Ibn Rabdan

More than just a name in a pedigree, Shahloul's sire was a celebrated horse in his day. You see, Shahloul was a son of the 1917 chestnut stallion, Ibn Rabdan. In his day, Ibn Rabdan must have been one of those horses who exert an unforgettable impression on people. You know, the type of horse that comes into your life, turns everything upside down and you never really feel the same way about horses, after meeting him. You only know that you want to have more horses that only look like him. Period. Carl Raswan remarked that he was a "World Champion type". World Champion? Think of how we feel for beloved present day superstar horses like Equator, Al Ayal AA, Marwan Al Shaqab or WH Justice and you will start to understand the kind of esteem that people felt for Ibn Rabdan. Prince Mohamed Aly Tewfik admired the prepotency of this horse; who passed on his dark chestnut color and longer neck consistently onto the foals he sired, because he never really met a mare who was his genetic match. Ibn Rabdan was used in the studs of Prince Kemal al-Dine, Prince Mohamed Aly Tewfik, the RAS and Inshass. He was the most important stallion, in Egypt, of his day.

*Ansata Bint Sameh

*Ansata Bint Sameh (Sameh x Futna) had a strong body, with much substance. You can feel her power just by looking at her. The ratio of the length of her forearms versus the length of her cannons is fantastic. As a Farida granddaughter, you will notice the strong and smooth topline plus, the connection of her hip, croup and loin is deep and powerful. And, as a Sameh daughter, *Ansata Bint Sameh has many of the attributes of this fine stallion, like her well-muscled hind end, including her gaskin and hock, which allowed this mare to reach farther underneath her, using the muscling in her back, sparing the wear and tear on her joints. You can just imagine the powerful drive that she had behind, when trotting at liberty. *Ansata Bint Sameh was the dam of 3 foals before she died: Ansata El Wazir, Ansata Jezebel and Ansata Jamila and it is through these horses that we enjoy the great legacy that her pedigree promised she would establish.

Moniet Ezzain

Moniet Ezzain, a daughter of NK Momtaza by Salaa el Dine, secures the place of reverence that we have for NK Momtaza, as one of the most influential mares in the Ezzain breeding program. She has produced three daughters for the breeding program, the full sisters, Nasseyrah Ezzain and Omneyah Ezzain, both sired by Nooreddine Ezzain and the up-and-coming filly, Najeiah Ezzain by NK Qaswarah. Her daughters, Nasseyrah and Omneyah are spreading the influence of the Momtaza family further into the future with their progeny. Nasseyrah has produced two daughters, the most beautiful Mardeiah by Aneesilnefous and Hhawra by Yaasoob. It is important to say that Mardeiah is a pure-in-the-strain Saqlawiyah, as both her sire and dam trace to Momtaza in the tail female line. Omneyah produced  a spectacular filly named Amaani Ezzain by NK Qaswarah. This beautiful mare, Moniet Ezzain, physically embodies the very essence that defines Saqlawi type in the authentic Arabian horse.

*Omayma

*Omayma was a 1964 EAO mare sired by Sameh and out of Nazeera (Nazeer x Malaka). *Omayma was imported to America but eventually was purchased and exported to Australia, where she was named an Australian National Champion Mare. She produced some very nice daughters, for example, her 1974 Mohssen daughter, Bint Omayma, who in turn, propelled the influence of this family forward into the future, through daughters who matured into influential broodmares like Bint Bint Omayma, Kaleel, *Essens Lillith, Flaby Bint Sharaf, Wanisa and The Essens Lady White. *Omayma shared common ground with her paternal sisters, as these Sameh-sired daughters were consistently, powerful-moving horses. Their very elastic hocks gave them the ability to get up under themselves, fully engaging their backs and driving their bodies forward. They did this with so much style, with tails curled over their backs and nostrils fully dilated and always, a very deep and powerful snort, as if they were pulling great amounts of air from way, way, way down in their hooves but then, I can't think of a better way to grab the attention of an admirer, can you?

Ferial

Ferial (Anter x El Ameera)

