My Cowboy's Getting Old

Ekstern, now 27 years old, with Lucjan Kulczynski, as photographed by Karolina Misztal

I think I found the most recent photos of Ekstern on the Michalow Facebook page. Today, the photos have been shared and reposted several hundred times, on a variety of different pages, each post resplendent in an amazing collection of emojis.  Ekstern possesses an amazing amount of charisma, enchanting Arabian horse lovers all over the world!  

In 1965, Frank Sinatra released the album titled, The September of My Years. At the time, Sinatra, about to turn 50, was at the height of popularity and this album, reflective in nature, explores the inner dialogue a man has, as he enters middle age. There is a song in the album, Last Night When We Were Young, and within the middle of the song, the lyrics say:

"Today the world is old 

You flew away and time grew cold 

Where is that star 

That seemed so bright?"

I couldn't stop thinking of this song as I looked at the photos that Karolina Misztal had taken. I was happy to see Ekstern but at the same time, I was sad because the photos do not lie, in the same way that  I do, in order to gain a few years here and there, despite the graying hair, wrinkles and saggy skin. I'm old and no number will change that fact. Ugh. The new Ekstern photos are very real and  present the reality of where we are in this moment. Ekstern has aged, just as I have aged and many others have aged. I mean, Ekstern looks great for 27 years and he is still the charismatic Arabian dream horse but he is not the horse that trots and prances in the Horsefly video that I love so much. That's the horse that I want to see, in the same way that I want to see the man on the other side of the glass that I used to know.  It took a very long time to be able to look at the photos without tears welling up in my eyes. I want Ekstern to live forever, like the family in that book I read once, Tuck Everlasting. 

Ekstern, now 27 years old, with Lucjan Kulczynski, as photographed by Karolina Misztal

In my opinion, Ekstern is one of those rare Arabian horses who appeal to a variety of people, regardless of bloodline. He is beautiful and for many people, the type of horse who immediately comes to mind, when you think, "Arabian".  As a show horse, Ekstern exuded charisma, winning the love of the audience, wherever he was shown. He was the Polish National Junior Champion in 1995, Polish National Senior Champion, All Nations Cup Champion and World Champion, all in 2000. Ekstern possesses unbelievable breed type, in a most harmonious way. He is close-coupled with a strong and smooth top line. He is well muscled, with a circular body that delivers the power for his electrifying movement. His head is short and wide, dry and elegant with the biggest, blackest eyes I have seen in a very long time, also with a inner sparkle that hints of an abundant joy that resides deep within this horse. He has great tail carriage, very fine, black pigmented skin, elastic nostrils that maintain a beautiful shape when fully dilated and short, tippy ears. He is a most photogenic horse but to capture the full essence of Ekstern, one must see him at liberty, where his physical beauty, his brilliant movement and engaging personality all come together in a most overwhelming way.

Despite a very pronounced Saklawi phenotype, in sire line, he is Kuhaylan, tracing from Monogramm-to-Bask-to-Witraz-to-Ofir, the Kuhailan Haifi son taken from Poland as a six year old. In tail female line, Ekstern traces through his dam, Ernestyna (Piechur x Erwina) to the *Naborr daughter, Estebna and from her, all the way back to Milordka, bred by the Sanguszko family of Slawuta Stud and foundress of Polish female family number 5. As Monogramm restored the *Bask line for Poland, *Naborr did the same for the Ibrahim sire line and it is especially touching to find both of these horses together, in what I feel is a unified Polish pedigree (pre-war & post-war). It is also interesting to consider that Dr. Edward Skorkowski, who strongly believed in maintaining a balanced breeding program to insure the survival of distinct strain types, considered Milordka a Saklawi strain mare, because she strongly embodied the characteristics of the strain. No surprise that her descendant, Ekstern, would also embody strong Saklawi type, as she did. 

