2nd Al Shiraa Annual Edition

MAGIC MA CHERIE

OWNED BY AL SHIRAA ARABIANS &

GALA AL KHALEDIAH

CO-OWNED BY AL SHIRAA ARABIANS & BAUTISTA VICH STUD

PHOTO BY KATARZYNA OKRZESIK-MIKOLAJEK

showsand events

In the cover of the 2nd Al Shiraa Annual Edition: MAGIC MA CHERIE owned by Al Shiraa Arabians GALA AL KHALEDIAH co-owned by Al Shiraa Arabians & Bautista Vich Stud

Photo: Katarzyna Okrzesik-Mikolajek

2ND AL SHIRAA ANNUAL EDITION Suppl. n.3/2023 June

pubb. bimestrale iscr. trib. di Milano n. 732 del 18/09/99 - Spedizione in A.P. 70% Milano

Alim Editrice s.n.c. Via Ressi, 22 - 20125 Milano - Italy Tel. +39 02 36762850 info@tuttoarabi.it @tuttoarabi_magazine @tuttoarabi_showsandevents www.tuttoarabi.com

Direttore Responsabile / Publisher Simone Leo - (leo.simon@tiscali.it)

Editore / Editor Fabio Brianzoni - (fabiobrianzoni56@gmail.com)

Ufficio Contabilità / Account Office Barbara Belloni - (amministrazione@alimeditrice.it)

Ufficio Abbonamenti / Subscription Office

Barbara Belloni

Fotografi / Photographers

Glenn Jacobs, Simone Bergamaschi, Paola Drera, Ewa Imielska-Hebda, Lise Laghzal, Monika Savier, Joanna Jonientz, Harem Stud archive, Annette and Erwin Escher, Becky Pearman, Marijke Visser

Testi / Writers

Giorgia Mauri, Kamila Kozłowska, Monika Savier, Joseph Ferriss, Manuela Lucini, Hans J.Nagel, Urszula Łęczycka, Talitha Bakker, Grafica e Impaginazione / Digital Artwork

Viviana Castiglioni

Breeding Vision Coming from The Family Traditions

by Urszula Łęczycka

Based in their homeland Abu Dhabi, Al Shiraa owns also farms in Europe and UAE, collecting a large group of both Arabian and sport horses as the family passion started with Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan - successful equestrian rider, descendant of the family of Zayed The First, ruler of Abu Dhabi (1840–1909),

great peacemaker and horsemen, owner of the snow white stallion Rabdaan being so famous for his impressive size, charisma and conformation that it has been mentioned in major Arabic poetry. Al Shiraa Arabians is a separate and successfully managed breeding plan of Purebred Arabian horses (with an addition of small but

Jewels Temptation GA by Da Vinci FM - Bronze Champion at Vichy International Show, dam of Isabella Al Shiraa (AJ Portifino x Jewels

Temptation GA) foaled 2020, grey, 2021 Bronze Champion Barcelona International Show Yearling Filly.

Some time ago Al Shiraa Arabians announced also the purchase of embryo rights to Madinat

furry foal in Falborek Arabians, Poland, the filly that changed the history of Al Shiraa as well as Arabian horse showrings forever. Enhancing with her charisma and beauty – she became Sheikha Fatima dream come true – Eralda. Sired by World Champion and multiple winner of shows around the globe – Emerald J with the best Polish E-line of Milordka, carrying the inbred to World Champions Gazal Al Shaqab

ABU DHABI

by Giorgia

H.H. Sheikha Fatima Al Nahyan is a Member of the Abu Dhabi Royal Family. She is an Ambassador of Cultural Development in the UAE and a Patron of Art, Sports and Culture. She won The Arab women award for social responsibility for leadership and sports excellence in the Arab world 2022. Her roles include Chairwoman of Fatima bint Hazza Cultural Foundation, Chairwoman of Sheikha Fatima Bint Mubarak Ladies Sports Academy, Founder of Al-Shiraa, an International Organization (UAE, UK, Germany, Spain) focused on breeding Arabian horses (of which She is also judge) and organizing Showjumping competitions as well as Chairwoman of the Ladies Club in Abu Dhabi and AlAin.

Additionally, HH Sheikha Fatima is an Art Collector and the Author of individual Artworks in Photography, Video and Installation Art. Recognized as a Patron of Art in the UAE, she holds Bachelor’s Degree in Visual Communication, a Candidate of Executive MBA as well as Masters in Project Management at Essex University in the UK.

Mauri z photos by Glenn Jacobs, Simone Bergamaschi, Paola Drera

The Foundation She founded is dedicated to promoting intellectual, creative and cultural endeavors. It supports cultural and creative expression and interaction that empowers people.

The Foundation develops cultural initiatives in 3 pillars: Arts, Discovering the art movement by sparking interest in Art engaging the young talents with contemporary artists through artworks and workshops, Literature, empowering every child as “maitre” of decisions by enticing them to read, stirring their imagination and enthusiasm, and Community Engagement, engaging the young hearts with important causes to pay it forward to society.

The foundation also has permanent projects such as On the way to school project and the one called Students challenge to defy floods.

The first one is an initiative aimed at engaging students in the UAE with the global challenges faced by children worldwide in getting education by hosting Documentary Film Maker Pascal Plisson, and launching a mass film screening campaign of his movie ‘On the Way to School’ across different schools in the UAE where the youth had the chance to interact with the guest and open their eyes (and minds) to the misfortunes of others. The second permanent project was launched by Fatima bint Hazza Foundation with multi stakeholders Battle for Education II. It is an initiative with the objective of raising youth’s awareness on struggles to access education due to climate change. Awareness is planned through a challenge open to Architecture students in the UAE. The objective is to engage UAE youth in proposing sustainable solutions for developing communities impacted by floods and rising water levels.

Sheikha Fatima is an incontrovertible example of what vision can do in the service of one’s community and people. She is the example of great foresight and concern for others that encompasses many areas of common life and interprets current needs with great intelligence and innate expressive ability.

As a communicator Her Highness Sheikha Fatima realized that Her vision can really add value to the innate abilities of Her citizens, as a fertile soil can do with seeds of the most varied

qualities, which in themselves already carry life and all the vitality they can express in life.  It is precisely this drive to improve and express all the beauty inherent in one’s traditions that inspired the creation of such an important, inclusive and extremely well-curated event as Al Shiraa’s show.

Her Highness Sheikha Fatima, and Her constant commitment to the many charity activities for his country, with this great show have brought to the Arabian horse show world a breath of fresh air, because as much as the technical organization is dictated by pre-established rules that must be adhered to in order to obtain ECAHO affiliation, the atmosphere created by the show management at the behest of Her Highness is certainly an exceptional detail that deserves to be enhanced and as far as possible replicated in all shows around the world. That perfect blend of elegance and impeccable taste, combined with the utmost professionalism and willingness to accommodate and add real value to the experience at hand, gives the event a sense of uniqueness.

It is known that the passion and love for the Arabian horse throughout the Middle East has always been tradition and pride handed down from father to son.

As a matter of fact, Al Shiraa’a Ecaho International B show is held under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Hazza Bin Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and of His daughter, H.H. Sheikha Fatima Bint Hazza Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The show at its second edition, took place at Al Forsan center, of which Her Highness is the President.

Her Highness dedicates a rich prize pool to the winners of the show editions, distributing it over all finishers in the categories up to the seventh participant, proving that all these events, like all those mentioned above, are also proposed to the world as an inclusive medium and driving force in the market, once again responding to the needs of the people involved to be valued and spurred on to do better and better.

All these details also brought a significant return in terms of great numbers of participating Countries, breeders, owners and horses, in addition to the many people watching the show live and online.

A special mention should be made for the stud manager Mrs. Antonia Bautista,  who has been the stud manager for 13 years and who all the time has been translating Her Highness’s vision into careful and timely management of the stable and its breeding program and helped define the cut of the two editions of Al Shiraa’a Show by bringing the Arabian horse world a must-see event.

1st Edition

2nd Edition

ph. Henrike Hoermann

Shahada Stud Straight egyptian arabians in Morocco

by Monika Savier

Graphic design: Mario Brunetti

Photos: Lise Laghzal, Monika Savier

Shahada jumaan by Rafahag x tb jumaana

Shahada Stud was once a traditional stud of straight egyptian horses based in normandy, France. in 2010, Youcef Laghzal, a successful French hotel manager whose family once had migrated from Morocco to France, decided to move to Morocco with his wife Lise and their son, and to export Shahada Stud there as well. not far from el Jadida, quite close to the atlantic coast, there is Shahada Stud, a place where they breed with a stock of 30 to 40 Straight egyptian arabians. the beautifully landscaped premises are spacious and intelligently styled. in the southern part of the premises there is a cool, well-shaded inner yard with roomy box stalls for the stallions, surrounded by paddocks with run-in sheds. in the northern area, there are barns for the mares and foals, also with a well-shaded inner yard and surrounded by pastures and paddocks. Many of the horses are broken for riding and trained by the Laghzal couple themselves, with Youcef Laghzal being his own show handler.

Shahada SemiramiS by Ajmal Sahaab x Rajmala pc and Lise Laghzal

Looking for noble stallions as sires and for improving Shahada Stud's breeding, the Laghzal couple traveled europe and ended up in kuwait, where they bought the colt ajmaal Sahaab (ajamal al kout x ajamal Sahaabah) from Mr Mohammed al Marzouq. today, ajmaal Sahaab is the leading sire of the stud, with extraordinarily beautiful offspring to his credit. another stallion who is frequently used as a sire on the farm and elsewhere is Gr Monet (classic Shadwan x Mareekah). the typey chestnut exotic Sadiiq (Shagran al nasser x Simeon Sarice) arrived from Germany. there are two successful home-bred stallions, Shahada ibn Juray (Muharib al rayyan x tB Jumanaa) and Shahada el Fayed (ajmal Sahaab x Fayza ka), both show winners.

in addition to the stallions, more than 10 broodmares with their last two to three foal crops live in the stud. Years ago, Youcef Laghzal bought a filly in Italy, TB Jumanaa (Ramses x Sulifah). today, tB Jumanaa is a foundation mare featuring successful offspring. She was followed by Mona El Naarah (Masri El Salaam x Bint Mofisa I) imported from Germany, and later, by alajneha nahme (anaza el farid x nadima), a dahman Shahwan mare bred by Judith Forbis (uSa).

Shahada Sudaara by Ajmal Sahaab x Rajmala pc and Youcef Laghzal

“a ll our horses, mares, and stallions are carefully selected. o ur focus is impeccable pedigree, exotic type, correct conformation and athletic movement. o ur broodmares band is of primary importance and the foundation of the stud. i n the pedigree, we pay special attention to the dam line because of its prepotent genetical character. o ur different selected broodmares belong to different strains. a ll are represented in the stud: the Slaklawi Jedran strain through the farm and

Shahada el mazi by Shahada jumaan x Shahada Mumtaza

Shahada ibn Seth by Exotic Sadiiq x Shahada Sudara

Shahada narjiS by Ajmal Sahaab x Shahada Nejda

Shahada Shaqran

by Exotic Sadiiq x Rajmala pc

Shahada hekmet

by Ajmal Sahaab x Frasera Hadiyeh

Shahada nejda

by DF Nashwan x Aljneha Nahme and Lise Laghzal

hahada SemiramiS

by Ajmal Sahaab x Rajmala pc

tb jumaana

by Ramses x Sulifah

Shahada el Fayed

by Ajmal Sahaab x Fayza Ka

prolific Moniet e l n efous family; the rare o beyan u m Grees strain through Marah and an affection for the d ahman Shahwan strain especially through Farida and Bukra family.

