Khartoum RA

Khartoum RA (Baha AA x Bint Anjalima), as photographed by Holly Reuter

Earlier this week, I read a new comment posted within the 2016 blog I had written about *Bint Moniet el Nefous. Jo Lynne is interested in horses of Pritzlaff breeding and wondered if anyone was still breeding these lines exclusively. Crockett Dumas, Sheila Harmon, Jane Bohn and Pam Studebaker were the breeders who instantly came to my mind. As I searched for other Pritzlaff breeders, I stumbled upon a magnificent stallion named Khartoum RA. 

Khartoum RA is a 2016 son of Baha AA (Al Ayad x Baraqa AA) and out of the mare, Bint Anjalima (Al Maraam x Anjalima). He was bred by Inga Applequist of Rosecrest Arabians and is now owned by Holly Reuter of Holly Arabians. He is Dahman by strain, tracing through Ansata Justina to the Farida daughter, Futna, eventually reaching El Dahma. In sire line, he traces through several generations of German straight Egyptian breeding to Nazeer and ultimately, to Saklawi I.

Khartoum, in Northeast Africa, is the capital of Sudan. The name "Khartoum" has a wide variety of meaning, depending upon the scholarly theory you choose, however, this is a story of a horse named Khartoum and the most relevant translation comes from the Beja people, who inhabit the region of Sudan, Egypt and the Eritrea. They called this place "hartoom", a place of meeting, where the Blue Nile and the White Nile rivers "meet". The White Nile gets its name from the clay carried in the water, which differentiates it from the Blue Nile and yet, despite the difference in color, both rivers combine to form the great Nile River, as it flows north to Egypt. In a similar way, one can say that the Ariela-bred horses meet genetically with other sources of Egyptian breeding, resulting in Khartoum RA.  For example, let's look at the clever cross of Baraaqa AA (on the paternal side of the pedigree) with Al Maraam (on the maternal side). Baraaqa AA is a Laheeb daughter out of a Vision daughter, while Al  Maraam is an Imperial Imdal son (Laheeb's sire) out of The Vision HG.  The stallion, Baahir (Ibn El Mareekh x GF Nasra Bataa), whose presence as the sire of Baraqai AA (the dam of Baraaqa AA) plays a role like the clay in the White Nile, introducing several outcross lines that serve to keep two similarly-bred horses different from each other. By the way, Baahir, through his tail female line, traces back to Richard Pritzlaff's black mare, the 1958 import, *Bint El Bataa (Nazeer x El Bataa).

Khartoum RA (Baha AA x Bint Anjalima) as photographed by Holly Reuter

Conformationally, my eyes were drawn to Khartoum's deeper heart girth. I also appreciate his close-coupling, smooth, strong back, the added length to his neck and poll, as well as the nice underline to his neck and the powerfully muscled, laid back shoulder. He is airborne in this particular photo, the moment of suspension when the energy from the hind end is driving the horse forward. While judging the self-carriage of a horse at liberty, without a rider on his back, is a bit different from a horse balancing the added weight of a human; it is photos like this one which inspire me to think: what does it feel like to ride a horse like this?

The Vision HG (Thee Desperado x Belle Staar) appears twice in Khartoum's pedigree. She represents approximately 20% of Khartoum's pedigree. She is the maternal great-granddam of Baha AA, as well as the paternal granddam of Bint Anjalima. Khartoum is strong in his look for this most beloved black mare. You don't even have to look at the pedigree to know she is part of the genetic fiber which resulted in Khartoum.

As the years pass, the appreciation that I feel for Al Maraam deepens.  I wish that I had realized the significance of exactly who he was and the impact that he would have as a breeding stallion, when he was alive. For many years, Al Maraam lived his life, while I lived mine; neither life intersecting with the other. I knew of him, I admired him and unfortunately, I acted as if he would live forever.  He didn't. Holly Reuter, on her website said, "Khartoum has a kind easy going disposition and is a pleasure to be around." As soon as I read her words concerning Khartoum's character, I thought of Al Maraam. In spirit, Al Maraam was kind, easy-going, sweet and people-oriented. Many of his get are like him, that is, easy horses to live and work with. In reading what Holly Reuter said about him, I think the 25% of Al Maraam in the pedigree had an impact upon Khartoum RA. 

I found it interesting that Holly Reuter also owns an Al Maraam daughter named Desert Treasure EF. A 2009 straight Egyptian mare, she is out of Desert Shimmer (Gatsby CC IASB x SF Malachite). She is a Kuhaylah Rodaniyah in tail female line, as she traces to Bint Bint Riyala, one of the two Rodania line mares imported to Egypt from the Crabbet Stud.

Desert Treasure EF (Al Maraam x Desert Shimmer), as photographed by Christina Rousseau

If Desert Treasure was my mare, I would breed her to Khartoum RA, as the resulting foal, which hopefully, a filly by gender, will carry almost 40% influence of Al Maraam! 

Through the pages of this blog, I have expressed the deep sorrow that is felt whenever a beloved horse dies, whether the horse belongs to me or not. Love is love, despite ownership and the heart still breaks in the same way. Perhaps, one of the greatest lessons that I have learned from the life of Al Maraam is that life is far too precious for any of it to be taken for granted or even, wasted.  As uniquely special and beloved as Al Maraam was, maybe, continuing to grieve his physical absence from this world might be an unintended injustice to the horses of the present, who are equally special horses within their own expressed individuality. Still, a great horse will always be a great horse. For that, is what Al Maraam will always be for me...GREAT.

“I remember when your name was just another name that rolled without thought off my tongue. Now, I can’t look at your name without an abundance of sentiment attached to each letter. Your name, which I played with so carelessly, so easily, has somehow become sacred to my lips. A name I won’t throw around lightheartedly or repeat without deep thought.” - Jamie Weise