Ekstern, now 27 years old, with Lucjan Kulczynski, as photographed by Karolina Misztal

As a sire, Ekstern has proven to be exceptional, with a record number of excellent daughters produced. Ekstern, in my opinion, despite siring Esparto, is one of the great broodmare sires, that is, a smaller number of genetically unique stallions, who only come once in a while and establish their influence through their daughters. Again, in my opinion, it is through the maternal side of the pedigree, where Ekstern will continue to exert his influence, long after he is gone from this earth. His daughters are unmistakably like him in phenotype, movement and spirit, with that "look-at-me" attitude. In 2016, the Ekstern daughter, Pepita, a very beautiful fleabitten mare, was sold at auction for $1.4 million Euros, a record price, at a time when horses are not selling easily. Other daughters that come to mind are Wilga, Palanga, El Emeera, Wieza Roz, El Ghazala, Laranda and Cenoza. It is almost impossible to capture all of his get within the limited amount of space in a blog. However, with that said, mention must also be made of his daughter, Ekliptyka, who produced the very exciting Champion stallion Equator (by QR Marc), an extremely popular horse who has dominated the show ring globally, through winning the affection of  many people all over the world, including myself.

***I've gotten more than a few emails about the title of this blog and I felt the need to clarify. My Cowboy's getting old is the title of a Tanya Tucker song. It's one of my favorite songs, as she shares the moment when she realized that her father was aging. My Dad, who is no longer alive, was my hero. He was larger-than-life and there was nothing that my Dad couldn't do, fix or make better. Seeing your Dad in a different way than that, can turn your world upside down. Same thing with Ekstern. In my mind, he will always be the perfect horse, the horse that I would wish for and the "Superman" of all horses. To come to the realization that he doesn't possess super powers to protect him and well, aging can affect him too, as it affects all of us; rips me apart inside because I know that the day is coming, when he will no longer be in this world. I apologize if you were offended, because you did not understand the meaning.***

American Gazelle - The Story of *Ghazalahh

*Ghazalahh (Mashhour x Bint Farida) with Rhita McNair

Ghazala, as she was known in Egypt, was a 1951 grey mare, bred by the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS). She was sired by Mashhour (Shahloul x Bint Rustem) and out of Bint Farida (Mansour x Farida). In tail female line, she traced to the Ali Pasha Sherif-bred mare, El Dahma. By virtue of the tail female lines of the eight horses in the third generation of her pedigree (great grand sires and dams), Ghazala is equal parts Hadbah, Saqlawiyah, Kuhaylah (Rodaniyah and Mimrihiyah) and of course, Dahmah. If we believe, as the Bedouin believed, that the maternal line imparts the most influence upon the foal, then her maternal granddam, Farida (Saklawi II x Nadra el Saghira), a pure-in-the strain Dahmah Shawaniyah, tracing to El Dahma in the tail female line of both, her sire and dam, exerts the most influence upon *Ghazalahh. In everything that has been said about *Ghazalahh, we know that everyone agrees that as an individual, she was a classic representation of all the attributes that we recognize as part of "Dahman type".

*Ghazalahh (Mashhour x Bint Farida) 

Ghazala was purchased by Douglas Marshall of Gleannloch Farms in Texas and imported to America when she was 14 years old. By the time of her purchase, she had produced 2 foals: *Bint Ghazalahh by Sid Abouhom in 1959 and Inas by *Morafic in 1961. When she was registered in America, Gleannloch added two more letters to the end of her name (h) and the "Egyptian Gazelle" became an American citizen, forever to be known as *Ghazalahh. Regardless, of the "h", the name "Ghazala" means "gazelle". However, in America, we are more familiar with white-tailed deer than gazelle, so, the next time that you are driving and see a deer alongside of the road, think of *Ghazalahh, who possessed as much grace and elegance, as nature has endowed the deer, the natural inhabitants  of the continually-growing American suburban landscape.

Judith Forbis had seen *Ghazalahh in Egypt, in the years prior to *Ghazalahh's importation by Gleannloch Farm. Judi appreciated the bloodline of Farida, as she felt that Farida and her progeny represented the classic, old world type made famous by the horses of the Dahman Shahwan strain. Judi was impressed by *Ghazalahh as an individual, calling her "exquisite" and "superb" but perhaps the most significant appraisal concerning *Ghazalahh's quality was best said within an early 1960's article, "typical Abbas Pasha type in our time."

*Ghazalahh (Mashhour x Bint Farida)  with Tom McNair

In the herd book that he kept, General Tibor von Pettko-Szandtner wrote that *Ghazalahh was "noble", that she possessed "large, lively eyes" and had "excellent movement". In looking at the conformation photo taken of her at Gleannloch, one can see many of the qualities that I feel, are inherent to the Farida line horses, for example, a silhouette comprised of circular lines, an arched neck that is in proportion to the rest of her body and well-set with a nice underline, laid back shoulders, pronounced withers, deep heart girth, strong and smooth topline, including a wide back, good loins, croup and deeper hips. She was not extreme in any of her features, yet she was dry and elegant, a timeless representative of the classic, desert horse.

