Nehaya: Off the Richter Scale

Nehaya (*Ansata Ibn Halima x *Hoyeda) as photographed by the late Johnny Johnston

Nehaya, a bay mare bred by Gleannloch Farms, was foaled in 1971.  She was a maternal sibling to Imperial Egyptian Stud's stallion, Moniet el Nafis and the *Ibn Hafiza daughters Zaenap and Foula, among other horses. However, what's really interesting about Nehaya, is found within the pedigree of her dam, *Hoyeda, who was line bred to Moniet el Nefous, through her Sid Abouhom daughters: Mabrouka and Mouna. Moniet el Nefous is significantly represented in *Hoyeda's pedigree, approximately 37.5%. When you consider the multiple sources of El Dahma in Moniet el Nefous' ancestry,  you will appreciate the "common ground" that was established when she was bred to *Ansata Ibn Halima, who traces to El Dahma in his matriline.  Furthermore, we can add additional Dahman sources through Bint Sabah (think Bukra) that come by way of Layla, the dam of Sid Abouhom, a stallion who wields an equal weight of influence as Moniet el Nefous exerts in Hoyeda's genetic mix. The final complementary match between *Hoyeda and *Ansata Ibn Halima is through the use of Nazeer, the sire of both  *Morafic and *Ansata Ibn Halima. If you are a believer in coat color indicating the majority influence of a particular ancestor, then I wonder over the bay coat color of Nehaya, whose immediate ancestry is populated by more grey and chestnut horses, as compared to bays. The few bay horses within the first 5 generations are the mares: Halima, Bint Sabah, Bint Samiha and the stallion, Kazmeen.

Nehaya, who was owned by Bentwood Farm, was a proven broodmare, producing foals by *Ibn Moniet el Nefous (AK El Hameed & JKB Bint Nehaya) and NaIbn Moniet (AK NaMoniet & AK Safara). However, it is her daughter, Zahara Keela by TheEgyptianPrince, who provides a "flashback" for the 3-horse pedigree of *Hoyeda.  TheEgyptianPrince's pedigree, like that of  Hoyeda's pedigree, can also be summarized in 3 horses: 50% Nazeer + 25% Sid Abouhom + 25% Moniet el Nefous, so breeding both horses intensifies the ancestral elements already present in *Hoyeda's pedigree. Dr. Joseph "Jody" Cruz, while visiting Bentwood Farm all those years ago, had the opportunity to see many of the noteworthy Bentwood mares but it would be one mare that made a significant impression upon him.

"Nehaya really stuck in my mind. Of course, she was not to be bought. But down the road I found her daughter Zahara Keela which is another long story in and of itself.  I was able to finally lease Keela and bred her to Richter and produced Nehaya MH. She was a 'drop dead,' gorgeous filly." 

The cross with Richter MH (El Halimaar x Fasarra) further intensified *Ansata Ibn Halima through his sons, El Halimaar and El Hilal, with an alternative source of Moniet el Nefous, this time through *Tuhotmos, her son by El Sareei. 

Staar of Egypt (Imperial Mistaar x Nehaya MH)

The line of *Hoyeda to Nehaya to Zahara Keela and then, through her Rancho Bulakenyo-bred Richter MH daughter, Nehaya MH, remains dynamically relevant for straight Egyptian breeders, through Nehaya MH's 2007 Imperial Mistaar daughter, Staar of Egypt MH and her 2013 daughter Fashan Staar MH, sired by the late *Asala Hafid Nahman. Both mother and daughter were exported to Israel. This pushes the legacy of Nehaya even further in the world, well beyond the American pastures that she once knew.

Gulastra, Mesaoud & Egypt

"...but man’s insatiable curiosity often overwhelms him and he destroys forever the original.” - Carl Raswan

Gulastra was sired by a son of the Ali Pasha Sherif-bred, Mesaoud, out of a daughter of the Ali Pasha Sherif-bred, *Ghazala. By virtue of his pedigree, he represents 62.5%  of Ali Pasha Sherif's breeding program. The only horses in his pedigree who were not part of Ali Pasha Sherif's breeding program are the mares Queen of Sheba, the dam of *Astraled (25%) and *Rose of Sharon, the dam of *Rodan, the sire of Gulastra's dam, Gulnare (12.5%).

