A Mare, A Book & the Diversity Which Shapes Us All

Kirbys Shadow (Sahar El Pharo x Joans Melody),  casually  photographed by her owner, Christine Emmert

"A long neck, a noble head, although not very small, with distended, thin and moveable nostrils; a splendid high carried tail. I feel, the first time in my life, that during the purchase of a horse I am fainting."- Bogdan Ziertarski, as quoted in Arab breeding in Poland, written by Edward Skorkowski 

Kirbys Shadow, a 1991 dark bay mare, is sired by Sahar El Pharo, a son of Raisuli El Pharo, an *Ansata Ibn Halima son out of Al Nahr Modonna, an *Ibn Moniet el Nefous daughter. Sahar El Pharo's dam, Bambi Lea, brings in more Egyptian blood through Maar-Rab, *Maaroufa and Gulastra (Gulnare, Gulastra's dam, is also the dam of Gharifet, the granddam of the stallion, Al-Marah Radames, the sire of Bint Roghara, the dam of Joans Melody, the dam of Kirbys Shadow). 

By virtue of her pedigree, Kirbys Shadow carries 43.75% Egyptian blood, most of which is focused in the Saklawi strain. However, all is not what it appears to be and something interesting happens when you dig a little deeper within the pedigree of *Ibn Moniet el Nefous.  There are multiple sources of El Dahma within his dam's (Moniet el Nefous) ancestry, which complements the influence of *Ansata Ibn Halima. Additionally, Dr. William Hudson's landmark mtDNA study of the EAO matrilines suggests a common ancestress between El Dahma and Roga el Beda, which further intensifies the complementary genetic influences of both root mares within the Egyptiam portion of the pedigree. 

More than a few years ago, I was able to purchase, In Search of the Arabian Horse, written by Captain Luis Azpeitita de Moros, translated and annotated by Andrew K. Steen. Quickly, it became one of my favorites. The book is Captain Luis Azpeitita de Moros' personal account of a 7-month journey through the Middle East, to purchase Arabian horses, as commissioned by Spain's Cria Caballar. As a member of the Spanish cavalry, the author knows horses intimately and has enjoyed success in selecting and purchasing horses of other breeds, sometimes under challenging time lines. The selection  standards employed by the Captain were not only demanding, they were rigorous, despite the breed and unlike the desert adventurers of his era, he was not influenced by the romanticized legends that were popular at the time. Zulima was one of the first horses purchased, 22 days into the trip. The Captain wrote, "The mare Zulima has a pretty exterior, an expressive head and good legs. Her swollen abdomen makes us believe that she is pregnant, as her owner also maintains." Upon closer inspection, the Captain writes further that Zulima did not "have any defects or exterior illnesses." It's an engaging story, at times even funny, while accurately describing the struggle and hardships of locating and purchasing well bred horses in the desert. I strongly recommend it, if you haven't had the opportunity to read it. 

So, what does this book have to do with Kirbys Shadow? In the 6th generation of the maternal side of Kirbys Shadow's pedigree, you will find the Draper-bred mare, Jubilee (Jubilo x Menfis). From Jubilee, the matriline traces back through several Spanish generations to this mare, Zulima, purchased by Captain Luis Azpeitita de Moros for the Cria Caballar in 1905:

JUBILEE->MENFIS->SIRIA->ORIENTAL->ZULIMA

 

Furthermore, Andrew Steen considers Zulima to be one of the 5 most important mares in Spanish history. I also found it interesting that Zulima was of the Saklawi strain, as the Spanish-bred matriline, as diverse as it is to the rest of the pedigree, further complements the Egyptian Saklawi influences of the sire side of the pedigree.

At the top of the maternal side, to reinforce the Saklawi matriline, we find an additional Saklawi influence through the ethereal stallion, *Nabor, the sire of Druzba, the paternal grandsire of Joans Melody, the dam of Kirbys Shadow. In an article about *Nabor,  beloved author Mary Jane Parkinson wrote,

"The Poles loved him, for they found in *Naborr a resemblance to the Arabian horses painted by Juliusz Kossak, considered the best painter of oriental horses. *Naborr's remarkable Arabian type, dry fine head, swan-like neck and milk-white hair (unusual for his age) all related to the Poles ideal Arabian."

Kirbys Shadow is a proven broodmare, having produced a pure-in-strain Saklawi stallion, Al Ghazal, sired by The Renagade (Thee Desperado x Waratah) in 2002 

and a daughter, Noor Al Sahra, by Imperial Al Kamar (El Hilal x Imperial Sonbesjul) in 2009. 

It's interesting to consider that Noor Al Sahra, outcrossed as she was to the Kuhaylan Rodan strain, was more like her dam than her maternal sibling, who was bred within the same strain. I'm thinking that the Dahman sources found through El Hilal, as combined with the Dahman sources existing within Raisuli El Pharo exerted the most impact. The quality of both her foals was so high, that I find myself wishing that Kirbys Shadow had produced more progeny and specifically, a filly foal sired by Gazal Al Shaqab. What a foal that would be!  

When Christine sent me the photo, at the end of a long, hot day; I was tired and could barely keep my eyes open. All at once, I was inspired by her classic beauty and youthful appearance. I felt like Bogdan Ziertarski, when he saw Ofir for the very first time. In a fraction of a second, I had forgotten how tired I was, enchanted by Christine's photo. Such is the amazing power that a photo can have upon you! 

If you haven't worked out the math, a mare born in 1991, is 31 years old in 2022 and a strong testament of the quality care that my friend Christine gives Kirbys Shadow, whose beautiful and healthy body blooms with heavy dappling. And all of a sudden, I am encouraged by the beauty that still exists in this world, as richly diverse as we know it to be and yet, I'm finding much common ground hidden within it.