all for the love of a horse...: Something About Legacy

19 November, 2022

Something About Legacy

Something really wonderful happened at the World Championships. Did you see it? On Friday, in Class 6B, Senior Stallions Section B, the 2014 stallion, Alexxanderr, won the class, earning a score of 94.43 and best head. Placing second to him, with a score of 94.36 was Alexxanderr's sire, the 2011 stallion, Excalibur EA! Later, I learned that the scores earned by both stallions were the highest points awarded at the World Championships! This father/son win is equal parts inspiration, motivation and even, reassures us that our breed, despite all that is happening in our world today, can still lift spirits high, through the awe and wonder of the Arabian horse. For a few minutes, we can experience peace and joy, in a world where either feeling is hard to find.

Alexxanderr is American-born, bred by Butler Farms in North Carolina, representing the combined forces of Frances Butler and Brandi Carson. He is currently owned by Alsayed Stud in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Alexxanderr's dam is the 2007 mare, AR Most Irresistible (ML Mostly Padron x Flirtatshahn BHF). Immediately, you will notice that some of the breed's most influential and enduring horses are represented in her pedigree: *Padron, Bey Shah and Khemosabi. Her maternal great-granddam is a mare named Arabest Danna, a Nabiel daughter out of Sudanna (Ansata Ibn Sudan x Ro Hulu Amira). It's not a completely Egyptian matriline, due to the presence of the stallion, *Aldebar but in tail female, she traces all the way back to Bint el Bahreyn.

Normally, I will tell you how much Egyptian blood exists and in this case, we have quite a bit of it, almost 25%, mostly through Excalibur's side of the pedigree but also through the Bint el Bahreyn matriline. However, what made a powerful impression upon me, more so than the percentage of Egyptian blood, is the presence of significant paternal strings of influence within the pedigree, one after another. For example:

*Padron-Padrons Psyche-Magnum Psyche-WH Justice
Shaker El Masri-*El Shaklan-Sanadik El Shaklan
Bay-Abi-Bay-el-Bey-Bey Shah-Fame VF
Nazeer-Hadban Enzahi-Malik-Ibn Estasha
Gazal El Shaqab-Marwan El Shaqab
Ferzon-Gazon-Raffon
Nazeer-*Ansata Ibn Halima-Ansata Ibn Sudan
Nazeer-*Morafic-TheEgyptianPrince-Prince Fa Moniet-Ansata Sinan-Khidar
Skowronek-Raseyn-Ferseyn-Amerigo-Khemosabi

Which brings us to the contemporary paternal combination of stallions, that is, the father, son and grandson, whose significant wins we are celebrating: Shanghai EA, Excalibur EA and Alexxanderr. It's like this victory was genetically foretold within the pedigree of these particular horses.

Excalibur EA (Shanghai EA x Essence of Marwan EA) represents the multi-generational program known the world over as Equus Arabians, owned by Albert Sorroca of Spain, his breeder. The Equus Arabians breeding program, is unique in our world, because it is a longer term program (ver few e Istanbul now) and within the context of the paternal side of the pedigree of Alexxanderr, goes all the way back to Esta-Ghalil & Aica, approximately 6 generations. One of the elements in Excalibur's pedigree is the use of the mare, Elizja (Esta-Ghalil x Aica), the dam of Khidar. She is also the dam of Essence of Marwan EA, the dam of Excalibur EA. Almost 20% of Excalibur's pedigree carries the influence of Elizja. Excalibur EA is currently owned by Al Saqran Stud and leased to Akmal Stud, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

My favorite photo of the straight Egyptian stallion, Nazeer, is this one, because it accurately portrays the phenotype of a horse whose influence is still relevant in this modern world.

Nazeer (Mansour x Bint Samiha)

It makes every hair on my head stand on edge, when I view this photo against Alexxanderr, Excalibur and Shanghai. It's this type, paternally influenced and so carefully preserved from generation-to-generation, despite using a wide variety of bloodlines, which takes the Nazeer influence into the modern show ring and remains competitive on the world stage.

***********BREAKING NEWS**************

As I was writing this blog on Saturday morning, because of the time difference between Paris and America, the Championship class was held, which placed Alexxanderr as the Gold World Champion Stallion, while Excalibur EA was named the Silver World Champion! The stallion, HL El Ganador (HP Shakir-TE x Lonco Bay Maria) was named the Bronze World Champion. It's also interesting that the 4th place horse, Pireno, was also sired by Shanghai EA (x Pirana KA). In addition, the Excalibur EA son, D Shahhar (D Shihanah), bred and owned by the Dubai Arabian Horse Stud, was named the Bronze World Champion Junior Colt. Congratulations to everyone involved, as this is an exciting day for our breed!

***where would I be without my "window to the world" known by everyone as Arabian Essence TV? Many thanks to Arabian Essence team for their coverage of the 2022 World Arabian Horse Championships, held at Paris Parc des Exposition, Le Bourget, France.***

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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.

19 November, 2022

Something About Legacy

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