We want the mares to have constant characteristics like good body and structure, athleticism and powerful movement, exoticism and charisma, expressive black eyes and high tail carriage that they will transmit to their progeny,” says Youcef Laghzal.

“concerning the evolution of the breeding

Shahada Sundaar

by Ajmal Sahaab x Rajmala pc and Youcef Laghzal

the mares and their progenies in the farm

“concerning the evolution of the breeding program today we have a selection of broodmares based on:

- the lineage of ansata nefer isis with - rajmala pc and her daughters Shahada Sudara and Shahada Semiramis.

- the line of tB Jumaana with her daughter Shahada Jeewah and granddaughter Shahada Juriyya.

Shahada jumaan by Rafahag x tb jumaana

- the line of alajneha nahme with her daughters Shahada nejda, Shahada nadra, Shahada narjis and Shahada nubla.

- the line of Mona al naarah with her daughters Shahada Mamluka and Shahada Mumtaza.

- the line of Frasera hadiyeh with her daughter Shahada hekmet.

- the line of Fer iris.

- the line of eh Sulimana.

in order to achieve their breeding goal, three valuable stallions are standing in the stables of the al Shahada stud:

- Gr Monet by classic Shadwan.

- ajmal Sahaab by ajmal al kout.

- exotic Sadiiq by Shagran al nasser.

there are also the self-bred stallions that grew up in the stud farm. Shahada Jumaan by rafahag and Shahada Sudaar by exotic Sadiiq.

Shahada Stud has set itself many more goals. Besides the further development of the breeding, Youcef and Lise’s commitment to the Pyramid Society, which they have co-founded in Morocco, is an example of international cooperation for the benefit of the horses.

Shahada Stud

Mr et Mme LaGhZaL

domaine el Baraka

Mobile : 00212 (0)6 23 36 08 45

e-mail : shahadastud@wanadoo.fr

www.shahadastudfarm.com

exotic Sadiiq

by Shagran Al Nasser x Simeon Sarice

the Pyramid Society Morocco

as a kind of interface between cultures, the Laghzal family is well trusted by many of the Moroccan breeders and are often asked for their advice. the success and the beauty of the Shahada arabians is a motivation for them. encouraging them to put their emphasis more in the direction of well-planned breeding that takes genetics into account and is bound to be the most powerful and sensible path to take in the long run. there are plans to offer more clinics covering important topics in arabian horse breeding, and to further improve the cooperation between breeders from all over the world.

after an excursion of the Pyramid Society europe to the stud farms of Morocco and many talks with the Moroccan breeders of StraiGht eGYPtianS, they decided to start a Pyramid Society in Morocco.

Youcef Laghzal says: “We are a Moroccan organisation dedicated to the breeders and development of the Straight egyptian arabian horse. We believe that working together as a team will help each breeder individually achieve more knowledge and understanding of the long and difficult path of genetic improvement.

Our offices are located very close to the city el Jadida and our action extends all over Morocco.

We are deeply inspired by the work of Pyramid Society america and our actions are in line with its principals and values.”

Founding memberS:

Laghzal Youcef

Lise Laghzal

Youssef Manaf

Oumlazz Mohamed

Nawfal Cherqui

koheïlan oriental Lodge Farm

right next to the stud farm, Lisa and Youcef developed the concept of a Bed & Breakfast for friends of horse breeding, and riding enthusiasts interested to come and discover Morocco differently. today there are luxurious and capacious bungalows, built from natural stone and nestled into the green of the palm trees and the colors of exotic plants. they serve as a good base for horsey tourists.

koheïlan oriental Lodge Farm, offers you peace and serenity to appreciate the sweetness and virtues of a nature imbued with authenticity. hotel restaurant lodge located 30km south of el Jadida on the road to Marrakech, in the heart of the Moroccan countryside.

"naTural is The ne W beauT y"

The Obayan Mares fr OM Tre balzane sTud

The success sTOry WiTh lighT and shadOW is sTill cOnTinuing

by MOnika savier

Prologue

How can one optimally enjoy life in the countryside while compensating for the disadvantages compared to the big city? What are the advantages of country life, of direct contact with nature? Definitely horses, a hobby I have more or less actively carried around with me since childhood. Then, when I left my job at the university in Berlin in the mid-80s and started my new job in the environmental field in Italy, the decision was made.

An old abandoned farm was first occupied, then later leased and restored. First our riding horses stood in the sheep pens and later a group of English Thoroughbred mares were added for breeding.

A stAllion in "PoliticAl Asylum"

If you have horses in Italy, you have to make a pilgrimage to Verona at least once, in November, for the international horse fair, the Mecca of horse lovers. My idea was to lease an Arabian stallion and cross it with my English Thoroughbred mares to breed Anglo Arabians. In Verona, in the early 90s, I met the Italian breeder Loris Beccheroni. He had a stallion for me, not just any show stallion, but Ibn Insiatur, an original import from Persia's Bedouin breeding. He originally belonged to Shah Reza Pahlevi, whose rule was abruptly ended by the founding of the Islamic Republic of Iran. His horses were in acute danger as the Revolutionary Guards associated them with the WAHO and the West. To this end, Ibn Insiatur and other asil Iranian Hamdani Arabians bred by Mary Gharazoglou, owed their lives to the efforts of Gustl Eutermoser and Ulrike Marcik from Austria. As the story goes, they kidnapped the horses from the royal stud in Tehran and rode them, from Iran via Anatolia and western Turkey to Austria. Inevitably, the story fascinated me, the stallion seemed like an archaeological find and I was convinced that he would fit into my performance breeding. One successful breeding season and many village races later, the stallion had to go back to Bologna. We loved him and Tina, my groom, who had always ridden him, wanted to buy the stallion, but he was far too expensive for our means. When the truck with three men arrived, the stallion stood transfixed at the ramp. He did not want to leave his new "asylum". After many friendly attempts, a fourth man came. He blindfolded him, and from behind two men went at his croup with a broom. Ibn Insiatur did not move. Two more "experts" were called in to help, the time passed.

Finally, I interrupted the "experts" and called Tina, who did not want to be there. I asked her to try for the stallion's sake, she went to the truck, took the rope, the stallion followed her as if he had been waiting for her and calmly let himself be tied up. We never saw him again, but his more than 30 foals born the following year, and his legendary reputation made Tre Balzane a respectable stud. I asked myself after this experience, why not breed pure bred Arabians right away?

A stud needs good mAres

Until then, Arabian horses had not been part of my life. The past is a broad concept, hadn't Europeans already been travelling in the Arabian countries on behalf of the kings to import desert Arabians over 200 years ago? These horses were rooted in Europe long before present day Arabian breeding. It dawned on me that I needed to know more about this bygone era in order to better understand the Arabian horses in our modern world and to be able to integrate them in their species-appropriate way. Reading alone did not teach me, because

I lacked the identification with the countries of origin, an advantage that Arabian breeders in the Middle East have over others. Arabian horses evoke an emotional response, even without cultural appropriation.

I visited places of knowledge and experience, the former Royal Stud Marbach, the State Stud Babolna in Hungary, Janov Podlaski in Poland, the racecourse in Warsaw, Dr. Nagel's Katharinenhof.

the Arriving of the obAyAn mAre sulifAh

I then made a decision. In 1996, the filly SULIFAH entered the stud. She was bred by Siegfried Manz, out of Dr. Nagel's breeding lines. Her grand dam Marah was one of the four root mares imported to Katharinenhof Stud from El Zahraa/Egypt. Sulifah was special. In many respects, she resembled her male grandsire Salaa El Dine and her female grandsire, Jamil. With her class and her charisma, it was quickly apparent that she was destined to found a family line of her own in the stud. Her mother

su L ifa H ALAA AL DIN x MATALA BINT MARAH By j AMIL

ken ma HB u B KEN ASAM x KEN BINT BINT MAHIBA

TB Yasir S ALAA E L D INE x Su LIFAH

MoSa

instinct and fertility were impressive, and this was something she passed on to all her daughters.

Their good offspring made Sulifah and Tre Balzane very quickly known in various countries, especially in Egypt. Also in Italy we participated at ICAHO shows with her and her offspring. The stallions, on the other hand, were ridden by us.

Sulifah's first daughter, the bay TB Hasna, stayed at the stud and later took her place as foundation mare. Her sire was KEN Mahbub, son of the European Champion KEN Asam and bred by Sylvie and Wolfgang Eberhardt. His dam Bint Bint Mahiba was out of the mating of Ansata Halim Shah and Kis Mahiba, a mare from Dr. Nagel's Katharinenhof. KEN Mahbub was also an excellent riding horse with a great character. He later went into endurance sport in northern Italy.

good mAres need better stAllions

Sulifah did not remain the only foundation mare at the stud, over the years I also acquired good fillies from other pure Egyptian bloodlines, such as the Dahman Shahwans

and the Siglawies. With the example of Sulifah I can illustrate that if you stay true to your breeding goal and have confidence in your mares, quality foals will certainly be born. You also have to have the courage to use interesting stallions that are better than the mares, at least in terms of phenotype. I have never mated stark opposites, the result is a big risk, but when I honestly thought about my mares, I thought of many aspects that should be specifically improved. In Cairo I found a noble stallion of a fine type, a good body and a lot of charisma.

IBN EL NIL RHM from Giza. His dam, Nile Allure by Ansata Halim Shah travelled in utero from Ansata Stud to Kuwait. She was in foal to Montasir. His granddam, Ansata Nile Magic was in turn a daughter of Dr. Nagel's Jamil, as was Sulifah. Ibn El Nil was very successful on the racetrack and meanwhile also a winner at Arabian shows. I liked this combination of nobility and functionality. The vendor showed me some very nice foals by him. The stallion had a difficult character and was still expensive, but somehow I managed to get him to Italy. During a later visit to the state stud El Zahraa in Cairo, I asked the

studbook guide how many foals Ibn El Nil had? "None so far, he seems to be sterile", was the answer.

When the stallion arrived, he looked swollen, almost waxy, he ate and ate and became thinner and thinner. After three months he was a skeleton. The vets put this down to permanent doping with testosterone. Eventually he got his act together and slowly put on weight again. His testicles, which were as big as cherries at first, normalised slightly. He could now go to the Phantom twice a week. My stud manager Elisabeth Auer even started to ride him again. Special food, training, grazing with mares, massages, the whole programme to get him fertile again. We learned a lot about infertility of Arabian stallions.

After one year Sulifah was in foal to him. TB Sabah El Nil was born, who later made her career in Cairo.

the three dAughters of tb hAsnA

From the bay TB Hasna I have kept TB Helwa as well as TB Hejaziya and TB Heba. They complete the mare herd of the Obayan family.

