Once Upon a Time...

Left to right: Dalia, *Fawkia, AK Monareena & * Malekat El Gamal, photographed by the late Johnny Johnston

Someone recently posted this photo on a popular social media site. It has been a while since I last saw the photo and all of my wonderful Imperial memories flooded my mind. That's a good thing. The photo is a visual placeholder, not only for straight Egyptian breeding but also, for our combined breed history, as it captures a time that was, that will never be again. For me personally, it's also a strong visual reminder of an opportunity lost. I had met AK Monareena at Dr. Newcomer's farm and fell absolutely in love with the mare. For me, she was perfect. My immediate plan was to breed her to Serr Maariner, her maternal sibling. Unfortunately, that did not happen for me.  Thinking about this special time again, makes me happy but also, sad. Thirty years later, the thought of a double Maarena foal still haunts me. What is that feeling called? 

Happy memories, of precious time spent in the company of the beautiful mares pictured above but also, a reminder that these horses are no longer alive. And beyond that, there were other horses, equally beautiful, who are also gone. And people, whose voice I will never hear again. The world has really changed, like I have. And somehow, through all of this, I never became the breeder that I once believed I would be. 

"You drew memories in my mind

I could never erase

You painted colors in my heart

I could never replace."

    - Bethany A. Perry, Perry Poems: A Collection

What does it take to become a breeder of Arabian horses? Barbara Griffith once shared her Ten Commandments for breeding Arabian Horses, published as part of a special feature within Arabian Horse World magazine. The mares in the photo also remind me of how strongly Barbara felt about mare quality and her ability to cull, if a particular mare wasn't producing to her expectations. 

At the time that this photo was taken, Imperial Egyptian Stud had close to 40 mares, weaving together the bloodlines that Barbara cherished most: Moniet el Nefous, Nazeer, Halima and Sameh. Of the 4 mares pictured above, AK Monareena would be consigned to and sold at Bentwood's Blue Bonnet Sale, ending up with Dr. David Newcomer at Conestoga Run Farm in Pennsylvania. Her sons and daughters were also sold, like her Hossny daughter, Imperial Moniq, who became part of Count Federico Zichy-Thyssen's breeding herd and Imperial Monfisah, AK Monareena's daughter by Moniet el Nafis who went to Flaxman's Arabians. Only *Fawkia, *Malekat el Gamal and Dalia would remain at Imperial. From these mares, we enjoyed legendary stallions like Imperial Imdal and Al Adeed Al Shaqab. That's the longevity of the Imperial blood, hard at work, to create spectacular horses, embodying all of the characteristics that were important to Barbara. She was an amazing breeder of Arabian horses. 

I study the 2nd half of commandment number 7 as I think of AK Monareena a little more:

"Mares may not produce what you're looking for with your stallions but a buyer could cross them successfully with another stallion."

It's like an endorsement from a master breeder of what I desired to do. How did I miss it back then? What I wouldn't give to go back in time, for another chance to breed that once-in-a-lifetime foal.