resources that I have available to me, he has 37 total get listed and of that number, 30 are fillies, 7 are colts, which also points to the possibility that Simeon Shifran's legacy will be expressed from the mare side of the pedigree, as compared to the sire side of the pedigree. With each foal crop he sires year-after-year, this may change but his filly production record is enough of a phenomenon right now, that I felt important to point out to you dear reader. He is definitely a horse to watch, as he may prove in time to be a modern day broodmare sire! Personally, I took notice of the 2017 filly he sired, Simeon Marei, out of Wed Albadeia (Farid Albadeia x Momtazat Albadeia). She, like her sire, is one to watch.

The classic Arabian lives, even in these worrisome days of the new COVID variants like Delta, Delta Plus, Alpha and Lambda, in addition to the impact that the virus has had on reducing average life expectancy by 2 years. I think the New York Times referred to this period in time as "the age of despair".  A stallion like Simeon Shifran helps you to escape all the "bad news", that is, all the worries and and anxieties, even for only a moment. Such is the power of beauty, in the form of a quintessential Arabian stallion, to soothe our mind, heart and spirit.

***In case you missed it, the influence of Nasr Marei is everywhere, even in this horse named Simeon Shifran. It's really hard to separate the Egyptian Arabian horse and Nasr Marei and therefore, the man is really missed.

As mentioned in the blog, the opening head shot of Simeon Shifran was taken by Stu Vesty and the body shot of Simeon Shifran, while a colt, was taken by Jennifer Ogden. I don't know who took the photo of Asfour***

Damess Albadeia

Damess Albadeia, foaled in 2011, is a result of top-crossing the Ariela-bred Al Maraam (Imperial Imdal x The Vision HG) on select Albadeia-bred mares like Farha Albadeia, a Farid Albadeia daughter, out of the World Champion Arabian mare, Gelgelah Albadeia. Nasr Marei leased Al Maraam not long after Al Maraam returned from a breeding lease made by the Michalow State Stud in Poland.  

"I firmly believe as a breeder that one has to have a dynamic approach to breeding and be very careful in selecting horses used in the program. As a breeder, I can see always areas that can be improved in the quality of my herd.  Even though he was a horse that I never have seen, except in pictures; I was interested in Al Maraam's conformation and of course, in his pedigree." - Nasr Marei 

Al Maraam, a former Israeli Reserve National Champion Stallion, has long been recognized for having sired horses who possess an over-abundance of type, charisma and trainability, as they are generous, willing and kind horses in temperament. A mutual friend, who knows Damess Albadeia personally, said that he is a striking individual, harmonious of body, charismatic like his sire and while ebony black in color, possesses golden brown highlights which further intensify his dramatic presence. He literally takes your breath away.

I was overwhelmed by Damess' strong and dramatic physical expression of breed type, without sacrificing substance. I was impressed by his powerfully muscled shoulders, his broad chest,  longer forearms, shorter cannons and excellent tail carriage. When Nasr spoke about Damess, you could tell from the sound of his voice, how much he loved this particular horse.

"Damess Albadeia followed in his grandmother’s steps by being black and of extreme type and quality as well as his sire’s, by being a powerhouse and correct."  

Hadban Enzahi by strain (approx. 44% of his pedigree is represented by horses of this strain, including the tail female line) and with a Saklawi I sire line; Damess' role within the Albadeia program was one of transition, as he represented the new blood that Nasr desired to bring into his breeding program, while reinforcing the strong and vibrant foundation that had sustained Albadeia for eighty-plus years. Nasr expected that Damess Albadeia, like Kayed before him, would transform the Albadeia program, in order to remain relevant to a future generation of Arabian horse enthusiasts. As a matter of fact, Kayed appears three times in the pedigree of Damess Albadeia (approx. 11% genetic influence): twice through his son, Ameer Albadeia and through his daughter, Hasna el Badia, who appears in the tail female line of Al Maraam. However, life has a way of changing the best plans and redirecting what once was visionary thinking, into a perpetuation of the legacy of Albadeia Stud. 

James Cleland of Al Salsabeel Stud in Australia recently purchased Damess Albadeia and is in the process of importing him to Australia. When James was young, his family owned a large sheep and cattle operation in South Australia. Australian stock horses, crossed with Arab bloodlines, were important in the family business, as they were used to work the stock on the property. James recalls, 

"one year, a new colt arrived on the property. He was a pure Arab colt and I was immediately attracted to him. And somewhere within this attraction, began my wonderful life journey with the Arabian horse." 

Many years later, James remembers seeing the extraordinary Simeon Sadik at a show. The romantic allure and mystery of the black stallion we all dream about had materialized into physical form for James and consumed by Sadik's exquisite beauty, he followed the trail that led him right to Simeon Stud, his breeder. 

"I started to dream about straight Egyptians." 