The 1961 mare, Ferial, was an Anter daughter out of the Zaafarana (Balance x Samira) daughter, El Ameera, by Nazeer. This photo, published in Arabian Horse World Magazine, which is not a very good photo of her and did not accurately portray her as she appeared in real life, especially when she was freely moving, full of Arabian horse presence with her nostrils dilated, eyes opened wide and tail held high. Instead, the photo (which is only a captured moment in time) generated unfair criticism, even though she outproduced herself many times over! Ferial's photo reminds me of a story I recently read about a young woman, who was asked to go on a dinner date with a young man she had not met before. She got all dressed up, went to the restaurant to meet him and waited and waited and waited for her date to arrive. Finally, she decides to leave, figuring that her date saw her from a distance, thought she was ugly and and left.  Not only was she disappointed; she did not have a good self-image of herself. On her way out, she overheard a little boy ask his mother if she were a princess! That little boy changed her life and saved her from a night of self-hate! I have always believed that a great mare is one who produces offspring that are consistently equal to or better than her level of quality, which by-the-way, is the case with this chestnut colored mare! She really was a princess, an elite mare, a dam of distinction, as she was an extremely prolific broodmare for the Albadeia breeding program. You know what I found really interesting about her? In her breeding career, she produced an overwhelming amount of fillies - over 70% and yet, the way in which Ferial remains relevant in the modern-day American SE gene pool is primarily through the male gender! One of her daughters, a gorgeous grey mare named *Haniya, sired by the *Morafic son, Kayed, was imported to America by Les & Lois St. Clair. *Haniya was bred to *Ibn Moniet El Nefous, Shaikh Al Badi and *El Mareekh, however, when bred to the *Ansata Ibn Halima son, Halimm, *Haniya produced the mare, Jaliya, who would take the influence of Ferial farther than anyone ever imagined, for Jaliya is the dam of The Elixir, who sired the extremely influential sire for Arabians LTD, Alixir, who is now owned by Al Jood Stud in Qatar. Alixir is the sire of many wonderful horses at Arabians LTD, including one of the most visually striking stallions of our day, Bellagio RCA, a Prince among horses.

Bellagio RCA

*Soheir II

*Soheir II (Fagir x Tifla) was bred by Sayed Marei of Al Badeia Stud in Egypt and was purchased and imported to America by Gleannloch Farm. Her dam,Tifla, is a Nazeer daughter and a maternal granddaughter of Zareefa. The story of Zareefa very powerfully illustrates the rich and vibrant desert heritage of our foundation Egyptian horses. Cynthia Culbertson once said, “What we can say about the Straight Egyptian Arabian, very reliably, is that they are so close to that desert source, the only way one could get closer is with a desert bred that stayed in the homeland.” Almost half of Zareefa's ancestral elements are desert-bred horses, bred by different tribes of Bedouin people. While this is not the platform to study *Soheir's entire production record; we can highlight some of her brightest progeny. For Gleannloch Farm, *Soheir II produced the charismatic mare, Hebet Allah by *Morafic. Not only was this mare physically captivating, she was an extraordinary broodmare, producing World Champion Hadidi. For Imperial Egyptian Stud, *Soheir II produced the mare, Imperial Al Ahbab by Amaal, who in turn produced the champion racehorse and sire, ZT Ali Baba. By Amaal, *Soheir II produced AK Amheir, who produced a beautiful chestnut mare by Nabiel named RA Aneesa. Bred to *Ibn Moniet El Nefous, *Soheir II produced AK Mahlaha, who produced the stallion, Donatello KA by Mahknificent KA. Therefore, one can say confidently that the greatest influence exerted by *Soheir II, would be felt through her daughters and the vibrant family of horses who trace back to her.

Mah Deluque

Mahrouf (Fabah x Aaroufa)

Mah Deluque, a 1982 grey stallion, was sired by the chestnut-colored Fabah son, Mahrouf. In 1981, with Carolyn Gardner in the saddle, Mahrouf, then a 10-year old stallion, was Region 11's Champion Park Horse, in addition to his Class A Championships in Formal Combination and Formal Driving. In that time period, John Vogel, a Cal Poly graduate, had been employed by the Babson Farm as a trainer, showing the Babson horses in halter, while Carolyn Gardner was showing the Babson horses in performance. His son, Mah Deluque, would grow to become a special favorite of John Vogel. In 1982, the year in which Mah Deluque was foaled, the Babson Farm stood "the mighty four": Mahrouf, Ibn Fa-Serr (Fa Serr x Fa Deene), Amir Ibn FaSerr (Ibn Fa Serr x Serr Beth) and Serr Rou (Ibn Fa-Serr x Bahrou). Mah Deluque's dam, Bah Habba, was a paternal sister to Mahrouf, as both horses were sired by Fabah. Bah Habba was a solid, powerfully-built mare with long forearms and short cannon bones. Her shoulder was heavily-muscled and set at a comfortable angle and her neck was remarkably different from other Babson mares of her day; not short in length and proportionately balanced to the rest of her strong body. It is important to highlight these points, to show you, the reader, where Mah Deluque inherited his "look", as Mah Deluque physically, was very different from the stereotypical image that most people have of the  Babson horse. The majority of Mah Deluque's pedigree traces to the Dahmah Shahwaniyah mare, *Bint Bint Sabbah (about 3/4 of his pedigree) and his phenotype confirmed her significant influence upon him.