*Ghazalahh (Mashhour x Bint Farida)
 

In an article written by Dr. Erwin A. Piduch and published by Arabian Horse World in the May 1984 issue, Douglas Marshall was quoted as saying of *Ghazalahh, "She was indubitably the most beautiful mare in Egypt, and perhaps, the world. She was rather old, not in foal and not expected to become pregnant. We imported her to preserve her and her exceptional beauty regardless, because she would continue to provide our eyes with the ultimate to strive for in our breeding program. We regret that she could have no more foals, but our purpose was fulfilled. We are grateful that she lived a very happy, long life with us and furnished an inspiration to continue to breed her type."

As beautiful as she was, her influence was limited to only the two foals that she produced in Egypt. There were no other progeny. Her daughter by Sid Abouhom, *Bint Ghazalahh, was sold to Albadeia in 1963 and subsequently sold by Albadeia to the American breeder, Martin Loeber of Plum Grove Farm in Palatine, Illinois. She was in foal to *Ramses Fayek and produced a daughter, *Ramses Nefer Tari. The following year, *Bint Ghazalahh produced Ramses Ghazalahh, also by *Ramses Fayek.  Both mares were prolific broodmares within the Plum Grove breeding program and their progeny have bred on, in the hands of other breeders. *Bint Ghazalahh was sold by Plum Grove Farm to Les and Lois St Clair, who bred her to *Tuhotmos, producing a daughter named Ghazalaa Tu. Both mother and daughter were sold by the St Clairs to Bentwood Farm, who owned the pair for only a short time, selling both to Gibson Arabian Stud in California. It is interesting to note that in 1981, Lisa Lacey visited The Babolna State Stud and selected Ibn Galal I-16, a daughter of Bint Inas (her dam was a maternal sister to *Bint Ghazalahh). Her granddaughter, the 1995 mare, HMT Sylvanna, was bred to Al Lahab and produced in 2006, the very popular stallion, Jadoube DMF, bred by Dara Meadows Farm in Virginia. Ghazalaa Tu was bred to *Ibn Moniet el Nefous and produced the mare, GA Monite Monet. She and her dam were bred to the Gibson Arabian Stud's stallions, Glorieta AliSudan (Ansata Ibn Sudan x Ansata Sabiha) and Imperial Imperor (Ansata Imperial x Imperial Mistry), producing several sons and daughters, who have bred on.

It is hard to believe that approximately twenty years ago, I met Ghazalaa Tu, who was with Caryn and Mark Rogosky of Windkist Manor in Pennsylvania. Caryn had bred her to El Mon Moniet, a double *Tuhotmos stallion (and son of the Anter x Abla daughter, *Ein), to produce WK Elsaria Moniet, triple *Tuhotmos and a 1992 grey mare. I was fortunate to also meet her daughter by Halim el Mansour, WK Jazelle DeMaar (whom I absolutely loved and was so talented that she could/would do anything) and a son, also by Halim el Mansour, WK HalimElShahloul, who was later gelded and became someone's dear friend and riding partner. I wonder, if at the time, I really realized the significance of meeting these horses and appreciated their connection to *Ghazalahh? I think back to moments like this and well, they remain cherished moments but how did I get so lucky to have crossed paths with such horses?

*Ghazalahh's daughter Inas, remained in Egypt and bred to Sameh, she produced the stallion, Osman in 1965, followed by Aseel in 1967. In 1968, Inas produced a filly by Gassir, Bint Inas, who was sold to Dr. Hans Nagel and became part of the new Egyptian breeding program instituted at The Babolna State Stud. Aseel became an important stallion for the EAO breeding program and his son, *El Mareekh, was purchased and imported by Les and Lois St Clair who had owned *Bint Ghazalahh at one time. Perhaps *Ghazalahh was the motivation behind their purchase of *El Mareekh? Inas developed fertility problems, after producing Bint Inas and the influence of *Ghazalahh, from the maternal side of the pedigree, was forever lost to Egypt. It is only through Aseel that *Ghazalahh's influence is felt at the EAO.

