Khamsat A magazine devoted to the Bedouin Arabian Horse as recognized by Al Khamsa, Inc.
Volume Thirty-One Number Two
A Mameluk Leading His Horse, by Carle Vernet.
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September 2020
Cover Images Front: A Mameluk Leading His Horse, by Carle Vernet (1758 – 1836), French artist. In addition to being a painter and lithographer, Carle Vernet was an avid horseman. Image source: Wikipedia. Back: “Auda Abu Tayi [second from right], chief of the Howeitat tribe of Bedouin Arabs, and other men on horseback, one with a raised flag, going to Wejh, Saudi Arabia, to offer support to Prince Faisel in the Arab Revolt. c. 1916.” Note several riders on mules, one leading his horse. ~G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection
Auda Abu Tayi “Auda was very simply dressed, northern fashion, in white cotton with a red Mosul head-cloth. He might be over fifty, and his black hair was streaked with white; but he was still strong and straight, loosely built, spare, and as active as a much younger man. His face was magnificent in its lines and hollows [...] He had large eloquent eyes, like black velvet in richness. His forehead was low and broad, his nose very high and sharp, powerfully hooked: his mouth rather large and mobile: his beard and moustaches had been trimmed to a point in Howeitat style, with the lower jaw shaven underneath. “His hospitality was sweeping, inconvenient except to very hungry souls. His generosity kept him always poor, despite the profits of a hundred raids. He had married twenty-eight times, had been wounded thirteen times, and in the battles he provoked had seen all his tribesmen hurt, and most of his relations slain. He himself had slain seventy-five men, Arabs, by his own hand in battle: and never a man except in battle. Of the number of dead Turks he could give no account: they did not enter the register. His Toweiha under him had become the first fighters of the desert, with a tradition of desperate courage, and a sense of superiority which never left them while there was life and work to do [...] but which had reduced them from twelve hundred men to less than five hundred, in thirty years. “He saw life as a saga, all the events in it were significant: all personages in contact with him heroic, his mind was stored with poems of old raids and epic tales of fights. “Only by means of Auda abu Tayi could we swing the tribes from Ma’an to Aqaba so violently in our favour that they would help us take Aqaba and its hills from their Turkish garrisons.” Seven Pillars of Wisdom, c. 1926 ~ T.E. Lawrence, with credit to the Facebook page of Rehan Ud Din Baber.
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Publisher: Al Khamsa, Inc. Business Office 470 Folsom Jonesville Road Jonesville, KY 41052 970.439.5941 www.alkhamsa.org Printer: Jostens/PrintLynx Sedalia, Missouri Editor:
Khamsat A magazine devoted to the Bedouin Arabian Horse as recognized by Al Khamsa, Inc. • Volume Thirty-One Number Two • Sept. 2020
Jeanne Craver 709 Brackett Lane Winchester, Illinois 62694 the_khamsat@alkhamsa.org
AL KHAMSA, INC., a Tennessee not-for-profit organization, publishes the Khamsat magazine. ‘Al Khamsa’ and the ‘Five Bedouin Riders’ Logo are registered trademarks of Al Khamsa, Inc. SUBSCRIPTION RATES for four issues: US — US$20; Canada and Mexico — US$30, other countries — US$40. See page 3. TO SUBSCRIBE, renew a subscription or change an address, please send information and US$ (check, MasterCard/Visa) to the Al Khamsa Business Office at the above address or via www. alkhamsa.org. SUBMIT all advertisements, unsolicited editorial materials, and correspondence to the Al Khamsa Business Office at the above address, or to the Editor at the_khamsat@alkhamsa.org. ©2020, Al Khamsa, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part, electronically or otherwise, without permission is prohibited. Al Khamsa, Inc. is an organization whose supporters embrace a wide variety of viewpoints on many issues. Recognizing that the free flow of ideas is essential to the growth of knowledge, Al Khamsa, Inc. encourages the reasoned presentation of information and theory by its supporters. Publication of such material in the Khamsat does not imply agreement with the ideas expressed therein by any portion of the supporters or membership of Al Khamsa, Inc., nor does it constitute an endorsement or support for any portion of such material by Al Khamsa, Inc. or the Khamsat, regardless of any position or office held by the author(s). All such material represents a comment and/or a personal opinion of the author(s), and does not necessarily represent the official attitude, opinion, policy or position of Al Khamsa, Inc. on any issue. While the Khamsat has not intentionally printed incorrect materials or made adverse omissions, the contents are nevertheless the responsibility of the parties furnishing material for this magazine. Accuracy of information is subject to information known to us at printing deadline. We apologize for any errors which are sometimes unavoidable. EDITORIAL POLICY: The policy of the Khamsat is to emphasize the aspects of owning, enjoying, breeding and learning about Bedouinbred Arabians as recognized by Al Khamsa, Inc. Al Khamsa’s standard has always been to treat all Al Khamsa bloodlines equally. The Khamsat allows more freedom of expression for independently written articles that deal with a specific breeding group. Al Khamsa reserves the right to refuse or edit articles that, in its opinion, violate the spirit of the standard of treating all bloodlines within Al Khamsa equally. Suitability of all material and ads submitted will be judged on the basis of being consistent with the goals and interests of Al Khamsa, Inc. Al Khamsa, Inc. reserves the right to reject any text or graphics submitted for publication in the Khamsat.
Contents Features: Al Khamsa Community Hub .................................................................................... 3 Bits & Pieces ................................................................................................................ 4 2020 Convention Information ................................................................................. 6 2020 Roster Proposal: Gamal El Din by Joe Ferriss....................................................................................................... 8 A Tribute to Tibor Pettkó-Szandtner, part two by László Király ................................................................................................. 12 Female Entrepreneurs in Arabian Breeding by Brigitte Killian...............................................................................................26 *Nejdme by Jeanne Craver .............................................................................................32 Hamdaany Kuwaiti: my 20 dinar horse by Jenny Lees ...................................................................................................42 Preservation Task Force Update by the PTF..........................................................................................................44 Through Annie's Ears, Part 5 by Ellen May with Cathy Rochon..................................................................48 Al Khamsa History Ancestral Elements Series: Hearst ...............................................................57 Departments: President’s Message .................................................................................................. 2 Al Khamsa, Inc. Administrative Information ......................................................... 2 Advertising Information and Advertisers ...........................................................59 Donation Levels and Donor Listings.................................................................60–1
Editor’s Note: Contact the Al Khamsa Business Office (info@alkhamsa.org, 970.439.5941) or Jeanne Craver (the_khamsat@alkhamsa.org, 217.742.3415) if you are interested in contributing a photo, article or advertisement. Coming: Vanishing Babson Lines; Chronic Equine Kidney Disease Rather than announce a closing date for advertising in advance, we will be in touch through Inside Al Khamsa and social media when the feature articles are nearing final form.
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Al Khamsa, Inc. Administrative Information
President’s Message 9/1/20
2019-2020 Al Khamsa Officers, Board of Directors and Committees Business Office Manager Patricia Lawrence 470 Folsom Jonesville Road Jonesville, Kentucky 41052 970.439.5941 info@alkhamsa.org President Monica Flynn Respet 6635 Central Road New Tripoli, Pennsylvania 18066 610.760.1372 monicarespet@gmail.com
Megan King 23477 Path Valley Road Doylesburg, Pennsylvania 17219 717.889.6808 megan.king23477@gmail.com
Vice President P.J. Altshuler 2900 Hemming Rd Valley View, Texas 76272 972.802.4660 pguth24916@aol.com
Jennifer Krieg 17429 Hoskinson Road Poolesville, Maryland 20837 301.221.2531 jkrieg@isicollc.com
Secretary Kim Davis 7275 Manchester Road Capron, Illinois 61012 815.540.3060 kdavis@sharontelephone.com
Patricia Lawrence 470 Folsom Jonesville Road Jonesville, Kentucky 41052 970.439.5941 alfadee05@gmail.com
Co-Treasurer Debbie Mackie 24610 Middletown Blacktop AV Greenview, Illinois 62642 217.968.5374 dmmackie@gmail.com
Kate Rhodes 6305 Hilltop Road Van Buren, Arkansas 72956 479.651.1715 kt19992000@gmail.com
Co-Treasurer Mary Gills POB 882560 Steamboat Springs, CO 80488 970.846.3747 mgills327@gmail.com
Carrie Slayton 2100 West Avenue L-12 Lancaster, California 93536 661.992.2289 carrie.sootie@gmail.com
Edouard Al-Dahdah 4932 Melinda Court Rockville, MD 20953 ealdahdah@hotmail.com
Pam Studebaker 9160 Post Town Road Trotwood, Ohio 45426 937.837.2829 stuzerpd@yahoo.com
Edie Booth POB 224 Canton, Texas 75103 903.848.9425 desertbred@hotmail.com Kathy Busch 24 College Street Madison, AL 35758 913.645.0236 katbuseq1@gmail.com Jeanne Craver 709 Brackett Lane Winchester, Illinois 62694 217.742.3415 mowarda@gmail.com Rosemary Byrnes Doyle 63295 Johnson Ranch Road Bend, Oregon 97701 541.389.9515 rosemary@doylearabians.com Karin Floyd 4515 N Lason Lane Tucson, Arizona 85749 818.219.9226 kvf369@gmail.com
Dear Supporters, This year we have been faced the the reality of COVID-19 and it has forced some changes for us all. But Al Khamsa as an organization has decided to make lemonade out of the lemons we’ve been handed. Having cancelled an in-person convention for this year, we are stretching our wings for a virtual event. This is an exciting time for Al Khamsa. Keep our traditions and stay up to date. Our goal is to reach more of you, more participating registrants, new horses will be seen on our upcoming Al Khamsa, Inc. You-Tube Channel — that excites me! It will also give you the opportunity to show your foals and horses to our larger community. I hope you will participate. We want your voice. Please join our 2020 Virtual Al Khamsa Annual Meeting and Convention. More information will follow at www.alkhamsa.org and in this Khamsat. We will have speakers, a roster proposal presentation and vote, Board of Directors meetings, some casual chat time for groups that wish to on Friday evening, and a Fantasia narrated by our own illustrious Joe Ferriss. Please follow and register for the convention: your participation is the life of Al Khamsa. Please take the time to read and study the Roster Proposal for Gamal El Din on page 8, submitted by Joe Ferriss. Joe has done scholarly research on this 1935 stallion bred by Abd-al-Hamid Regeh al-Tahawi . There will be a Board vote by the Board on Friday, October 16 during our meeting and an Advisory Council Meeting and vote on Saturday, October 17, 2020 during our virtual convention. Remember, that every person who owns part of an Al Khamsa Arabian, and is PRESENT, is eligible to participate and vote. Please register for the convention, and participate as fully as you can. You are Al Khamsa.
2019-20 Committee Chairs Awards: Janet Maurer & Jackson Hensley Convention: PJ Altshuler & Pam Studebaker Database: Jeanne Craver External Relations: Rosemary Doyle AERC Liaison: Edie Booth Middle Eastern Liaison: Edouard Al-Dahdah Finance: Mary Gills & Debbie Mackie Nominations & Succession Planning: Rosemary Byrnes Doyle Preservation Task Force: Carrie Slayton & Edouard Al-Dahdah Publications: Jeanne Craver with Kathy Busch & Darlene Summers Social Media: Jenny Krieg & Jeannie Lieb Website: Jeannie Lieb
Stay healthy, my warmest to you,
Subscription Rates $20 (4 digital issues) Global Rate! $60 (4 digital and 4 print issues) US only $65 (4 digital and 4 print issues) Canada 2
Al Khamsa Community Hub Calendar September 22–26, 2020: AHA Sport Horse National Championships, Nampa, Idaho. Qualifications waived for 2020. September 25–27, 2020: AHA Distance Horse National Championships were discontinued. October 16–19, 2020: Al Khamsa Annual Meeting and Convention, virtual programming and meeting — see pages 6–9. October 23–31, 2020: AHA US National Championships, Tulsa Expo Square, Tulsa, Oklahoma, with no senior rider division. The AHA National Convention will be held online this year. The American Endurance Ride Conference 2021 convention will be held online, originally scheduled for San Antonio in March. The AHA magazine, Arabian Horse Life, has been discontinued.
Links of Interest Jenny the Walker, is a lovely Arabian mare in Germany who now takes herself for walks through her hometown, leaving her stable and strolling along greeting passers-by, walking miles, and then returning to her stall. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74pLgcb1OE Frankincense Trees (Boswellia sacra) are becoming critically endangered in their homelands. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ frankincense-resin-is-endangered
https://thehorse.com/152666/diagnosing-insulin-resistance-qawith-researchers/ https://www.ecirhorse.org The Equine Cushings and Insulin Resistant group website, with resources. ***
Chronic uterine infection or persistent inflammation in the mare may be associated with hyperse- cretion of mucus and disruption of the architecture of the endometrial epithelium. An important new weapon to fight mare infertility. Effect of Intra-Uterine Infusion of Diluted N- Acetylcysteine on Equine Endometrium. https://aaep.org/sites/default/files/issues/proceedings-09proceedingsz9100109000326.pdf Wean foals at six months, or wait? https://thehorse.com/190606/ wean-foals-at-six-months-or-wait/ Terry Doyle shows his new 2000 mile patch from the AERC. Terry began competing in his 80s, after retirement, riding horses from his family’s long-term breeding program of Doyle Egyptians, based on the three horses Ghadaf, Nusi and Gulida.
A rare Suffolk Punch draft horse filly has been foaled, from the first use of sexed semen. https://www.suffolkhorsesociety.org.uk/news/ first-foal-born-using-sexed-semen/ ***
Horses are just as prone to humans to the bad effects of obesity on overall, foot and reproductive health. Some links of interest: https://nouvelleresearch.com/index.php/articles/14531-overweighthorse-digestive-health-ongoing-lameness
Khamsat Advertising
https://beva.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/toc/10.1111/(ISSN)20423306.equine-obesity.vi?campaign=dartwol%7C5439614386 https://thehorse.com/155743/choosing-salt-and-mineral-blocks-forhorses/ https://thehorse.com/184937/10-resources-for-feeding-the-easykeeper-on-thehorse-com/ https://thehorse.com/191623/weight-loss-for-hefty-horses/ https://thehorse.com/189304/does-your-horse-need-a-low-starchdiet/ 3
Advertising Rates can be found on page 59 of this issue. You can send your advertising to the Al Khamsa Business Office or to the editor by mail or by email, or you can order advertising directly on the Al Khamsa website as part of the Al Khamsa store. Click on the main drop-down menu under Publications / Khamsat, and you will find links to selected articles, to a listing of all articles that have been published in the Khamsat since its inception in 1984, to an order form for back issues, to order forms for advertising and subscriptions. We will be happy to create an ad for you to your requirements, or you can find specifications for preparing a copyready advertisement yourself under that advertising link.
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More of a Great Arab Mare Many thanks to Karen Kravcov Malcolm, Kate McLachlan and Moira Walker for continuing to flesh out the story of one of our Foundation Horses: *Naomi. These photos and newspaper articles are among those received by these researchers. See Khamsat Vol 30 No. 4, page 7. We have more articles just on the subject of *Naomi and the Huntington program and just from 1888 and 1889, and will include them here in future issues.
*Nazli (Maidan x *Naomi) with a filly (1899 or 1900) by Khaled by *Nimr (*Kismet x *Naomi) out of *Naomi. Photo courtesy of Michael Bowling.
field seemed at home in the country, for the most part taking their fences boldly and some of the latter undoubtedly call for a stout heart and a good horse. It looked to me as iff a mistake would require ropes and windlass to extricate horse and rider from the crevasse. I had all I could well do to take care of myself, and keep near house, without paying much attention to my neighbors; but I did particularly notice a few. Two ladies, who looked like sisters, on small brown, blood-like ponies, not more than 13.2 or 13.3 I should think — I was told they were half-Arabs, and have quite a reputation — were always in front. The ponies seemed to care nothing for deeep dirt, pace, or big fences, and the riders rode with a courage and judgment not always to be found in the fair sex. … I was surprised, too, at the performance of a chestnut Arab mare with a long tail. She was a lenghty [sic] rakinglooking animal, but so tucked up and poor that had I seen her in a saleyard I should have said she was worth nothing; but she seemed able to race away from everything in the heaviest ground, and fenced as well as any. She was not carrying a boy, either, for I should think her rider must have ridden thirteen or fourteen stone [182–196 lbs.] I have heard it said, and believed it, that Arabs cannot cross a country; but after seeing that mare go through a severe thing, I can only say I hope I may never have a worse mount.”
The “chesnut” mare, *Naomi, offered for sale by her breeder. It is a pity we do not have more information on the bay Arab gelding. Zuleika was of the same family as Haidee and in the same importation to England, but no produce was registered.
Arabs as Hunters: Remarkable Performance of an Arab Mare. by Hon. Ethelred Dillon in London Stock Journal, reprinted in the Democrat and Chronicle of Rochester, NY, January 6, 1888.
As last year several of your readers received with increduality [sic] my assertion that an Arab could hold his own (to say the least) with English hunters in a severe run, will you kindly allow me to quote from a letter published in the Field of November 19th, gividg [sic] a description of a very severe run in Suffolk, in which an Arab mare took a prominent part? The mare in question, it is true, is perhaps the biggest Arab at present known, and was foald [sic] in England of imported parents belonging to the Managhi Hedruj breed. [Yataghan was actually by a Kuhaylan Khallawi out of a Kuhaylah Juraybah.] She has been at the stud [as a broodmare] for the last three years, and was only taken up from grass about six weeks ago, expects another foal in April, and has done a long day’s hunting with Harriers the day before the run with the fox hounds. I speak from personal knowledge, as I have had her here, till I sent her to her owner six weeks ago, from May, 1886.
Now your readers will say “One swallow does not make a summer;” that was an exceptional Arab. It, however, happens that last year I lent my little horse, Eldorado, to the mare’s owner during my absence abround, and he rode him as well and as straight as he rode Naomi; and he, also, I was told, created a great impression in those parts. However, considering the mare’s total want of condition and expectations, it was certainly a remarkable performance, but only what I should expect from her, knowing her as I do, and having ridden her. I have had some communication with Mr. Randolph Huntington. I have no doubt that he will produce a very fine breed of horses. The illustrations show very handsome animals, with a great deal of the Arab character. But if he wishes to breed pure Arabs, he should procure Arab mares and mate them with Linden, so as to keep a reserve of pure blood in case of the Clay mares reverting to
“Casual” writes: “We had a really fine bursting run, pace good throughout, and at times very fast. The country we rode over was very deep and holding plough for the most part, and the fences appallingly big and ugly to a man unacquainted with the country. They ran him [the fox] for an hour and a half. … I noticed that the 4
Egyptian mountains and the Greek sculptures of the Elgin marbles, bears a wonderfully close resemblance to the Arab of the present day. Was Bucephalus (the ox-headed) an Arab? The name suggests the idea — the peculiar scarped nose and large ox-eye being so characteristic of the breed. I was struck with the likeness between a lovely Jersey calf and one of my horses. Arabs as Trotters also by Miss Dillon, from The Arizona Champion, Peach Springs, AZ December 1, 1888.
Captain Kerr’s letter and the remarks in your journal about the Arab, Naomi, both interested me greatly. As Naomi has passed most of her time for the last three years here, and as I have ridden her several times, I can answer for her grand qualities. It was the worst mistake I ever made not to buy her for my stud. Both her daughters look as if they would make extraordinary trotters. The yearling by Emir has a long, light, dancing sort of action, but it is peculiarly graceful; and the youngest by Maiden [sic, *Nazli] has high knee action. I am quite convinced that by careful selection and by training we can produce a breed of trotters from the pure Arab equal to any Hackney, and the speed of the American. Mr. Huntington writes that had Naomi had the advantage of American training she would have done a mile under 2:20. My horse Maidan trotted six and a half miles in a rather heavy trap with three people in it in twentyeight minutes; Eldorado has done fourteen miles in fifty-five minutes, including over five minutes stoppages; and the fastest trotter of all is Emir. Both the mares, Rasdri la [Raschida] and Zedrania, have beautiful action and perfectly level. The Barb horse, on the contrary, has knee action, but not level hock action.