The following year TB Hasna by Ibn El Nil was in foal. TB Helwa was born. Like her sire, she is a combination of fire and gentleness. And she passes this on to her foals. Three years later Ibn El Nil could be seen as a stallion again. Unfortunately, I succumbed to the temptation to lease him again to Cairo for two years. After six weeks

TB Hasna KEN MAHBuB x SuLIFAH and TB H e J a Z i Ya R AMSES x TB H ASNA

MoSa

the first mare there was in foal, but Ibn El Nil had to be put down, he had broken his hind leg in the paddock. His son TB Hafid El Nil, the full brother of TB Helwa, was later imported to Cairo to continue his father's story.

TB Helwa's most famous daughter was TB Faysa. Her father was Jamil Al Rayyan. This mating was great. Fayza had everything, charm, type, gaits, she danced in hand and she won shows. It was difficult for the judges not to score her well, she did it all by herself.

I sold her at the age of three to a member of the royal family in Doha, Qatar. But she never arrived. She died halfway, whilst in quarantine.

Two years later TB Haya was born, the full sister of TB Faysa. Again the mating with Jamil Al Rayyan had worked perfectly, even though Haya is a different kind of beauty. She too was sold to the Al Thani royal family in Doha and competes successfully at shows there.

TB Hejaziya, a chestnut mare, is the daughter of Ramses (Adnan x Ansata

TB H e J a Z i Ya

AMSES x TB H ASNA

TB He B a NK SHARAF EL DINE x TB HASNA

TB HeLWa I BN E L N IL x TB HASNA

Rebecca). He came from Katharinenhof and was a friendly stallion with good offspring that we enjoyed riding. Today he is also standing in Cairo. TB Hejaziya has produced several impressive foals, including the black stallion TB Haytham

by

TB Heba translates as "the gift". I named her this because her mother TB Hasna gave birth to her by caesarean section. Thanks

NK Mudeer (NK Nadeer x Ansata Ken Rania).

L R

MoSa

to the expert university hospital at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Perugia, mother and daughter survived, which is apparently very rare. Usually the foal suffocates from the mother's anaesthesia, I was told.

TB Heba is perhaps for this reason a favourite mare and she thanks us with extraordinarily beautiful foals and great gentleness. Her sire is NK Sharaf El Dine from Katharinenhof. He is one of the best sons of Salaa El Dine.

TB Hadir NASEEM AL RASHEDAH x TB HELwA

TB ni Z ar NABEEL AL KHALED x TB HE j A z I yA

MoSa MoSa

TB H e J a Z i Ya R AMSES x TB H ASNA

TB HaYa jAMIL A L R AyyAN x TB H ELwA

TB HaY dar jAMIL A L R AyyAN x TB H ELwA

TB He B a NK SHARAF EL DINE x TB HASNA

MoSa

TB J aidaa jAMIL A L R AyyAN x TB H EBA

I had bred several mares to Al Adeed Al Shaqab, TB Heba produced the best foal of this mating, the beautiful TB Alia, who later became Andrea Dello Iacono's favourite mare in Napoli.

Last year TB Jaidaa was born, a sibling to TB Fayza and TB Haya and of the same quality, because her sire is also the outstanding sire Jamil Al Rayyan (Ansata Hejazi x Dana Al Rayyan). Maybe she will represent the next generation at Tre Balzane Stud.

We already have the right stallion for that. Nabeel Al Khaled, He resembles Ibn El Nil in many ways. He has type, charm and nobility but he has a great character and is very fertile. His dam Ansata Nile Pearl comes from the same dam line as Nile Allure by Ibn El Nil. Times are difficult for horse breeding. A lot of time and money goes into horse breeding before you have a good horse in your hands. Shows are now useless as a criterion for quality and selection.

P. Paraskevas rightly wrote about this: "The inner attitude, the essential original inner values such as courage, humanity and the nobility originally so deeply rooted in the Arabian, are shockingly neglected, because they can neither be measured nor shown in the show ring. And because they cannot be shown, advertised and weighed out with money, the intangible values in which the true greatness of the Arabian is rooted are largely ignored at shows today."

Many ideas abound, but in the end the horse business always dominates. One could add to the quotation and make the statement that the show ring takes away, from most horses, the natural trust in humans that we breeders have built up with the foals from their birth through empathy, horse-friendly rearing and education. However, should positive alternatives be created, many breeders and I would be happy to be involved again.

Beauty is Not Everything, But Without Beauty Everything is Nothing.

Straight Egyptian Arabians in El La Diva Stud, Belgium.

by Monika Savier

Paul Lamers can be described as a veteran of Belgium’s original Arabian horse people. Already, as a young rider, he demonstrated his deep empathy for horses. In 1987, he met Winand Bijnens, the then President of the Belgian Arabian Horse Association, and was able to train his horses. They were straight Egyptian Arabians. This was a challenge in this different environment. Belgium is a country dominated by agriculture, bordering the Netherlands to the north, Germany and Luxembourg to the east and France to the south. The west is washed by the Atlantic Channel and its capital, Brussels, is also the administrative capital of the European Union. In keeping with the tradition of its neighbouring countries, Belgium also has a successful history in equestrian sport and horse breeding. The Belgian warmblood breed is an internationally successful showjumping and dressage horse of powerful and large size that dominates the Belgian sport horse scene and this is also an economic factor.

But it is not just a matter of economy. With the interest in so many multicultural dimensions on the part of the international EU administration, there was the great passion of some horse lovers to import fine exotics from the East, namely Purebred Arabians. For many fans of Arabian horses in this country, beauty

was not everything, but it was precisely because of the exotic beauty and elegance of these horses in relation to the sport horses that the desire for Arabians crystallized more and more in Belgium and also in the Netherlands and West Germany, whether they came from Tersk in Russia, Poland and more rarely, Egypt.

Paul Lamers commented: “I loved these fine elegant Arabian horses, they were more intelligent in training and if you treat them like a partner without pressure, they were loyal and would always cooperate.” A few years later Sabine Lens became his partner, and both were now working with Arabian horses. The first horse with which they had lasting show success was the EAO stallion IBN BARRADA by Gad Allah out of Barrada of Ikhnatoon, imported from Egypt. This authentic, typey chestnut also dominated the open shows in the 90s, as the first Egyptian Event

was still years away. Sabine and Paul founded “O.O.X Training Stables” and presented mainly Straight Egyptians, which again had a different type and a finer conformation than the Russian and Polish Arabians from the area. The Arabian horse associations in Europe organized breeding shows where especially the offspring of the good mares and stallions could impress and also be sold. The judging criteria were developed by the newly founded ECAHO (European Conference of Arab Horse Organizations) and the shows at that time in the 80s and 90s were the place to

Sabine Lens and Paul Lamers with Ibn Barrada (Gad Allah x Barrada) and his owner Bernard Van de Putte in 1998.

Paul Lamers and Ibn Barrada in Chantilly 1998.

Paul and Christine Jamar in Balen (Belgium).

be with Arabian horses.

Sabine and Paul left the world of amateurs and dedicated themselves completely and successfully to professional show training and showing. Their love was unreservedly for the Straight Egyptians. “We accompanied the horses everywhere, to the shows, back then, and we slept in the service stalls next to the horses. For us it was not an option to retire comfortably to a hotel in the evening. It had something of a modern nomadic feel to it. The stables were open to all during the shows and visitors came to have a coffee with us and discuss the horses. We were a community and although there were conflicts, we had something in common that created a strong cohesion, namely the work with the horses, which we all enjoyed,” Sabine Lens says about the 90s show scene.

At the beginning of 2000, things slowly changed, the classic breeding show became a beauty contest, a catwalk for horses with panda-eyes and pearl halters. They now increasingly came from the Gulf region, which provided the show business with new money and the ECAHO adjusted the selection criteria

CD Anasta (Safeen x Qublah).

accordingly.

The breeders of Straight Egyptians mostly did not want to jump on this wave of the new show world. Consequently, the format of the “Straight Egyptian Event”, once created by the Pyramid Society in the USA, came into being. From the German Pyramid Society Europe came the idea for the title show Egyptian Event Europe, which took place for many years in Lanaken, Belgium.

Paul was tired of the show circus after 20 years and didn’t want to show horses himself anymore, but the couple supported the Oben family, who were the organizers, with practical and organizational help and also had their own horses presented there, because in the meantime they had founded the farm El La Diva Stud.

It came about like this: Ibn Barrada’s owner, Bernard Van de Putte, imported the mare Qublah (Ibn Morafic

x Qisani) from Canada to Belgium in 1998. She was in foal to the SE Show stallion Safeen (Ibn Safinaz x Abitibi Madeena). Qublah stood, like the other show horses of Bernard, in the OOX training stables. When the foal CD Anasta was born there, Paul and Sabine made their decision quickly. This foal should stay. This was a good decision and the bay typey CD Anasta, who also has an excellent body, became the stud’s foundation mare, and with great success. But where did she come from?

Qublah, the dam of CD Anasta, embodies the Who’s Who of American Straight Egyptians imported to Texas in the 60’s by Douglas B Marshall (Gleannloch Farms) from EAO, El Zahraa in Cairo. Besides the early Ansata imports, the Douglas B Marshall imports were the elite of the Straight Egyptians at that time and the basis for the world success of these horses, also in Europe and later in the Gulf States. Qublah’s dam

Serene Isis (Ibn Nejdy x Serene Carima by Salaa El Dine). She is in foal to Al Ghazi Al Rashediah.

Qisani was sired by Soufian, a Moniet El Nefous son. She was also imported by Douglas B Marshall from EAO, as was the later world-famous stallion Morafic, whose son Ibn Morafic was the sire of Qublah. Anasta’s female line trace back to the influential mare Rodania and thus belongs to the Kuhaylah Rudaniyah tribe. She was born to the Ruala Bedouins in 1869 and was one of the Root Mares of Lady Blunt’s Sheykh Obeyd Stud in Cairo.

CD Anasta’s sire, Safeen was the stallion that won the most shows in the 1990s and was also a top show producer through his offspring. His sire, Ibn Safinaz, who was imported to the USA from Cairo/ EAO in 1982, was also an extremely successful show champion in the USA, Paul and Sabine founded their El La Diva stud and, true to their principle of class over quantity,

La Diva Omar (Ansata Nile-Echo x CD Anasta) went to DG Arabians Albania.

La Diva Nooa (Sahib x CD Anasta) went to DG Arabians Albania.

CD Anasta 23 years of age.

La Diva Nile-La (Ansata Nile-Echo x CD Anasta).

La Diva Amalouna (Ansata Nile-Echo x CD Anasta) went to Jean Conings Belgium.

Sabine Lens and La Diva Noor (Ansata Nile-Echo x CD Anasta).

La Diva Safina (Ansata Nile-Echo x CD Anasta) went to Saudi Arabia.

La Diva Noor (Ansata Nile-Echo x CD Anasta) went to Al Hayal Stud Israel.

GJ Amira Deenaa (Naseem Al Rashediah x Pashmina by Salaa l Dine).

La Diva Noor with her daughter La Diva Sahida (Sahib x la Diva Noor). La Diva Nile-La (Ansata Nile-Echo x CD Anasta).

they first concentrated on CD Anasta and selected her to be bred to the stallion Ansata Nile Echo. La Diva Noor and La Diva Nile-La were born out of this mating and remained as foundation mares at the stud. ‘Never change a winning team’ was the concept and four more foals by CD Anasta and Ansata Nile Echo confirmed the quality of this match. The stallion Sahib by Salaa El Dine also mated Anasta successfully and the beautiful daughter La Diva Noaa was born. Anasta’s offspring and grandchildren can be found in Saudi Arabia, Israel, China, Albania, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium.