Bint Inas produced well for The Babolna Stud, bred to stallions like Ibn Galal (Galal x Mohga), Ibn Galal I (Ibn Galal x Hanan), Ansata Halim Shah (*Ansata Ibn Halima x Ansata Rosetta) and Ghalion (*Morafic x Lubna). While very few daughters remained at Babolna, most of her progeny was sold abroad and eventually, the line through Bint Inas to Ghazalahh, in straight Egyptian tail female line form, was lost to Babolna, just as in Egypt. However, it is through the progeny of the Bint Inas daughters, i.e., Ibn Galal-19 (who interestingly, is known as "Isis" having been renamed by her owner, Gustl Eutermoser), Ibn Galal I-16 and 2 Ghalion, that Bint Inas can be found in tail female line, all over the world.

*Ghazalahh (Mashhour x Bint Farida) 

*Ghazalahh died in 1982, at the age of 31. At the time, the reproductive legacy of *Ghazalahh may have looked limited or even, grim, however, the good news is that the family has prospered, mainly through the progeny of the Ramses mares: Nefer Tari and Ghazalahh, the *Tuhotmos daughter, Ghazalaa Tu, the EAO stallion Aseel and all of the Bint Inas daughters, as bred by The Babolna Stud, furthering the legacy of a most beloved mare. As Douglas Marshall said so long ago, what legacy can be greater than the joy *Ghazalahh instills in the hearts of man? And so with gratefulness in our hearts, we remember this grand old mare today, the masterpiece we once knew as the American Gazelle.

***This blog was originally published in September of 2020.*** 

The Beauty of an Angel

*Malekat El Gamal with her Moniet el Nafis sired colt, Imperial Amir Nafis

*Malekat El Gamal, a 1968 grey mare, was imported by Imperial Egyptian Stud. She was bred by Sayed Marei of AlBadeia Stud in Egypt and was sired by the Nazeer son, Waseem and out of the Nazeer daughter, Nagdia. Yes, Waseem and Nagdia were paternal siblings who when bred together, resulted in a most extraordinary mare, who by virtue of her sire and dam, was also 50% Nazeer, the same percentage one would assign to her if Nazeer were her sire but he wasn't, he was her grandsire, no matter which side of the pedigree you are looking at. No matter how old I get, the 50% gets me every time. Malekat's dam, Nagdia, was a pure-in-the strain Hadbah Enzahiyah, the result of a Bint Samiha son (Nazeer) bred to a Bint Samiha grandaughter (Zahia). Combined with Waseem, *Malekat El Gamal is triple Bint Samiha (Kazmeen x Samiha), approx. 31.25% of her genetic influence comes from this mare. What I also found interesting is in her tail female line. Her dam, Zahia, is out of Samha, a Bint Samiha daughter, sired by Baiyad (Mabrouk Manial  x Bint Gamila). Samha was a maternal sibling of Nazeer but what I found so interesting is that Samha,  like her great-grandaughter, Nagdia, is pure-in-the-strain Hadbah Enzahiyah. That's two pure-in-the-strain combinations in the first few generations of *Malekat El Gamal's pedigree.  While our breed tradition is to assign the strain by dam line (last line in the pedigree), which in this case, as we have pointed out is a super concentrated source of the Hadbah Enzahiyah strain, a quick comparison/contrast of her pedigree confirms that the majority strain influence was Hadbah, 40%. However, *Malekat El Gamal was also 25% Kuhaylah Mimriah, thanks to the two Mansour crosses (Nazeer's sire)  and equal parts (12.5%) Kuhaylah Rodaniyah, Saqlawiyah and Dahmah. If I were to add the Kuhaylan sources through Mansour and Malaka, the Kuhaylan percentage grows, to rival the percentage of Hadban strain influence. I was fortunate to meet *Malekat El Gamal several times. I loved the mare, as evidenced by the many blogs that I have been inspired to write about her, even a poem. She was traditional in her look, that is, of a Bedouin-bred horse or, an old world horse, maybe I would stop short of saying the word "baroque". *Malekat's body was compact, comprised of circular lines. Carl Raswan called horses like *Malekat El Gamal 3-circle horses, meaning their bodies could be divided equally into 3 circles: from the point of chest to the wither, from the wither to the hip and from the hip to the point of buttock. *Malekat El Gamal, in her physical appearance, did not embody Hadbah type, she was, in my opinion, a Kuhaylah.