Chef Al Khamsa and the Summer Doldrums Chef Al wants you to know it is easy to get down in this strangest summer of them all. Northing is normal. We cannot meet and great our friends and families. The threat of COVID-19 is a gray shadow darkening the sunshine. Several Al Khamsans are health care workers dealing not with the shadow, but the real thing in their hospitals. Bummer. Here’s Chef Al’s tip to feel better. Pay it forward for a health care or other essential worker at the drive through. Get out your checkbook and help Al Khamsa teach the world why our horses need to be saved, in that order.
Top: *Nazli in 1895 with Naarah as a foal. Center: Naarah, by Anazeh (*Leopard x *Naomi) out of *Nazli (Maidan x *Naomi). Bottom: Naaman, a full brother to Naarah, as a youngster. The *Naomi line in Al Khamsa pedigrees descends through Nimnaarah, by Naaman out of Nimrette, by *Nimr (*Kismet x *Nazli) out of Naarah. This is the female line of Drissula. The inbreeding on one mare and two stallions (*Naomi, *Kismet and Maidan) is interesting to compare to the Doyle Egyptian program (Gulida, Ghadaf and Nusi). One wonders what Huntington could have done given another 20 years.
You can designate your donation specifically for the General Fund, the Endowment, the AERC Fund or give to the Preservation Task Force by pressing this button at https://alkhamsa.org/about-us/how-you-can-help:
some inferior type. As to the Arab being the primitive horse, I believe the primitive animals was totally different to anything seen for many generations, and happily so, if the scratchings on the mammoth’s tusk of horses by the primeval cave-dweller is to be trusted. It is, however, certain that the eastern horse, as portrayed on the 5
or by mailing your check to the Al Khamsa Business Office, 470 Folsom-Jonesville Road Jonesville, KY 41052 Remember to designate Al Khamsa, Inc., when making an AmazonSmile purchase!
2020CONVENTIONNEWS 6
We are going VIRTUAL this year. Dates: 10/16/20 – 10/17/20 We hope this virtual opportunity will bring in worldwide participation! Speakers include: Crocket Dumas on Endurance Riding, Joe Ferriss presenting historical horse films, Beth Minnich on Genetic Disorders and research topics for owners, Laurence Perceval from France on her philosopy on raising tent horses and special videos sent by Bedouin Tribe of the Naqab and from Basil Jadaan from Syria for our enjoyment. Basil will also speak on Syrian horses. The Fantasia will be offered online via YouTube. Video clips will be posted on the Al Khamsa, Inc. YouTube channel. These will be limited to two minutes in length. A standardized introduction will be provided by Al Khamsa, with about 15 of these narrated by Joe Ferriss with historical and brilliant pedigree analysis. The opportunity for additional horses at two minute intervals with the standardized introduction will be viewable with Arabic music. We are excited for the opportunity to present various bloodlines of Al Khamsa from all parts of North America. This is a primary fund raiser and educational outreach for Al Khamsa. Cost is $25 per horse presented. Let’s highlight your 2019 or 2020 Foal Videos: please send your video limited to 30 seconds of your babies! Presentations will also be seen on the YouTube channel with Arabic music background and pedigrees. The cost is $15 per foal presented. Please submit videos as soon as possible, but before October 5, 2020 to fantasia2020@ alkhamsa.org. I Support Al Khamsa photos may be sent for inclusion in the online program at $10 for each Al Khamsa horse and owner. These are business card sized photos that raise money for Al Khamsa, Inc. Purchase and send these via the Registration process. Our Annual Fundraising Auction hosted by 32Auctions.com. We appreciate your donations of items valued over $50 (due to the cost of shipping) sent to PJ Altshuler at 2900 Hemming Road, Valley View, TX 76272. For special arrangements call her at 972-802-4660. We also value your bids on these items which will be shipped after the convention. Joe Ferris will be presenting a Roster Proposal for Gamal El Din during the Virtual Convention on Saturday, October 17, 2020. Please study the proposal contained in this Khamsat and Register to participate in the Advisory Council Meeting. All owners or part owners of Al Khamsa horses in North America are invited to vote. The Board Meeting will be on October 15-17, 2020. Please check www.alkhamsa.org for times. Registration will be online for $30 per person for the weekend. Once registered you will be emailed a link to join all events. We are excited about a virtual meeting to expand our connection to supporters and the continued educational goals of Al Khamsa. Stay Updated by following the website for more news and schedules. 7
2020 Roster Proposal
but from another line), among others, and is today represented in modern Egyptian pedigrees through his great-granddaughters Fulla, Futna, and Bint Barakat.
Gamal El Din, by Joe Ferriss Gamal El Din was first identified to westerners in the Royal Agricultural Society Stud Book Vol. 1 (1948 English version) on page 58 as the sire of *Saema RAS#50. *Saema was imported to the US in 1950 by Queen Mother Nazli Sabri (mother of King Farouk). *Saema’s dam is Bint Dalal, a 1926 grey mare bred by the RAS. Bint Dalal’s sire and dam, Hamran (BLT) and Dalal Al Zarka (APK), are already Al Khamsa horses. The RAS Stud Book states as follows: “Gamal El Din, a race-horse belonging to Ahmed Bey Abu El Fotouh.” No other information was provided about him.
Shaikh Tahawi Sa’eid Mejalli al-Tahawi also spoke about lady Anne Blunt and her frequent visits to the Tahawi clan, and about the horses she bought from them. These horses are referred to by Lady Anne Blunt in her writings as “The First Attempt” at putting together a stud of Arabian horses at Sheykh Obeyd Gardens. The old Shaikh also spoke about the several Royal Agricultural Society horses that came from the Tahawi clan, and he also confirmed what is already common knowledge, which is that the vast majority of the horses at the race track were also Tahawi horses.
We know Ahmed Bey Abu El Fotouh (aka Ahmed Effendi Abu El Fotouh) as the owner of the Al Khamsa Foundation Horse El Nasser (RAS) when that horse was in Egypt and the provider of El Nasser to the RAS. Ahmed Bey Abu El Fotouh (or Futuh) was among the top 20 principal race winning owners in Egypt during the racing season 1939–1940 according to the Egyptian Jockey Club records. He was also a racing steward at both the Heliopolis and Alexandria Racing Clubs in 1945 and hence a prominent and respected figure in the Egyptian racing scene.
He spoke about the famous Tahawi race horse Soniour, who was also by “Dahman Abdallah Saoud”, and who was hence Barakat’s half-brother. Today, Soniour is represented in the pedigree of the stallion Ibn Ghalabawi. He also talked about Renard Bleu, a son of Barakat with an unmatched racing record. There is a nice photo of Renard Bleu in the book of Ali al-Barazi, a copy of which I have with me.
It was not until 2011, during the Al Khamsa contacts with remaining Tahawi breeders in Egypt, that an interview was conducted with the very aged Shaikh Tahawi Sa’eid Mejalli al-Tahawi. This interview was conducted by Yasser Ghanim Barakat al-Tahawi and his cousins Yehia Abd al-Sattar al-Tahawi, and Mohammed Mohammed Saoud al-Tahawi. Yasser provided the summary of the meeting posted on December 6, 2011 on Edouard Al Dahdah’s Daughter of the Wind blog. His text appears below:
The surprise came later in the interview when he mentioned that he had known and seen the race horse Gamal El Din, which was owned by Ahmed Abu al-Futuh (Futuh Bey), and he provided full details about him.
Posted on December 6th, 2011. As part of the working group on the horses of the Tahawi, which Edouard mentioned in a recent post, I wanted to share with you brand new information about the Egyptian stallion Gamal El Din.
It turned out that Gamal El Din was by Barakat our of a Kuhaylah Khallawiyah, and that he was bred by Shaikh Abd al-Hamid Rageh al-Tahawi, who also bred the three Tahawi mares Fulla (Folla), Futna and Bint Barakat, which were sold to Hamdan stables. So Gamal El Din would be a close relative to the mare Futna (Ibn Barakat x a Kuhalyah Khallawiyah), who was from the same strain as him, and from the same Tahawi breeder.
The information was obtained when Yehia Abd al-Sattar al-Tahawi, Mohammad Saoud al-Tahawi, and myself, recently recorded a one hour video with one of the very old Tahawi horse breeders, Shaikh Tahawi Sa’eid Mejalli al-Tahawi, who was born around 1904, and is 107 years old today. He still has an amazing memory for his advanced age, and is one of the old Bedouin breeders, and a great horse expert, following his father Shaikh Sa’ied Mejalli al-Tahawi.
Gamal El Din was used by Egypt’s Royal Agricultural Society in the 1940s. He has seven offspring in the AHA Datasource, one stallion and six mares all born in 1945, of which only one mare *Saema (x Bint Dalal) bred on in modern lines. *Saema was imported by the Queen Mother of Egypt to the USA in 1950, where she was the progenitor of a line of Egyptian horses that is increasingly successful in the show ring today.
In this interview, he shared many exciting details about the old Tahawi horses such as “Dahman Abdullah Saoud” which he saw himself when he was young. “Dahman Abdullah Saoud” was the sire of the race horse Barakat (also a Dahman,
Among her descendants is the 2001 black stallion HU Sheikh Imaan (Imaann x Niema Nile by Shaik Al Badi), a great-grandson of *Saema in the tail female, and a greatgreat-grand son of Gamal El Din. His lines are increasingly
New information on the Egyptian stallion Gamal El Din
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popular today. [Note: HU Sheikh Imaan’s pedigree also includes the ancestor *Ibn Farhan, imported by the Queen Mother, but he is not a part of this proposal as research is ongoing for him.] Before the new information provided by Shaikh Tahawi Sa’ied Mejalli al-Tahawi surfaced, almost nothing was known about him, other than the mention on page 29 of the book “RAS History” that “Gamal El Din was a good racehorse, and was owned by Abu El-Fotouh Bey”. Now, thanks to the testimony of the old Tahawi Shaikh, we know the strain of Gamal El Din (K. Khallawi), his sire Barakat (for which we have a hujjah, and about which we already knew a lot), and his breeder Shaikh Abd al-Hamid Rageh al-Tahawi, one of the most respected breeders of Asil Arabians in Egypt. After an hour of talking, Shaikh Tahawi Sa’ied Mejalli alTahawi became tired, and we stopped the interview. He was also having some difficulty hearing all our questions. So the best thing we could do was to let him tell his own stories and not interrupt him, and this is how the information on Gamal El Din appeared. Here is a photo [opposite] of the elderly Shaikh, with my cousins Yehia Abd al-Sattar al-Tahawi (in the middle) and Mohammed Mohammed Saoud al-Tahawi on the right.” Best regards, Yasser Ghanim Barakat al-Tahawi ###
Based on the information provided from the interview with Shaikh Tahawi Sa’ied Mejalli al-Tahawi and combining it with what has been learned from the Tahawi regarding the previous Hamdan Stables Tahawi mares accepted by Al Khamsa, Gamal El Din’s pedigree is as follows: Thanks to Karen Kravcov Malcolm for furnishing this very rare photo of *Saema with Mrs. Godward from the Oakland Tribune, 4/19/51.
a Saqlawi Jidran of Ibn Zobeyni Dahman of Abdallah Saud al-Tahawi a Dahmat ‘Amer of Jar Allah ibn Tuwayrish Barakat
a Dahmat Shahwan of Mnazi’ Amer al-Tahawi
Gamal El Din, a c1935 Kuhaylan Khallawi bred by Shaikh Abdul Hamid Rageh al-Tahawi
a Kuhaylah Khallawiyah of Abdul Hamid Rageh al-Tahawi
In summary: This pedigree above is as close as one can get to the previously accepted Tahawi mare Futna; therefore Gamal El Din deserves to be recognized as a Foundation Horse by Al Khamsa because Gamal El Din in *Saema’s pedigree is essentially the same provenance as all the Tahawi horses already accepted by Al Khamsa. ~ Joe Ferriss, November, 2019. 9
I still remember her well.... Sirecho
Sirbana
1959 grey mare
Habbana
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Rabdan (Dahman El Azrak x Rabda) Bint Yamama (Saklawi I x Yemameh) Aiglon (D.B. x D.B.) *Exochorda Leila (D.B. x D.B.) *Fadl (Ibn Rabdan x Mahrousa) Ibn Fadl *Turfa (D.B. x D.B.) Fay-El-Dine (*Fadl x *Bint Serra) Bint Habba Habba (*Fadl x *Bint Bint Sabbah) *Nasr
still remember the excitement when she arrived at our farm in 1975. Although we already had Arabians and part-breds, Sirbana was our first Al Khamsa mare. I already knew her pedigree thoroughly and drove all the way to New Mexico to see her. She was in foal to an imported Crabbet stallion, the resulting foal of which the owner wanted to have back, and thereafter she was ours to do as we wished. It was a cold misty Saturday morning in late November when Sirbana stepped off of the van from the long trip. I took the lead line to lead her up our very long narrow drive, too narrow for the big horse van to turn up. The hauler said she was the nicest Arabian he had ever hauled and he wished they all were like her. Although nearly 17 years old, she was completely sound and moved freely. She walked like a predator, strong, confident, gently moving her head from side to side observing everything that was a part of her new home. Her curvy body seemed to flow like a dancer gracefully up the drive. She was confident and immediately trusting of me. Yet she radiated a sense of quiet dignity with deep, dark, contemplating eyes. Most of all she was all of the wonderful things I had read about her ancestors and the stories further back of the legendary bedouin horses in her pedigree. Sirbana was also one of the founding mares of the Babson-Sirecho-Turfa breeding group which began in 1959, the year she was born. Though there were not many of these around, we had travelled and seen quite a few of them. It was an ideal combination of old Egyptian and desert breeding. Unfortunately times have changed and there are fewer of these Babson-Sirecho-Turfa horses left. We stopped breeding a long time ago so we can’t add anything else to this group. Hopefully a new generation will come to understand the merits of this splendid group. It would be a shame to lose this combination, for they represent many of things that the Arabian was admired for year after year, century after century. How fortunate were we to have enjoyed some of these!
We continue to advertise and support the Khamsat magazine because it is here that the horse of centuries can be found. As a researcher and writer, I not only saved my Khamsats from the beginning, but I also refer back to them for information. Often this information is found not only in the articles but also in the advertising. So with pride we continue to support the only magazine of its kind, the Khamsat, and we encourage others to do so also. We welcome your call or visit.
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Brownstone Farm Since 1972 Joe & Sharon Ferriss 1059 Lukesport Road • Quincy, MI 49082 Tel. (517) 639-4443 • e-mail: ferrissjs@dmcibb.net
Al Khamsa Arabians & Children
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RL Bilquis
Fin DeSiecle CF
aka “Penny” 100% Davenport & 2 year old Jade
aka “Finnie” 100% Davenport & 4 year old Rylan
Jeannie Lieb • Sahra Arabians 288 Maple Street, Carlisle, MA JeannieMLieb@gmail.com 11
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A man to Whom Arabian Breeders Pay Homage Worldwide:
Photo: Dr. E. Frielinghaus
The impact of the life and work of the internationally acclaimed Hungarian horse breeder can still be traced in the Arabian breeding of the world. The offspring of the horses he selected seven decades ago still play a significant role today.
Tibor Pettkรณ-Szandtner was the leader of Hungarian horse breeding since 1942 as the head of the Horse Breeding Department of the Ministry of Agriculture. During his short mandate, he contributed to the flourishing of Hungarian horse breeding. However, his most remarkable achievement, among many others, during this difficult time of war, was his attempt to save the bloodstock of the Hungarian studs. When Soviet troops crossed the border of German-occupied Hungary in September 1944, he did not hesitate to act quickly. First and foremost, relying on his position and the potential connections of his friend, Prince Louis of Bavaria, a passionate admirer of Hungarian horses, he managed to have the prime bloodstock of Hungarian studs put 12
A Tribute to Tibor Pettkó-Szandtner, Part Two By László Király
Photo: Dr. E. Frielinghaus
Above: The general with his favourite mare, the extreme desert type Saqlaviyah Jidraniyah mare, Moniet El Nefous (Shahloul x Wanisa) and Mishka, his faithful companion. Opposite: Nazeer (Mansour x Bint Samiha), sire of Ghazal, Hadban Enzahi, *Morafic, Kaisoon, *Ansata Ibn Halima, Aswan, *Khofo, *S.F. Ibn Nazeer, *Talal, *Rashad Ibn Nazeer and many others, at age of 25.
into wagons to escape to the West from the approaching frontline in December 1944. Then, in March 1945, he and his wife followed the stock. Three studs, including about 260 Arabian horses from Bábolna, were settled in the Bavarian military remount stalls, which had been empty until then. Tibor Pettkó-Szandtner devoted himself to safeguarding the heritage of a century and a half of the work of Hungarian horse breeding, especially the stallion lines and mare families bred with great care. During the events and circumstances of the war, Bergstetten was an excellent site to achieve this goal, but the area also became occupied, as expected. 13
Above: Kuhaylan Zaid Or.Ar. (Kuhaylan Abu Junub x Kuhaylah Al Ziyadah)
Archive photo
This photo of the old stallion was taken in Bergstetten. He was eventually brought back to Hungary but could no longer play a role in breeding. A part of the pure-bred Arabian broodmares — among them most of the Kuhaylan Zaid mares — were seized by the American Army with the intention of transferring them to Behring Works for serum production. Capt. Billwin would not let this happen, and by swapping the mares, sent them to Poland. Under new names — Bomba, Bulwa, Blaga, etc. — these horses helped to lay the new foundations of the pure Arabian breed in Poland. They were used for a few years, but in 1951, the Polish Government sent all fourteen mares back to Bábolna. Thanks to this gesture, the 60 Adjuze asil dam line, the very last of its kind, is still thriving in Hungary. The savior of the line is 221 Kuhaylan Zaid-4, also known as Blaga in Poland, who was brought back to Hungary in foal by the last representative of the asil Amurath sireline, Amurath Sahib. The legendary mare 25 Amurath Sahib was foaled in 1952. The asil bloodline is still alive, although not in Bábolna. Bottom left: Polish Captain Billwin (to the left) and Major James P. Owens, an equestrian officer of the occupying U.S. Army, on the European battlefield. Bottom right: General George Smith Patton.
Billwin, who was Owens’ assistant, did not share the idea of traditional Polish-Hungarian friendship, and according to the recollection of eyewitness Lajos Szemerényi, he was especially hostile to the Hungarians. The two officers met each other at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, where they were both horse competitors.
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General Patton understood the situation and was helpful with Pettkó-Szandtner regarding the horses of the Hungarian State.
Archive photo
Above: General Tibor Pettkó-Szandtner, the stud manager of El Zahraa in 1957, with a part of his famous sabretache collection and other relics behind him. At right: The general and his beloved wife. Archive photo
Pettkó-Szandtner, having successfully resisted the occasionally violent German demands, also managed to defend the stock against the occupying U.S. military forces for a long time. Although at first this seemed unnecessary because once the battles ended — having visited the studs and understood the situation — General Patton, also a devoted horse lover, promised that the beautiful stock could return to their homeland after the peace treaty was concluded. To ensure this, he appointed a nominal commander, a captain, whose duty was to assist in the care and provision of the studs in every way until their return back to Hungary. After General Patton was removed from the position of Commander-in-Chief, the captain appointed by him was then replaced by Major Owens in Bergstetten, who was embroiled in a constant conflict with Pettkó-Szandtner. Hence, General Patton’s promise was no longer considered feasible by Major Owens. Major Owens did not support the activities of Pettkó-Szandtner, who determinedly guarded and protected the horses belonging to the Hungarian state, by all means, as long as he could. His efforts were only partially crowned with success, but it is thanks to him that Hungarian horse breeding could be reconstructed after the war at all. In October 1947, the first part of the evacuated stock was finally transported back to Hungary. Although he could not return to his homeland, a remarkable part of the bloodstock could be eventually saved. The Pettkó-Szandtner couple, leaving their homeland behind, finally moved to Sweden where Tibor (allow me to call him Tibor, as his friends also did) found a job in a stud, not surprisingly. It 15
was during his stay in this stud in 1948 that he was called by telephone by His Excellency Mohammed Taher Pasha, President of the Royal Agricultural Society of Egypt on behalf of the Egyptian King Farouk I, proposing a special offer. Taher Pasha, a cousin of King Farouk, had visited Bábolna before the war and was precisely aware of the general’s breeding expertise. He was highly impressed by the order, professionalism and quality of the bloodstock that he found and got acquainted with in Bábolna. The mandate he offered the general included the complete reorganization of the RAS stud. The commission was gladly accepted, but due to the Arab-Israeli war that had broken out in the meantime, he was not able to travel to Egypt until 1949. We can imagine what a great opportunity this mission meant for the retired soldier after the seemingly hopeless years. He was offered full power and full confidence in the country which became the “source” of pure-bred Arabian horses, as it was a well-known fact that the ancestors of the pure-bred Egyptian Arabian horses were the “cream” of the collected horses of the Bedouins, due on the one hand to the geographical proximity and on the other hand, to the passion of the rulers and the power elite. Tibor PettkóSzandtner was fully aware of the severity of the task, felt and acknowledged the importance of the survival of the pure-bred Arabian horse for the sake of the world’s horse breeding. Let me highlight once again his clear and precise definition published in 1942: “All Arabians that were purchased from one of the Bedouin tribes that breed very thoroughly and are from a well bred family are called Original Arabians. Pure-bred Arabians are Arab horses
Moniet El Nefous... was the apple of his eyes.