Eventually, James would purchase his first straight Egyptian filly, Simeon Silona, a mare who incorporates many of Simeon Stud's stallions in her pedigree: Asfour, Anaza Bay Shahh and Imperial Madaar. In the years since, James has assembled an impressive group of straight Egyptian horses, including Simeon Sabina, his East Coast Reserve Champion Mare, sired by Asfour and out of the Albadeia-bred Ibtehag Albadeia, a multi-year National Champion Mare of Egypt. In hindsight, one has to really wonder whether Sabina was like a harbinger for the eventual impact that Albadeia Stud would have on James' breeding program, which primarily consists of bloodlines bred by Simeon Stud. 

"I was looking for an Albadeia son of Laheeb. I loved Damess' dam, Farha, and saw Damess as a foal and really loved him." 

When James inquired about Damess, not really sure of what the outcome might be; all of the heavenly bodies must have been aligned in his favor, as the pride of Albadeia Stud would soon become the treasure of Al Salsabeel Stud! This will be an exciting time for James and his family. At the very top of his list are plans to breed Damess to Simeon Sabina, which is a very interesting cross, as the pedigree will combine the bloodlines of two Egyptian National Champion horses: Ibtehag Albadeia with Farid Albadeia, who won the National Champion Stallion title several times.  It was 1997, when Ibtehag Albadeia herself was bred to Farid Albadeia, resulting in a colt named Inshallah Albadeia in 1998, who eventually was exported to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. James is excited over the impact that Damess Albadeia will have on his program and he further explains what he has been thinking, in terms of using the stallion on his select group of mares.

"Damess will also be bred to our Imperial Madaar daughters, our two Asfour daughters, plus a group of Samech daughters. We can not wait! We are all very excited indeed!"

In an interview with David Gillet of Diamond Road Arabian Stud, titled 60 Years of Simeon and published within the 2017 issue of Arabian Studs & Stallions, when asked about her initial selection of Egyptian mares, Marion Richmond explained, 

"We bought 5 mares on the second trip but only 27 Ibn Galal V (Ibn Galal x 10 Hosna) has descendants at the Farm today, although all the mares produced well for the stud. It is the daughters of 27 Ibn Galal V that makeup the nucleus of the farm today, as they have done for close to 30 years now." 

And this is where I find the opportunity for Damess Albadeia not only exciting but also, of enormous potential for Al Salsabeel Stud, as 27 Ibn Galal V, in both the tail female line of her sire and dam, traces to Venus, the source mare of the Hadban Enzahi strain in straight Egyptian breeding. 27 Ibn Galal V was a pure-in-strain Hadbah and her sire, Ibn Galal, was a grandson of Yosreia (Sheikh El Arab x Hind), the same dam line found in Damess Albadeia's tail female line! The breeding core of both Albadeia and Simeon Stud claimed the Hadban strain as a critical component. The horses of the Hadban Enzahi strain are key elements in both programs. So, no surprise over how the Hadban lines are complementary to each other and yet, Damess Albadeia offers an added "twist", as his pedigree includes 25% influence from the Saqlawi strain, which includes the dam line of his sire. The tail female line of Al Maraam runs via his dam, The Vision AA, through the 1946 RAS mare Zaafarana. However, the Saqlawi influence of The Vision AA also includes horses like TheEgyptianPrince (2 lines through AK Amiri Asmarr, the dam of Thee Desperado and Alia-Aenor, the dam of Belle Staar), *Morafic and his full sister, *Ansata Bint Mabrouka and Ansata Shah Zaman. There's an inborn elegance to Damess Albadeia and recognizing the Saqlawi influence in this horse is one giant step in understanding where this elegance comes from and why it is challenging to contain the excitement that I feel for James, as he welcomes Damess Albadeia to his home, Al Salsabeel Stud. I think James said it best, when he said, 

"Damess Albadeia will be very loved and treasured."

I believe that somewhere, Nasr, is smiling over James' heartfelt words. All he ever wanted was for people to love his beloved horses, as much as he loved them.

***Originally published in November, 2019, this blog is rewritten to include the latest development in the life of Damess Albadeia, a horse who for me, is representative of the unbelievably great horses that Nasr was breeding over the last 20 years. Wise, insightful, funny, honest and compassionate; I was blessed profoundly with Nasr's friendship and miss him dearly. And so, this blog continues to be lovingly dedicated to the memory of Nasr Marei. Many thanks also to Jennifer Ogden, for the wonderful photos she took of Damess Albadeia. And to my friend, James Cleland, a huge CONGRATULATIONS to you and your family, on the purchase of the marvelous Damess Albadeia. I wish I were you!***

Tammenaa MH

"I am joyful that a gorgeous filly named Tammenaa MH, sired by our dearly beloved and beautiful late stallion, Tammen, is now gracing planet earth!” - Lisa Niemi Swayze to Dr. Jody Cruz