Her body mass or rather, her substance, which she possessed in abundance, gave her a somewhat masculine appearance. She was broad of chest and equally wide in her haunches. No matter where I stood, whether by her head or  with my arm draped over her hindquarters, she was wide, deep and powerfully muscled.  And yet, for as powerfully built as she was, she was so beautiful, especially in the details of breed type. What I wouldn't give to be able to stand next to her once more, lost in the wonder of her angelic, black eyes.

The Pearl

Ansata Nile Pearl (Ansata Hejazi x Ansata White Nile)

The cross of Ansata Hejazi and Ansata White Nile not only produced the unforgettable stallion, Ansata Nile Echo; the cross also yielded one of the most beautiful mares of our time, Ansata Nile Pearl. I remember an Arabian Horse World magazine article Mr. Bart Van Buggenhout (then manager of Al Rayyan in Qatar), sharing his impression of the straight Egyptian breeding programs established in Kuwait. Within the article, Bart mentioned the breeding nick that he felt existed between Ansata Hejazi (Ansata Halim Shah x Ansata Sudarra) and the mare, Ansata White Nile (Prince Fa Moniet x Ansata Nile Gift). While Ansata Nile Echo, aka "Mr. Trot", generated the buzz for this cross, we can't forget that the cross also yielded the stallion Shahm ElKuwait in 2002 and the mares, Wafaa ElKuwait in 1998 and Wardah ElKuwait in 2002, in addition to Ansata Nile Pearl in 1997. In Dr. Hans Joachim Nagel's significant book, The Arabian Horse: Nature's Creation and The Art of Breeding, he discusses the concept of "nickability", that is, "when a certain sire and a certain mare always produce perfectly nice foals." However, Dr. Nagel also shared, "two sirelines could work perfectly together in one way or the other; they could work when both ways a nickability effect occurs when breeding sire and dam's sire together. This system is confirmed as working well when a good foal is the offspring of a certain stallion and mare which is the daughter of another specific stallion. When both stallions complement each other, then they nick perfectly together. It is an art which takes effort and careful testing to discover such a satisfactory combination of sires." 

 

Intrigued by what I  had read and now understood, I asked Judith Forbis for her opinion on the cross and she replied, "The combination of Ansata Hejazi and Prince Fa Moniet in particular goes back in history to the horses of the 1932 importations and leads up to their combination with the later imports from the 50's on. It was a 'nick' and I am always grateful to those 'Divine Appointments' along the way. And of course one must remember - patience is a virtue." 

“Pearls don’t lie on the seashore, if you want one, you must dive for it.” Chinese Proverb

Sometimes, when I have more questions than answers, a study of the pedigree is very helpful to understand a particular horse's genetic heritage better. In the case of combining Ansata Hejazi with Ansata White Nile, the "adhesive" that holds both horses together is Moniet el Nefous, primarily through her Sid Abouhom daughter, Mabrouka. You may scoff at the 14.0625% that Moniet exerts, however, remember, we are talking about a mare foaled in 1946 and the closest we find her within the pedigree is the fifth generation. More often than not, her genetic influence can be out as far as the seventh generation. She appears in the pedigree 11 times! It's interesting that more of the Moniet el Nefous influence is represented through the cross of Nazeer with Mabrouka, however, we find one line through Mabrouka's full sister, Mouna and another line through *Ibn Moniet el Nefous, which helps a little to diversify the sources of Moniet el Nefous.  What I found really interesting is the presence of *Ansata Ibn Halima (25%), especially, in combination with Moniet el Nefous, through his son, Ansata Ibn Sudan. He is a maternal great-grandsire of Ansata Hejazi AND the maternal grandsire of Ansata White Nile. While the Babson horses represent only a small part of the pedigree (2 lines), the common ground in the Babson lines is *Fadl (2.34125%) and if you include the percentage for his full sister, *Maaroufa, that coefficent increases to almost 4%!  In my opinion, the Babson horses are outcrosses, as are Sameh (El Moez x Sameera) and Maysouna (Kheir x Shams) within a pedigree, the majority of which, is focused on Moniet el Nefous. 