Gulastra, a 1924 chestnut stallion, appears way back in the genetic histories of uniquely bred modern horses and therefore, our understanding of them and even, our appreciation for them, is not on the same level as the present day Arabian we may be more interested in and, who possibly led us to Gulastra. These long ago horses somehow, through no fault of their own, have become "just-a-name" within the pedigree and we miss knowing the colorful history that an ancestral horse like him may possess.  In 1924, the state of reproductive technology was nothing like it is today. The mare traveled to the stallion, for breeding. It is significant that Gulastra, over his lifetime, sired 117 horses for breeders like W.R. Hearst, General J.M. Dickinson, Howard Marks and Bazy Tankersley. As a matter of fact, Gulastra was the stallion that Bazy Tankersley received, when she sent Indraff to Howard Marks. Gulastra was 29 years old, when he traveled by airplane, from California, to Bazy Tankersely's farm outside of Washington D.C. Gulastra produced 11 foals for Al-Marah, before his death, the following year.

In the information and photographic history that has been published about Gulastra, we know him to have been an athletic horse, who was trained under saddle in all 5 gaits (walk, trot, canter, running walk and the rack). Gulastra's son,  Kolastra (out of *Kola), was accepted into the appendix section of the Tennessee Walking Horse Studbook. 

In the late 30s, General J.M. Dickinson, purchased Gulastra from W.R. Hearst. He bred Gulastra to *Aziza, one of the Egyptian mares that W. R. Brown had imported in 1932. She produced the stallion, Julep in 1939. It is through Julep, that the sire line of Mesaoud exists in straight Egyptian breeding, through his son, Julyan (out of the straight Babson Egyptian mare, Bint Maaroufa). In turn, Julyan sired 4  straight Egyptian sons but only 2 of the 4 sons would further the Mesaoud sire line in straight Egyptian breeding:

• the 1968 stallion, El Reata Juan (out of Mist-Aana)
• the 1971 stallion, Fadaan (out of Mist-Aana)

I found it really interesting that it is through the Hallany Mistanny daughter, Mist-Aana, that the sire line of Mesaoud survives in straight Egyptian breeding; as it is through Mist-Aana's daughters, Masada Saafaana, Julyana, Julyanne and Bint Mist Aana, that Hallany Mistanny himself, survives in straight Egyptian breeding (as part of the Babson/Brown breeding group). Is Mist-Aana the "unsung heroine" of this story, in terms of preservation?

Through El Reata Juan's approximately 28  Al Khamsa recognized descendants, the majority of which were foaled prior to the new millenium; I found 6 stallions who were foaled in the year 2000 or later. I don't know if any of these horses have remained as stallions and what their siring records may be, in order to determine the real opportunities to further the sire line in SE breeding, through the branch of El Reata Juan. 

Through Fadaan, the opportunities, as compared to El Reata Juan, are significantly less. Out of 10 descendants (all, with the exception of 2 stallions were foaled in the 1990s) there is only 1 stallion born in the 2000s. Again, not sure if this horse remained a stallion and what his siring record may be. We may learn that saving the Mesaoud sire line through Fadaan may already be too late.

In any case, whether 1, 2 or even 3 horses, the Mesaoud sire line, within straight Egyptian breeding, is in seriously grave danger of completely disappearing from what already is, our small gene pool of Egyptian Arabian horse breeding.

 

In the old days, the Mesaoud sire line was recognized as the Zobeyni sire line but a recent book published by Edouard Al-Dahdah, together with Kate McLachlan and Moira Walker, has established, through the translation of the 1860 Abbas Pasha sales list (and Mesaoud's correct pedigree), that the sire line is not Zobeyni as previously believed, it is that of Ghadir, the chief breeding stallion of Abbas Pasha, who was purchased at the 1860 auction by the Studmaster of the Weil Stud, for King Wurttemburg. Many of the qualities that were celebrated in Ghadir like the length of neck, the fineness of the throatlatch (mitbah), the strong and smooth topline, the deeper sloped shoulders, the quality of the mane and tail hairs and the noble head are also, the qualities that we see in Gulastra. That's why I love this particular photo of him, as we see these characteristics visually expressed in Gulastra. It then makes more sense to me, that is, the switch from Zobeyni to Ghadir.

Whether Gulastra traces to Zobeyni or Ghadir, doesn't change the grim reality for the sire line, within straight Egyptian form. I hope that I am wrong and that in the days to come, I will learn that there are more stallions available possessing this sire line, dramatically increasing the opportunities to rescue the sire line from the extinction it is now facing.

***If it wasn't for Laszlo Kiraly, I am not sure that I would be thinking of the Mesaoud sire line in straight Egyptian form. It is his passion for this bloodline that initiated the curiosity and fired the enthusiasm within me. Thank you Laszlo and this blog is dedicated to you.***

If Wishes Were Horses

We are approximately two weeks away from the 2022 edition of the Pride of Poland Show and Sale. There are 46 horses consigned to the sale; 21 horses (4 stallions, 17 mares) will be part of the Pride of Poland sale on Sunday, August 14th, while the balance of 25 horses (3 stallions, 22 mares) will be sold in the Summer sale, on Monday, August 15th. Have you had a chance to review the online catalogue? It's a great offering of horses this year.  You can find the catalogue here. Arabian Insider has also uploaded videos of each horse, approximately one minute of video footage per horse, to their YouTube channel. You can find the Pride of Poland playlist here. 

