all for the love of a horse...: Nawaal@Katara!

06 February, 2022

Nawaal@Katara!

At first, I thought an older video was uploaded to Arabian Essence's You Tube channel by mistake. Nawaal Al Rayyan? I think one of the last videos that I remember watching of her compete was from Nawaal's 2019 Gold Champion win at the Straight Egyptian World Championships in Milan. And here she is, this weekend, at the 2022 Katara International Arabian Peninsula show! You can't imagine the surprise and happiness I felt when I realized this was no old video! I have been watching this particular mare since she came to America and was shown in the 2015 Egyptian Event. She was named the Gold Champion Junior Filly and Most Classic Head Junior Filly. She impressed me back then, as she was breathtaking, a classic type of Arabian horse that not so long ago, was more common in the USA than it is today. I still feel the same way about her.

So, maybe you are new to all of this and you don't understand my enthusiasm for this mare. Who is she, you might be asking yourself right about now. Well dear reader, let me tell you a story about Nawaal Al Rayyan.

Nawaal is sired by Ansata Sokar (Imperial Madheen x Ansata Samantha) and out of Nadrah Al Rayyan (Ashhal Al Rayyan x Ansata Nefer Isis). In studying Nawaal's tail female line (which is the same tail female line of Nabeel Al Rayyan, who was shown in the 7 - 10 year old stallion class), you will find Ansata Nefertiti by Ansata Halim Shah and out of Ansata Sudarra. She is not only Nawaal's great granddam; she is also Ansata Hejazi's full sister. She was bred to Prince Fa Moniet to produce the beloved mare, Ansata Nefer Isis, who in turn was bred to Ashhal Al Rayyan (Safir x Ansata Majesta) which resulted in Nawaal's dam, Nadrah Al Rayyan. Sheikh Hamad said,

"The Ashhal Al Rayyan daughters inherit his classic aura and have proven to be excellent producers."

What is also interesting about this tail female line (which goes back to *Ansata Bint Bukra through her Sameh daughter, *Ansata Bint Misr) is that it is doubled, meaning, it is the same tail female line for the sire, as it is for the dam. Ansata Sudarra and Ansata Samantha were maternal siblings, both mares are daughters of Ansata Delilah (Ansata Shah Zaman x Ansata Bint Misr), sired by different stallions. Ansata Samantha is by *Ansata Ibn Halima, while Ansata Sudarra is by Ansata Abu Sudan.

Imperial Madheen, the sire of Ansata Sokar, is a son of the German-bred stallion, Messaoud (Madkour x Maymoonah), while Ashhal Al Rayyan is a maternal great grandson of JKB Masouda, who incidentally, is a full sister of Messaoud! This influence represents 30% of the pedigree!

There's an old saying, which says, "the third time's the charm." And in this case, it is the doubling of Ansata Halim Shah (*Ansata Ibn Halima x Ansata Rosetta), the sire of Ansata Majesta (x Ansata Malika) and Ansata Nefertiti (x Ansata Sudarra). Both mares appear on the maternal side of the pedigree, as great granddams.

Nawaal is strong of body, correct, with an equal distribution of her body mass, meaning, she has a powerful front end and an equally powerful hind end. One is not more massive than the other, in this day and age of front-end horses. She is smooth and her neck is beautiful, well set, flowing out of the wither and when it meets her head, it forms a very nice mitbah. She is not exotic or extreme, just clean and dry, a horse born of the desert.

***with many thanks to Arabian Essence, for making the videos of the 2022 Katara International Arabian Peninsula Show available on YouTube***

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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.

06 February, 2022

Nawaal@Katara!

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