Haifa Al Khalediah (F Shamaal x Ansata Nile Pearl)

Sadly, Ansata Nile Pearl died in 2014 but her legacy lives on through her progeny, for example, Haifa Al Khalediah, a 2007 daughter, sired by F Shamaal (Maysoun x Sarameena). You will remember her from a previous blog I wrote, when she competed at the  2019 World Championships. She is owned by HRH Prince Abdulmajeed Bin Sultan Bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Akmal Stud, Saudi Arabia. It's interesting that through Sarameena, more Moniet el Nefous blood was added, as both her sire (FA Ibn Sar) and dam (Flabys Joffa) were both sired by Sar Ibn Moniet (*Ibn Moniet el Nefous x Sariella). While the majority of Moniet el Nefous blood comes by way of Mabrouka, Sariella introduces the bloodline through the mare, *Bint Moniet el Nefous, while doubling up on *Ibn Moniet el Nefous. We also find an additional line to Mouna, which comes by way of  Kis Mahiba. It's a bold pedigree, resulting in a mare who is extraordinary in her beauty, as deeply influenced as she is,  by Moniet el Nefous. And yet, one bold move deserves another. If she were my horse, do you know what I would do? I would breed her to Ansata Nile Echo. Yes, that is what I would do, to reinforce the magic that Judi alluded to that resides deep within the combination of Ansata Hejazi and Prince Fa Moniet.

***This blog is lovingly dedicated to the memory of Irina Filsinger, a beloved equine photographer, who died on April 28, 2016. She is deeply missed.***

The Fragile Nature of Purity

The air was soft and warm, as a summer breeze softened the strong rays of the midday sun. The mares were gathered under a tree in the far pasture, enjoying the shade that the tree offered them. Char, who worked at the hospital nearby, enjoyed taking her lunch break in the company of her mares.  She looked forward to this part of her day. Like opening the windows on a fresh, breezy day, she always returned to work reinvigorated. As she put the car in park and turned the ignition off, she opened the door and was surprised by the warmth that greeted her. "Oh my, I didn't realize how warm it would be today." Char worked in an air-conditioned building, parked her car in an air-conditioned garage and drove home in an air-conditioned car. In this part of the world, air conditioning is not a luxury but a necessity. Still, there was something to be said of the warm sunlight, dancing upon her skin. She headed towards the pasture, her intentions were to top off the water tank and toss some more hay into the feeder, then, grab some lunch. It was half past noon and the mares were quiet, escaping the strongest rays of the sun. Char was captivated by her mares' charm and elegance, even when fully relaxed and dozing. Strong and smooth-bodied, the circular lines flowing harmoniously one into another; the mares were uniquely different from other purebred Arabian horses. In her lifetime, Char was fortunate to have seen many horses, even some of the very best. The horses of her past, gave her the experience to appreciate the horses that stood before her. Her mares' iridescent white coats, intensified by their black skin, accentuated every curve, enhancing the old world look they possessed. The large, round and very black eye captured the twinkle of the sun, as it danced in and out of the shade, magnifying the depth of the eye.  Char always thought that if obsidian could be melted and formed into pools, the luminous black liquid would be like her mares' eyes. The nostrils, large and delicately curved, underscored the overall beauty of her mares’ heads, which looked as if they had been chiseled by a master sculptor. The mare’s necks were long and swan-like, with a longer poll and a finer throatlatch than she remembered seeing in a long time. Well-laid back shoulders, at an angle that connected the point of chest with the withers, met a closely-coupled, strong, smooth back, supported by deep, well-sprung ribs and balanced with round, well-muscled hindquarters. When alert and moving, their high-set tails proclaimed their noble ancestry. They took Char's breath away, every time. As beautiful as her mares were, Char was also proud of their inner wisdom, their emotional strength and physical toughness, all of which contributed to their enduring stamina, hardiness and longevity. These were authentic daughters of the wind, able to float over the ground, effortlessly and efficiently, without stress to their cardiovascular system. Their ancestors had adapted to living within a harsh climate, insuring the survival of not only themselves but also, all of the horses who would come after them. Char's mind burned with the legacy that was written within her mares' genes. How long had it been since she started this journey? Sometimes, she also felt like a nomad, wandering in the desert forever, while other times she felt like there was not enough time for all she wanted to accomplish. She admits that while she was determined to build a life around horses, any horses, the urgency of preservation made the choice of her path and the sacrifices she had to make, that much clearer. She loved her mares and shuddered to think of a life without them. Char had spent the better part of the last twenty-five years carefully nurturing her small family of horses, insuring the survival of the matriline she had selected a long time ago. While focused and dedicated within her profession and to her family; this was her life's work now. She thought of the breeder’s catalogue she had purchased, "to conserve, preserve and protect…” Initially, she was intrigued by the idea of owning horses who traced back in all of their bloodlines, to horses bred by the Bedouin people, in deserts not far from where she was standing now. However, as her awareness for the concept of purity evolved, she was bothered by the growing acceptance of relativism, as a way of coming to terms with the results that the new DNA science was revealing. In the last few years, it seemed that purity could mean different things, depending on who and how the word was used. As far as Char was concerned, either something was 100% pure or it wasn't. There was no reason to change or "improve" the horse that the Bedouin people bred. The mare families within the breed, as different as one could be from another, can satisfy the wide range of preferences, without any outside help. Acknowledging this wide diversity in phenotype that exists in the breed, she had narrowed her choice down to this one particular family, who in Char's experience, consistently produced the type of horse she preferred. The mares had not only been challenging to find but far more difficult to purchase, as their breeder was not willing to part with any of them, for fear of reckless out-crossing, without regard to replacement, in the same form that they were originally bred. “I want the assurance that you will breed these mares wisely, ensuring their survival for tomorrow,” said Nasr, who had single-handedly rescued the family from extinction. Yes, it certainly had been hard and she was grateful that she had been able to prove her sincerity, her knowledge and her desire in preserving these bloodlines. The rewards were before her, dozing contentedly in the midday sun. Her goals further materialized into hopeful promise, hidden for the moment, within the belly of each of her prized mares. Soon, they would give birth to another generation, insuring the continued survival of this family. Enamored by the qualities in her mares, she had selected the finest EAO stallions, to complement the qualities of her mares. Eventually, her interest had encouraged her to research history and read about his royal highness, the Prince, who had bred the ancestors of her mares, many years ago, using the paintings of Carle Vernet, Eugene Delacroix and Albrecht Adam as a guide. Now, years and years from when the Prince last bred horses, her mares, relaxing a few yards from her, are as timeless as the horses that were depicted in the same paintings that the Prince used as a guide. It is as if the horses stepped out of the portraits, to enjoy life in the real world, on the other side of the canvas. She was eager to see the next generation and her personal contribution towards the survival of the purebred Arabian horse.