I look forward to the release of the Pride of Poland sales offering each year.  With the loss of  Ekstern still weighing heavily on my heart, I took note of the Ekstern granddaughters, which are many. Please consider one of the more unique expressions of Ekstern, that is, the mare Egiria, sired by the late Ekstern son, Esparto. Egiria differs from the majority of the Ekstern grandaughters, as Ekstern makes an impact through the sire side of the pedigree, as compared to the maternal side of the pedigree. I also found the young mare Petrona interesting, as she is sired by the Ariela Arabians stallion, Abyad AA (Nader al Jamal x Al Amal AA), out of Polka, an Ekstern daughter. 

The level of quality in this year's sale is impressive, for example, I found it challenging to get past the Ganges daughter, Eulerta (I really liked her), the Pomian sired Pentanea, out of the *Ecaho daughter, Penta, the dark bay Emblema, sired by Chimeryk (he's in the Summer Sale too) out of an Al Maraam daughter or the Pogrom daughter, Wygodna. What wonderful mares! The following 5 mares are my personal favorites, that is, these are the horses who captured my attention and the horses that I would bid on, if I were attending the Pride of Poland sale as a prospective buyer. How many generations would it take for a breeder to develop a similar level of quality in their breeding program? The  Pride of Poland sale represents an opportunity for a new breeder to quickly establish a program, at a level of quality that would have taken multiple decades to  develop. 

Waranga is a 2009 QR Marc daughter out of Wilga, an Ekstern daughter and she is consigned to the Pride of Poland sale. She, like many of the horses that I have picked, is strong of body. Her neck is long, well-set, with a nice and clean underline. She is deep through her heart girth.  A proven broodmare, she is in foal to Empire, a grandson of Laheeb. The opportunity to combine two of my favorite horses in a forthcoming foal, was too good to pass up.

Baskonia, bred by Janow Podlaski Stud, is a 2015 Palatino daughter out of Bellisa, a Poganin daughter and yes, a Laheeb grandaughter. Palatino carries Egyptian blood and combined with Laheeb, insures that the percentage of Egyptian blood stays around 20% in Baskonia. In her matriline, she traces to the celebrated mare, Bandola, the dam of the stallion, *Bandos. She is a tall mare, which I prefer. Again, an opportunity  to combine two favorite stallions in one pedigree. Baskonia is consigned to the Pride of Poland sale.

Piekna Dama is consigned to the Summer Sale. She was bred by the Michalow Stud. She is a 2011 Pegasus daughter (Gazal Al Shaqab combined with *Eukaliptus) and out of Piekna Pani, an Ekstern daughter. She is massively built, with an amazing amount of substance and yet, does not lose her classic elegance, as wrapped in a rosewater coat. 

A long, long time ago, I wanted to breed my straight Egyptian mare to *Sanadik El Shaklan. I remember speaking with the late Sigi Siller, who explained that *Sanadik El Shaklan was no longer available at stud but after reviewing all the photos that I had sent her, she felt that Om El Shahmaan was a better choice for my mare. Unfortunately, life takes unexpected twists and turns and I never bred my mare to Om el Shahmaan. Emandilla, consigned to the Pride of Poland sale is a 2010 daughter of Om El Shahmaan, out of Espadrilla, a Monogramm daughter out of  a Eukaliptus daughter. Since Monogramm is the sire of Ekstern, having him in the pedigree makes up for not having Ekstern. At the end of the video, she walks alongside her handle, no halter, no lead rope. I bet she is blessed with the kind and generous Om El Shahmaan character.

Effie,  consigned to the Summer Sale, is my favorite mare, of either sale. She is a 2014 Shanghai EA daughter out of El Ghazala, an Ekstern daughter out of the beloved Palas daughter, Emigracja. Effie is related to Emandilla, as Effie's dam, Emigracja, is the granddam of Espadrilla, the dam of Emandilla. When I saw Effie's photo for the first time, I knew that no matter how I sliced and diced the list, she would be among my remaining favorites. She is everything that I look for in a horse, with substance, a strong, wide back, amazing pigment and big black eyes. She has great movement, not only with power driving her hind end forward but also freedom in her shoulders, which allows her to maximize her movement. Watching her at liberty is like seeing Ekstern, all over again. 

**Many thanks to Arabian Insider for making all of the Pride of Poland videos available on YouTube. You have no idea of the joy that you bring into another person's life, through the work that you do. I am grateful.**