Tammenaa MH, bred by Dr. Joseph Cruz of Rancho Bulakenyo, Los Osos, California,  is a 2021 grey filly, sired by Tammen (Abenhetep x Talgana) and out of Binte Romaana MH, a *Hadban Al Shaqab daughter out of Romaana Maara MH (El Halimaar x Kai-Ann). Tammen, owned by Lisa Niemi Sawyze and her late husband, Patrick, was foaled in 1982 and died in April, 1999. During his lifetime, Tammen was credited with siring 171 foals. Tammenaa will be the first foal sired by Tammen since his last recorded foal was born in 1999. Many years ago, Dr. Cruz had the opportunity to secure frozen semen from Tammen and rather than immediately using it, he held onto the breeding, waiting, as he explained, 

"for the right time and individual - a young mare, proven, with no repro issues, a good mother and strong producer." 

The mare, Binte Romanaa MH, already a strong broodmare in the Rancho Bulakenyo breeding program, produced a spectacular filly in 2017 by Nour Al Kamar MH. This filly convinced Dr. Cruz that Binte Romanaa MH,  was exactly the right mare to breed to Tammen,  a stallion he had long admired, who possessed qualities  that Dr. Cruz wanted in his herd.  

"We hoped to incorporate Tammen's beautiful neck, topline and strong hind end." - Dr. Joseph Cruz

The state of modern equine reproductive science inspires awe, when long time breeders consider the advances we enjoy today, as compared to the services available in the past. Imagine the thrill to have at your disposal, the legacy of a long loved stallion, 20 years after his death! A marvel of modern science, the semen was tested, analyzed,  and once it was determined to be viable; Binte Romanaa was inseminated. An ultrasound was performed at 13 days, which revealed that the mare was indeed, pregnant! A heart beat was detected at 25 days and at 65 days, the  pregnancy was sexed, delivering the wonderful news to Dr. Cruz that Binte Romanaa was carrying a FILLY! What does Dr. Cruz think of his filly? He replied,

 "Absolutely drop-dead gorgeous filly. I didn't want to be too greedy and hope for a grey filly but we got everything we wanted and she is absolutely beautiful."

The pedigree of this filly reads like a "roadmap" of the Rancho Bulakenyo breeding program, in terms of where the program has been and where it is now headed. Tammenaa unites in one pedigree, the blood of several critical Rancho Bulakenyo horses who either directly or through their progeny, impacted the program positively: Maar Hala, *Bint Maisa el Saghira, Bint Romanaa and Aziza Princess. Dr. Cruz added, 

"Historically, we have successfully crossed our mares to outcrossed stallions. The goal is to maintain our phenotype, while adding some of the qualities of the stallion." 

The choice of Tammen reinfuses the blood of the stallion, Abenhetep (*Ibn Hafiza x Omnia), the sire of BintAzizaPrincess, a beloved mare who has had a significant impact upon the Rancho Bulakenyo program, particularly through her daughter, Binte Aziza MH by Richter MH. Dr. Cruz explained, 

I wanted to bring Abenhetep in closer on the sire side, in combination with the Aziza Princess dam line to recreate another BintAzizaPrincess."

There are some interesting points to be made from the study of Tammenaa's tail female line, the first of which is that this filly is Kuhaylah Krush by strain, as she traces to El Kahila, the Saudi mare credited as the source of the strain in straight Egyptian breeding. At the Inshass Stud, El Kahila was bred to El Deree, an impressively built stallion with a strong, compact body and powerful laid-back shoulder, conformational qualities which we also observe in Tammenaa's still developing juvenile body. The mare, El Zabia, resulted from the cross of El Deree and El Kahila and, in turn, El Zabia was bred to El Zafir (Awad x Bint Dalal) a Dahman Shahwan stallion, who interestingly, traces in his tail female line to the mare, Bint el Bahreyn, imported to Egypt in 1903 from the stud of Rais Issa Ibn Khalifah as a gift for Khedive Abbas II, thereby adding more desert breeding. It is through Shams, El Zabia's daughter by El Zafir and through *Bint Maisa el Saghira (Ruminaja Ali in Hadban Al Shaqab and Tammen through Dahma Il Ashekwar) that the pedigree unites multiple sources of Bint el Bahreyn blood, a key element in the infusion of desert breeding in straight Egyptian horses.

Recently, The Pyramid Society shared a presentation that Mr. Joe Ferriss, noted breed historian and widely read author, had made on the surviving tail female lines in straight Egyptian breeding. At the end of the presentation, Joe Ferriss had identified the El Kahila dam line as one of the nine matrilines which are becoming increasingly rare in the already small straight Egyptian gene pool of bloodlines.  One wonders over the future of this filly and her role in not only furthering the legacy of her sire but also,  the promise of her dam line. It is thoughts such as these that fill a man with hope, born out of the awe and wonder that a beautiful filly like Tammenaa MH inspires.

****Photography credit: the photos of Tammenaa MH were taken by Christine Emmert****