Photo: Dr. E. Bilke
that are not born in Arabia but provably originate from Original Arabians imported from Arabia and their blood does not contain anything but Original Arabian blood.” He was also aware of the situation that the number of these horses and the quality of the bloodstock had dangerously reduced and deteriorated on their original breeding ground. However, RAS had a bloodstock, which, according to the will of the founder Khedive Abbas Hilmi, had been destined for expansion and flourishing over the past decades in harmony with the original purpose, the purpose of breeding being the “preservation and perpetuation of Arab horse breeding as a matter of Egypt’s cultural heritage.” It was this very bloodstock that Tibor Pettkó-Szandtner was called to reconstruct with his expertise. The task was clear and evident, just like the trust and full authority granted to him. His principals expected that he would introduce modern principles not only in breeding but also in husbandry. He received full power and all the support to do so.
Top: The general and Moniet El Nefous. Below, left and right, the handwritten pages for Moniet. He wrote the studbook alternatively in German and Hungarian. The complete manuscript can soon be accessd on the Arabian Horse Archives website: https://arabianarchives.org.
The livestock breeding section of the RAS, founded in 1898 in order to encourage Egyptian agriculture, began its operations in 1908. As the state needed a large number of remounts for the military and police, the organization “facilitated” horse breeding in 16
the provinces by outsourcing stallions. Initially, these were English Thoroughbreds, but the attempt did not work, and the breeders did not like their offspring. Therefore, the new goal was to supply the studs with pure-bred Arabian sires. Here we can see a parallel with the experiment applied in Bábolna, where, as previously mentioned in the first part of the article, they experimented with and then abandoned crossbreeding with English Thoroughbred stallions. The basis for the Arab breeding of the national stud established in Bahteem, near Heliopolis, was provided by the bloodstock of Abbas Hilmi, which was donated to the RAS by the Khedive in 1914 at the time of his dethronement. The national stud has flourished over the years with countless donations and purchases. However, Bahteem was not suitable for the future plans, the Nile Delta region was not really suitable for Arabian horses either, so the RAS moved the breeding operation to nearby Cairo, to Ein Shams, located in the desert. The breeding continued here in the new facility of KAFR FAROUK stud, named by King Fouad after his son. Kafr Farouk’s first stud manager was Dr. Branch, an English veterinarian, retired in the mid-1930’s, who, during his work and as a member of the Jockey Club at the same time, assigned an important role to testing the breeding stock on the racetrack. He was followed by Dr. Ahmed Mabrouk, an Egyptian veterinarian, who preferred using “outcross” stallions, then by Dr. Ashoub. The latter was a devoted advocate of livestock breeding and was the manager of the stud between 1941–1949. He is also known for compiling the first Egyptian Stud Book (1948). His favourite stallions were the Saqlawi Jidran Ibn Sudan Shahloul (Ibn Rabdan x Bint Radia) and the Dahman Shahwan Sheikh El Arab (Mansour x Bint Sabah). It is also to his credit that Tibor Pettkó-Szandtner, who joined the stud in 1949, could select and assign many noble mares to his plans. On his arrival, the general had to face significant challenges: not only the foreign culture, but also the extreme climatic conditions that are unusual for Europeans. Not to mention the language, although his wife’s excellent knowledge of English must have helped him here, just like in Bergstetten. The only milieu that was not
Photo: Edouard Al Dahdah
strange to him was the company of his beloved Arabian horses. His primary objective was to improve the conditions of the stud. As a matter of fact, Kafr Farouk’s 50-acre area in Ein Shams, apart from stud buildings, was actually a mere desert. “We basically do not have any pasture here at all, only desert sand. From late November to late May, horses are fed with green clover, which is dried in the summer, and barley,” he wrote in his letter to the late German hippologist, Dr. H.J. Flade. Not only was there no grass in the stud area, but the only shade was provided by a row of date palms. In an effort to improve the situation, he immediately commenced to plant trees. He wanted to create an oasis around him, a green island in the desert, pleasant for both humans and animals. Furthermore, he reformed the procedures of horse feeding, fodder production and ingathering. As he did not find the six huge buildings practical on his arrival, he reconstructed the stables following the well-proven Hungarian pattern allowing free movement for the foals. As documented by a former employee and friend of Pettkó-Szandtner, László Monostory, who emigrated to the U.S. and with whom he was in regular correspondence, paddocks and yards were Top: Ibn Rabdan (Rabdan El Azrak x Bint Gamila). Left: The Hall of Stallions at El Zahraa stud in the mid-1950’s.
Photo: Dr. E. Bilke
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Left: His favorite stallion’s name, Nazeer, was spelled “ Nazir” by PettkóSzandtner. Below: Hind (Ibn Rabdan x Bint Rustem). The Hadbah Inzihiyah halfsister of Mashhour was dam of Fasiha and Mozzafar.
Photo: Dr E. Bilke
Raswan. Thus, it is no wonder that the daughters of Sheikh El Arab and Shahloul represented a striking number among the carefully selected species. Among them, the Saqlawiyah Jidraniyah Moniet El Nefous (Shahloul x Wanisa) was the apple of his eyes. Although she also had some appearance flaws based on detailed reviews in his handwritten stud book, this remarkable chestnut mare, which was close to the ideal overall, received special attention in the years to come. According to the entry, she is a unique type with a noble head, well-positioned neck, good withers, high tail set, correct forelegs, although slightly cow-hocked but wide and deep enough, and correct movement.
also made: “He built exercise courses and enlarged a small office building to provide himself with living quarters so that he could be near the presence of his beloved horses constantly. Lacking also had been a saddle and harness room, which he had built.” The article published in the June 1980 issue of Arabian Horse World, provides a detailed description of Kafr Farouk’s situation at the time. While providing the adequate circumstances and conditions for breeding, he also started the selection of the inherited bloodstock. This was aided by Dr. Abdel Alim Ashoub’s History of the Royal Agricultural Society’s Stud of Authentic Arabian Horses, which was published in 1948 and is also considered the first pure-bred Arabian stud book in Egypt.
Moniet El Nefous is of excellent origin. Her father is Shahloul, son of Ibn Rabdan, her mother is Wanisa, daughter of Sheikh El
Pettkó-Szandtner applied a strict set of criteria to the selection of each horse. Following the example set in Bábolna, in addition to purity of blood, he considered it essential that not only the appearance and movement of the Arabian horses, but also their internal values should reflect the usual and expected characteristics of the breed. He started the selection of the bloodstock with the “seedbed”: the mares. While studying the stock and their pedigrees, he was highly impressed by the Kuhaylan Mimreh Mansour — and the presence of the Hadban Inzahi Ibn Rabdan’s blood, which had also been praised by 18
Left: Bint Samiha (Kazmeen x Samiha), dam of Nazeer and Shams. Below: Sheikh El Arab (Mansour x Bint Sabah). Bottom: Shahloul (Ibn Rabdan x Bint Radia).
All Archive photos
Arab, whose sire is the favored Mansour. The manuscript mentions her as “Saklavia Gidrania Ibn Sudan”. Based on the possibilities provided by today’s science, including the results of DNA tests, we now know that her mare family cannot be identical with the ancestor of Ghazieh, Abbas Pasha’s mare, provably linked to Ibn Sudan marbat. However, I am convinced that this does not reduce her breeding value. Although originating from another marbat, the family of Moniet El Nefous is another precious Saqlawi Jidran family coming from Ali Pasha Sherif ’s breeding, which was transferred to the RAS stud through Prince Ahmed Pasha Kemal. In addition to Moniet El Nefous, Pettkó-Szandtner also mentioned the following mares among his favorites over the years: the Dahmah Shahwaniyat mares Bukra (Shahloul x Bint Sabah), Maisa (Shahloul x Zareefa), Nefisa (Balance x Helwa), as well as the Hadbah Inzahi mares Salwa (Ibn Rabdan x Bint Rustem) and Shams (Mashaan x Bint Samiha). After that another important step was the selection of the right stallions. In his article, László Monostory recalled the general’s words about the beginnings: “The stallions which were present in 1949, when I took over the management of the El-Zahraa stud farm, were mostly old, partly very old. Many had hereditary faults and were, mostly, unfit for the standard which ought to be set for breeding stallions to raise the general level of horse breeding in Egypt. During the past six years I was able to eliminate about fifty percent of this faulty material and to replace it by young, new, better stallions of known origin.” In terms of mares and stallions, the drastic selection was based on Tibor Pettkó-Szandtner’s unique concept of breeding, which he firmly carried out in light of his experience covering almost 50 years. He perfectly knew that the genetic heritage acquired here 19
offspring, he followed the same principle in Egypt when he selected Nazeer as his leading stallion. As it turned out, time has justified him.
“will shine like precious stones once they are cleaned from sludge”, as he put it in his own words in a letter to Dr. Flade. In order to find the most suitable stallions, he collected all the pure-bred Arabian stallions on display from all over the country in the then RAS stallion depot located in Bahteem, 10 miles from Cairo. The chosen ones were the Dahman Shahwan Sid Abouhom (El Deree x Layla), the Hadban Inzahi Nazeer/Nazir (Mansour x Bint Samiha). They were followed by two Dahman Shahwan stallions: El Sareei (Shahloul x Zareefa) and Gassir (Kheir x Badia).
Since he chose Sheik El Arab’s daughters in an outstanding number while selecting the broodmare stock, we can rightly assume that he was already looking for Mansour’s blood when he selected Nazeer, who was already 15 years old when discovered. Eventually, he bred splendid offspring by crossing the daughters of Sheikh El Arab with Nazeer, duplicating Mansour’s blood. And even though Nazeer did not inherit uniformly, he gave type and transmitted an overall quality to his offspring.
As in Bábolna, he put special emphasis on practicability, one of the basic conditions of which is excellent leg structure. Hence his well-known saying: “no legs, no horse”.
The promotion of the other selected and favored stallion, Sid Abouhom (Nabeeh), born in 1936 to be a leading stallion, was opposed by several experts, including Dr. Ameen Zaher, but Pettkó -Szandtner steadfastly encouraged the use of the powerful, 15 ½ hand gray stallion endowed with excellent leg structure and good movement. Moreover, the robust stallion also had a nice typical head and huge, dark, expressive eyes. Sid Abouhum’s father was the Saqlawi Shaifi El Deree, the successful desert-bred racehorse donated to the RAS by King Farouk. His mother was Layla, Ibn Rabdan’s daughter, a Dahmah Shahwaniyah mare. Due to his Muniqi-type figure characteristic of racehorses, Sid Abouhum performed well on the racetrack.
Why did he still choose Nazeer as one of his leading stallions? Although practicability must involve a suitable size, and Nazeer’s height at withers was only 14.2 hh (with a stick 148 cm), therefore the criterium for the height at the withers can be excluded. As an expert, he understood that a contracted hoof and the shortening of tendons were not clearly inherited traits, only predisposing factors. These traits mostly evolved due to environmental factors and a lack of trace elements, namely zinc and copper. Hence, in Nazeer’s case, he did not deal with this question. All the more so with the stallion’s radiance and nice Arabian type. As he explained: “Among the noblest stallions, he is the most distinctive. Grey with short cannon bones, very good action, correct legs, his skin was so fine that one could see the veins like a network all over his body.” This radiance obscured his other undeniable appearance flaws. Moreover, Nazeer had also performed well on the racetrack in the past.
His offspring testify to Pettkó-Szandtner’s sense. Let us recall Mouna, Moniet El Nefous’s daughter, who was sired by him, whom even Raswan referred to in superlatives. Between 1949 and 1959, in addition to the intensive use of Nazeer and Sid Abouhom, El Sareei and Gassir, as well as Mashhour played a role in shaping the next generation.
The selection of this stallion clearly proves that Tibor PettkóSzandtner shared the Bedouins’ views, as he once reported: ...“To them, minor exterior faults such as a slightly soft back, weak loins, sickle-hocks, cow hocks, cow posture, a slightly improper placement of the front legs, and longer posterior, are not taken too seriously into account. To them, the purebred bloodline, the stamina, the true Arabian horse type, the overall beauty are the most important.”
In his article published in 1993, citing Colin Pearson and Kees Mol’s book entitled The Arabian Horse Families of Egypt, R.J. Cadranell (released in the Arabian Visions, May/June issue of 1993) provided a detailed analysis as to how many offspring of a stallion were born during the time of Pettkó-Szandtner. According to the study, while Nazeer sired about 100 foals over the years, Sid Abouhom only sired 70. It might be surprising that El Sareei, on the maternal branch originating from the line of Bint El Bahreyn, described as extremely elegant, endowed with brilliant movement and eye-catching tail posture, had less than 20 offspring during this time. Nevertheless, this splendid bay Dahman Shahwan stallion was the son of the dominant Shahloul.
As he had acted in the case of Kuhaylan Zaid back in Bábolna by accepting minor appearance flaws in the hope of excellent
Gassir (Kheir x Badia, by Ibn Rabdan), a less elegant, more robust, but well-moving gray stallion, may have been one of the selected ones due to his special origins, since on his paternal line he transmitted the stallion line of Jamil El Kebir through Samhan. An additional reason for his selection may have been due to his robust quality. Gassir sired about 20 foals during this time. Left: Gassir (Kheir x Badia). Archive photo
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Archive photo
Hadban Enzahi, originally Kamel ( Nazeer x Kamla).
Further remarkable candidates may be the offspring (ca. 10) of the Hadban Inzahi Mashhour (Shahloul x Bint Rustem, by Rustem). This stallion, born in 1941, was used by the general during the first and last years of his commandership. Other stallions siring one or a few, or even 10 offspring did not play an important role in the future. Egypt saw chaotic times to come in the following years. In 1952, a revolution broke out leading to the army takeover. While King Farouk emigrated to Italy, the new regime tried to eliminate all the reminiscences of the monarchy. The name of the Royal Agriculture Society was changed to Egyptian Agricultural Organization (EAO) and the name of the national stud was changed from Kafr Farouk to El Zahraa. Fortunately, these changes did not affect Tibor Pettkó-Szandtner’s work. His knowledge and expertise were still needed. He was left in peace and could virtually remain in the same place, although some organizational changes occurred, and he also received a new superior. The royal stud in Inshass became a military base, and one part of the Royal Khassa’s horses, the INSHASS stud stock was partially auctioned, but the prime horses came into the possession of the EAO. The horses were carefully selected by Pettkó-Szandtner personally, but bred separately at another location. Was he perhaps distrustful of the stock? Or did he foresee the future and discover a later opportunity in the genetics of the INSHASS horses to avoid 21
inbreeding? I would rather support the latter theory. Nevertheless, the two studs were actually merged only after the general’s leave. The Hungarian László Oláh, who flew from Buenos Aires to Cairo to see Tibor Pettkó-Szandtner, noted the following on his visit to “New Bábolna”: … “My driver brakes and we suddenly find ourselves in front of a fresh, well-groomed, green living hedge, surrounded by white painted paddocks, a row of young trees…I immediately glimpse the general’s colossal figure. He is wearing a hunting hat, and on his cape, I recognize the red cuff, the color of the Hungarian generals… The door opens, and we are welcome inside by the mistress of the house in a hall suitable for a refectory as well… Oriental carpets, leather armchairs, silverware on the tables, set of awards… A library, bibliophilic editions, beautiful bindings, all of them about horses, harnessing methods, carriage driving… We are chatting… I forget about the passage of time, but am awaken[ed] by the metallic sound of a horn, a bugle call… — Yes — my master smiled at me — foddering. I introduced this bugle call here as well, just like in Bábolna. — Bábolna? — I asked him. — Yes, this is “New Bábolna” — he answered to me in a hoarse voice. We go out to do the foddering. The wall of the stable is painted “Bábolnayellow”, tables of pedigrees above the doors, the decoration of the copper buttons all model the Bábolna style. — I had
Archive photo
Hadban Enzahi and the little Dahmah Shahwaniyah foal, Nadja/Nadia (Nazeer x Nefisa) in Alexandria, on the way to Europe, to the German State Stud, Marbach.
