A Tale of Marengo

Jacques-Louis David's painting of Napoleon I crossing the Alps, astride the horse most believe is Marengo

A few blogs ago, I mentioned the new Desert Heritage Magazine, Issue 68. Have you had the opportunity to read a little of the magazine yet? About 45 pages into the issue, you will find Giacomo Cappacci Arabians' multi-page stallion advertisement, which is called a "Studbook" in the ad. Somehow, Giacomo Capacci has managed to assemble a most impressive collection of straight Egyptian stallions, all representing the finest breeding programs throughout the middle east. My interest was captured by the very first stallion in the lineup,  Dhari Al Ward. He's by Hilal Al Nakeeb and out of Safeyyah Ezzain, a NK Nakeebya daughter by Ansata AlMurtajiz. NK Nakeebya, bred by Dr. Hans Nagel, was an extremely important mare, founding an influential family of Hadban-strain horses, within the Ezzain breeding program. In her matriline, she traces through Kamla to Bint Samiha, the dam of Nazeer. One-by-one, I looked at the rest of the stallions only to find more NK Nakeebya blood in the "Studbook", for example, Naseem Al Rashediah, a son of Al Adeed Al Shaqab out of another Ezzain-bred mare, Nabaweyah Ezzain, who like Safeyyah, is also a daughter of NK Nakeebya. Obay Al Masry is a son of a mare named Ablah Al Waab, who is a full sister to Safeyyah Ezzain as she is also by Ansata AlMurtajiz and out of NK Nakeebya. Kharafi Al Danat, whose paternal grandsire is Nooreddine Ezzain, is also by Ansata AlMurtajiz but out of NK Nada, whose dam, Nashua, is also the dam of NK Nakeebya. Then there's Hilal Al Waab, who is a son of the beloved mare, Sharuby HP by Sinan Al Rayyan. The maternal siblings Ezz Al Danat and Raziz Al Danat, share the influence of their maternal granddam, who is another Ezzain-bred mare, Farha Ezzain by Bolbol, out of Al Galyla. It wasn't until I reached the last stallion in the presentation, Salman Saqr, a 2020 grey stallion, that I would be receiving the biggest surprise of all.

Salman Saqr (Ansata Marengo x Sara Saqr) bred by Omar Sakr, now owned by Dr. Khaled Ayed Jassim Alenezi and managed by Giacomo Cappacci Arabians 

I couldn't shake the feeling of déjà vu when I saw the photo. Salman Saqr is a powerfully built horse with a massive front end, a well-set neck, with a clean underline and a very fine throatlatch. Did you notice his strong and level topline? In this particular photo, Salman Saqr reminds me of Nabiel, who is present in his pedigree via El Habiel, a maternal great-grandsire. However, he also carries 2 lines to Ansata Delilah, one in each matriline of his sire's pedigree. Her son, Ansata Imperial, was close-coupled, with a harmonious body comprised of 3 equal circles, his body mass generously captured within each circle, while his flea bitten coat intensified, in a powerfully dramatic way, his classic type. He was really something. As a specimen of the Arabian breed, I thought Ansata Imperial was perfect and here I am today, 40 years later, feeling the same way about Salman Saqr, as I once felt about Ansata Imperial. While I am surprised, I am unaware that the biggest surprise was yet to come.

The respected breed historian, breeder and fellow Arabian horse enthusiast, Joe Ferriss, published an interesting article about the grey Arabian stallion, Marengo, imported from Egypt as a mature horse of 6 years and ridden into many battles, including the one which gave him his name.  Wounded eight times, Marengo's bravery was legendary. He was alot of horse, packed into a smaller-size package. Always willing, he was a fiery but reliable and steady war horse. And when not on the battlefield, he was running long-distances, between the Spanish cities of Burgos and Valladolid. Eventually captured, Marengo made it to the United Kingdom, where he stood at stud, up until he died at age 38.  His skeleton, remains on display at the National Army Museum in London. I feel like there is a great responsibility for using the name, Marengo. I knew that Judith Forbis had wanted to name one of her horses, "Marengo" but she understood the full weight of the name and was waiting for just the right horse, who would be worthy of carrying  the name forward. 

A few years ago, while reading on Facebook, I stumbled upon a photo of an especially typey, creamy white stallion. At the time, I wasn't really sure who he was but he was lovely and I was overwhelmed by a few conformational attributes, like his powerfully muscled front end, including a broad chest, a laid back shoulder, the impressive muscling of his forearms, a well-sprung rib cage, a longer, nicely arched neck with a fine throatlatch, a strong back and prominent dinner plate jowls, bigger, fully black eyes and fully pigmented skin, he has everything that is important to me, and then some. Perhaps you saw the same photo?

Ansata Marengo (Ansata Hejazi x Ansata Samiha) bred by Judith Forbis & Mauri Chase, now owned by Omar Sakr

The surprise that I hinted about, earlier in this story is the horse in the photo, the sire of Salman Saqr. Ansata Marengo is sired by Ansata Hejazi and out of Ansata Samiha, a daughter of the chestnut beauty, Ansata Samantha. I did a little digging and  Ansata Marengo is the result of a partnership between Mauri Chase and Judith Forbis. Mauri Chase had always desired a daughter of Ansata Samantha and in 2004, her dreams were realized through Ansata Samiha. Three stallions resulted from this unique opportunity.  Ansata Maarengo, the full brother to Ansata Sheikh Halim, a stallion who stood at Chase Arabians before going to Bait Al Arab in Kuwait, while Ansata Marengo went to Omar Sakr in Egypt. And Salman Saqr, the catalyst in this tale, who led me back to find his sire, is now owned by Dr. Khaled Ayed Jassim Alenezi. Under Giacomo Capacci's effective leadership, Salman Saqr was the Gold Senior straight Egyptian Stallion champion at the Vesuvio show in June of 2024. In addition to his show ring wins, Salman Saqr is a proven sire, with a number of fillies to his credit, like Naeema Sakr, out of Nesma Sakr, by El Habiel. I hope we continue to hear about this young stallion, Salman Saqr, as he furthers the influence of his sire, Ansata Marengo, farther in the world community of Arabian horse breeding.