Irvinna Al Shiraa is a 2020 mare, sired by AJ Elaf (AJ Mardan x AJ Estrella) and out of Nesj El Miss Kanzi (Kenz Albidayer x Nesj El Khisaya). Her pedigree celebrates the efforts of many breeders, in pursuing an imaginary ideal that is both elusive but at the same time, inspiring. This is at the very heart of Arabian horse breeding and in the pursuit, we share common ground. We alĺ want the same things we see embodied in this extraordinary mare. If you study the pedigree, at first glance, you will notice the more obvious Egyptian bloodlines like Ansata Sinan, the sire of Khidar or the double dose of Ansata Shaamis, the sire of Shael Dream Desert, who appears twice on the paternal sire of the pedigree. There's also Anaza El Farid, the sire of Gazal Al Shaqab, who has impacted the world of Arabian horse breeding in a way no other horse has. However, if you look a little deeper, you will learn that this mare has a significant amount of Egyptian blood, as much as 40 lines; approximately 45% of her pedigree is genetically influenced by Egyptian horses. The majority of the Egyptian blood comes through the chestnut stallion Shaker El Masri, as the sire of *El Shaklan, as well as Aswan, through some of the Russian lines but if you go back far, approaching 10 generations, you will discover sources of older Egyptian blood like the Babson horses and even, Gulastra. The matriline was a big surprise, as it goes back through programs like Nesj Arabians to Om El Arab, to Gleannloch who imported Cleopatraa from the EAO, all the way back to Bint El Bahreyn.
When I received the email from The Arabian Horse Magazine early Thursday morning, I was overwhelmed with this mare's beauty, particularly her neck, which is lovely in the way it arches upwards towards her head, accentuating the length of poll and the very fine throatlatch. The underline of her neck is outrageous, one of the cleanest that I have seen in a long time. While the photo only shows the front of her body, her neck is well set and she appears to have a laid back shoulder. Her head is short and wide, with larger, black eyes, set low in the head. The prominence of bone and vein, particularly the larger size jowls, intensifies the dry look of the desert only matched by her fine skin, deeply pigmented, as evidenced by the grooming around her eyes and muzzle.
It seems that many people share common ground in their appreciation of this young mare, as she is highly decorated, named champion multiple times, both as a filly and now, as a mare. Again, to me, it proves that no matter which bloodline you have at home, we are all united through the beauty of the breed we love. That's the universal appeal of our breed and our duty as enthusiasts, to stand behind it and celebrate it, despite our differences because as you can see from the genetic makeup of Irvinna Al Shiraa, look at the mare that resulted from combining the differences in the pedigree!
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