boxes built for the horses, apply abundant bedding, and the horses are not bound just like at home. Look at the beams of the paddocks, these are real imported Transylvanian pines. Look at that tree, it is a real Hungarian acacia… I had it planted here by myself…This is my tree, whenever I look at it, I imagine living on the sand of the Hungarian Nyírség… In the stable, a hundred and fifty Arabian mares and forty stallions are fed with fodder… — Look at the head of this gentle horse, I have never seen such a gentle and noble head. Here is the mother, she is also a noble type. I was commissioned five years ago… They give me peace and freedom. This is how New Bábolna was born — he explains to me, and his sun-tanned face and smile are as if he was dreaming of his homeland… A heavy, squeaking door opens, and we enter the treasure chamber of the gentleman, the noble carriage driver. From the green cloth table… a collection of brightly polished bits and bridles shines on us. Along the wood-covered walls, complete sets of harnesses for four- and five-in hand driving hang in a row like black mummies. — We do not go anywhere. I prefer to stay at home among my Transylvanian beams, I do the same activities as I would do at home. But I feel as if his voice slightly choked up… with An Arab man approaches the stable with a large chisel. — The royal crown must be cut off the tables of pedigrees as it announces the royal power of King Farouk… The world is changing, and my time is also coming to an end — he quietly tells me. We are heading for the garden. The five-year-old trees already provide a nice shade over the garden furniture. My eyes are caught by
the sight of a small earth mound covered by a granite cube. — It is the tomb of my beloved dog, Mishka. He was our faithful companion until now — says the master of the house… I say farewell. The Arab grooms mounted on horseback are lined up on the road. They look at the general with a military stance, who came here to try to recreate his own lost world on the land of the drifting sand.”.... …. which he seems to have managed, indeed. He could breed and realize his own ideas as he had once done at home, in Bábolna, his beloved homeland. He managed the stud book himself, updating the data regarding each covering and foal birth. Pettkó-Szandtner achieved remarkable results within a few years. His correspondence with Dr. H.J. Flade suggests that the general was satisfied with the achievements. He managed to establish a noticeable stud in the middle of the desert, with constant visitors coming from all corners of the world who promoted the reputation of the noble horse stock encountered here. As he once wrote: “I am lucky and pleased, the successes make me feel content.” Buyers appeared in the mid-fifties. First, a horse purchasing committee was sent by Germans. This is reported by Monostory as follows: “In 1955 a committee consisting of European horse-breeding experts went to Egypt to buy breeding stock. Of General PettkóSzandtner’s six years of enterprise at El Zahraa, they wrote: “We have traveled extensively to Arabian horse farms across the world and are acquainted with the maximum of excellence in this field, but have NEVER, EVER seen such beautiful, noble and dry Arabian purebreds 22
as those here at El Zahraa.” Two years later these same experts reported to the general that the offspring of the mares and stallions purchased from El Zahraa were each one more beautiful than the other... The European breeders also wrote the following of the El Zahraa breed: “It is conspicuous that all the horses have high and notably long withers extending to the back. They have characteristics typical of the Arabian purebred — they are tame, affectionate, friendly and smart — they learn extremely easily.” The members of the German delegation consisted of the prominent members of the German breeders’ association, namely Dr. Ernst Bilke, the president of the breeders’ association, Dr. Ekkehardt Frielinghaus, the secretary, the well-known authority Herbert Rudofsky, and Dr. Wenzler, the head of the stud in Marbach. Their mission was to purchase pure-bred Arabian horses for the State Stud in Marbach. The delegation did not return home empty-handed. They took the Hadban Inzahi Kamel, Nazeer’s son (out of Bint Samiha) to Marbach, who was later named Hadban Enzahi and who sired about 70 mares, contributing to the complete renewal of the breeding stock in Marbach. Dr. Georg Wenzler, leader of the State Stud in Marbach between 1949–1974, was extremely pleased with the stallion. As Pettkó-Szandtner wrote to Dr. Flade, he sold this particularly noble and genuine stallion to Marbach with a heavy heart because he wanted to promote him as his sire’s successor. Eventually, he sold him because his basic principle was that a well-reputed stud should only be sold a very special, elite horse. In the same year, the German Prince von Knyphausen bought another son of Nazeer, the Dahman Shahwan Ghazal (out of Bukra) and Moheba (Sid Abouhum x Halima), a bay Dahmeh Shahwaniyah mare. These purchases had an impressive echo in Europe. The Hungarians also joined the queue to buy horses, more precisely, they wanted to purchase two stallions for Bábolna. Pettkó-Szandtner recommended to them really special horses, but finally they did not buy them. Others did, for example Richard Pritzlaff from the U.S. He was the first in the line of American breeders who imported horses from Egypt after World War II. Mr. Pritzlaff purchased five foals in 1958, a colt, the Kuhaylan Rodan Rashad Ibn Nazeer, and four fillies: the Saqlawiyah Jidraniyah mares Bint Moniet El Nefous (Nazeer x Moniet El Nefous) and Bint El Bataa (Nazeer x El Bataa) as well as the Dahmah Shahwaniyah mares Bint Dahma (El Sareei x Dahma II) and Bint Nefisa (El Sareei x Nefisa). In the second part of the article, I had intended to share my impressions gained in El Zahraa and present the reminiscences of the work of Tibor Pettkó-Szandtner. According to the original plan, I was about to travel as a member of a group to record scenes of a documentary made about his work and gain personal experiences in order to supplement what I have learnt about him from books, as well as the correspondences and recollections of those who met him in person. However, the pandemic intervened, and the trip was cancelled. Hopefully not for ever, and one day I will be able to get to the place where the memory of this genius of Hungarian horse breeding is still preserved today. I also hope that the documentary episode set in Egypt will be completed one day, since his heritage as a breeder is present even today in Cairo, Africa’s largest city and megapolis, with its suburbs counting 20 million inhabitants 23
nowadays, surrounding Kafr Farouk, today known as El Zahraa, previously located in the desert. The memory of ‘New Bábolna’ can be found in El Zahraa, perhaps the purest source of Arabian horses, and continues to live in the horses whose predecessors were bred by our hero, who ensured the survival of the bloodstock of legendary breeders — Abbas Pasha, Ali Pasha Sherif, Lady Anne Blunt — and their blood continues to flow in the pure-bred Arabian horses in every corner of the world. It can be firmly stated that Tibor Pettkó-Szandtner made a longlasting contribution to Arabian horse breeding in Egypt and to Arabian breeding in the world at the same time. It is his merit that this unique genetic cultural treasure was revitalized which he, thanks to his expertise, protected and secured for future horse breeders. As he writes: “If the good Lord grants me a few more years, I wish to write a book about this special work that is indescribably interesting for a breeder. I must thank the good Lord for bringing me here.” Unfortunately, I could not find any indication whatsoever that he had actually begun to write the book. Due to his deteriorating health, in 1959, he left Egypt and moved to Germany. Although his advice was much sought after in El Zahraa as his contract was still in force, the famous breeder’s work had sadly ceased by his death in 1961. Tibor Pettkó-Szandtner can be regarded as a role model not only in terms of his professional but also human qualities. His ashes, along with his wife’s ashes, are buried in Bábolna, in the chapel built by himself on the territory of the stud which counted as the purest source in Europe in terms of Arabian horses during his leadership. Acknowledgements: Special thanks to Csilla Egyed and Ferenc Böröcz. Archive photos: László Király, Gudrun Waiditschka. Editor’s Note: I wish to personally thank László Király for offering the Khamsat such a distinguished original article. It is an honor.
Please Support Al Khamsa! Don’t let us fade away!
This blog is maintained by Edouard Al Dahdah, a breeder and lover of Desert Arabian Horses, and otherwise an economist at the World Bank. It seeks to share a passion, of course, but also to raise awareness about desert Arabian horses, their homeland and their heritage. Keep reading and I will keep posting.
Daughter of the Wind... From eyelashes to ancient skyscrapers in Yemen, from study of the Arabic copy of the Abbas Pasha manuscript to the asil horses of Tunisia, from ancient Arabian history to new foals, from early 19th century European Arabian breeders to Arabian oryx and wolves: this blog is always fascinating and welcomes your input.
http://daughterofthewind.org/ 24
Lothar Ibn Lothar Shar Sabbah Abbas Ibn Lothar Mah Hab Roulett Fa Lothar Azaba Saafaddan Ibn Saafaddan Daal Aba Almoraima Neblina Mahrouf Marlaroufa Bint Bah Roufa
*Fadl x Habba Negem x Gammousa Mahrouf x Bah Habba Bint Roulett Mahrouf x Roulena Faddan x Saaba Daaldan x Fay El Aba Fabah x Aaroufa Ibn Fa-Serr x Bah Roufa
Taliid Faye Neblina Fleet-Foot Sera DahmanSabbah Khezera Bedu Sabir Negem Shar Sabbah Gammousa Aareebah Ibn Fa-Serr Midbar Fa Rabdan Aroufina Almoraima Alegria Mahrouf Fa Mahrouf Bint Bahretta
Khebir x Nadra Ibn Faddan x Aradan Fa-Serr x Fay-Negma *Fadl x Fay-Sabbah Fa-Serr x Fa Deene Fabah x Roufina Fabah x Aaroufa Serr Rou x Bahretta
Living with this lovely 2016 SBE filly is easy, she’s a delight in every way!
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co-owned by Linda & Frank Bochansky and Monica & Patrick Respet at Husaana Arabians 6635 Central Road New Tripoli, PA 18066 monicarespet@gmail.com
2017 Convention Presentation
Female Entrepreneurs in Arabian Breeding by Brigitte Killian
I was invited by Pam Studebaker to attend the 2017 Al Khamsa convention as a guest speaker about my PhD research on female entrepreneurs in the breeding business of purebred Arabian horses and to lead a panel of female breeders. My research focuses on interviewing female breeders worldwide, both orally and written. So far I have gathered some specific results among a couple of breeders and information on female entrepreneurs in general.
Charles and Jeanne, Edie Booth and others and learned a lot from them by plain emailing (before whatsapp and messenger period). I was anxious to meet them all in person. Though I am not a seasoned solo traveler, I did enjoy the long trip all by myself. Tipp City, Ohio is not exactly a world famous place but it has large agricultural fields and the centre of the city is quite nice with a few cute shops and coffee stops. To me, as a Dutchie, the drive-ins were remarkable. I did not realize there is so many of them in all kinds of tastes (Taco Bell for instance) and of course the typical diner with huge, yes huge hamburgers and fries is truly awesome. Poor American tourists that visit Europe, they will starve on a diet of our quite small portions! Visit Europe, bring your own food or make sure it is in a time you need to loose weight … sorry.
In the Netherlands hardly anyone knows about Asil Arabians, Asil Club or even Straight Egyptians. The focus is on show horses of popular lines and there is a historical focus on Russian bloodlines, as they were most promoted in Holland back in the day. In France there is quite a community of Sheykh Obeyd, Babson focused and Desert Bred breeders. Al Khamsa and other organizations are known there. In any case, the Asil Club is not really a thing for them or me. That’s why I have contacted many Al Khamsa breeders in the past. My good friend Saskia Klaassen introduced me to Gert and Elisabeth Stam of Manara Arabians in 1998 and told me all about Al Khamsa Arabians. Without Saskia as an ambassador, I might not have found out about them. In 1999 we were invited by Elisabeth Stam to visit Walter Schimanski, Robin Weeks, Cheryl Horton, Jane Beard and Vicki Butler. I learned so much about Sheykh Obeyd, Babson and Al Khamsa Arabians.
I attended a board meeting which was very helpful for my research. It seemed that awareness about the precious horses of Al Khamsa breeders starts to get international recognition. Because of wars or simple not knowing, the more rare bloodlines are nearly gone in the Middle East. Some of these lines have been bred on in the United States and interested breeders from the Middle-East region turn to Al Khamsa breeders for horses. A peculiar situation in fact! My presentation went quite well. I got positive remarks from the audience afterwards, which I highly appreciate. Some highlights of my research so far were:
It was a wonderful trip and still fondly remembered by us. Back then much specific knowledge was passed on to me by Tracey Tromp, a scientist who then had bought a breeding group from Walter, Vicki and the Stam family which was closely related to the Manara herd in Holland. She had designed a website about Al Khamsa Arabians with general information on the breeding group ánd very specific information on Babsons. I learned this information by heart and by the time I visited Walter I knew all his horses by name and pedigree. A slamdunk of impressing the master himself! Unfortunately, Tracey’s website has been offline for many years now and I never found a site so generous with information especially about the Masada program and a very clear overview of all the Al Khamsa breeding groups.
• In Europe only 30% of all entrepreneurs are female. • They are restricted to certain sections like retail and administration services and hardly present in agriculture, fishery and forestry. • The old boys network might form a threshold to get access to the field of entrepreneurship. • Male and female entrepreneurs differ in motivation, qualities and goals.
On the subject in relation to the Arabian horse world, it is relevant that:
So it was an emotional moment for me to go back to the States, land of the horses I love most and a memory of a time when many of the great breeders of the past like Walter, Charles Craver and others were still there. I met several of them online on the then-AK Horsemen List in the time before Facebook. Lots of discussion, useful and ‘sinful’ were there! I also had email conversations with
• The past 50 years the number of female trainers has declined in the show world. • It seems that in the Al Khamsa breeding group female entrepreneurs are best represented. 26
• The Arabian horse culture is divided in subcultures that share overlap. This overlap can be used to exchange ideas, knowledge and create trade.
The panel gave me further important information. Rosemary Byrnes Doyle, Megan Detweiler King and Edie Booth took place. One interpretation was that my research was a search of success in only material matters but that success was also measurable as breeding success like a line that was saved. This was very useful insight for me. Another important observation was made that today’s backyard breeder might have a negative sound to it but that this backyard breeder is basically the backbone of the breed, because many preservation breeders are people that preserve precious and nearly extinct lines and even whole breeding groups by concentrating on a few individual breeding horses. They differ from the big farms that massively produce the same sort of horses. Therefore the backyard breeder seems to be the guard of diversity and savior of nearly extinct lines in Arabian horses. Last but not least it had been underlined that if you want to earn a million by breeding horses you need to invest a million first! Breeding is about passion, commitment, dedication and perseverance. If you do not have the stamina to take care of your horses every single day, year in and out, become dirty and tired of the work involved then you do not belong in this business. The rest of the convention was fantastic! The other lectures were very interesting. One remarkable one was that of the Saluki breeder that went to and imported breeding dogs from Iran. She explained how dog breeders encountered today’s Arabian horse breeding problems decades ago. For instance the strategies to deal with genetic diseases and also the purity of bloodlines was discussed. I specifically mention this lecture because the subject of breeding Salukis is not that common on a horse convention! Back in the day, Walter let me read an article written by a dog breeder and told me that the vision of this breeder was very useful to Arabian horse breeders. Of course, there was a tribute to the late Charles Craver, then just recently deceased. Charles once advised me how to deal with my first heavy fall off my first Arab horse. I had always wanted to visit him but before I knew it lots of time passed by and Charles had passed away. His passing was one event that made me try and remember not to postpone things that seem really important to me. I was glad I could meet Jeanne Craver though. And I was glad to meet Edie Booth, someone I also talked to and had never met before. Internet is a great thing. I am able to speak to so many people I would hesitate to call the normal way, because you usually do not phone a stranger out of the blue with a zillion questions about horsebreeding. Impressive was also the mounted archery demo of Devan Pennington. Temperatures rose high at the time of her demo and we enjoyed it as much as we could from the shadows. What had started as a typical Dutch weather trip became hot and humid, my kind of weather. Mounted archery seems to be a real cool thing to do and I might pursue this at home. The fantasia was wonderful. It is an excellent concept to be able to see the representatives of the different groups and get some explanation of their pedigrees while enjoying the show. Shouldn’t that 27
be a great concept for some of the shows in Europe? I know Noble Event in Holland has some sort of show like this but restricted to Straight Egyptians. In any case, I think the mainly competitive shows might become a thing of only a handful of wealthy breeders. The majority wants more accessible and educational shows like the Amateur Cups in Europe. Then the farm visits! I had so much fun specifically with Jeanne Lieb, Margie Johnson and Jenny Krieg while driving to farms and talking horses along the way. We visited David Meyers’ Renaissance Arabians. There were beautiful horses related to Tassan Egyptians of Donna Ott. I also emailed with her in the past and back then, say twenty years ago, the technique of embryo transfer and sexing the semen were already well known in the USA. So we discussed the possibilities then, because I really liked what she bred. It is a sad thing that meanwhile David passed and another breeding program came to an end. Some of his legacy is continued in Europe through REA Nisr’s Alibi and his Sheykh Obeyd son Sultan Monem at Chantal Chekroun’s Al Shatane stud in France. Then we visited the stud of Crystal Osterhaus-Hardy who had a couple of fabulous mares! I am sorry that I did not remember the pedigrees. Crystal told me she was raised in the Sheykh Obeyd culture because of her parents. Nice to see how Al Khamsa breeding traditions are continued by the next generations. Hopefully we all can perpetuate this precious tradition and Al Khamsa Arabians will thrive into the future. Last but not least we visited Saklawiyat Arabians of Deborah Switzer and Pam Studebaker where I fell in love with a Pritzlaff stallion Bahir Ibn Kazmeen (Kazmeen Ibn Shiko x RG Iris), nicknamed ‘Curly’. How I wish I could breed to him. We have one known and older Pritzlaff stallion nearby in Germany but besides him, Straight Pritzlaff is hard to come by in Europe. We also visited the Barbaretum, a huge tree collection of a cousin of Pam Studebaker. Barbara traveled the world to take beautiful wildlife and people pictures, which she showcased in her beautiful home. Outside there was her collection of special trees, available to the entire community. Funny enough, Barbara told us she never visited her niece’s precious collection of rare Straight Egyptian horses! I met many wonderful people during the convention and learned a lot. This was an unique experience for me and I want to thank everyone involved for sharing their stories and make this a truly great trip. I hope to return with my family so I can share with them my passion that was initiated decades ago. My foundation in Al Khamsa Arabians has been sparked by Saskia Klaassen, she is a great ambassador in Europe for basically every line or group within Al Khamsa. Gert and Elisabeth Stam have done an amazing job preserving the Straight Babson Egyptian and Gert himself attended the 2018 convention to talk about the Babson progress in Europe. I would like to continue this cooperation and make an effort to get the Europe-America connection known here, first by producing this article which was recently published in the Dutch newsletter of the purebred Arabian horse registry. We all need each other for knowledge, share horses and companionship. The majority breeds general list purebred Arabians, fine and precious as they are, the Al Khamsa Arabian is a league of its own.
SBE
STRAIGHT BABSON EGYPTIAN The straight Babson Egyptian horses trace in every line of their pedigrees to horses imported by Henry Babson in 1932, *Fadl, *Maaroufa, *Bint Bint Sabbah, *Bint Bint Durra, *Bint Saada, and *Bint Serra I. SBEs have been a closed breeding group for 88 years and it is hoped that that will continue for at least another 88 years. With only 200+/- breeding age, and younger, animals worldwide, these horses are rare and you may not have had an opportunity to see one. To help correct that, here are SBEs showing some of the diverse, fun things they can do.
This page, clockwise from top left: Fa Maarlina with Jacqueline Kruglick; Mahr Rou with Travis Braden; Masada Mazal with Jill Thomas, V Glink-photographer; Kahlidah Kamar Rou++/ with Brittany Bartlett, Moonfyre Photography; SS Fabahs Kahrisalys and Family; Fabah Serr and Friend. Opposite: Serr Kazmeen with Righ Westby; Taliid Faye Neblina with Monica Respet; Serr Mashkour with Don Vance; SS Baaroufa Dani with Paula Rice; SS Dandee Rises with Paula Rice; Khebirs Akelah and Friend. Photos from private collections. Known photographers as noted.
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SBE
STRAIGHT BABSON EGYPTIAN
For more information on SBEs, go to Facebook — Babson Egyptian Arabian Enthusiasts or to http://straightbabsonegyptianarabians.com. Or, for help in finding an SBE of your own, contact Gayle Tyler at gmctyler@aol.com for the most up-to-date information possible on who owns SBEs worldwide, the SBE mares and stallions they own, and where they are located. 29
Hawks Haven Farm
Davenports of the Kuhaylan Kurush strain. Inaam Al Krush (Monologue x HH Noura Krush)
Kim Davis 7275 Manchester Road, Capron, IL 61012 815-540-3060, kdavis@sharontelephone.com
SpiritWind Desert Arabians, LLC
(est. 1991)
Indian Valley, Idaho
Available to a new Forever Home!
SpiritWind Baasil AHR# 676379 (SpiritWind Ahsahm x DA Moniets Dove)
2018 Grey Stallion of Pritzlaff/Babson/Doyle/EAO breeding
Baas (Boss) is 2 yrs old & already 14.3h tall; a smooth Dam: DA Moniets Dove
powerful mover; and NOTHING rattles him! Endurance,
Sire: SpiritWind Ahsahm
ranching, driving‌pick a sport‌he is very smart, and loves a task! And, he always meets you at the gate!
Bev Davison * spiritwinddesertarabians@ctcweb.net
He will soon be showing at the 2020 Sport Horse Nationals
Stallions at Stud- Live cover & AI
in the 2 yr old Stallion Sport Horse in Hand class!
Check us out on our Facebook page!
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Reflections of History
Bashir al-Dirri, foaled 2014, *Bushra damline to Basilisk.
*Ibn Mahruss, foaled 1901, *Bushra son.
Lyman Doyle photo. Background retouched.
Color added to enhance comparison.
Jenny Krieg 17429 Hoskinson Road Poolesville, MD 20837 ululu@verizon.net
Watch For Him In The First Virtual Fantasia: Shadowfax SA A lovely blend of Babson, Ansata & Pritzlaff Lines, this young stallion showcases and combines the SE/SOF programs of breeders like Walter Schimanski, Jay Gormley, April Johnson, and Norton & Millie Grow among others. In addition, he represents amazing, cooperative efforts between two breeders we hold in special esteem for their many decades of work with these horses: Lorriee Golanty and David Myers. We look forward to continuing to watch him grow, and feel he is a worthy tribute to all of these breeders. (REA Asif x Midbar Lady Anne by Razal Ibn Azalia) If you’re interested in these bloodlines, give us a call or send an email. We love horse chat, and have special horses seeking their forever home.
Shadowfax SA at 14 months. Copyright: Photography by KRae www.kraephotography.com
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*NEJDME: First in Our Hearts and Our Studbook by Jeanne Craver
“Scene at the Arabian Village”, featuring *Nejdme.
When the founding fathers of the Arabian Horse Club gave the honor of being the first entry in their studbook to *Nejdme, they chose well. *Nejdme was considered first class by A.G. Asdikian, Rev. F.F. Vidal, Homer Davenport, Randolph Huntington, J.A.P. Ramsdell, J.R. Dolbony, Khalil A. Bistany, and just about everyone who ever saw her. Photos of her adorn photo albums of the Chicago World’s Fair. Thousands of dollars were asked and offered for her during one of the deepest depressions this country has seen.
*Nejdme was not just an authentic beauty from the Anazeh. She performed well under saddle, learned to drive as a mature mare, and produced many fine foals. Her genes are still available in the Arabian breed, and she even has a tail-female line functioning 100 years after her birth. Unfortunately, within Al Khamsa itself, her bloodlines are scarce (with less than 200 descendants since 2000) and are gone in tail female. This article attempts to put as many comments about *Nejdme by people who knew her together in one place as possible, as well as to point out *Nejdme’s production record and breed influence.