***Originally published in 2009 within the ACAB Bloodlines Catalog and a few years after that, a blog titled Fragile, this was the story of "Victor" a preservation breeder and fictional character. A few months ago, my friend Char asked me about the story. She had been looking for it and was unable to find it.  I think she will be really surprised, to learn that now, she is part of the story! Thank you Char, your kind words inspire me to be a better person than I really am.***

Saniyyah RCA

Saniyyah (*Mishaal HP x My Shooting Star by Thee Desperado)

On a frosty Texas morning in 2006, Chen Kedar's mind was heavily focused on her beloved stallion, Laheeb (Imperial Imdal+ x AK Latifa), a stallion who had matured into a sire of global significance. While siring many beautiful horses, all over the world, there was one particular horse that Chen knew that Laheeb could sire, if he were bred to just the right kind of mare. So, on this cold, cold day, she was looking for the object of her desire and despite the frigid temperature, her mind was warmed by the thought of spring and the next step she wanted to take with her breeding program.  Ansata Sinan is one of Chen's all-time favorite stallions and she had admired his son,*Mishaal HP, when he was in Europe. At Arabians Ltd., she was impressed by the outstanding qualities that resulted in crossing Thee Desperado with Ansata Sinan, via his son, *Mishaal HP. When Chen saw 8-month old Saniyyah RCA, she knew immediately that her search had come to an end, for she had found the mare that would take her breeding program in the direction she wanted to go. Chen explained, "Saniyyah was very young at this time, only a few months old, with heavy winter coat and totally out of condition. Her look is not typical Egyptian; her legs and neck are longer than most Egyptians and her eyes are extremely big. Unfortunately, with the Egyptian lines it is not easy to breed these kind of big, black round eyes any more. She was just beautiful and had the look of the horses I want to breed."