A few years later the impressive mare Pashmina (Salaa El Dine x A little Passion) came to the stud and produced the pretty filly La Diva Naseema with Naseem Al Rashediah and the colt La Diva Jawhar with Ezz Al Rashediah.

Paul Lamers and Sabine Lens were impressed by the

La Diva Nadeem (Ansata Nile-Echo x CD Anasta ) went to Pakistan.

Serene Isis (Ibn Nejdy x Serene Carima by Salaa El Dine).

Pashmina (Salaa El Dine x A Little Passion).

type and charisma of the NK horses at Katharinenhof and after several visits there they decided to bring home the typey NK Nizam daughter Al Qusar Madiba out of Masara Al Qusar, bred by Robert Schlereth, for their breeding. Thus, the first Dahmah Shawaniyah mare moved in with El La Diva.

Monika: What is the most important thing for you when selecting horses for breeding?

Paul: “I look for refinement and nobility in the Arabian horse, by that I also mean their character, not just the body & type. But I still look very carefully at the legs, they are also important to me, because today, when I

La Diva Nile-La (Ansata Nile-Echo x CD Anasta) as foal at the Egyptian Event Lanaken in 2012.

Sabine and Anasta.

La Diva Nooatt (Hatem II Al Safi x La Diva Noor) went to Jean Conings Belgium.

only breed, I try to get as close as possible to my ideal”. Sabine: “Not only the character and type are important to me, but also the pedigree of our horses. Pedigrees tell their cultural history; they are the witnesses of the past and we are also responsible to give meaning to their pedigrees through their foals for the future of the breed”.

Monika: That also means you don’t do an embryo transfer, where many full siblings with the same pedigrees in the same year are part of a commercial concept and no longer part of the cultural history of the breed?

Paul: “There is no real reason to do embryo transfers. We breed in generations and want to be able to judge the result of each mating accurately and also learn from it for the future. In my opinion, industrialized animal reproduction has no place in our breeding. It is not about producing a lot of horses for the market, but about selective breeding of chosen horses that are worth the good reputation of the Arabian. We have the responsibility for that when we have Arabian horses in our stables and breed with them.” q

Sabine Lens and Paul Lamers.

Al Qusar Madiba (NK Nizam x Masarah Al Qusar).

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NABEEL AL KHALED was born in Saudi Arabia in 2010

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Reflecting on Hadban Egyptian Stallions

by Joseph Ferriss

Article published with the kind permission of Ar A bi A n Ess E nc E

I grew up in the city knowing nothing about horses as a child other than they seemed as big as elephants, at least the ones my grandfather raised. He died just before I began my studies at Michigan State University. Little did I know that he was a friend of some of the people at MSU who maintained the Arabian breeding program there. While I was attending that university in the 1960s the Egyptian stallion Ghalii (Nazeer x Galila) was there. He was a gift from the Egyptian government to the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ezra Benson who appropriately gave Ghalii to MSU to add to its long established Arabian breeding program. I did not learn about him until 1970 when a nearby Arabian breeder Mr. Perry gave such glowing descriptions of this impressive and noble stallion. By then Ghalii had died so I never got to see him but Mr. Perry’s descriptions conjured up visions in my head of the noble horse of

the desert which I had been learning about from the writings of Homer Davenport, the Blunts and Carl Raswan. I learned that Ghalii was of the Hadban Enzahi strain and I began to notice that stallions of this strain seemed to generate much favor in Egypt’s history.

By now there is hardly anyone has not heard of the name Nazeer, the “all seeing, all knowing Saker eyed” pearl white stallion of the past. He is perhaps the most famous Egyptian stallion and sire of the Hadban Enzahi strain. An entire article on the Hadban Enzahi strain could fill a book and Dr. Hans Nagel has already written some very thought

Above is Ghalii (Nazeer x Galila) as a youngster in Egypt before his export to the U.S. in late 1960 as a gift from the Egyptian Government. He was one of two Nazeer sons of the Habdan Enzahi strain given as gifts, the other being the legendary Aswan given to Russia. Neither Ghalii or Aswan became a part of straight Egyptian breeding but both have contributed quality get in the countries to which they were given. Forbis photo.

provoking words on this strain. But I would like to just share a few reflections on it since its name seems to conjure up such a high degree of respect.

In Egyptian lines the Hadban Enzahi strain begins with a young mare titled “Venus” brought to the stud of Egypt’s Khedive Abbas II about 1893. She had come from the famed and noble Shammar tribe, perhaps not too far from where the 2007 WAHO conference was held in Syria. When Venus foaled the filly Hadba in 1894 the legacy of the Hadban in Egypt commenced. Like a large oak tree with two main branches, Hadba had two daughters to carry on the family, Bint Hadba El Saghira and Gamila.

In the earliest of times of Egypt’s RAS government stud, the stallion Ibn Rabdan had emerged as a much admired horse and sire which brought considerable merit to the Hadban. He was a grandson of Gamila. Pictures of him confirm the favorable comments about his “world champion” like silhouette, though less than extreme head. As a sire he often produced horses of his striking dark color with very

little if any white markings. Often they had his good length of neck, strong sloping shoulders and prominent withers imparting an overall “Adonis” like attractiveness in form. He was considered a dominant sire imparting his color and looks with the exception of the occasional powerful dam that would keep his form but imprinting her grey color and usually improving on his head type. Ibn Rabdan also had a half brother Baiyad (Mabrouk x Bint Gamila), a Hadban stallion who is found in pedigrees of Ansata Nile Echo and Glorieta Zafir.

All of the other Hadban stallions of fame after Ibn Rabdan were from the other large branch of the tree, Bint Hadba El Saghira. Whereas the line from Gamila goes quickly to the stallions Ibn Rabdan and Baiyad, the big branch of Bint Hadba El Saghira’s line was blessed with many females to extend the strain. After all, without the mares we are without the strain. Bint Hadba El Saghira added two more branches to the tree through her daughters Samiha and Bint Rustem.

Ibn Rabdan, 1917 chestnut stallion, the first chief sire for the RAS and one of the most important Habdan Enzahi stallions.

Nazeer in old age, (Mansour x Bint Samiha) the “all seeing, all knowing Saker eyed” pearl white stallion. He became the most famous of all Hadban stallions in Egypt, imparting a world wide impact as a sire. Forbis photo.

SAMIHA

It appears that Samiha’s line was popular among racing enthusiasts in Egypt. Her daughter Fayza provided racing stock though eventually this line died out at the RAS. But Samiha’s other daughter Bint Samiha put her on the map by producing Nazeer. Suffice it to say whole books could be written about Nazeer. His influence through both sons and daughters has given great honor to the family name. Sire of 101 get, a huge number in Egypt in his time, he crossed well with all strains. Some of his famed sons were of the same strain as he was making them first generation pure in the strain Hadbans. These include such stallions as: Hassan and Galal at the EAO, Hadban Enzahi in Europe, Aswan in Russia and Ghalii and SF Ibn Nazeer in North America.

Bint Samiha also had two daughters, Samha (x Baiyad) and Shams (x Mashaan), each making the Samiha family larger.

While the first get of legendary Nazeer did not reach U.S. shores until 1958, eleven years before that Bint Samiha’s blood came to the U.S. in 1947 in the form of the mare Mamdouha (Kheir x Samha x Bint Samiha). Mamdouha was carrying a filly Gamila (x Enzahi) when imported.

This became the first Egyptian Hadban line in America. Today it is still admired with such examples as Ali Zafir (Ruminaja Ali x Glorieta Zaafira), now back in Egypt and the lovely black mare Rhapsody In Black (Thee Desperado x Aliashahm RA) to name a few.

In Egypt Samha produced the lovely Kamla, mother of Europe’s great Hadban Enzahi and also Bint Kamla. Aside from imparting an ivory like fineness, Hadban Enzahi also had the most perfect Arabian ears, just the right size and perfectly placed on his head much like 19th century artists engravings. Kamla’s line seemed to continue a particular kind of refinement and beauty. Egypt retained her daughter Bint Kamla who produced Shaarawi, successor at the EAO to his legendary sire Morafic. It just seemed to get better as Bint Kamla’s daughter Lutfia would become Europe’s source of great beauty and style while her sister Nazeema at the EAO would produce such charmers as Nizam (x Shaarwawi), Misk and his brother Okaz (x Wahag), and the handsome Ibn Nazeema (x Ameer). Samha also produced Zahia (x Sid Abouhom). Zahia became the premier Hadbah mare for Al Badeia Stud in Egypt, esteemed as the dam line of Al Adeed Al Shaqab.

Bint Samiha’s daughter Shams founded the Maysouna

Hadban Enzahi, a 1952 grey stallion, son of Nazeer and out of Kamla, A fined skinned horse as though carved from ivory, he was truly a Hadban Enzahi on both sides of his pedigree. His near perfect shape and set of the ears is reminiscent of 19th century art and something we wish we had more of today.

family that is equally admired for its beauty and style. This is the dam line of the great broodmare sire Ansata Abu Sudan. It is also the dam line of famed sires Makhsous, The Minstril and more recently the handsome double Hadban Laheeb Al Nasser (Al Adeed Al Shaqab x Bint Saida Al Nasser). Shams other daughter Sherifa (x Gassir) represented the Hadban line in the EAO sires Hafid Anter and Aybac.

BINT RUSTEM

Bint Rustem was the other daughter of Bint Hadba El Saghira. She produced the mahogany bay stallion Mashhour who, though narrowly represented, sired the important EAO sire Seef and a number of important daughters. The Bint Rustem branch is perhaps the largest family of Hadbans and is carried forward via two daughters Hind and Salwa, both by Ibn Rabdan, making them double Hadban.

Space does not permit extending this whole large family but suffice it to say that Hind’s line is a big one represented by such famous stallions as Russian sire Aswan (Nazeer x Yosreia); Europe’s Ibn Galal and Shaker El Masri (sire of El Shaklan); Galal, Farazdac and Gad Allah at the EAO, Imperial Mahzeer in Qatar, and Khofo, Simeon Shai, and Thee Desperado in the U.S.

Salwa is represented by such notable stallions as: Egypt’s Nasralla (Balance x Sehr) and Ashour (Anter x Lateefa); Morocco’s El Sud El Aaly (Nazeer x Lateefa); Europe’s Gharib (Anter x Souhair); and SF Ibn Nazeer in Canada and the U.S.

Maybe I am being a bit subjective here because these Egyptian horses of the Hadban Enzahi strain come in a variety of sizes, shapes and colors, but it seems that stallions of this strain often prove to be great sires in the long run. I see often horses of excellent proportions with great shoulders, stylish movement, good refinement and a harmonious overall balance of athletic qualities with

Ali Zafir (Ruminaja Ali x Glorieta Zaafira), stallion born in the U.S. now back in Egypt. Erwin Escher photo.

The lovely black mare Rhapsody In Black (Thee Deseperado x Aliashahm RA). Randi Clark photo.

noble Arabian type. The name “Venus” was associated with the Roman goddess of love and beauty. How fortunate it was that the mare “Venus” came to Egypt in 1893 from the timeless campfires of her Shammar Bedouin keepers. It is a tribal offering that has become an Egyptian treasure--the Hadban Enzahi strain-the mother of great sires.