Reprinted and updated from September 1989 Arabian Visions
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Some of the most interesting items of historical material to turn up in years are the letters by J.R. Dolbony, published by Jerald and Debra Dirks in “221b Baker Street” in Arabian Visions this summer of 1989. Dolbony was one of the Syrian performers in the Hamidie Society. He seems to have elected to stay in the U.S., whether in 1893 or later. Somehow Davenport located him in Butte, Montana in 1909, when the Department of Agriculture was studying the proposed Arabian Horse Club studbook and asking questions about the Hamidie horses. Dolbony indicated that he had special knowledge of *Nejdme: “I will now give you the facts in brief narrative form of the manner in which Nadjma’s dam was obtained from its original owner and separated from the tribe of Teyiar: “On the 20th day of March in the year of 1883, Asad El Kherfan, an unscrupulous Bedouin, ambushed and shot to death, Jedran Ibn Zebaina, who was a brother of El Emir Sultan, the ruler of the tribe of Teyiar. “The murderer immediately mounted his victim’s mare Sada El Togan (which be it remembered was a pure full-blooded Seglawieh Jedranieh) the dam of Nedjma. The fame and reputation of the
*Nejdme According to Dolbony (excerpted) By Edouard Al-Dahdah, Daughter of the Wind blog, 7/12/18
The same letter by J.R. Dolbony I discussed in a previous blog post about the stallion *Mannaky is also relevant to the mare *Nejdme. *Nejdme is registered as a Kuhaylah ‘Ajuz, by a Saqlawi Jadran. An article from that time, has the reverse, by a Kuhaylan ‘Ajuz, out of a Saqlawiyah Jadraniyah. I personally see the attribution of these two strains to *Nejdme as suspicious, for two reasons: These are the run-of-the-mill Arabian horse strains or “brands”. Just like tissue paper is generally associated with “Kleenex”, and photocopy machines with “Xerox”, Arabian horse strains in the late nineteenth century were readily associated with “Saqlawi Jadran” and “Kuhaylan Ajuz”. The 1909 letters of Dolbony to Davenport add fodder to my speculation. In the letters, Dolbony (again, “apparently a performer with the Hamidie Society”, and I want to know more about that) mentions that *Nejdme’s dam was a Saqlawiyah Jidraniyah mare named “Sada el Toga”, which he claims to have leased, and bred to a Kuhaylan ‘Ajuz stallion named “Nakashy,” resulting in *Nejdme. This is extremely interesting in many ways. First of all, “Sada el Toga”, which is ‘Sa’dah al-Tuqan’ is a strain, not a name. So is “Nakashy”, which is ‘Nakhayshi’, a strain now extinct. We can speculate endlessly about why *Nedjme’s strain as given by Dolbony is different from her registration strain, but my take is this: *Nedjme’s actual strain was not recognizable enough to an American audience, and Dolbony who knew his strains, and was certainly aware that “Sada el Toga” and “Nakashy” were not names, was encouraged to stick to the official Hamidie story about the strain of *Nejdme. Second, the association of these rare strains (so rare one really cannot have made them up, or has to be really wicked to have done it) with the particular area of the Middle East Dolbony hailed from. Fifteen miles south of the city of Baalbeck which Dolbony came from, there lied the largest, longeststanding, and most famous stud of Sa’dan Tuqan in the Middle East, that of the Hindi family in Rayak. That stud started in the late nineteenth century. It is not unreasonable to speculate that Dolbony could have leased a mare from this stud, or from someone who had that mare from this stud, or had a mare on shares. In 1949, two mares and a stallion from the Hindi stud of the Sa’adan Tuqan strain, came to the USA. Doing an mtDNA comparison between the *Nejdme line and the *Bint Attebe and *Dalal Hindi lines would be interesting. Even more so, back in the very early days of the Beirut racetrack in the late 1800s, when only a few horses were racing every week, there was a racehorse of the Nakhayshi strain. I forget who he belonged to, and who bred him other than the horse did hail from the Biqaa valley where Baalbeck the city of Dolbony lies, and that he did figure in Ali Barazi’s book under the entry on the Nakhayshi strain. This is the only time in thirty years I heard of this strain, and I never saw a representative of it.
*Nejdme in a frequently used photograph at the time, along with the man presumed to be “Hadji Hassan”, or “Hadji Mehmed”. According to Edouard Al-Dahdah, Hadj, Haji and Hedje would not be personal names, but variants on the honorific for one who had completed the pilgrimage to Mecca, which in lower economic circles might also be applied as a term of respect for an elder who may not literally have fulfilled that obligation. Our subject’s name could be something like Hassan Mohammed, and the variation would reflect the use of his first or last name in different sources, along with the usual shaky spelling.
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Dolbony is Delbani; this family still exists in the Bekaa valley mainly around the city of Baalbek [Lebanon]. At those times, they were linked to the powerful Harfuche family as their peasants or horsemen. Nejdme (Star): Delbani states that her dam, Saadat alTuqan (a pure Saklawi Jidran) of Sultan el Tayar of the Wuld Ali, was stolen from the Wuld Ali in an ambush which killed the Sultan’s brother, and was sold to the Farah family in Baalbek. This family is well known in the region between Baalbek and the city of Zahle and they still breed horses. About Nejdme’s Sire, he says that it was Al Nakashi (a Kuhaylan Ajuz) of the Al Hessene tribe. This is very possible because the summer location of the tribe used to be in Al Bayada, only a day and a half ride from Baalbek. So J.R Dolbony or Delbany could have easily ridden “Nejme’s” dam to be covered by “Al Nakashi”. The Farah family, a Christian one in a Moslem neighborhood, were approached by an emissary of Sultan el Tayar to claim the filly. To avoid the issue, they sold Nejdme to Shamdin Agha. He, though a powerful person, did not want to have an enemy of the importance of Sultan el Tayar (who was feared by his fellow Bedouins for his courage and his fierceness) and sold Nejdme to the Hamidie Society to avoid problems. The Shamdin family is a paramount family of the Kurdish community in Damascus, there is a square in their name in Damascus. In my opinion, Delbani, like Khalil Bistany, exaggerated his own role. He was either a Harfuche’s rider or a Farah’s employee. He could never afford to own Nejdme’s sister as stated in Carol Mulder’s Imported Foundation Stock of North American Arabian Horses. However, I believe that what he had stated about the horse’s origin is true. ~ Paraphrased from posts and emails by the late Joe Achcar, whose maternal grandfather was Khalil Sarkis, General Manager of The Hamidie Society.
Mohamed Delbani: He was listed on the passenger manifest of the Cynthiana. Likely the J.R. Dolbony who corresponded with H.K. Bush-Brown and Homer Davenport.
mare, together with its owner’s popularity, were well known throughout the Country, which made it practically impossible for the criminal to dispose of the animal. Although strenous efforts were made and harsh measures adopted by the various tribes for the arrest of the felon, he succeeded in eluding his pursuers, and in the city of Baalbek, about a thousand miles1 southwest of the scene of the homicide, disposed of the valuable mare to a noted family by name Farah. A friendship existing between myself and the family, I was requested to breed the mare to a sire of my own selection viz: Nakhashy Kehilan Ejus, owned by Sheyk Faris El Miziad, the ruler of El Hessenneh, one of the prominent tribes of Anezeh.
“From this distinguished sire, Nakhasky (sic) Kehilan Ejus and the famous Sada El Togan Sr. the dam, was foaled Nedjma. Two years later the breeding of the same sire and dam as above described, resulting in a promising foal Sada El Togan Jr. Unfortunately the dam died six months later, leaving the offspring as above described, which were both reared and trained by me personally. “Nedjma was sold to Khalid Agga Shamdeen, in the city of Damascus; thence exported to Chicago and exhibited at the World’s Fair in the year 1893. Its sister Sada El Togan Jr. remained in my possession. She died five years ago leaving two fillies and a colt sired by different stallions.”
“The sire here mentioned descended from El Mewaly, which was also a tribe of Anezeh, captured during the war of 1875 between El Mewaly and El Hessenneh. The rider was unhorsed and killed by a slave who belonged to the Miziad family. The owner of the horse was Ahmed Bey Emir El Mewaly; the slave was know[n] by the name of Asas El Khafore.
This outpouring of information leaves one feeling a bit suspicious of Mr. Dolbony. For instance, “Sada El Togan” is a strain name, and would seem odd for a Saqlawi mare. However, some items can be confirmed. A Mohammed Delbani of Baalbek was photographed in full middle-eastern attire at the Fair in 1893. A search of the passenger list of the chartered ship which brought the Hamidie Society to the U.S. turns up an M. Dilbani, a young man from Baalbek.
1 – This is surely an error, perhaps on the part of the stenographer who typed the copy for the government files. A hundred miles is more likely to be correct.
Checking the names of the people, places and tribes of the narrative in Die Beduinen (“The Bedouin”) confirms some of Dolbony’s 34
one of the best of this importation was my particular Mare… In 1906 while I was crossing from Constantinople to Syria, I met the late Mr. Homer Davenport who informed me that he owned two colts from the mare Nejme. Later in Syria I helped him secure the Arabian Horses he imported that year to this country.” Randolph Huntington attended the Chicago World’s Fair, no doubt especially to see the Arabian horses exhibited there. Huntington’s writing is always hard to interpret, as he was a difficult person, finding fault with every horses he did not own and unable to get along with most other Arabian horse fanciers. Despite these drawbacks, he could be a most intelligent observer of the Arabian horse scene.
*Nejdme as an older mare at Ramsdell’s, with Arabian and AngloArabian descendants as well.
information. Die Beduinen, by Max Freiherr von Oppenheim and published in Leipzig in 1939, is a massive work on the Bedouin trives of the middle east researched from 1893 until well into the twentieth century. Sultan el Taijar is shown as sheik of the Taijar (“Teyiar”) division of the Wuld ‘Ali, a family within the Anazeh confederation. The El Hesene group is also part of the Anazeh confederation, belonging to the same branch as the Wuld ‘Ali. The “Obershech”, or ruling sheik of the El Hesene (“El Hesseneh”) group is show as Trad ibn Melhem el Mazjad, evidently a relative of “Faris El Miziad”. The Mawali (“Mewaly”) tribe is based in the Aleppo region. So we are not entirely unable to interpret this material, and as time goes on, perhaps more threads will be woven together, enabling us to better understand how to assess this information from Dolbony. Khalil A. Bistany was a merchant from Damascus who invested heavily in the horses of the Hamidi Society. He opened a sales outlet in Buffalo, New York, where the founders of the Arabian Horse Club found him when they were looking for information about the Hamidie horses in 1909. In his letters of April 16, 1909 and April 19, 1909 to H.K. Bush-Brown, first secretary of the club, he said: “Price was no object to us when we were able to secure of every tribe the purest blood horse they had from Anazeh, and the surround… but Nejdma was a star of the 40 horses and not only that, I do not think that any better horse ever been imported to this country as good as this mare and it is hard to find at present time in the desert of Arabia as pretty as Nejdma.” And: “P.S. I knew later that Mr. Homer Davenport secured Nejdma the best of them all.” In November, 1929, in connection with the importation and registration of *Saada 721, Bistany wrote to H.S. Gregory, then secretary of the Arabian Horse Club: “In the year of 1893 the Hamadie Society Company of which I was a stockholder imported forty-two2 Arabian Horses for the Chicago World’s Fair. Nejme,
Huntington wrote to Spencer Borden, June 20, 1899: “In 1893 at the Chicago Worlds Fair, he (Ramsdell) grew wild for a mare or two from the so called Bedouin collection… I was there in April (1893)… Again I was there in July and still again in August, taking Vidal with me. It was then (the last time) that Ramsdell got red hot for one of the mares, and Vidal selected one of the chestnuts for him… I was amazed, and… took them both to the grey mare Nedjma… I had handled the mare many times with the old ExShaikh, and new all that ever will be known. The old man called her a Kehilan Ajuz which has no definite meaning other than purebred, but of an unknown family… We concluded she was a stolen mare. She was at that time a dangerous mare to stranger. Without provocation, she would dive her teeth into one furiously, so that the old man always stood at her shoulder when I was examining her head, ears, eyes, glands, and mouth. She could break a mans arm or ribs as quick as a flash3; but was the best mare there, so I figured to get her for Ramsdell. They wanted $10,000 for her… Asdikian got refusal of Nedjma for Ramsdell, at $2500…” Ramsdell did not conclude the deal at that time, *Nejdme went through the auction and was purchased by C. Kindorf. Huntington refers to Kindorf as a saloon keeper, and says: “The saloon keeper bustered her off hock (an enormous blood spavin), then sold here to Ramsdell for $650… Then Ramsdell bargained with me to send Nimr to his place to serve her in 1895, after she should have produced a foal in her by a thoroughbred horse to which the saloon keeper had bred her.” Avedis G. Asdikian was a young man from Armenia, in the Turkish Empire, who attended Cornell University as a special student in agriculture. Following his course work there, he was employed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and at the time of the Fair, was excused to serve on the Commission for exhibits at the Fair from the Turkish Empire. As part of his duties, he spent time with the Hamidie Society people and horses, and wrote of them later. He is also said to have prepared the sale bill by which the horses were sold by Tattersall’s of Chicago. In The Horseman in 1897, Asdikian wrote: "Among the mares the grey Nedjma took the palm. For a long time her pedigree was kept by Hadji Hassan and after the old man left Chicago it passed into the hands of one of the clerks, who refused to return it until 3 – This comment may have indicated that *Nejdme had been trained as a guard mare, something which the Bedouins did from time to time. However, it is important to note, from the Ramsdell brochure, how well *Nejdme fitted into American life. Also, note the contrast with the Asdikian description.
2 – Before The Hamidie Society left for Chicago, Sultan Abdul Hamid II added two black horses to go to the World’s Fair. They did not go on the same ship with the rest of the horses, and news of them in Chicago is scarce. The Hamidie Society itself had 40 horses only.
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his wages were paid. This document is still in existence, but not in the possesion of the owner of horse. Hundreds of times I saw this document and read it. She was ‘a pure Kehilan of the purest’ and belonged to the Ajuz substrain, yet she has been written up as a Seglawi, by what authority I do not know. For many months it was a puzzle to me why this magnificent purebred mare was ever sold to go out of the desert. Was she stolen? Hadji Hassan said No! because he got her from her owner at 900 Turkish Liras ($4,200). Whenever I asked this question Hassan was as mute as a clam and repeated refused to give me a direct answer. [These two statements are contradictory, of course.] ‘If you people know anything about horses, watch and find out’ was all he would say. I did watch day and evening, for over six months, but could see nothing wrong with her. She was as sound as a ‘new-milled doallar’ and had no blemish. When ridden by Hassan she was full of life and like a purebred Arab, she was as docile and gentle as a lamb in her stall. About three weeks after the fair, while the men were still lingering at the grounds, I noticed that Nedjma was in use [in season]. I called my old friend and asked if I was correct. He said: ‘Yes — that mare has been in use for five years.’ It was plain now. When three years old she had one colt, but she would never breed again. At the time of which I write she was eight years old (foaling date 1885). This is the reason why Nedjma was sold to be taken to this country. The first offer made for this mare was $3,500 by a wealthy lady. The directors refused to sell her, contrary to the commissioner’s advice. In fact, the mare had attracted so much attention that the price put on her was $10,000… At the auction sale she was purchased for $1,200 by the receiver, who sold her afterwards for $800 to J.A.P. Ramsdell.” *Nejdme’s breeding problems, if any, must have been easily straightened out, as we can see from the list of foals she produced.
Believed to be *Nejdme. Photo pasted on the front cover of The Arab Horse, by Spencer Borden. This same view is used in the R.H. Davis article, “Davenport and His Farm,” Woman’s Home Companion, November, 1906, along with a similar photo of *Obeyran.
The sales list describes *Nejdme as follows: “Nedjma. No. 1. Gray mare; 14 3/4 hands; foaled 1887; breed, Kehilan-Ajuz.” “Descriptive List of Imported Arabian Horses to be sold at public auction… by Tattersall’s of Chicago, Limited… Friday, January 4, 1894.” Copy with “Marked by Asdikian” on cover, x’s by horses marked “Good.” xx’s by horses marked “Choicest of the lot,” with an xx by *Nejdme.
in 1893, Mr. Ramsdell heard through the Turkish Commissioner that among the Arab horses brought over by the ‘Hamidie Society’ one was as pure in blood as could be found in the desert, the mare Nedjme, a Keheilet Ajuz. Hadje Memmed, the Sheik who raised her, consented to bring her to this country in the hope that he might realize enough money by her sale to keep him and his family in affluence for the rest of their lives. He had intended taking her to England, where a mare of this cast[e] would be eagerly sought after by the English Arab enthusiasts. Lady Ann[e] and Mr. Blunt, of Sussex, England, paid 1,000 pounds ($5,000) to the Anazah tribes of the desert for a mare of this breed. Nedjme’s pedigree was investigated and declared faultless by Mr. Randolph Huntinton, of Oyster Bay, Long Island, the well known breeder of Arabs and Americo-Arabs, and by Mr. F.F. Vidal, of Suffolk, England, who is considered authority on Arabian horses. Mr. Vidal visited this country in the Summer of ’93 by invitation of the Columbian Committee, to act as judge of Arabs in the livestock exhibit at the World’s Fair. Had Mr. Vidal not been a personal friend of Mr. and Mrs. Ramsdell, Nedjme would have been taken by him to England at the close of the Fair.
“News of the Arab Horses in America” column in The Rider and Driver, December 16, 1893, page 21. “Mr Ramsdell, of Newburgh, has bought the gray Seglawi-Jedran Arab mare from the Sheik in charge of the Arab encampment in the Middway Plaisance. Mr. Vidal investigated her antecedents, and assures us that she is the genuine article, well worth the price asked for her.” (Note: the sale did not go through at the time of this item, and *Nejdme went through the Tattersall’s auction on January 4, 1894.) “Sale of Arabian Horses”, reported in The Breeder’s Gazette, January 10, 1894, page 28. “Nedjma, gray mare, 14 3/4 hands, foaled 1887 — C. Kindorf, Chicago $1,200.” The $1,200 price was below what had been asked for the mare privately, but topped the sale and was well above the sale average of $300. This was at a time when a gentleman’s hack might be purchased for $175–$200. J.A.P. Ramsdell published a small brochure about 1897, giving a detailed description of *Nejdme as he saw her: “The Arabian Mare Nedjme. Imported 1893. Arab Stud Farm, Newburgh, New York.”
“Nedjme’s price in August, 1893, was $10,000, a sum our trotting horsemen would consider extortion for a grey-white mare with not a drop of Hambeltonian [sic] blood in her veins, and whose
“Few horses come to America under more picturesque conditions than the grey Arab mare Nedjme. When at the World’s Fair 36
The most commonly seen photo of *Nejdme, above left. The other horses appear to be: foreground right, suspected to be Kibaby; bay with faint star and snip behind *Nejdme, *Koubishan 113; bay with star, Haddad; chestnut far left, *Mannaky 294.
ancestors never trotted a race. However this may be, the old sheik stood firm for his price, and not till he had been tricked, shamefully treated and his mare seized for debt, did he abandon his hopes and turn his face homeward, like many others, who came to this country in 1893, thinking to take a fortune back. It was often a saddening spectacle to note the disappointment and pathos on the faces of the foreign exhibitors, no doubt augmented by their inability to speak or understand our language. The old Sheik had been lured here… to lend picturesqueness to their camp and show, called the “Wild East”, in contrast to Buffalo Bill’s “Wild West”. This show was situated at the extreme end of the Midway Plaisance, and was well worth a visit, as the game Jareed played on horseback by the Arabs, is a wonderful exhibition of skill and agility, to which even ordinary Arab horses can be trained.
velvet ear, and pass his hands over her lovely dark eyes. It is almost impossible to imagine such a perfect understanding between a man and horse. He would bring her out with simply a cord around her neck, and if he felt in a pleasant humor, leap on her back, going through the most astounding feats of horsemanship without bit, whip or spur. Then, as we pleased him by our evident admiration and respect, he would make us sit down and have coffee with him, this being a mark of special friendship among the Arabs. His manner and bearing were very courteous and quite superior to the rest of the company. Even their roughness softened when they spoke to him, and they always included Nedjme in their respect. Months went by and Nedjme finally passed into the hands of a receiver who bid her in and held her. After many negotiations she came into the possession of Mr. Ramsdell, who knows her value as a brood mare.