Saniyyah's dam, My Shooting Star, by Thee Desperado, is out of an Alidaar daughter named Faliha, who is out of a Bentwood-bred mare named AK Faiza, by *Ibn Moniet el Nefous. AK Faiza's dam is Faarecho, a very fine-skinned Sirecho daughter out of the straight Babson Egyptian mare, Faara, whose pedigree includes the blood of *Bint Saada (bred by Prince Mohamed Aly Tewfik) and *Bint Serra I (bred by Prince Kemal al Dine), both mares have become increasingly harder to find in Babson breeding, as the years pass by. In tail female line, Saniyyah traces to *Bint Bint Sabbah (Baiyad x Bint Sabah), one of five mares imported from Egypt and a prolific broodmare, having produced thirteen foals in her career.

Now, twelve years later, Saniyyah RCA, a multi-Israeli national champion mare, has established a significant and far-reaching family of horses, which include Safiyyah AA and Salsabil AA, the Laheeb daughters that Chen dreamed of producing, that long ago Texas morning. Safiyyah has matured into an extraordinary broodmare, having produced Sajida AA, by Al Ayal AA, the 2018 Gold Champion filly at the 2018 Israeli Egyptian Event, as well as the Bronze Champion Filly at the 2018 Israeli Nationals.  Earlier this year, Safiyyah produced Safwaan AA, by Frasera Mashar, a full brother to Sinaya AA, a filly that Safiyyah produced last year. The much-loved three-time gold champion, Sofiya AA, who returned to Ariela earlier this year, after having been leased by Aria International and her full sister, Soraya AA, a gold champion junior filly are both Saniyyah daughters, sired by Al Ayal AA. Saniyyah's gold champion son by Simeon Sharav, Shams Sharav, returned to Ariela from Michalow State Stud, Poland, where approximately 30 mares are now in foal to him. And who can forget Shalimar AA, her very first foal by Nader Al Jamal? In addition, also by Al Ayal AA, there is Shaheen AA, a gold champion junior colt, who has returned to Ariela from standing at stud in Belgium and an upcoming granddaughter, Ajayeb AA, a gold champion yearling filly. Saniyyah has proven over time, the accuracy of Chen's vision, as she searched a winter pasture for a sign of her new spring.

***This blog was originally published in December 2018***

*Fawkia

*Fawkia (Sameh x Mamlouka)

*Fawkia was a 1965 EAO-bred mare, sired by Sameh and out of Mamlouka, a Nazeer daughter out of the super broodmare, Malaka (Kheir x Bint Bint Riyala). Malaka produced a large family of horses, including the stallion Azmi, who was later known in Russia as "Nil", as well as the stallion Waseem, who stayed in Egypt and became an important sire for the EAO plus the important mares: Samia, Nazeera and *Salomy. 

*Fawkia is Kuhaylah Rodaniyah by strain.  She was purchased and imported by Gleannloch Farm in 1966. A beautiful mare, *Fawkia was a United States National Top Ten mare, in 1968. Gleannloch bred her to *Morafic, producing Farahl in 1972, Najlah in 1973 and Ana Gayah in 1974, before being purchased by Barbara Griffith of Imperial Egyptian Stud in 1978. Bred to Moniet el Nafis, she produced Imperial BtFawkia in 1983, who in turn was bred to *Orashan, producing Imperial Orianah, the dam of Imperial Madori, the sire of the 2003 World Champion Mare, Gelgelah Albadeia.

*Fawkia, as photographed by the late Johnny Johnston, ridden by Randy Shockley at Imperial Egyptian Stud, Parkton, Maryland

Although I never met Sameh personally; I felt that I did know him, through his daughters, like *Fawkia, who like her sire, was an easy keeper, always in good flesh, smooth and powerfully built, radiant white and not only did she possess excellent movement, like her paternal sisters; she also trotted in the same manner, that is, her nostrils dilated and became enormous and she would snort from somewhere deep inside of her, like if she was pulling every last bit of air from the tips of her toes up, up, up through her lungs and out through her nose, tail curled over her back and that graceful, take-your-breath-away floating trot, elegant and yet, powerful, her hocks driving her forward. All these years later, it's the brilliant movement which made the greatest impression upon me and what I remember most about her.