Brieah

Brieah was a 1976 daughter of TheEgyptianPrince, out of Dark Moon, an El Hilal daughter. She was a United States National Top Ten mare, who was bred to a variety of stallions like *Bandos, *Muscat, Bey Shah, *Padron and *AN Malik. Out of the eight foals she produced in her lifetime; six went on to become show champions, including the United States Futurity Stallion Reserve Champion, Moudriey.

When I stumbled upon this Jerry Sparagowski photo, the fact that she is making direct eye contact with the camera, really captivated me. She is a pretty mare, possessing a uniquely Arabian breed expression. Her large and fully black eyes are well-set, on a short, wide head. Her facial crest bone is prominent, as are her jowls, like dinner plates. Her skin quality is fine and heavily pigmented. Her nostrils are extraordinary, large and delicately shaped, as you would expect from a  desert-type mare or rather, a drinker of the wind. This particular photo of Brieah was featured in an Arabian Horse World Egyptian feature, so naturally, I wanted to learn more about her. 

A study of her pedigree reveals that she is 75% Egyptian and of this number, half of that percentage is influenced by Nazeer, through his sons: *Morafic and *Ansata Ibn Halima and daughters: *Bint Mona and *Bint Nefisaa. 

The other 25% of the pedigree consists primarily of Crabbet blood (which complements the Crabbet elements that are present in SE breeding) via the horses imported by W.K. Kellogg and W.R. Brown; in addition to smaller percentages of Davenport and Spanish breeding. 

I found the Spanish component, Barakat (Fondak x Meca) as bred by the Marquis de Domecq, interesting. If you follow Brieah's matriline past Barakat, eventually you reach the mare, Zulima, an 1897 mare purchased by the Second Commission for the Cria Caballar, headed by Captain Luis Azpetitia de Moros in 1905. Zulima, along with 3 stallions, was purchased from the Royal Stables of the Ottoman Sultan, during the first 3 weeks of the trip. In the book translated and annotated by Andrew K. Steen, In Search of the Arabian Horse, the Captain writes of Zulima, 

"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. She does not have any defects or exterior illnesses." 

Brieah herself was bred to the Spanish stallion, *AN Malik and I find myself wishing that she had been bred more to Spanish horses, to expand this part of the pedigree.

I found it interesting that the name Brieah is most often associated with a personality that  radiates a dynamic level of energy. What a perfect name for this mare! Carl Raswan, within 2 articles he authored for Western Horseman magazine, mentions "the Muluq", horses which he described as enlightened or celestial beings. He mentions their "contemplative eyes" which reveal a psychic mind or better said, the ability to think and reason. When I saw the photo of Brieah, I was reminded of all that Carl Raswan wrote so long ago. Whether you choose to believe what Carl Raswan wrote or not, will remain your personal choice, however, in this one photo, she is very clearly engaged with Jerry Sparagowski, a brilliant photographer who has captured the most legendary and unforgettable horses of our breed on film. I am so grateful to him for this photo and the joy it has brought me today, after what has been, a most grueling week. Brieah's photo brings hope, on top of joy, that there will be better days, all for the love of an Arabian horse.