Shaarawi (Morafic x Bint Kamla) the successor to Morafic at the EAO.

Misk (Wahag x Nazeema) a sire at Shams El Asil and full brother to Okaz who went to Syria.

The Minstril (Ruminaja Ali x Bahila) tracing in tail female to Maysouna. Javan Schaller photo

Laheeb Al Nasser (Al Adeed Al Shaqab x Bint Saida Al Nasser). Both his sire and dam are of the Hadban Enzahi strain. Gigi Grasso photo

Shaker El Masri (Morafic x Zebeda)

SF Ibn Nazeer (Nazeer x Lateefa), the last Nazeer son imported to the U.S. Johnny Johnston photo

Gharib (Anter x Souhair). Forbis photo

Khofo (Morafic x Nabilahh). Johnny Johnston photo

Aswan (Nazeer x Yosreia)

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“…Even the Smallest Breeders, Like Myself, can be the Backbone of the Arabian Breed…”

Four year old mares of Al Jabal Arabians: Masida Halima, Jumanah Al Jabal, Rayyanah Al Jabal

AL JABAL ARABIANS 2.0

from Swiss Mountains to French Pastures

Al Jabal Arabians is a traditional stud farm that has been a centre of attraction for many breeders and friends for almost 40 years, nestled in the Zurich Alps at an altitude of more than 1000 metres.

For many years the stud existed on the rock and many foals were born, most of which were sold all over the world. But then disaster struck. When Maya Jones came out of the stable one morning after feeding, her mountain home was in flames. Fortunately, neither people nor animals were harmed, but it was impossible to rebuild. Switzerland is a fascinating and beautiful country, but the bureaucratic hurdles for horse breeders are complex and largely prevent breeders from participating in international activities with their horses. So, Maya decided to turn the drama into a new start in an EU country and looked for a new home for herself and the animals in France.

Maya Jones is the successful and creative Swiss lady breeder and founder of Al Jabal Arabians. She was one of the first women to decide, as early as the late 1970s, to extend her hobby, which was riding Arabian horses, into an Arabian horse breeding operation. For her, this was not about any Purebred Arabians, but about Straight Egyptians. An Arabian breeding line that is often considered closest to the original Arabians, as they may have looked in their Arabian countries of origin. At that time, Arabian shows were rare. Anybody who owned and rode Purebred Arabians would do so out of passion and as a hobby.

“Al Jabal stud 2.0 no longer has the beautiful view of the valleys of Switzerland, but the green heart of the Limousin area and the inside view of the stables and the horses is now in France even more beautiful”, Maya says with a twinkle in her eyes.

We have known each other for 30 years, and I very much respect her active enthusiasm for natural breeding. Some of her horses are related to mine via their pedigrees, so it’s usually quite fascinating to talk about successes and failures with her, reflecting about what has happened. Among our topics, there is often the role and the difficulties that European horse breeding has been seeing since the markets became globalized. How did we benefit from that? What did we lose? Where are we today, and which strategies are useful for improving the horses without losing the positive traits and aspects of the original breed?

by Monika Savier z photos by Joanna Jonientz

Rheemah al Jabal with the two daughters she raised - Jumanah al Jabal, her own baby and Rayyanah al Jabal who she adopted

Find here the interesting interview with Maya Jones.

Monika: When did Arabian horse breeding start for you? Maya: I first fell in love with Straight Egyptians back in 1979 - he was a son of Ibn Galal (Galal x Mohga by El Sareei) named Sher-Gall (Sherifa by Mahomed out of Marah), and he was an Abayyan stallion. He had the sweetest character and was both a lovely riding horse and a family horse. He really captured my heart with his spirit and loyalty. I was a young girl, and things changed forever the day that Sher-Gall came into my life.

Monika: How did you get to like the Straight Egyptians, and why the horses of the Abayyan Om Juray strain in particular?

Maya: I was fascinated by the history of the Egyptian Horse and decided to concentrate on breeding Abayyan straight Egyptian Arabians. I knew that there were only a few hundred breeding horses of this traditional Bedouin strain - the Abayyan Om Jurays - left in the world and I believe the horses of this line are the modern embodiment of their warhorse ancestors. They all descend from an Abayyah Um Jurays of Muhammad Ibrahim al-Hajj of Cairo, Egypt, who was purchased in 1931 by King Fuad. There are three sub-strains of the Abayyan line, most of

The Queen of Al Jabal Arabians: the homebred Rheemah al Jabal - a Salaa El Dine granddaughter

them bred by the Shammar and Tahawi Bedouins. They are the Abayyan Seheyli, Abayyan Sherrak, and Abayyan Um Jurays, sometimes spelled Abayyan Om Grees or also called Obayan Om Grees.

In the writings of the Orient experts of a few hundred years ago, there are comments about the Abayyans to be found: they were described as being similar to the Saqlawi; beautiful, elegant and showy with a high head and very good tail carriage, the legs of a racehorse and a wonderful shoulder with enormous ribcage and with great speed, agility and adequate endurance. I believe they are the original jewels of the desert. And because history has shown that the Abayyan cross well with other

strains, especially the Saklawi strain, I started about ten years ago to outcross my mares with mostly Saklawi stallions. I would like to remind everybody of the three most influential broodmares of the last century who were of the Abayyan Om Jurays strain: Magidaa (Alaa el Din x Maysa by Anter), Hanan (Alaa el Din x Mona by Badr) and Marah (Galal x Maysa by Anter).

Monika: How did you finally arrive at the idea of a stud of your own with this clear-cut breeding goal?

Maya: It was my cousin’s husband Felix who introduced me to Straight Egyptian Arabians. I loved all horses from the time when I was a young girl, but the moment

King of the Mountains: homozygeous black stallion HAR Baarez

Maya Jones and her Stallion HAR Baarez

Stallion HAR Baarez overlooking the Valley down below HAR Namira. HAR Bareez daughter

I saw the Straight Egyptians for the first time, I fell in love. Felix and I would just sit together for hours; talking about the bloodlines and putting together handwritten pedigrees, going right back to the desertbred foundations. We would print A3 sheets and write each strain in a different colour. I became so fascinated with this, and it led to my interest in the heritage of the straight Egyptian. I guess it almost became an obsession, analysing pedigrees.

Professionally speaking, I studied economy (trust me, I was never able to apply that knowledge with the horses…) and added a Master of Science to my academic career. With this, I was able to travel the world as a consultant in supply chain management for a very big company. In every Country I spent time in, I would always look for Arabian Horses whenever possible. After settling down, I found this place in the Swiss mountains, and started my Straight Egyptian breeding program in earnest.

Monika: What happened that you left the Swiss?

Maya: I used to live in a traditional 200 years old Swiss chalet until not long ago, a fire caused by a malfunctioning power cord completely destroyed my home. Luckily, I and all the animals (horses, dogs and cats) survived with no injuries, but I lost all my material things. As I had always desired to live closer to my horses anyway, I placed a mobile home right on the paddock to

live, but I felt more and more deep inside, that I couldn’t stay any longer at the place where I’ve experienced such a fundamental tragedy.

Monika: After this dramatic and existential experience, I can imagine the horses have become even more important to you. Tell us which horses you choose for your present breeding activities.

Maya: The mare I started with was the lovely chestnut mare, Latifa by Teymur B x Nadira V, an Ibn Nejdy granddaughter who was bred by the late Sigi Manz in Germany. At the same time as her, I was able to acquire a beautiful Salaa El Dine son in Italy, and the first daughter of the two was a filly named Rheemah al Jabal. Rheemah was the only filly I got out of Latifa before she died only nine years old of a colic. Luckily, Rheemah turned into a beautiful fleabitten mare who is still with me and is continuing the legacy of her dam Latifa. Her get is in Switzerland, Germany, and Egypt and recently she has been awarded the label premium mare of our breeding society. Rheemah is the most motherly, loving mare that I could ever think of. She is incredibly special to me – she raised her own foal and adopted another one who had been rejected. Rheemah is this wonderful combination of intelligence, power, stamina, love, and dedication to humans and she is a great riding horse too. Rheemah had a pretty 2020 colt – Rasheek al Jabal – by the multiple champion stallion Hanine al Shahania

Maya with her beloved stallion NK Abbas El Dine by NK Jamal El Dine

(Al Adeed al Shaqab x Shomos al Nasser) and she is pregnant for a 2024 foal from the black pearl HAR Baarez (NK Ibn Leyl x HAR Basara – an Anaza El Farid great granddaughter).

The almost six-year-old mare Jumanah al Jabal is a precious daughter of Rheemah al Jabal and my beloved stallion NK Abbas El Dine (see below). She has now started her career as a broodmare in Pakistan and gifted her new owner with a beautiful filly by HAR Baarez. Two more almost six-years-old mares complete the group of young mares at Al Jabal Arabians: Rayyanah al Jabal (Sharif Ibn Sheikh al Jabal x Layla Bint Ghazira al Jabal), and Masida Halima (Ansata Nile Pharao x Mabrouka Halima, a Maydan-Madheen daughter).

Unfortunately, the true queen of Al Jabal, the 24-yearold Fay Sabeena (Fay Sabun x Matala Bint Marah by Jamil), a Marah / EAO granddaughter passed away last year – she was the last living Matala Bint Marah daughter. She was the most gentle and sweetest mare and if she looked at you with her beautiful large black eye it felt like she was looking deep into your soul.  With the addition of the black mare AR Yosreya (AR Shandiz x AR Sheykha Bint Maymoun) three years ago, I closed the gap to the beginnings of almost 40 years ago in an instant, as she is tracing back to exactly the same mare as Sher-Gall, my first ever straight Egyptian Horse. Yosreya is now, in 2023, in foal from NK Abbas

Nile Pasha Halim (Ansata Nile Pharao x Nagda Halima)

NK Abbas El Dine, bred by Dr. Nagel, Katharinenhofchief sire of Al Jabal Arabians

The homebred young Rayyanah al Jabal

El Dine (NK Jamal El Dine x NK Asila), bred by Dr. Hans Nagel of Katharinenhof Stud. Abbas is very typey stallion with a compact body, with lovely eyes, and I am proud of his heritage. He carries the El Dine legacy and brings the perfect touch of the famous “Nagel refinement” into my program.

Monika: In your breeding, how important is type to you in relation to functionality?

Maya: My aim is to breed refined horses with good, solid bodies. It is just my type, I guess. I like horses that I can ride. None of my horses are garden ornaments. Once my babies are sufficiently grown up, I have them trained to be great future riding horses until I find a wonderful 5-star-home for one or the other. Functionality is just as important as type in my opinion, and I don’t breed mainstream show horses. That doesn’t mean that my homebred horses can’t be shown – but I don’t like the so-called industry with mostly horses who look all the same. I love individuality, I love being a bit different. So, I prefer to attend shows like the Noble Straight Egyptian Breeders Festival, which Mahmoud Anzarouti initiated 2017. That’s an event that brings together breeders, Arabian Horse lovers, and enthusiasts from all over

the world to present their Straight Egyptian breeding programs. These presentations are held in a relaxed and joyful atmosphere, without judgement but with a lot of passion. Most breeders will even present their horses themselves… something you rarely find at mainstream shows nowadays because they are all in the hands of professionals - which is not always an advantage for

DF Nafis (DF Siraj out of DF Nadeemah by Miad al Shaqab)

Two fillies by DF Nafis, born 2022

DF Nafis presenting himself under saddle

the horses. This is why I was proud to be a member of the Honorary Board of the Noble Festival and strongly support this kind of event. I hope that similar initiatives for horse presentation will soon emerge in other countries as well. We did our successful first step already, which may serve as a model for others.