Mah Deluque (Mahrouf x Bah Habba)

To me, Mah Deluque embodied a look more like that of an "old school" (pre-Prince Fa Moniet) Ansata horse, rather than the straight Babson Egyptian horse he was. I often wonder (my big what if) what if Mah Deluque had been bred to select Ansata-bred mares? His pedigree, from strictly a paper perspective, was so complementary to the Nazeer horses who carry multiple sources of Mansour blood, because of Mah Deluque's many crosses to Ibn Rabdan. If anything, it would be the chance to concentrate the RAS foundation (pre-EAO) bloodlines as represented in the Babson Farm program, with the newer blood which resulted from the breeding practices instituted by General Pettko Von Szandtner of the EAO. While this chance may no longer exist with Mah Deluque, he did sire progeny, who can carry his influence into the future:

• 1987: Fay Abba (out of the Mahrouf daughter, Bint Serr Abba)
• 1989: Mah Serretta (gelding, out of Fa Serretta)
• 1989: Mahlisa (out of Serr Rous Amira)
• 1989: Ser Mah Habba (out of Mah Habba)
• 1989: Mah Nefous (out of Fa Hanah)
• 1990: Mahquee (gelding, out of Fa Bah Roufa, who is out of Bah Roufa, a Fabah daughter)
• 1991: Almoraima Sarita (out of LCA Bint Serabah, who contributes two more lines to Fabah)
• 1991: Delabba (full sister to Fay Abba and Mahroufs Hafid, out of Bint Serr Abba)
• 1992: Mahrouf's Hafid (out of the Mahrouf daughter, Bint Serr Abba) shown through Second Level, Georgia Dressage and Combined Training Association
• 1997: Mah Bint Roulena (out of Bint Roulena)
• 1997: Bint Regal Heir (out of Amirs Regal Heir by Amir Ibn Faserr)
• 1997: Serr Lena (gelding, out of El Bint Roulena)
• 1997: BintBint Serrabba (out of Bint Serr Abba)
• 2002: EF Salome (out of the Ra'adin Inshalla daughter, Shalimar Bedu)

Diana Johnson, a longtime breeder of Babson Arabians, remembered the following about Mah Deluque:

"...Mah Deluque is a strong moving stallion with a lofty trot. Mah Deluque's full brother, Mah Hab (represented in our herd by Bint Roulett), shared this eye-catching action."

Mah Deluque (Mahrouf x Bah Habba)

I met Mah Deluque, near the end of his life, after he had been purchased at the Babson Farm dispersal by Margaret Albertine of Belleville, NJ in 1999. He was no longer the striking dappled grey horse that I remembered from his advertisement in Arabian Horse World and the horse was limited in his movement, due to a hock injury he received in California. He had matured into a sparkling white vision, who was dry and elegant, as we know senior-aged horses to be. He really was a wonderful, sweet horse who had the most indescribable air about him. Standing approximately 15 hands, he was a harmonious individual; smooth of body and well-balanced. He was not short and chunky like a pony, possessing a bit of length about his body to give him scope, including a proportionately elegant neck which was neither thick or heavy in the throatlatch, like the kind of neck you would expect to see on a draft horse. While I delighted in his presence and the opportunity to bask in his shadow; there was just something about him that made me catch my breath. I knew that I was in the presence of a very special horse. It was like the feeling that you get when you are in the holiest of places and yet, I kept reminding myself that I was only standing in a stall, looking at a horse. How can a horse manifest this feeling in a person? Maybe, Mah Deluque helped me to understand that we are all connected, through life, whether human, horse or vegetable. Maybe, horses like Mah Deluque grab our attention and remind us of how precious and sacred life is and how hard we have to work, to fight the influences of this world, which trick us into believing that life is not the great miracle we believe it to be. Maybe, I was at a point in my life where I needed to be reminded of these things. Maybe, I was at a point in my life where I needed Mah Deluque.

"I can personally attest to how much horses can improve one's basic qualities...they taught me, sometimes painfully, to be kinder and more tolerant...they increased my awareness, my perceptivity and my compassion."-by Robert Miller, from his book: Understanding the Ancient Secrets of the Horse's Mind

While this blog is written to celebrate the life of this great horse and help to perpetuate his memory into the future; I can't help but feel sad over his ending, while I stood by and watched it all unfold. He lived his last days, unrecognized, on a Standardbred Race Horse farm in central New Jersey, while his owner waged a courageous fight with cancer, which sadly, she lost. Margaret Albertine and I shared common ground through our love for the straight Babson Egyptian horse and also, through John and Betty Fippen, having purchased horses from them. I wish so much that I had pursued (more actively) the purchase of Mah Deluque and lovingly cared for him in his mature years. Who would have thought, back in the early 80's that Mah Deluque would one day live in New Jersey and that I would be so unprepared for his arrival...if only.

EnJoy,
Ralph