“It was only on rare occasions that Nedjme and her master took part in this game, as the old Sheik feared to subject his favorite to the risk of quick runs, sharp turns and sudden halts, the space allotted to the game being far too small. Hedje Memmed had a tent entirely to hims and in sight of Nedjme’s stall, and I was told the pair often spent the nights together. I have many times read of the devotion of the Arab to his horse, but this was the first occasion I had seen it demonstrated. Nedjme would follow the old man like a dog, and rub her soft nose against his face and neck, while he would talk to her and whisper his queer Arab gibberish into her
“Nedjme is 14.02 hands high, and twelve years old. She is almost white, with the thinnest blue-black skin; her head is a typical Arab’s, not too small, deep though the jowl, large in the brain space, with the forehead (called by the Arabs the jibbah) well developed; her eyes are very large and set in Arab fashion, rather lower in her face than in that of our horses; around them the hair is thin and shows very perceptibly the black skin; this mark of breeding is very much valued by the Arabs. The skin of the eyelids, lips and nostrils is extraordinarily fine and the opening of the latter small when she is quiet, but expands splendidly when she moves.
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“The ‘mitbah’, where the head joins the neck, is very gracefully cut, and she has plenty of room for the wind-pipe, there being rarely a wind-broken horse among the ‘Air drinkers of the Desert.’ Her ears are long and thin, with a quick but not nervous movement and when forward point inward. Her neck is long and well set on, shoulders running very far back; she is well ribbed up and has to perfection the far famed carriage of the tail, having the effect of being ‘thrown on’, so perfect is the arch, and carried at such height. Her hocks are strong and large. The legs are perfect, the feet blue and rather cup-shaped. Until she came to Newburgh she had never been driven, but is now broken double and single, which considering her age speaks well for her disposition. She shows good speed and action in harness. Mr. Ramsdell’s idea is that the Arab is ‘par excellence’ the animal for combined saddle and road use, and crossed with our native mares will produce a perfect horse for gentlemen’s work having gracefulness of makeup and carriage, and the best of dispositions, with sufficient speed and a hardy constitution, enabling him to do the work of two orderinary horses.”
“NEDJME, gr. m., foaled 1881 [she’s getting older — perhaps the 7 in 1887 was mistaken for a 1]; bred by Hadje Memmed Damascus, Syria. Imported 1893 to Chicago, by the Hamidie Society, owned by J.A.P. Ramsdell, Hamlock Glen, Newburg, N.Y. By a Seglawi Jedran sire, dam a Kehilet Ajuz mare.
Produce —
1895, b.c. Alhama by imp. Henry.
1896, dk. gr. c. Nogailah by Nimr.
1897, r.f. Alruna by Shahwan.”
Volume VIII in 1902 adds the information that Alruna died in June, 1899, and that additional foals were born:
“1898, gr. f. Nonliker by Shahwan
1898, gr. f. Najine by Garaveen.”
Volume IX in 1906 adds to *Nejdme’s impressive credentials as a broodmare:
The next three quotes are from Homer Davenport, who saw the mare in Chicago, admired her for years, and finally was able to acquire her and breed a foal from her. The frist two quotes are from his Catalog of Worlds Fair Arabians, 1906-7, privately printed. “A gray mare, Nedjma, supposed to be the best of the lot, was the property of Mrs. J.A.P. Ramsdell, of Newburgh, New York. Few Arabian horses could show finer type than this mare, though her pedigree had been stolen by a young Syrian, who took it to California, hoping that he would receive a big reward for returning it. It had been seen by many before the theft, stating that she was a Kehilet Ajuz and that she had come from the great Anazeh tribe.”
“1900, gr.c. Yaquis by Garaveen.
1901, gr.f. Natick by Garaveen.
1903, gr.c. Negus by Garaveen.
1905, b.f. Nanda by Garaveen.”
It is of interest that Najine, one of *Nejdme’s daughters by Garaveen, entered production in 1905 with a chestnut filly named Regan by Bekboolat, an Orloff-Arabian stallion imported in 1893 for exhibition at the Chicago World’s Fair by the Russian Government. Bekboolat had been highly admired and was registered by the Jockey Club as a purebred Arab, despite the fact that an OrloffArabian was similar to an Anglo-Arabian or Arabian-Trotter cross in breeding.
“On the ship from Constantinople to Beiruit[sic], en route to the desert, I was fortunate to meet Mr. Bistani, a Syrian merchant, of Buffalo, New York, who informed us that he had lost upwards of $80,000 in financing the company known as ‘The Hamid Hippodrome Company’, that came to the Chicago World’s Fair in 1893, he having paid the money for the purchase of the horses and mares, and he remarked that in our entire travels over the desert we would not find the equal of the gray mare Nedjma that was included in that importation, and he said that she was a Kehilet Ajuz, one of the finest specimens of that family… He talked for an hour on the rarity of blood of the gray mare which is still owned by Mrs. Ramsdell, of Newburgh, and told of the trouble they had in getting her from the Anazeh.”
Volume X in 1910 adds another foal to *Nedjme’s list, Joklan, a 1906 gr.c. by *Garaveen. *Nejdme’s entries in the Arabian Horse Club studbooks are very similar to those in the Jockey Club, although the Jockey Club spelled her name “Nedjme.” The birthday “1881”, breeder “Hedje Mehmed, Damascus, Syria”, and strain of Kuhaylat-Ajuz by a Saqlawi-Jidran agree in essentials with the Jockey Club. *Nejdme had yet another foal in her, however, and an interesting one at that. Homer Davenport had long yearned to own *Nejdme, and he finally succeeded in 1909. No doubt Mr. Ramsdell felt that she was out of production, as no foal had appeared since 1906. Davenport bred *Nejdme to *Euphrates, a Saqlawi al Abd stallion he had imported as a colt from the Anazeh in 1906. This breeding produced Jerrede, a bay stallion of exceptional beauty. After Davenport’s death, W.R. Brown acquired Jerrede, but he did not use him at stud because Davenport had not registered his horses with the Jockey Club. Spencer Borden, an outspoken and crusty character, had not gone along with Davenport and friends when they began the Arabian Horse Club, and he had also served as a mentor to W.R. Brown.
The third quote is from Davenport’s postumously published article, “The Arabian Horse” in The Rasp, Ft. Riley, Kansas, 1912: “In 1893 there came to the Chicago World’s Fair nearly forty head of very high-class Arab horses, brought under special permission of the Sultan of Turkey. They were collected on the plains near Damascus and were culled from the tribes of northern Syria by a competent board of picked men… Many of them died the first winter, mainly from the hard use they had had during the previous summer in the unaccustomed heat of Chicago; yet several are still alive today. Nedjma, the very finest of the entire outfit, a white mare, now in her thirty-second year, is alive and well and has foaled many splendid specimens of pure Arabs in America.”
One June 14, 1917, Spencer Borden wrote Brown about Jerrede: “As I already wrote you, I like my stock better than yours. I especially do not care for your stallions. You are accustomed to plain talk from me, and I believe it has always been for your good.
The Jockey Club’s The American Stud Book was the first place *Nejdme was registered, in Volume VII, 1898, page 1128.
“The best mature horse you have is the Euphrates colt. When I was last in the Jockey Club… I told Mr. Rowe I believed the horse 38
so true to type and so good, that… he should be registered by the Jockey Club.” Brown decided to go to work, and before Lady Anne Blunt died in 1918, he had *Euphrates and his dam, *Urfah, registered with the Jockey Club, at least partly through Lady Anne’s certification. Jerrede was duly registered with the Jockey Club and used as a stallion by Brown. Several more foals are listed under *Nejdme’s entry in some of the early studbooks, but these were evidently foals of her granddaughter, Nejdme III, as they were also entered under the name of Nejdme III, were sired by *Nejdran, and were bred by the Tullys in California. The Tullys did own *Nejdran and Nejdme III, but we have seen no record that they had ever owned *Nejdme herself.
Looking over this material, it is easy to see that it is not all in perfect agreement. This is why research into early records is so frustrating. If you are fortunate enough to find several items of information, the odds are that the items will not agree with each other. It is a mistake to be disheartened, however, as this is far more likely to be the norm than the exception. Almost the only time there are no discrepancies are when you have virtually no information on a subject at all! One thing all of these people agreed on, however, was the exceptional quality of *Nejdme. How lucky we were that she became our “first lady”!
Representative Produce of *Nejdme
Left, top to bottom: Nonliker, by *Shahwan; Najine, by *Garaveen; and Jerrede, by *Euphrates. Right, top to bottom: Yaquis, by *Garaveen; and Onrust, by *Garaveen out of *Nonliker.
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POPINJAY
1992-2020 Poppy came to us in 2006 and made us fans of the Davenport Arabians with his amazing personality, correct conformation and athleticism. Such a blessing to have owned such a fine horse. He will be sorely missed.
Photo: Christine Cooper
Photo: Christine Cooper
Left: Aristotle Gold (Popinjay x Golden Sun Fairy by Atticus) Right: Qusaye Gold (Shiraz CF x Golden Poppet by Popinjay)
My Golden Farm Web site: goldencmk.com goldencmk@aol.com 8792 CR 135, Kaufman, TX 75142
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The Doyle Arabians Celebrating 70 Years of Preservation Breeding
Terry Doyle is riding Benigno DE at Bandit Springs 2020 - 10th place in 30 mile ride.
Facebook: The Doyle Arabians Doyle and Doyle Blend Desert Arabian Horses
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63295 Johnson Ranch Road Bend Oregon 97701 541-788-5639 rosemary@doylearabians.com
Hamdaany Kuwaiti: my 20 dinar horse by Jenny Lees
Despite endless letters shoved up the chimney to Father Christmas, giving the colour, size and type of pony he should leave tied to the end of my bed, I didn't own a horse until I was nineteen. I was living in Bahrain by then, back in the UK my friends were enjoying the "swinging sixties" but I had got married!
"Ok, give me twenty. Where you live? I bring horse to your house tomorrow." I wondered just how I was going to break the news to a husband who had no interest in animals whatsoever (I should have listened to my mother; it was never going to work) as I drove home to face the music. This time I decided to stand my ground, the horse was in a desperate state and needed help. I won the argument, by promising that I would re-home the horse once it had recovered. In the fullness of time, it transpired that the horse stayed and I re-homed the husband, but that's another story.
My wifely chores involved shopping in Manama at the local market. I got to know, by name, many of the elderly Arabs who sat patiently by wooden stalls piled high with fresh fruit and exotic vegetables. They would always help me in my choice, encouraging me to speak their language by holding up various fruits and vegetables whilst shouting out the Arabic name, their life worn faces splitting into laughter at my brave attempts to mimic them. It was on one of these shopping expeditions that I came home with more than my usual bunch of onions, spuds and a water melon.
I moved the car out of the lean-to garage and put in a bucket for water, improvised a manger, then went back to the market to buy a supply of Dates, Bran, Whole Barley and "Jet" (fresh Lucerne) to feed my acquisition. In those days the horses on the island were fed a mixture of Dates and Whole Barley, which would be soaked overnight, then a handful of Bran would be added to the mixture just prior to feeding. The horses became adept at removing the stones from the Dates and after each feed a neat pile of Date stones would be found at the edge of the manger.
Tied up against a wall down one of the alley ways leading to the vegetable market, was a horse. Its description fitted the one in my letters to Father Christmas, but closer inspection showed that it was pitifully thin and its bones were clearly visible through its fine satin coat. I walked down the alley way to the chestnut horse and gently rubbed his nose, his eyes were dark and filled with sadness. While Ahmed weighed out my tomatoes, on brass scales held aloft by one thin arm, (weights and measure would have had a field day) I asked him about the horse. Ahmed shouted across the alley way and a young boy appeared.
By the time my horse arrived everything was ready for him. He looked even thinner than I remembered and as I took the rope from the boys hand, he advised me thus‌. "His name Hamdaany Kuwaiti, don't give food or horse Shaitan." This translated meant that if I fed the horse he would turn into the devil.
"You like to ride horse?" he offered.
My only experience of horses was weekend rides back in the UK on a selection of old riding school geldings. Through the eyes of pity I had purchased a 15 hand Arabian stallion who had been kept half starved so that he remained manageable!
I actually wanted to feed the horse but I couldn't upset the boy by telling him as much. I shook my head, "la shukran (no thank you), I just want to know about him". "Horse Arabic horse," The boy continued struggling to communicate with me. Using a variety of gestures, to support my limited Arabic, I asked why the horse was so very thin, he shrugged his shoulders, either not understanding the question or not wanting to. "You like buy horse fifty dinars," he smiled at me. No expert at the art of Souk bartering I fell at the first hurdle! "I don't have fifty dinars." I held up my purse with the weeks housekeeping. "Ok, how much you have?" Thinking I was on safe ground at less than half the asking price I smiled sadly, shrugged my shoulders "Only twenty."
Reprinted by permission from the website of Jenny & Tony Lees, Mill Farm, Herefordshire, UK. http://www.pearlislandarabians.co.uk/
Hamdaany Kuwaiti soon after purchase, exploring his new home.
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Later I was to learn that Hamdaany is the family name of a desert line and my stallion had been bred by a tribe known as the Anzeh and had come to Bahrain via Kuwait. On each of his shoulders was a white mark (visible in the photos) I was told that these were tattoos, distinguishing marks of the breeder. A tattoo on each shoulder for a colt and on one shoulder for a filly. I was to meet Hamdaany's sister eventually and she had one tattoo on her shoulder. All very interesting and very impressive but in the meantime what was I to do when I fed him up and he turned into the"Shaitan"? I decided to give "Hammy" the benefit of the doubt. Morning and evening his feed bowl was filled and through the day, while I was at work, he had as much Jet as he wanted to munch on. After work I took him for walks along the seashore on a rope headcollar and one evening when his backbone had ceased to protrude like a razor blade I stood him next to an old wall and slipped onto his back. I squeezed gently and he walked forward, I waited for the buck and the devil to appear but the devil had left him, Hammy was happy to carry me. I couldn't afford to feed him and buy a saddle so we dispensed with the idea of a saddle and we went everywhere together bareback. Every evening after work I rode Hammy along the seashore and to add variety to our days I improvised show jumps (breeze blocks and palm tree poles) and taught him to jump.
one knee and roll them off into the soft sand, I trusted him and he never let me down, we were inseparable. I had to draw the line at him coming into my bungalow as he did on several occasions when I left both veranda doors open! I estimated that Hamdaany Kuwaiti was about twelve years old when I purchased him instead of the weeks vegetables! We had four wonderful years together before he died from a serious bout of what the locals called "sand colic", and nothing could be done. I was heart broken at the loss of my friend and seeing my extreme distress my employer, His Highness Sheikh Isa Bin Sulman Alkhalifa, the Amir of Bahrain, generously gave me the pure Bahraini stallion Seglawi Al Ahmar, from his private family stud. My impulse buy in the market that day and a kindly gesture by His Highness Sheikh Isa resulted in the establishing of Pearl Island Arabians and my life long association with the Asil Arabian horses of The Royal Stud of Bahrain.
To while away some of the time whilst I was at work Hammy befriended the children in the bungalow next door. The two little girls, Elena aged 2 and Karen 5, would empty their mother’s vegetable rack of carrots, climb up on the garden wall and spend time stroking and talking to Hammy whilst he munched on the carrots. Whenever I was invited to friends for coffee it was not unusual for me to turn up on Hammy having ridden across country and through Date plantations to get there. One of my friends had two young boys and Hammy would be left in their garden giving "pony rides" whilst I enjoyed a coffee. If they got too boisterous (as boys do) Hammy would go down on 43
Jumping down palm trees.
Al Khamsa’s Vanishing Lines
PTF News — August 2020 Update
by the Al Khamsa Preservation Task Force
PROJECT: Tail-Female *Hadba. On a very happy note, in July, a tail-female *Hadba colt was born (Vorrtex x Zubaidah Assahara). The *Hadba horses are extremely rare with the highest concentration of them (just two stallions and three mares) being in Alberta, Canada. This colt (shown below, just after foaling) might be the only Hadban stallion here in the USA we have access to.
PROJECT: Ma’naqiyah, tail-female Ferida (BLT). News from the Preservation Task Force isn’t always grand. In June, one of the last links to tail-female Ferida, CSA Trilours (photo above), passed away due to unresolvable colic. That leaves just a single aged mare left: 1999gm CSA Baroness Lady. Lady last foaled a colt in 2015. This tail female line is now hanging by the thinnest of threads. As of the end of June, Edouard Al-Dahdah reports Cathy Fenton agreed to return CSA Baroness Lady to him, to be bred to his stallion Jamr Al Arab 2012cs (Vice Regent CF x Jadiba by Dib). She was bred in June but no fetus developed.
PROJECT: This message is meant as an alarm bell. I still remember the impact of the 2008 recession on our horses. Abandoned horses, kill pens, starvations. I also remember how we, Al Khamsa stepped up to the plate to rescue some of our most precious lines. That was the context for the creation of the preservation task force in early 2010, ten years ago already.
PROJECT: Ma’naqiyah Mares, tail-female Haidee (GSB). GTS Dabab and GTS Al Mas Hura. Kate Rhodes confirms GTS Dabab is in foal! She is due, the foal by Treff Haven Sabeel, between late January and early February 2021! PROJECT: Europa Ancestral Element. Karin Floyd has confirmed the Europa mare CW Halimah is in foal to the Code Red tail-male El Deree (INS) stallion she has leased, Musafir Almubarak.
Today calls for a similar, if not greater effort. Except that this time, more Al Khamsa lines are in jeopardy than in 2008. We need to keep a close watch on these lines, and be prepared to step in if necessary.
PROJECT: Code Red Tail-Male and Tail-Female Research, to take our Foundation Horses and determine how many offspring of breeding age are left of each one.
We need not do the complex watch by foundation horse or by ancestral element, which calls for a lot of research. Just keep an eye on the specifically American lines, those that don't exist outside the US or Canada, or barely. Groupings like the Rabannas, the Turfas, the Blue Stars, the Sahanads, the old US combined source lines, and the Davenports are the most endangered. The Straight Egyptians will survive. They are all over the world, and many of their owners overseas have the means to shepherd them through this crisis. The backyard breeding programs that are left in the US may not have this chance. I worry the most about the lines outside our regular, immediate watch, because their owners are not on the board, not on the task forces, and not reached by social media. ~ Edouard Al Dahdah
Moira Walker has been hard at work researching tail male and tail female lines. She has moved our Dropbox files to Google Docs for easier editing by members of the PTF. She has thoroughly researched *Nedjran, *Euphrates, *Dwarka, *Mirage and *Haleb for both tail male and general Code Red/Orange status. She has also done some research on stallions not yet accepted by Al Khamsa but in danger of genetics becoming lost. In female lines, Moira has done extended research on *Abeyah, Kesia I (GSB) Kesia II (GSB), *Aire, *Jamalah el Jedrani and *Sawannah, to name a few. 44
PROJECT: Tahawi Tail Female Preservation Lisa Fratt Craig still has two code red Tahawi tail-female mares to foal this fall: EB Araceli 2005gm, tail-female to Futna (TAH) and RC Miss Burgandy 1998bm, tail-female Bint Barakat (TAH), both due toTammens Kismet. Hot off the Press! RC Miss Burgandy had her Tammens Kismet foal: a colt, below at right. Lisa has achieved another milestone in her quest to preserve the tail-female lines of the three Tahawi mares Futna (TAH), Folla (TAH) and Bint Barakat (TAH) with registered descendants. She welcomed two new tf Tahawi mares (at right) to her herd: Maya CC 2000bm, tail-female Folla (TAH) and Noor Al Sabah TLF 2006cm, tail-female Bint Barakat (TAH). Maya CC is her first tf Folla (TAH) mare. They will be bred to her tail-female Bint Barakat (TAH) stallion, Royal Faaiq 2006bs.