Monika: What about your new stallions on your farm?

Maya: I have added two very exciting boys of the Saklawi strain to my stallion barn:   With Nabiel Halim, by Sabeh al Salhia and out of Nile Halima (a PVA Kariim daughter), it’s not only that I have a future sire with an excellent pedigree in my stable – with Nabiel Halim, I have a potential sire who will transmit the strong bodies that I like so much in my breeding.

The stars of Al Jabal Arabians are for sure DF Nafis (by DF Siraj and out of DF Nadeemah by Miad al Shaqab) and HAR Baarez, both proven sires with convincing reproduction, both homozygous tested and solid black. I adore the small typey ears and the big dark eyes of Nafis, certainly a trait which is often difficult to find within black SEs. On top of all that he is a great mover and he is currently trained under the saddle.

Both of them represent my hopes and dreams for the future of my breeding program, and I am very excited to have some of their progeny at Al Jabal Arabians soon. Not just to be able to see the fabulous foals he has already produced for clients.

Monika: What do you think of current reproductive technologies? Do you do embryo transfer?

Maya: I am convinced that embryo transfer on the massive scale that it was done, did damage to Arabian horse breeding overall. I don’t use embryo transfer at all. I want foals to grow up with their Arabian dams, benefiting from their Arabian character and their way of educating their foals. We need to put effort into improving the quality of the breed, not the quantity.  I have always chosen to do things “my way” – I have to finance my horses myself - so I take the liberty to decide what I want

and how I want it… no matter what other people might say. For instance, I am not using famous show stallions to breed with – I’m using the right ones for my mares and these may be “no name” stallions.

Monika: How do you plan to go on, living your life as a breeder now in the French surroundings?

Maya: As far as my life here is concerned, I will do my best to connect with breeders here in France and to promote the Egyptian breed as much as I can.

I still have the dream to create here in France a paddock Paradise for my stallions, where they can enjoy their lives within their little herd. For the first time I was able to do this here in France, where I have plenty of space and nature, with my own private lake. Little Zobair al Jabal (AR Yosreya x Rasheek al Jabal) was born two months ago during the day on the paddock, surrounded by the rest of the herd including his sire welcoming and protecting him.

I am glad I’m self-sufficient and independent, meaning I can take my decisions based on my horses’ best interests. Like so many fellow breeders, I am strong, determined and passionate about what I believe in. And I have learned that even the smallest breeders, like myself, can be the backbone of the Arabian breed, especially during such difficult times as we are all going through right now, no matter where I’m living.

Monika: Thank you so much for this interview. I really hope that many small breeders can learn from your ideas and strategies.

Maya Jones info@aljabalarabians.com www.aljabalarabians.com

2023 son of HAR Baarez and Rheemah al Jabal

“If you want to be successful, you have to stay true to your breeding concept”.

The STallionS of al QuSar arabianS in Germany

By Monika Savier

Al QusAr ArAbiAns is a stud of the classical horse breeding tradition. straight Egyptian purebred Arabians have been bred there for almost 30 years. some of the offspring have found a home in the largest stud farms in Europe and the Middle East and have had a positive influence on international breeding. Al Qusar stud is located not far from bremen, embedded in the green world of horse breeding in lower saxony, in the north-west of Germany.

Robert Schlereth with Majd al QuSaR

Volker Wettengl with MaSHaHaNa al QuSaR *2003 (Teymur B x Maida Bint Bint Mohssen)

Photos by Joanna Jonientz, Glenn Jacobs, Kubat

ANSATA HALIM SHAH 1980

Teymur B 1994

ASSAD 1984

ARUSSA 1977

ANSATA IBN HALIMA 1958

ANSATA ROSETTA 1971

MADKOUR I 1971

HANAN 1967

IBN GALAL 1966

IBN GALAL I 1972

HANAN 1967

214 IBN GALAL I 1979

TAMRIA 1967

TUHOTMOS 1962

KAMAR 1953

Teymur B

influence on international breeding. Al Qusar Stud is located not far from Bremen, embedded in the green world of horse breeding in Lower Saxony, in the north-west of Germany. The ancient German word “Gestüt” comes from “Stuten”, which means Mares, a stud is traditionally the place of horse breeding where the mares live. Good mares are the basis of a successful stud. The Bedouin tribes in the areas of origin of the Arabian horses loved their mares first and foremost. They saw in them the result of the successful breeding of their ancestors, which had to be preserved. They also knew that their mares were the cornerstone of their success in the future. But without excellent stallions, this proof could not be given.

“The mare is to maintain, and the stallion is to improve the breed” is an old breeder’s wisdom, but it only comes true if the foundation mares of a stud are of the best quality. To be able to maintain the quality of the mares over generations, the critical breeder must keep adding excellent stallions to his broodmare herd. In this respect, the same applies here as everywhere else in nature: everything relates to everything else.

munera al Qusar and naTifa al Qusar

fa nefilim

(Fa Medu Neter x Nadirah El Shah) started another dS mare line in the stud through aK Nawal

Robert Schlereth and Volker Wettengl, the founders of Al Qusar Arabians, worked for many years as successful trainers and show handlers before they consciously turned their backs on this world and concentrated on horse breeding. They kept the selection of their foundation mares in the foreground.

With the mare KP Bint Mohssen (Mohssen x KP Mofida) and her noble daughter Maida Bint Bint Mohssen, they founded their Dahman Shahwan line at the stud in the 90s. Maida Bint Bint Mohssen pleased Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Thani from Qatar so much that he brought her to his home, and she became one of the famous foundation mares of the Al Rayyan Stud in Qatar. Her line still plays an important role there today.

TEymur b, sEnior sirE AT Al QusAr ArAbiAns

The success of the stallion TEYMUR B started with Maida’s daughter Mashahana Al Qusar (Teymur B x Maida Bint Bint Mohssen), as she stayed at Al Qusar Stud and started her own mare family.

Robert Schlereth said at the time: “I had discovered Teymur B when he was 2 years old at the State Stud Babolna in Hungary and fell in love with him. He is a son of Assad, thus an Ansata

Halim Shah grandson and has not only continued producing many successful show horses and champions, he also consistently passes on his great character. His offspring, like himself,

are easy to ride, intelligent and willing to perform. He himself was champion stallion at the stallion licensing and has also had much success at shows in his younger years.”

Teymur B, a stallion from the Dahman Shahwan line, went back to the famous Tamria (Tuhotmos x Kamar), who had been imported from the Egyptian State Stud El Zahraa and established one of the most successful mare lines in the Hungarian State Stud.

Robert Schlereth: “Our best offspring comes from the Tamria line. Our stallion Teymur B keeps the first place. He fits very well with all the Babolna lines, but also in-breeding to Tamria has been a complete success so far. In our stud, the horses bred by us have at least once Tamria blood in their pedigree. This is also ensured by our foundation mares: Turefi B (full sister to Teymur B), Teymura B (half-sister to Teymur B by Alidaar), Tagia B (by 230 Ibn Galal), Tisrina B (Salaa el Dine by 211 Zohair) and the mare 223 Ibn Galal I. She was the dam of the World Champion mare Elf Layla Walayla and of World Champion Emiratus B. We bought her in Babolna when she was already 20 years old.”

In the 1990s and beyond, Al Qusar Arabians had great success in breeding thanks to Teymur B and the mares from Babolna. New foundation mares from the Ansata breed were added, such as Ansata Queen Nefr and the Ansata Ibn Halima granddaughters Bagdady and the black G Ashalima. Not only the Dahman Shahwan line of Tamria, also the Saklawi Jedran Ibn Sudan line became part of the breeding concept through the mares

Tarres rashik al Qusar (Teymur B x ansata Princessa)

Pamina al Qusar (Teymur B x ansata Princessa)

NK NADEER 2005

NK HAFID JAMIL 1996

IBN NEJDY 1992

HELALA 1992

NK NADIRAH 2001

ADNAN 1989

NASHUA 1990

ASSAD 1984

TEYMUR B 1994

214 IBN GALAL I 1979

MASHAHANA AL QUSAR 2003

MAIDA BINT BINT MOHSSEN 1998

EL THAY SHAH MABROUK 1990

KP BINT MOHSSEN 1989

El Thay Bint Maheera and Naafisa. Both had their origin in the Ansata breeding and their 4th generation offspring can be seen at the stud today.

mAjd Al QusAr, junior sirE And TypE rEproducEr

Robert and Volker have been the handlers of the famous horses at Dr. Nagel’s Katharinenhof on many occasions over the years. Therefore, it was obvious that the leading sire at Katharinenhof at that time, NK Nadeer (NK Hafid Jamil x NK Nadirah) covered the beautiful Teymur B daughter Mashahana Al Qusar out of Maida Bint Bint Mohssen. Majd Al Qusar was born in 2015 and his type, his small ears, and the short head with the big black eyes, but also his beautiful trotting action delighted everyone, including his breeders.

auThenTic nadirah (Majd al Qusar x FA Nefilim)

nk lunaa (Majd al Qusar x NK lilly)

And so it happened that he remained at the stud and now one can see his very beautiful offspring with their inherited good characteristics.

Majd Al Qusar has an excellent character, just like his grandfather Teymur B. He is honest and gentle and loves to show off his good movement and charisma.

daniaa al Qusar

(Majd al Qusar x Mawiaa al Qusar)

majd al Qusar

bAdr Al rAyyAn, ThE bEAuTiful ExoTic from QATAr

Badr Al Rayyan came to Al Qusar Stud 2 years ago. Volker Wettengl discovered him in Qatar and after many problems had to be solved, this beautiful stallion moved into his box at Al Qusar Stud. If one follows the breeding strategy of Al Rayyan farm, Badr undoubtedly belongs to the old lines of extremely selective quality breeding as initiated by Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Thani until his retirement from the stud.

Recently it has been said that the future of Al Rayyan Farm lies in looking back to these lines. Through expertise and care their breeding will return to its former greatness.

Badr Al Rayyan was born in 2013 at Al Rayyan farm in Qatar, he belongs to the Obayan branch, tracing to Hanan. Badr is the perfect combination of the best of Judith Forbis’ and Hans Nagel’s Egyptian breeding.

Badr al rayyan

Badr

He has an excellent type and charisma with a very good body. His young offspring in the farm have clearly shown his noble roots. His dam, Darine Al Rayyan, is one of the finest root mares in the Al Rayyan stud. Her sire Ashhal Al Rayyan, the “powerhouse sire” is a son of Nagel’s stallion Safir (Salaa El Dine x Aisha), Darine’s dam is a daughter of Aisha from Nagel’s breeding out of the unique combination of Ansata Halim Shah and Ghazala (Ghazal x Hanan). Badr Al Rayyan’s sire is Fares Al Rayyan, who is one of the leading sires at Al Waab Stud today. His sire Ansata Hejazi was among the world’s best Ansata Halim Shah sons. Ansata Sharifa is a daughter of Ansata Samantha, Sharifa’s most famous daughter is G Shafaria, the dam of Fares Al Rayyan.

The three stallions TEymur b, mAjd Al QusAr and bAdr Al rAyyAn are a perfect match for both mare lines of Al Qusar Arabians. The pedigrees of all the horses there meet the breeding strategies of the three most important studs of straight Egyptians in the last century, namely Ansata Stud, Katharinenhof and Al Rayyan Stud.

Al Qusar belongs to the next generation of breeders and was able to successfully build on the gene pool of the “Big Three”. It looks like Al Qusar Stud has set the right course for the future with its clear breeding concept and horse-friendly stud. A visit to the stud opens the door to a new world of horse breeding for many visitors.

nayla al Qusar (Badr al Rayyan x Nadia al Qusar)

Bashir al Qusar (Badr al Rayyan x Miriya al Qusar)

© Elvis Giughera

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COPY! VOL.II

by

I am Manuela Lucini, I was born in Switzerland, on the Italian side; I speak Italian, think and eat Italian. The “Fattoria Collina d’Oro “(Golden Hill Farm) located on the Golden Hill by the Lake of Lugano is the small oasis I founded in 1997 breeding Arabian horses. Actually not only Arabian horses and not only breeding. I breed Purebred Arabians as well as Straight Egyptians here. Today, 19 horses are stabled on the farm, two of them Anglo-Arabians and all of them accompanied by a lot of other animals such as two donkeys, more than a dozen Tibetan goats, and numerous other species and pets. The

frame offered by green pastures and woodlands gives the animals even more than an enormously high quality of living: they also get a premium view of the lake.

My passion for horses began when I was 7 years old, no one in my family encouraged me, it was born that way and that’s all I could talk about.

I was lucky enough to realise my big dream: to live with my horses and start breeding Arabians. It wasn’t as easy as writing this, like all great dreams to achieve it I went through a lot, but I’m still here.

Manuela Lucini z photos by Harem Stud archive

Manuela Lucini with Galila and Gazelle

I do almost everything by myself: show preparation, breaking in and training, equine physiotherapy, and rehabilitation of horses with physical and psychological problems.

I manage everything at 360 degrees around me - from the water pipe connections, to which nails to buy, to organizing the tractor overhaul; to horse management, training, and breeding; to property management, finances etc etc etc; I raise my mares by myself, break them in, train them, mate them with my stallion, I am present when they give birth, raise the foals, train them, break them in, and so on. It’s just the line of work you choose when you breed for generations in a stud. I think it’s better not to delegate much. And for a woman it is not easy anyway, even with employees. In all the roles I have never had any particular problems with men, except - and this is no small thing - in the daily management of employees, specifically stable men. It’s hard to find someone who really does it for passion, and I admit that it’s harder for a woman to be respected, and it’s hard for men (depending on their brain) to accept orders or to know less than a woman. This is why

I stay in contact with my animals as much as possible. Unfortunately in 2011 I suffered a serious accident due to an unjustified attack by a stallion for reasons that are still unknown.

As a result of the accident I lost the mobility of my left hand (the dominant one for me) and my wrist by 70 per cent, permanently.

From the window of the hospital during my recovery I could see a stable where the horses were being ridden, and beyond the hill on the horizon I knew that there were all my beloved Arabian horses waiting for me... I hardly ever cry, but at the time the tears often flowed because I didn’t know if I would ever be able to ride or at least handle them again.

I never gave up for them! In fact, after a year of intensive physiotherapy, I was still able to write with my hand and get on the saddle. It was like living again!

Even the doctors can’t explain how it’s possible and are amazed at how a human body can react and adapt to new circumstances. But deep down I know that it’s thanks to love, true passion. That is the real strength.

Horses and my farm are part of my DNA. I cannot even imagine a life without my animals anymore.

Today my life is entirely dedicated to horses. I would say that they are the ones who manage my life.

I am quite precise and thorough, so there is always plenty to do, for the horses as well as for external maintenance. It’s not easy for me and not even for those who work alongside me, but the welfare and cleanliness of the horses are the priorities for me. I really want them not to lack anything. I would say they are all pretty spoiled, but in the end, they do everything I ask them to do. Working with them gives me a lot of satisfaction. I couldn’t imagine my life without horses, they are part of my DNA.

I am quite proud to have bred some black offspring that earn excellent scores in shows and are successful otherwise too; which is because they have a lightness overall, and short and rather modern heads. But I don’t have Egyptians only, I have several Egyptian-related Arab horses, and two Anglo Arabians that I care a lot about, offspring of my great love HAREM. I like all my horses very much, regardless of the success they have in the show or under the saddle.

As far as Egyptian horses are concerned, I must tell that I am not a great expert of lines. I rather work according to what I see, although I do not even choose the color. By pure chance, my five Egyptians are black. I look at their characteristics in general, with strong points and weak points included, and try to give them a stallion who can improve their progeny. Basically it’s not easy to breed blacks who are elegant and typey. Mine turned out quite well, however: they have beautiful small heads with a wellexpressed dish, they have strong bodies, and both of them are great movers. Regardless of color, I prefer type and charisma. I am not prejudiced against particular Egyptian lines. I get my orientation from the official definitions of Straight Egyptians by the Egyptian State Stud and the Pyramid Society.

For me it’s essential that every single horse is trained to the saddle, in addition to the show work. The mares here are broken in for riding before they are covered for the first time. The same is true for the stallions before they are allowed to mate. In my opinion, that’s a bit like school for children and young people, which serves to create a certain discipline, as well as some extra motivation in their lives. I find that for a horse to be alone in the pasture, or their box stall, or to run their circles on the lounging line – it’s got to be terribly boring. However, training takes experience and competence, of course. A show horse who is or was also ridden needs to be trained in a correct manner and outline, meaning we can’t lounge

him with his head in the air. We would ruin his back muscles that way, and not only that, the neck would also change in a negative way, a ewe neck will easily form. I’m sure you understand why it’s not easy to just hand a horse over to somebody for show training, without applying certain standards of quality.

At the moment I can’t breed more than I do, because I don’t have any more box stalls available. Sounds odd, maybe, but it’s true. I would have to sell horses, but that’s a challenge for me emotionally, as I need to be entirely convinced they will get a good new home. I am not very good at selling a horse, I can screw it all up if the person or the new place doesn’t convince me. So I live on passion as long as I can.

And I try to spread my passion as much as possible.  I tried in many ways to promote Arabian horses in my country with interviews in television programs etc, but unfortunately here in Switzerland most people here have a false picture of Arabian horses. They have a reputation for being difficult to ride, and to be too small for many people – to sum things up in two keywords. Luckily, among us fans of Arabian horses, we understand each other and laugh because we know that the warmblood riders don’t know what they are missing. I tried to breed quality offspring, but even so few people know how to distinguish between a typey and a non-typey head. Maybe they are more color-oriented. But I must emphasize that great demands are made on the qualities of Arabian horses under saddle, ignoring their proper intrinsic qualities. Those who choose Arabian horses, choose them simply as their bestlife companions.

I have a background as an athlete, lots of sport from childhood, even at competitive levels, and the good fortune to have spent years in close contact with great athletes, trainers and physiotherapists of a great Italian football team. With them and from that experience I learned a lot, certainly that you need discipline, sacrifice, perseverance and athletic training.

I personally believe that laziness does not go hand in hand with success.

Success requires passion, love, dedication, sacrifices. And also luck!. q www.haremstud.com www.hglamours.com www.fattoriacollinadoro.ch

H GLAMOURS (Royal Colours x Galila)

H SHAOLIN (H Glamours x H Shador)

H GINGERGLAM (H Glamours x Gazelle)

H SHAMOURS (H Glamours x H Alisha)

GALILA

(Coaltown x UP Bint montaha)

Straight Egyptian foundation mare

GAZELLE (Classic Shadwan x Galila)

H SHAGAL (Shasali’ x Galila)

H GOGHLEINE (Van Gogh AM x Galila)

Triple Winner in one show Swiss Champion Filly Best in Show Waho Trophy

TUAREG DREAM-CHA

(Shahil x LF Chantilly)

Egyptian Related foundation mare

GEISHA (Gopak x Dream-cha)

H ALISHA (Shasali x Geisha)

H SHAMAN (Laman HVP x Geisha)

SHASALI’ (Classic Shadwan x Dream-cha)

CHAZANNE (Area Sirhaan x Dream-cha)

H SHADOR (Khidar x Dream-cha)

H DHARMA (Harem x Dream-cha)

SHAKIR (Khidar x Dream-cha)

THAT’S AMORE

H KEISHA (Kanz Albydayer x H Shador)

BEAUTY ODESSA (Mabroc Said x Odessa Dennenord)

Anglo Arabian stallion by HAREM

HAREM Anglo Arabian stallion

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CAVALLO ARABO

by Giorgia Mauri z photos by Simone Bergamaschi

Nel 2020 dopo essere stato proprietario, allevatore, cavaliere, coorganizzatore di show con Antonio Culcasi, DC National Ecaho, organizzatore di Clinic di Handler con Franck Boetto, insieme al grande amico e altrettanto grande professionista Christian Da Pos ho progettato e realizzato un centro per il Cavallo Arabo Montato a Pozzolengo, nella cornice dello splendido lago di Garda.

Con la consapevolezza che una percentuale di produzione non ha sbocco commerciale per show e pensando al destino dei cavalli che restano fuori dallo show business ho avuto l’intuizione di aprire un centro specializzato in psa a cui inviare i soggetti

In 2020 after being an owner, breeder, horseman, show co-organizer with Antonio Culcasi, DC National Ecaho, Handler Clinic organizer with Franck Boetto, together with my great friend and equally great professional Christian Da Pos I designed and opened a center for the Mounted Arabian Horse in Pozzolengo, in the setting of the beautiful Lake Garda.

With the awareness that a percentage of production has no commercial outlet for show and thinking about the fate of horses that remain outside the show business I had the intuition to open a center specialized in purebred Arabian horses to which to

MONTATO 2

destinati alla sella dove diversi soggetti vengono messi in training per la sella e soprattutto venditori e compratori hanno la disponibilità di tutti questi soggetti concentrati in unico luogo.

Da quest’anno l’esperienza del Cavallo Arabo Montato aperto con Christian Da Pos si è replicata e accostando la nostra esperienza a quella del trainer Roberto Ciregia è nato Desert Rose a Bagnolo San Vito in provincia di Mantova.

Come nel primo centro anche qui viene offerto all’allevatore un servizio di doma, addestramento e vendita anche per prodotti non da show, ma destinabili allo sport o attività ludiche. Questa attività viene accostata al lavoro del trainer Roberto Ciregia che invece si occupa di preparare cavalli da show.

Anche al centro Desert Rose il cavallo viene accolto e messo in doma, in training, creando una scheda tecnico fotografica e poi posto in vendita, con certificazione di addestramento.

send the subjects destined for the saddle where several subjects are put in training for the saddle and above all sellers and buyers have the availability of all these subjects concentrated in one place.

As of this year the experience of the Arabian Horse Mounted opened with Christian Da Pos was replicated and by combining our experience with that of trainer Roberto Ciregia, Desert Rose was born in Bagnolo San Vito in the province of Mantua.