PROJECT: Bahraini lines. Two wonderful foals were born this year. Above left is Laura Fitz’s colt Malaak Al-Talj at three months old, by Monologue CF x Mi Blue Angel, by DB Khrush out of Thank Heaven (the first Al Khamsa foal of the Bahraini stallion Mlolshaan Hager Solomon). A more exotic backstory of the filly above center: Ubayyat Al-Jennine, out of Mlolshaan Hager Solomon’s second (and final) Al Khamsa foal, Ubayyat Al-Bahrain (out of DB Kalila). After Ubayyat Al-Bahrain did not carry a first attempt, owners PJ Altshuler and Marwan Abusoud used frozen semen from Jenny Lees’s UK-bred Bahraini stallion Shuwaiman al Rais, by Krayaan Dilmun x Shuwaimeh Bint Warda, both parents bred in Bahrain and gifts to Jenny from HH Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al-Khalifa. When Ubayyat settled, they transfered the embryo to one of their Egyptian mares, who carried the filly without a hitch. Both of these foals have Saudi as well as Bahraini lines, and Malaak Al-Talj has a Davenport sire and other endangered lines as well. Both show the excitement that Preservation Breeding can bring. In addition to these foals, breeders in the Davenport Conservancy are reporting twelve new foals on the ground (including the Hadban colt on the previous page), with a few more to come. 2021 promises to be a good year as well. Also, the Sahanad group has been hard at work, producing foals and moving horses after a tragic loss of one of their breeders. So many are answering the call! 45
HHA MANABI
AHR 540977 Combined Source, Desert Arabian
Perfect conformation, marvelous athleticism, inordinate intelligence, wonderful disposition ‌ this stallion will steal your tools, your hat, and your heart! An Open Country English Pleasure champion, he has also competed successfully in Open Show Hack, Hunter Pleasure, Native Costume, and Amateur Halter. Diana Johnson photo.
Serr Rou Serr El Rou Roulena El Serrou Fabah Adaah Faadah HHA MANABI TheEgyptianPrince BF Prince Halima Dazeerlima ERA Wahara LL Ibn Kumar Hadd Ahmarra Schantille Lace
Tail Female: Venus through *Gamila Tail Male: Jamil El Kebir through *Fadl Bloodline Groups: Al Khamsa, American Foundation-Bred, Asil, Combined Source, Egyptian-Bred
Jon Michael & Charlie Ip Hidden Hollow Preserve Bradfordsville, Kentucky 46
Like Mother, Like Daughter!
Welcome Alhaya to the Davenport Al Khamsa family!
Summer Blush WA 1998 black mare (Persuasion x Modesty Blaise)
Davenport Arabians Visit us and enjoy horses and the beautiful Rocky Mountains
Windsor Arabians Mary Buser Gills PO Box 882560 Steamboat Springs, CO 80488 mgills327@ gmail.com 970.846.3747
Photo: Christine Emmert
A chestnut filly born June 7, 2020 by Indie Star out of Halas Shamsi Eclipse
Lightning Rod Ranch Pearblossom California Bduecker@hughes.net
Gypsy Moth WA 2006 black mare (Barbican CF x Summer Blush WA) 47
Distance Riding on Al Khamsa horses
Through Annie's Ears — The Great Adventure Episode Five: 2017 by Ellen May, with Cathy Rochon
Introduction:
2017
This is Episode Five of a story of an amazing feat: A journey that took more than six years from start to finish and covered more than twenty-five thousand miles. Ellen May started with a dream, an indomitable spirit and a curiosity about all the places she’d never seen. Her dream, first conceived somewhere around the summer of 2012, was to ride in all of the lower forty-eight states on the same horse. Her partner for this remarkable journey has been a little red chestnut Al Khamsa Arabian mare whose willingness to go places and do things is no less remarkable than Ellen’s own. “Annie” or more formally Sabiaana (Masada Sabar x Masada Adriaana) was born on Ellen’s farm in 2006 from a breeding recommended by Walter Schimanski. Ellen has done all of Annie’s training herself and they have become a team to be reckoned with. Episode One was in two installments in Vol. 30 No. 1 and No. 2. Episode Two was in Vol. 30 No. 3. Episode Three was in Vol. 30 No. 4. Episode Four was in our first digital issue, Vol. 31 No. 1. The rest of Ellen and Annie's Journey will appear in our next issues!
July 15, 2017: The itinerary is set for our upcoming “Great Lakes Ride-About” (#39-42 on our 48-state journey). Leaving in one month. Much gratitude to those offering camping, layovers and trail riding suggestions. Send me a P.M. if you are interested in joining us along the way! Aug 15-16: Ft Scott, KS (friend’s) Aug 17-18: Smithville Lake, MO (near KC) Aug 19-20: Libertyville, IA (friend’s) Aug 21-22: Volga River, IA (Solar eclipse anyone??) Aug 23-24: Mystery Cave, Forestville, MN Aug 25-26: Zumbro Bottoms, MN Aug 27-29: Wildcat Mt/Kickapoo, WI (End of the Trail) Aug 30-31: Waupaca, WI (friend’s) Sept 1-3: Sagola, UP of MI (Getaway Stables) Sept 4-5: Wetmore, UP of MI (Kenbuck Resort) Sept 6-7: Mackinaw City, MI (riding Mackinac Island 9/7)
This feature is “mostly” in Ellen’s own words, in diary format, much like Lady Anne Blunt’s travels. We join Ellen and Annie at the beginning of their "2017” trip in the Midwest ………>
Sept 8-9: Beulah, MI (Turtle Lake) Top: Group ride at Yankee Springs, Michigan. Ellen and Annie, left.
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Morning ride postponed while Annie catches up on her beauty rest. She spent the night in a stall within view and apparently laid down for a while (they named this area Clay County for a reason) but I suspect not having other horses around to stand watch overnight caused her to not sleep deeply. She often takes a morning nap and is eating and pooping just fine, but I wasn’t expecting her to plop down right next to the trailer during her morning grazing. Other horse campers are expected to be here tonight. August 18, 2017: Crow Creek Campground, Smithville Lake, Missouri. Annie and I took a nice ride out the orange trail along the lake and back the white trail for a little over eight mostly-wooded miles. Footing was excellent except a few rocky climbs and muddy creek crossings but not too much for my barefoot mare. Nice big campground with grass and trees, equestrian sites with electric. There’s water nearby at the 20-stall barn.
The Planned Route for Ride-About 2017
Sept 10-12: Wayland, MI (friend’s) Sept 13-17: Tipp City, OH (Al Khamsa Arabian convention) Sept 18-19: Brown County State Park, IN Sept 20-21: Somewhere East of St. Louis, IL Sept 22-23: Union, MO (friend’s)
Smithville Lake, Missouri.
Sept 24: Springfield, MO (friend’s) Sept 25: HOME! (if all goes well August 1, 2017: Two weeks until Annie and I head for the Great Lakes. Trailer is all clean and shiny outside and ready to start packing. Also have new tires on front of truck, new rear tires on trailer, oil changed and new rear brakes. Woot woot! Kansas August 15, 2017: Made it to our first stop at Rachel Martin’s near Ft. Scott KS. Her littlest one said she wanted to ride Annie and moments later, emerged with boots pulled on wrong feet and ready to go. Can’t say no to that.
August 20, 2017: Ziggy made a new friend today. A rabbit. His name is Butterscotch and he is very soft. They enjoyed some watermelon together. August 21, 2017: Have enjoyed a few days in Southern Iowa. Annie got to reconnect with her childhood friend Kadi. They were born within a few weeks of each other and grew up together. Kadi is a beautiful mare out of Masada Diora, a mare I used to own who is now with Don Austin. I am so glad she is so loved by Lisa DeMitchell. “Life’s nothing but a change of plans”
Missouri August 17, 2017: Set up camp at Smithville Lake North of Kansas City. Will ride tomorrow. Nice place. Campground has over 100 sites... and we have it to ourselves. Ranger lady said she misses horses and is coming by later for a little equine therapy. So is a local gal from Horse Trails and Camping Across America (HTCAA) Facebook group. Managed to get a selfie of all three of us. Annie and Ziggy are out grazing. Ziggy [Ellen’s famous and well-traveled guinea pig] is in his porta-pen under a picnic table. Had a really enjoyable visit with the women, Julie, who lives near Smithville Lake and belongs to HTCAA. What an ambassador she was for the group, for the friendly people of Missouri and for horse people everywhere. She even brought a welcome basket of homemade goodies. 49
August 21, 2017: Mose Allison (or at least I think that’s a line from one of his songs). I had planned to head north today to ride at La Riviere Park in Wisconsin during the eclipse (which was already a change of plans because trails at Volga River are closed due to flooding). However, there are major storms between here and there and more storms likely through the night without shelter for Annie. Probably wouldn’t be able to see the eclipse anyway due to heavy cloud cover. So I think I will go to a horse camp here in Southern Iowa to ride along the Des Moines River during the eclipse and go north tomorrow. How I spent the Solar Eclipse: Plan A - Ride Volga River, IA — Trails closed due to flooding. Plan B - Ride Pairie du Chien, WI — Severe Storms prevented travel.
Plan C - Ride Des Moines River, IA — See Plan D.
August 30, 2017: After leaving La Riviere in southern Wisconsin, we meandered north alongside the magnificent upper Mississippi River and crossed over into Minnesota arriving at this beautiful campground called Zumbro Bottoms. I understand that normally this place is crowded with horse trailers, especially on the weekends, but it was rainy and we had the place almost to ourselves. I think I may finally be getting the hang of this horse camping. I had Ziggy and Annie and myself situated and set up within minutes. More photos from the trail will be posted soon.
Plan D – Take Lisa DeMitchell’s mare in to vet have eye lid sewn back on. It was kind of interesting going in and out of the vet clinic watching it become eerily dark outside across the corn fields and then return to watch sutures in progress. I did ride briefly along Des Moines River this evening but super slick muddy trails and approaching rain kept it to a short ride only. At least I rode. PS. Lisa’s mare will recover just fine. Iowa August 22, 2017: Iowa: Ride About state #39. After numerous changes in plans and running a friend’s mare to the vet with an emergency, I drove to River Valley Lodge and Camp in Farmington for a brief evening ride. Nice campground, covered stalls, super friendly host and the nicest bathhouse I have encountered in my travels. There’s many miles of trails along the Des Moines River and into the Shimek forest but I didn’t get far before slick mud, light rain and failing light caused me to head back to camp. Wisconsin August 23, 2017: Ride About - State #40 Wisconsin: La Riviere park near Prairie du Chien. Arrived yesterday afternoon and was welcomed by two members of the HTCAA group, Heidi and Anne. Took an evening ride around the Red Rock trail. Shared dinner and some laughs, got some sleep, and headed out again this morning along the Billy Goat and Indian trails joined by their friend Joy. Those gals are some tough riders! I wimped out from the additional rides today as Annie’s back is sore and my knees are threatening to revolt. Nice campground run by volunteers and funded through donations. Cell signal spotty.
Zumbro River campsite, Minnesota.
Minnesota August 30, 2017: Ride About - State #41 Minnesota. I managed to sneak in a 2 hour ride between persistent rainfall at Zumbro Bottoms campground, along the Zumbro River on the Rail Bed Trail, then up, up, up to West Scenic trail and back down. Lovely. Lots more nice trails I didn’t cover. Footing was mostly good but “greasy” (regional term for slick mud) on steep inclines so I dismounted and Annie and I hiked up some heavily rutted rocky sections side by side. As usual, she was a real trooper.· From Minnesota, we came back across the Mississippi to Wisconsin to an area referred to as “driftless” because the glaciers
La Riviere Park near Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin.
August 29, 2017: I’m alive! I’ve been without cell phone signal for nearly a week but have had some wonderful trail rides in remote areas of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Just got settled in for a few nights and am back on the grid at this beautiful private farm in central Wisconsin. Annie is happily grazing on green grass under an apple tree in the pasture.
Above the Zumbro River, Minnesota.
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River, across fields of wildflowers and through pristine forests. Beautiful place to ride. August 31, 2017: Traded my saddle for a paddle yesterday and kayaked Crystal River near Waupaca, WI with my hosts Deb and Jon. Will be back on the trail later today. September 1, 2017: A ride in Hartman State Park, Waupaca, WI. Took a nice easy ride through this lovely nearby park yesterday with Deb. That’s three “pins” in my map for Wisconsin. Had a wonderful time here, I am stocked up with squeaky cheese and headed for Michigan later.
Two more Zumbro River photos. Above: Annie joins the picnic.
Hartman State Park, Wisconsin.
September 2, 2017: Hall’s Lake, Wisconsin. Last minute detour delayed our arrival in Michigan until this afternoon. Spent last night camping in far Northern Wisconsin. Lona Fende and I rode this morning and got caught in a downpour on the way back to camp. Once the rain let up, we came on to her farm in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Annie is warm and dry now inside her barn with me in my trailer just outside.
missed it as they moved through many million years ago. The Kickapoo River cuts its way through steep hills and picturesque valleys. Really lovely area. We stayed at End of the Trail, a very cozy little campground that had a grassy paddock for Annie, a shower house in what was the milk processing room of the dairy barn and a charming outhouse (if an outhouse can be called charming).
Michigan September 4, 2017: Ride About: State #42 Michigan. Enjoyed a ride yesterday with Lona across fields of wildflowers and along fern-lined trails in a forest near Sagola, Michigan. Had a wonderful and relaxing visit and appreciate the friendly hospitality here at Getaway Stables. What a nice introduction to the UP! Headed on to Kenbuck Resort this morning and kayaking. Pictured Rocks this afternoon. September 4, 2017: Lake Superior.
Annie in her paddock near Kickapoo River, Wisconsin.
Riding the Kickapoo Valley Reserve, Wisconsin. Joined a mom, daughter, daughter-in-law for a gorgeous ride along the Kickapoo 51
September 6, 2017: Back in the land of cell signal after 3 days in the Hiawatha National Forest. Kayaked near Pictured Rocks (too rough to go to that shoreline on Monday but another lovely place nearby) and rode Annie through the Pine Martin Run yesterday. Lots of photos to post once I get stopped for the night. Will also check FB Messenger then. Tomorrow... Mackinac Island!!
September 8, 2017: Bucket List: Ride Mackinac Island X Took a ferry across to the island yesterday with Lona. Our horses remained calm even through the chaos of unloading into major tourist mayhem with carriages, wagons, bicycles and people everywhere. Charming little town and harbor. We rode the circumference 8-mile loop, stopped for lunch back in town and then rode up to the Grand Hotel before catching the last ferry back. What an amazing experience!
September 6, 2017: Kayaked to Grand Island across from Pictured Rocks since waves and wind on Lake Superior were rough on Monday evening. A beautiful shoreline and a grand adventure nevertheless! Was grateful for my capable kayak guide, a young man named Jared, who is finishing up his degree in Enviromental Engineering.
September 8, 2017: All set up for two nights at Turtle Lake Campground near Beulah, MI. Trail ride in the morning, fun horsey show the afternoon and kayaking in the evening. I’m gonna need a vacation from my vacation!
September 6, 2017: Pine Martin Run, Hiawatha National Forest, UP of Michigan. Annie and I enjoyed a long ride through this enchanted forest yesterday. Well-marked trails, good footing, some fun hills, picturesque lakes, fern-floored hardwood forests, stands of pines and wild grass meadows. Nice place to stay nearby at Kenbuck Resort.
Above: Aniie taking it all in on the ferry to Mackinaw Island. Below: Riding along the main drag on Mackinaw Island, a Bucket List experience.
Turtle Lake, Michigan.
September 10, 2017: Saturday, Part 1 Started a very full day with a trail ride in the morning. Buddied up with my campsite neighbor Marena for a pleasant ride along the lake and through the woods, me on Annie and her on her big draft ponying her Tennessee Walking Horse. September 10, 2017: Saturday, Part 2 There was a fun show being held here at the campground, all speed events, so I figured we might as well participate. Got third in Poles and 6th in “Out and Back” (think that’s what it was called) in the Novice division. Lots of entries, although admittedly I was competing against little kids and other adult rookies. Good thing we weren’t judged on cuteness. Also ran in Barrels and a pattern called Bowtie, and think we did pretty good, but didn’t stick around to find out because I wanted to kayak before it got too late.
September 7, 2017: Rode Mackinac (pronounced Mackinaw) Island this morning with my new Yooper friend, Lona Lots of photos to sort through and post but first it’s time for a little horsey fun. I mean a seriously LITTLE horse! This dwarf mini is at the barn where Annie and I are staying near Mackinaw (also pronounced Mackinaw) City. I think this is the smallest I’ve ever seen!
Best part of this event was the KIDS. There were 22 children under the age of 12 who rode in the beginning flag ceremony during the national anthem. 52
September 10, 2017: Saturday, Part 3. What a fine way to end the day with a paddle around the lake. It was “free boat weekend” here so I couldn’t resist getting out on the water. Will be packing up and heading south later this morning to see Karen Heintzelman and Annie’s daddy, Masada Sabar along with a number of her little half-siblings at her farm. September 10, 2017: Our run yesterday in the “Bowtie” speed event. I think Annie had no idea why I was asking her to ‘open up’ inside an arena. Not super fast but very cooperative for a first timer. Don’t know how we placed but it was fun, and that was the whole idea. September 11, 2017: Made it to Karen’s south of Grand Rapids, MI yesterday. We went to visit her nearby neighbor and friend, Sue Karsies, to see her herd and especially these two colts, ANNIE’S LITTLE BROTHERS (from different mothers):
September 13, 2017: Saw Annie’s little sister Odessa and brother Sudan, both sired by Masada Sabar. Sar Barou Sudana, Sudan’s dam was an extremely beautiful mare with an ethereal quality. She is gone now but left us this exceptional young stallion (now 2) with Karen. He’s one to watch! Ohio September 14, 2017: Made it to Pam Studebaker and Deb Switzer’s in Ohio yesterday afternoon. Enjoyed one more ride with Karen and the Michigan gals at Yankee Springs on Tuesday. Sure had fun there but now it’s time for the Al Khamsa convention! September 16, 2017: Al Khamsa Arabian Convention. The horses: we were treated to a tour at the farm of David Myers. Gorgeous group of horses presented. Two gray/white stallions and a dark gray filly were a few of my favorites. Someone with a memory and mind for pedigrees may be able to supply names. September 16, 2017: Al Khamsa Arabian Convention. The weekend started Thursday evening with a private tour of the exquisitely beautiful home and gardens of Pam’s cousin, Barbara. She is an avid and adventuresome world traveler with a keen photographic eye. She gave us all signed copies of her book, “Escapades”. September 18, 2017: Following the Farm Tour horses at Saglawiyat Arabians, Julia Kernaghan and I slipped off for a ride through Sycamore State Park. Julia rode the sweet little Babson/ Sirecho mare, Du Fadl Charm, who is frothing at the mouth from eating white clover. I’m really glad we got to ride together!
They are mostly Babson blood with a little *Turfa and have their daddy’s sweet mellow temperament. Either would make a super stallion and/or family horse. Any takers? Although the chestnut is probably technically more correct and refined, I was partial to the black with his goofball personality. Today we are going riding with some of Karen’s friends and soon I hope to post some pics of Annie’s sire, the fabulous Masada Sabar, and his other babies. Annie is among her extended family here. September 12, 2017: Karen sure has some good friends and fun riding buddies. [Group photo, featured on p. 48.] I was treated to a beautiful trail ride at Yankee Springs followed by a picnic and then a bonfire into the night yesterday and we’re gonna do it again today! Yes, we are all on Arabians and most were ridden bare back with only a halter. A few are still quite green but all were well-behaved September 13, 2017: Cheers to Ziggy! Yesterday evening, a friend of Karen’s came by who is an international cavey (pronounced Kay-Vee) judge. He literally is flown around the world to judge guinea pig shows. He evaluated Ziggy and commented numerous times on his outstanding head and body structure and extreme coat. He clarified for me that he is a Silky, not a Peruvian type, as I had thought. He seemed quite impressed with him, said whoever I got him from didn’t know what they had, and noted he just recently awarded Best in Show at a very large event to a male guinea pig much like him.
Ellen and Annie and Julia Kernaghan and Du Fadl Charm.
It’s been another fantastic Al Khamsa Convention, thanks to the hard work of Pam and many other volunteers. Next year it will be north of Dallas in late September. Mark your calendars and plan to attend! 53
Annie and I will be loading up and leaving here later this morning heading in the general direction of home. As per usual, we will be stopping and trail riding all along our route and visiting friends Sarah Sanders near St. Louis and Linda Mcfaul near Springfield MO. Next stop; Brown County State Park in Indiana!
Also, in a small world coincidence, the gal camping in the site next to me knows her and happens to also be riding a desertbred (Saudi bloodlines) Arabian. September 24, 2017: Had a wonderful suite for the night. Go ahead, be jealous, it’s THAT nice. Was expecting to stay contentedly in my living quarters as I usually do but when Linda and Monica prepared and offered me THIS for the night, well then, I just HAD to say YES! Annie is very happy too in her grassy paddock overlooked by my balcony. What a special treat for our last night on the road!
Indiana September 20, 2017: Ride along with us through Brown County State Park in Indiana (near Bloomington). We had a lovely campsite for two nights, tucked off in a secluded corner overlooking a creek. Took a ride on Tuesday but got into an area that was torn up by a severe storm earlier this summer as we started to climb up one of the high ridges. It was slick anyway from rain the night before so decided to go back and ride in the valley. It was good to be back in some pretty forested hills for a while. I’ve seen enough corn and soybean fields to last me.
September 25, 2017: The whole gang showed up to welcome Annie back. My pal Alice is on her way over with a bottle of wine and some meat for the grill. It’s good to be home. What a wonderful, wonderful trip. Heartfelt thanks to the many friends, old and new, who made it so.
Davenport Arabian Horse Conservancy Ask us about the Davenport Arabian Horse as Homer Davenport knew it in the desert, and as we still know it.. Secretary Jeanne Craver 709 Brackett Lane. Winchester IL 62694, mowarda@gmail.com www.DavenportHorses.org
Our campsite in Brown County State Park, Indiana.
Have you visited our website?
Illinois We have stopped for two nights east of St Louis. It’s a private farm/layover facility which I selected so Annie could enjoy grazing in a nice big grassy paddock. Will go on a ride tomorrow at a nearby park that has horse trails. September 22, 2017: We’ve had a nice break here at Sommers Gate Farm, about 75 miles east of St. Louis. Annie has thoroughly enjoyed the grassy paddock and a rest from both trailering and riding. It’s very peaceful here. Nice place to layover if you are passing through on I-70. We will be headed on to see Sarah Sanders at the Riding Center in Freeburg IL later this morning. Tomorrow we will cross the Mississippi will all go ride at Greensfelder Park, where they have a cross country jumping course. Hope to get some pics of that! I’ll camp there overnight before leaving for Springfield MO on Sunday morning to visit Linda and Monica Mcfaul. Missouri September 23, 2017: Ride About: The final ride for this trip was certainly a good one! Sarah Sanders came to Greensfelder Park with her friend and student Tara. First we rode up to a lovely overlook which reminded me I’m getting close to home. It’s the far eastern boundary of the Ozark Mountains. Then we rode down into a valley dotted with jumps along the trail. Sarah gave me some very useful pointers and lots of encouragement. Annie was game to try anything but, at my choosing, we stuck to the smaller ones.
Only a few copies are still available of the essential reference book, HEIRLOOM EGYPTIAN ARABIAN HORSES, 1840-2000 by John W. Fippen. Hardcover, 592 pages, with over 400 archival black/white photographs. Please visit the website for excerpts and ordering information.
www.heirloomarabianstud.com 54
Al Khamsa Ar abians: The Or iginal Family Horse
Cerulean Davenports & Desert Ice Arabians Carrie Slayton • 2100 West Avenue L12, Lancaster, CA 93536 661.992.2289 • carrie.sootie@gmail.com
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Lysander
CRAVER FARMS
(Sir x Dhalana)
Winchester IL 62694
1966 gs
Supporters of Al Khamsa
Davenport Arabian Horses
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Al Khamsa History
Ancestral Elements Series: Hearst
Al Khamsa’s ‘language’ about pedigrees can seem complicated at first, but it is actually meant to be a simplification of the process of understanding the total pedigree of an Arabian horse. You need to learn two terms: Foundation Horses and Ancestral Elements. These terms are explained briefly here, but for detailed information, please see the research work, Al Khamsa Arabians III (2008). A Foundation Horse is what it sounds like: when you go back as far as you can in a pedigree, you stop with either a Bedouin tribe or with a recognized source that is believed to have stock only from the Bedouin tribes. Ancestral Elements are the Building Blocks of Al Khamsa Pedigrees An Ancestral Element refers to the country, stud farm, person or group who imported or was primarily associated with the Foundation Horses concerned. Four Foundation Horses were acquired individually and are designated by their own names. Simple parenthetical codes follow the names of Foundation horses, which help identify the Ancestral Element blocks to which they belong. Khamsat V29N1 began this series, AYERZA; V29N2: BISTANY; V29N3: BORDEN; V29N4: COBB; V30N1: BLUNT; V30N2: CRANE; V30.3: DWARKA, V30.4: DAVENPORT, V31.1: HAMIDIE. Terminology: a hujjah (hujaj, plural) is a signed and sealed document of evidence/testimony about a thing. In Al Khamsa terms, this means a testimony about the provenance of an Arabian horse. When such a document survives, it is the most important information about an Arabian horse.
HEARST
u
William Randolph Hearst, head of a media empire, also had Arabian horses. The interest probably was begun by association with his employee, Homer Davenport. In 1945, Hearst’s Sunical Land & Livestock Department of the Hearst Magazines, Inc., imported 14 horses from Syria to add to his stud. Of these imports one mare, *Layya, has living, eligible Al Khamsa descendants. Another, *Lebnaniah, shown below, has recently been lost to Al Khamsa. • *Layya 1943 grey mare • *Lebnaniah 1943 grey mare
Above, William Randolph Hearst. Left, *Lebnaniah, from the Preston Dyer Collection at the International Museum of the Horse, Lexington, Kentucky.
Unreferenced page numbers refer to Al Khamsa Arabians III.
In progeny lists, italics are used for horses not in Al Khamsa pedigrees. Only eligible-to-be Al Khamsa horses are shown in the progeny lists.
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*Layya at right at the racetrack in Beirut, Lebanon, prior to importation. from the Preston Dyer Collection at the International Museum of the Horse, Lexington, Kentucky. Left, with a later owner, Kisa Beck Rhodes.
Current mtDNA testing has confirmed this line in the U.S. matches that of the Shaykha strain in Lebanon.
*LAYYA 4208 An Existing Dam Line 1943 grey “Shaykha” mare bred by the Khamis family stud, Rayaq, Lebanon. Purchased by Henri Pharaon of Beirut for racing and sold to Preston Dyer as agent for W.R. Hearst. Imported in 1947 to the USA by Hearst. By Kayan, a grey Hamdani (by Gazelle, a grey Hadban, and out of a bay Hamdaniyah) and out of Nailey, a grey Shaykha [by a grey Kuhaylan (by a Hadban out of a Kuhaylah) and out of Obaya, a chestnut Shaykha by a grey Ma’naqi Sbaili stallion brought to Lebanon by the French Army from Saudi Arabia in 1919, and out of a chestnut Shaykha]. [Photo, next page] NOTES: The above information (except for the transfers of ownership and importation information) is from pedigrees written by George Khamis and presented to Dick Skinner at the Hearst Stables in California [copies courtesy of Michael Bowling]. The names of *Layya’s parents are reproduced as spelled by George Khamis. They correspond to names of horses active in Lebanon in the 1940s. The ownership by Henri Pharaon is from *Layya’s certificate of identity from the racetrack in Beirut, sealed by the Lebanese Ministry and the US Consul. Importation information is from AHA stud books. By the time the Hearst imports were registered, the AHA stud books no longer included detailed information or strains. *Layya is shown simply as #4208, grey mare, 1943, sire and dam desert bred, imported 1947 by Hearst Sunical Co., California. According to Edouard al-Dahdah and Husayn Nasir [a leading horseman in Lebanon today], the usage of “Shaykha” in the female line of *Layya means that this line traces to a famous mare called al-Shaykha, of the ‘Ubayyan strain belonging to Donato, a Lebanese merchant of Italian origin, and does not mean that they are members of the Kuhaylan Shaykhan strain. This mare was so noted that her descendants were called after her, the Shaykaat. This is an example of the formation of new strains of Arabian horses. Further information about this pedigree is also available from Edouard al-Dahdah: Sire Kayan was by Gazal al-Jawlan, a desert-bred Hadban al-Inzihi of the marbat of al-Fawa’irah tribe. Gazal was by Ma’naqi Halba, a desert-bred Ma’naqi Sbaili at stud in the northern Lebanese town of Halba in the 1910s and 1920s. Gazal’s dam was a Hadbah al-Inzihiyah of Fad’us, Shaykh of al-Fawa’irah tribe. Kayan himself was raced in Beirut and owned by Rida Hamdar of Rayaq in the Biqa’ valley of Lebanon, where Kayan stood at stud. Dam of 9 foals, including: Layllany 1958 bm by Hallany Mistanny Rose of Mistanny 1960 gm by Hallany Mistanny 58
Index of Advertisers
Advertising Policy 1. Horse advertising is limited ONLY to AL KHAMSA ARABIANS. We accept some horse-related and non-horse advertising that is consistent with the interests of Al Khamsa, its breeders, and its supporters. 2. We assume no responsibility for copy taken over the telephone, corrections taken over the phone, OR handwritten copy. Please type your copy or send copy and corrections by email to khamsat@alkhamsa.org. 3. Materials are sent at sender’s risk, but all reasonable care will be taken to safeguard your ad materials. 4. If you wish to have your photographs or other ad material returned to you, please include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. 5. Advertisers are solely responsible for all costs/damages resulting from their ad message. 6. While the Khamsat takes steps to assure the correctness of material it publishes and does not intentionally overlook incorrect material in advertisements, the responsibility of the contents of each advertisement belongs to the parties furnishing advertising copy for this magazine. 7. The Khamsat assumes no responsibility for the terms and conditions under which an individual photographer may have made a photograph available for publication as part of an advertisement appearing in the Khamsat. Photographer consent forms are not required. However, we Khamsat crediting the photographer and accept internal signatures. 8. The Khamsat reserves the right to reject any advertisement for any reason without liability. 9. Advertisers grant Al Khamsa, Inc. the right to use their ads in reprints of the Khamsat in print and electronic form. 10. Copy-in-hand Advertising Deadlines will be sent via broadcast email to all who have subscribed to the Inside Al Khamsa email list. In addition the deadlines will also be announced on both the Al Khamsa, Inc. and Al Khamsa Arabian Horse Breeders Facebook pages.
Al Khamsa, Inc. ......................................................................... 5, 6–7 Craver Farms ....................................................................................56 Daughter of the Wind ..................................................................24 Davenport Arabian Horse Conservancy ................................54 Davis, Hawk Haven Arabians?....................................................30 Davison, SpiritWind Desert Arabians ......................................30 Doyle Arabians ............................................................................... 41 Duecker, Lightning Rod Ranch .................................................47 Farwell Short, ? ................................................................................31 Ferriss, Brownstone Farm .............................................................10 Gills, Windsor Arabians ................................................................47 Heirloom Arabian Stud ................................................................54 Krieg ....................................................................................................31 Lieb, Sahra Arabians ...................................................................... 11 Michael & Ip, Hidden Hollow Preserve ..................................46 Respet, Husaana Arabians ..........................................................25 Saqlawiyat Arabians ......................................................................24 Slayton, Cerulean Davenport & Desert Ice Arabians ........55 Straight Babson Egyptians...................................................28–29 Wallis, My Golden Farm ...............................................................40
Advertisers/Subscribers waive any and all claims for liability that may arise by virtue of their relationship with Al Khamsa, Inc. and the Khamsat magazine.
Khamsat Back Issues
Khamsat Advertising Information
$6 each until 12/31/2020 from the Business Office
Vol. 8.3; Vol. 9.1, 9.3, 9.4; Vol. 10.2, 10.3; Vol. 11.1, 11.2, 11.4; Vol. 12.3, 12.4; Vol. 13.1, 13.2; Vol. 14.2, 14.3, 14.4; Vol. 15.1, 15.2, 15.3, 15.4; Vol. 16.1, 16.2; Vol. 17.2, 17.3; Vol. 18.1, 18.2, 18.3, 18.4; Vol. 19.1, 19.2, 19.3, 19.4; Vol. 20.1, 20.2; Vol. 21; Vol. 22.1, 22.2; Vol. 25.1; Vol. 27.2, 27.3; Vol. 28.1, 28.4; Vol. 29.1, 29.2, 29.3, Vol. 30.1, 30.3, 30.4.
After 12/31/2020, issues will be $10 each.
Because the Khamsat focuses on Al Khamsa Arabians, your ads become part of the continuing legacy of Al Khamsa, and help to support Al Khamsa educational activities. Khamsat Ad Rates Per Insertion (All rates US $) Size Full Page Half (1/2) Third (1/3) Fourth (1/4) Card (1/12)
B&W/Color 1 Time $150/$200 100/125 75/90 60/75 25/30
B&W/Color Repeat w/o Change $120/$170 85/110 65/80 55/70 20/25
Classified Ads: $0.35 per word ($7.00 minimum) Copy-in-hand Advertising Deadlines will be sent via broadcast email to the Al Khamsa, Inc. email list. Advertising Payment Payment in full must accompany each ad in USl$ only. In order to keep costs low, we do not offer billing. We accept Personal Checks drawn on US banks, Visa or MasterCard, PayPal and Money Orders in US funds.
Karen Kasper Prints
Choose from five different artful renditions of Al Khamsa’s Past Carl Raswan, above, 1988, mounted on desert horse with falcon, Prince Mohamed Ali Tewfik, 1989; King Ibn Saud, 1991; Lady Anne Blunt, 1998. Black and white print (signed and numbered, $35 postpaid, unsigned $15 postpaid) Al Khamsa The Legend, 22 x 28 full color, $25 postpaid
Advertising Specifications Khamsat advertisements are now available in color or black and white. Please send all advertising copy to the_khamsat@alkhamsa.org. Please send payment to the Al Khamsa Business Office, address below.
Al Khamsa, Inc. Business Office • 470 Folsom Jonesville Road • Jonesville, KY 41052 • 970.439.5941 • info@alkhamsa.org 59
Thank you! Al Khamsa, Inc. hopes that you will express your generosity and support in contributing to advance the goals of Al Khamsa toward the education about and preservation of the authentic Bedouin Arabian horse. The following levels are suggested for your consideration.
2020 Khamsat Digital Subscription $20
2020 Al Khamsa Supporter Levels: Donor $50-$99 Subscription to four issues of the Khamsat and a four-time listing in the Donor’s section in the Khamsat.
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Patron $100-$199 Subscription to four issues of the Khamsat, a four-time listing in the Patron’s section in the Khamsat and an Al Khamsa Pedigree Certificate (please specify Al Khamsa Horse).
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Benefactor $200-$299 Subscription to four issues of the Khamsat, a four-time listing in the Benefactor’s section in the Khamsat, a Business Card Ad in the Khamsat issue of your choice, and Al Khamsa Pedigree Certificate (please specify Al Khamsa Horse).
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Sponsor $300+ Subscription to four issues of the Khamsat, a four-time listing in the Sponsor's section in the Khamsat, a ¼ page Ad in the Khamsat issue of your choice, and Al Khamsa Pedigree Certificate (please specify Al Khamsa Horse).
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Please include full name and registration number of an eligible Al Khamsa horse when submitting your choice for the Pedigree Certificate.
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Foreign Shipping Charges Shipping will be calculated by postal code.
Sponsors
Al Khamsa, Inc. wishes to recognize the following Sponsors for their generosity and support in contributing $300 or more to advance the goals of Al Khamsa toward education about and preservation of the authentic Bedouin Arabian horse. Crockett Dumas Outlaw Trail Arabians POB 470 Escalante, UT 84726 Steve & Gwen Farmer 2859 S 7700 W Cedar City, UT 84720-4907 David & Amber Finnigan 3625 S. Mountain Road Knoxville, MD 21758
Janet Franz 181 Polk Road 616 Mena, AR 71953 Mary Gills Windsor Arabians POB 882560 Steamboat Springs, CO 80488 Jackson Hensley & Alice Martin Bedouin Arabians 6059 N State Hwy 37 Watson, IL 62473
Dean Homstead Grove Hill Farm POB 216 Pittsfield, ME 04967-0216 Diana Johnson 20712 W. Durango Street Buckeye, AZ 85326-5652 Andrea Kaiser Karl-Broeger-Strass 8 91257 Pegnitz Germany
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Keith Kosel 3394 Thornberry Trail Highland Village, TX 75077 Mr. & Mrs. Brian McClure 9950 Pumphouse Road Toppenish, WA 98948-9750 Monica & Pat Respet Husaana Arabians 6635 Central Road New Tripoli, PA 18066-2025
Kate Smutnick Rhodes & Carol Rhodes 6305 Hilltop Road Van Buren, AR 72956 Carrie Slayton Cerulean Arabians 2100 W Avenue L12 Lancaster, CA 93536-3333 Linda & James Uhrich Kalmay Arabians 7618 Gypsy Moth Drive New Tripoli, PA 18066-4540
Benefactors
Al Khamsa, Inc. wishes to recognize the following Benefactors for their generosity and support in contributing $200-299 or more to advance the goals of Al Khamsa toward education about and preservation of the authentic Bedouin Arabian horse. Honorary Benefactor Peter Harrigan Hope Cottage, Marks Corner NewPort PO30 5UH, Isle of Wight, UK Jill Erisman 2136 North US Highway 231 Spencer, IN 47460
Honorary Benefactor Sara Jones 1700 South River Road #181 Janesville, WI 53546
Margaret Laverty 21650 Sweeney Road SE Maple Valley, WA 98038
Gert & Elisabeth Stam Caherhurley, Bodyke Broadford, Clare, Ireland
Honorary Benefactor: Karen Kasper 3452 Newtown Pike Lexington, KY 40511-8436
Honorary Benefactor W.G. Olms Olms Presse Hagentorwall 7 D-31134 Hildesheim, Germany
Honorary Benefactor: Peter Upton The Old Vicarage Clun S47 8JG, Shropshire, UK
Edna Weeks 326 Timberline Trail Ormond Beach, FL 32174
Patrons
Al Khamsa, Inc. wishes to recognize the following Patrons for their generosity and support in contributing $100-199 to advance the goals of Al Khamsa toward education about and preservation of the authentic Bedouin Arabian horse. Hussain Abulfaraj 544 W Melrose Street #155 Chicago, IL 60657 Marwan Abusaud & PJ Altshuler 2900 Hemming Road Valley View, TX 76282
Robert Coleman 805 Carmel Line Millbrook, ON L0A 1G0 Canada
Terry & Rosemary Doyle The Doyle Arabians 63295 Johnson Creek Road Bend, OR 97701
Christine Cooper 757 Old Grist Mill Road Appomattox VA 24522
Frank & Linda Bochansky Jeanne Craver 1321 East. Circle Mountain Road Craver Farms New River, AZ 85087 709 Brackett Lane Winchester IL 62694 Kathleen Cameron 55 Hillside Drive A Bev Davison Pottstown, PA 19464 SpiritWind Arabians 2337 Meadows Lane Chris Carlton & Peter Rankaitis Indian Valley, MID 83632 POB 1013 Silver City, NM 88062 Melvin & Sally DePra 35380 CR SS Wiley, CO 81092
Jennifer Krieg 17429 Hoskinson Road Poolesville, MD 20837
Jon Michael 2888 Rush Branch Road Bradfordsville, KY 40009
Joe & Sharon Ferriss 1059 Lukesport Road Quincy, MI 49082
Jeannie Lieb Sahra Arabians 288 Maple Street Carlisle, MA 01741
Joan Schleicher 465 Santa Rosa Creek Road Cambria, CA 93428
Catherine Fye 4150 Russell Street Cedar Springs, MI 49319
Diane Malone POB 448 Alvarado, TX 76009
Thelma & George Hooper Hisani Farm 45 Railroad Street Bryant Pond, ME 04219
Bill & Georgia Martin 1463 Goose Pond Road Manchester, TN 37355
DJ Sheldon 151 Denson Road Lawrenceburg, TN 38464 Joyce Sousa POB 728 Hydesville, CA 95574
Anne McGaughey Margaret Johnson POB 130 75 Washington Ave. Unit 4-305 Pomfret, MD 20675 Hamden, CT 06518
Donors Al Khamsa, Inc. wishes to recognize the following Donors for their generosity and support of $50-$99 to advance the goals of Al Khamsa toward education about and preservation of the authentic Bedouin Arabian horse. Saleh Alsahli • Cheryl Fippen • Dick & JoAnn Fletcher • Tom & Sue Karsies • Carol Maginn • Ellen May Mike Nesbit • Robert Root • Laurie Stempo • Kelley Tucker • Peggy Wojchik
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Auda Abu Tayi, Sheikh of the Howeitat
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