As in the first center, here too the breeder is offered a service of taming, training and sale even for products not for show, but destined for sport or recreational activities. This activity is juxtaposed with the work of trainer Roberto Ciregia, who instead prepares show horses.

Also at the Desert Rose Center, the horse is welcomed and put through taming, training, creating a technical photographic record and then placed for sale, with training certification.

L’acquirente oltre a vederlo e montarlo in presenza del trainer Christian Da Pos, può decidere a quale specialità equestre vorrà avviare l’addestramento.

Attualmente le specialità che vengono trattate sono il salto ostacoli, dressage, western base, spagnola base.

Il centro ci permette di operare in qualsiasi condizione di tempo, avendo disponibilità di un un campo coperto 50 x 30, di un ring aperto 80 x 40 e di un tondino. I cavalli possono permanere in uno dei 12 paddock con capannina per rilassarsi dopo il lavoro oppure in uno dei box.

I nostri centri si pongono come punto di riferimento europeo per questo tipo di training. Al momento abbiamo importato cavalli arabi sportivi dalla Polonia e dalla Francia e apriremo le nostre porte a tutta la clientela europea ed extra europea che avrà voglia di guardare oltre e ampliare le possibilità che questi magnifici cavalli hanno da offrire al mondo creando uno spazio specializzato nello scambio di soggetti arabi da sella pronti per essere formati alle singole specialità e regalare ai proprietari o ai nuovi acquirenti grandi soddisfazioni sportive. q

The buyer, in addition to seeing and mounting the horse in the presence of trainer Christian Da Pos, can decide which equestrian specialty he or she would like to start training in.

Currently the specialties that are covered are show jumping, dressage, western basic, Spanish basic.

The center allows us to operate in all weather conditions, having the availability of a 50 x 30 covered field, an 80 x 40 open ring and a horse pen. Horses can stay in one of the 12 paddocks with a shed to relax after work or in one of the boxes.

Our centers position themselves as a European benchmark for this type of training. At the moment we have imported Arabian sport horses from Poland and France, and we will open our doors to all European and non-European customers who are willing to look further and expand the possibilities that these magnificent horses have to offer the world by creating a specialized space for the exchange of Arabian saddle subjects ready to be trained in individual specialties and give owners or new buyers great sporting satisfaction. q

The Story of the Noble Mares of the Katharinenhof Breeding with Criteria

By Hans J. nagel

The Search for my arabian horSeS

It took years, until I finally felt sure to have found the right way to breed Arabian horses successfully. It took so much time, because there are so many opinions and very vague theories about the origin, the authentic type and the correct features of this horse, creating a lot of confusions for any newcomer, including myself. However, so many surprising things happened during my life, which helped me to understand this horse better and better. In the end it was easy for me to find the proper answers to the following two questions:

1, Which of the Arabians among so many different types will finally be my favourite one?

2. Which breeding concept fits to such a horse which was created in another environment and originated from a culture different from the one in Europe.

Lady Anne Blunt’s Sherifa, one of her finest paintings.

The first surprise happened in the 60ies, when my work as one of the very early European experts in modern poultry breeding brought me to Hungary and by chance directly into the State Stud Babolna. After arrival, as I walked around in this Stud, I found out unexpectedly that I was staying in the middle of one of the oldest breeding Studs for Arabians in Europe. It happened that from this first visit on, I worked with Babolna for 30 years. During the day I installed a huge poultry operation and in the early mornings and in the evenings, I was occupied with their Arabian horses. During this period, it was decided that Babolna’ s breeding should be clearly split into two sections: from then on one section concerned pure-bred Arabians only, the second one exclusively ShagyaArabians (before registered under part-bred Arabian). All in all, I had a lot of time to become fully acquainted with Arabian horse breeding in this Stud from early history until our days. This was my first and decisive step and deep encounter with the great ambiance and the mystery, which is surrounding this Arabian horse. The second surprise followed only a few years later, I had to travel to Cairo following an invitation from the Ministry of Agriculture in Egypt to advise them in poultry production as well, but this time on a national scale. My Egyptian counterpart was a very likable person, Dr. Ameen Zaher, Deputy Minister of Agriculture. At this time, he acted also as the breeding advisor of the “El Zahraa Arabian Horse Stud” near Cairo. It did not take long, when he discovered my interest in Arabians and so he invited me, with a group of important visitors from the US, to visit their world-famous Arabian Stud. About the same time a German writer, Mrs. Erika Schiele, published her book “Araber in Europa”; A very interesting comprehensive document about breeding efforts with Arabians in different European countries. Most of her attention was given to breeders in England, Poland, to the State Stud Babolna in Hungary and Germany. I recall that I have studied and read this book again and again. I was mostly interested to look at the photographs and pictures of the Arabian horses as kept in each country, the typical English Crabbet Park Horses, the Polish Arabians in the Stud of Janov Podlaski or the German Arabians kept by a few private breeders and the Arabian Stud of Marbach Württemberg and finally the ones in Spain; they all looked different, each of them had some of their own particularities.

Syrian Arabians as presented to the WAHO committee.

Savier

Naturally I discovered some horses in this book, which became my favourites, but when I arrived at the El Zahraa Stud, everything of what I had seen before in this book got wiped out of my mind. In complete admiration I looked at the fine mares, wandering around in the surrounding paddocks and when some of them were presented by Egyptian grooms together with several stallions to this visitor group. I was totally taken by their elegance and refinement. As I returned later to my hotel and started thinking in quietness about what I had seen on that day. I concluded, that this type of Arabian would be my final choice. I doubted I would ever find better ones anywhere else in the future. These impressions of this first visit became decisive moments, which stayed in my memory until today.

Due to my work with Dr. Zaher and due to the existence of these Egyptian Arabians, Egypt became a very dear country to me and each time, when I was on my way to Egypt, I was very excited to meet again the people I was working with in the different activities and what I could accomplish with them in the coming visit. Dr. Zaher allowed me to move around in total liberty, particularly at the El Zahraa Stud. All its personnel in the office or in the stable were very helpful and open minded in answering all my many questions, which I considered to be very important for my future planning and they gave me, without asking, even a lot of additional information. Having studied the qualities of the various mare families, in this way I had the courage to chosen and to buy my first three fillies. The other four fillies followed later.

Then it happened that I was elected Chairman of the German Arab Horse Society (VZAP) and stayed in this position for more than 20 years. One of the most exciting and very serious duties was the licensing event for the three-year-old stallions, which took place each year in the Frankfurt area. About 100 or even 130 young stallions were presented to be judged for approval of breeding or to be rejected. In my capacity as chairman of a five-member-committee, it was sometimes very hard to come to a correct justified decision, particularly when a decision for refusal had to be made. This refusal rate was very high: in average 65 % of the horses were not approved and 35% were accepted. Most of the owners liked their horses and the refusal for breeding was a great disappointment for them. Whatever happened, I have seen on these yearly occasions several hundreds of Arabian

Arabians bred in Syria and purchased at the end of the 19th century for the Eastern European Studs.

stallions, partly bred in Germany, or imported from Poland, from Egypt, from Russia, from the US, from Spain and from England. There existed no better informative occasions as to see such chosen samples of all important Arabian populations in different countries and to compare them with each other, to discover their highlights, but also the less appreciated features in each group. After each of these events I was asking myself, was I right in my judgements and what did I learn for myself by comparing in my mind the best judged stallion with my own horses at home; mostly I came to a positive answer, but sometimes I also found out, which possible improvements my horses still needed.

Only to mention, I have also spent about ten years serving as a judge in different Arabian horse shows in several countries. After a while I felt this is a boring job, full of repetitions and not very attractive for me. In fact, it was not a challenge at all, when I compared this show-judging with the very professional evaluation applied in the stallion licensing event. And finally, in the early 80ies the WAHO (World Arabian Horse Organisation) was already wellestablished with more than 40 countries as WAHO members, when I was invited to be a member of its Executive Committee and later chosen as its President. I was very hesitant in accepting this position. My interest was to enjoy my Arabians, to care for them, to breed them and to improve them. And not to spend my time in meetings, to organize, to set up rules and regulations or to control and supervise publishing. But finally, I saw that a lot of positive works could still be done and accepted these duties. It happened at this time, that the Arab countries came into the focus of WAHO. I found out later, WAHO wanted me to join them, because I was very familiar with the countries in this region and in fact, in my new capacity I pushed the above project strongly forward. In a General Assembly, it was then decided to offer to these countries the possibility to establish a National Stud Book and to register all those Arabians, which were still in the hands of breeders in that country. Each country had the chance, to propose, which of their horses should be a candidate for registration and a committee of WAHO was then sent to check and to confirm or to refuse their choice. As a member of the committee for Iraq and later as the chairman of another committee for Syria, I have thrown each time all my interest and curiosity into this project, knowing the importance of these countries in history. Both countries, Syria, and Iraq, were those ones, which were heavily visited in the late 19th century by private people, by merchants or by governmental organisations, to choose and to buy Arabians as root stock for the most important Studs in Europe. But also, the idea to try to save the Arabians in these countries as a heritage, which could be a positive addition to the Arabian horse population worldwide, was a good reason to make such an effort and work with these countries. I have seen in each country between 500 and 1000 horses in several different visits. In Iraq a relatively small fraction of the presented horses were accepted, only about 180 stallions and mares; in Syria the choice was a little bit more generous, maybe too generous. Knowing pictures and photos from Arabians imported 100 years before, by example the ones chosen by Lady Ann Blunt for her Crabbet Park Stud in England, the ones Babolna Stud imported at that time or those ones, which were chosen by the already famous Polish breeders in the 18th and 19th century, I had a perfect chance to compare such early imports with those ones, which were now presented in front of me. The answer is it was

still about the same type. The mares, 150 cm or less, the stallions usually much taller. The small ones had mostly a heavy belly and were longer in the back; Their bones were relatively thick, a lot of them had wide flat hooves and all had a straight or even convex bold head. The taller ones were more slender, shorter, had a better neck, but their head shape was similar. Very seldom I saw a more refined horse, and when this happened, it was mostly flea-bitten grey. Never I saw a head-shape like the ones bred in Egypt. However, it was a surprise to note that most of them had a perfect Arabian high tail-carriage, showed a powerful movement and had very nice black eyes. Indeed, in our times about 100 years later and after maybe 15 generations, the European Arabians of today look totally different from those early imports; the effort in selecting, crossing, and breeding only the better ones have made a huge difference between past and present. From these visits originates my conclusion that two types of Arabians existed: a Northern type and a Southern type, the northern Arabians in larger populations bred on rich lands close to the Euphrates and Tigris River, the southern Arabians bred as desert horses in the Arabian Peninsula surviving with the Bedouins and existing only in limited small numbers due to the poor geographic-ecological ambiance.

back To egypT

As well known, the Egyptian horses in El Zahraa, at least the major percentage, were brought in the later 19th century from the Arabian Peninsula to Egypt. Abbas Pasha, the Viceroy of Egypt, and some of his later relatives were the greatest collectors and buyers at that time. These early breeders searched from the very beginning for a certain type of horses, which was apparently only available in this Peninsula and bred by the Bedouin tribes, who migrated following the seasons through these territories.

As already mentioned, these Arabians in Egypt looked totally different from what I had seen during my different travels in the Middle East as Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and even Iran or when I made the inspections on behalf of WAHO in these countries. But this population in El Zahraa was also different from the ones bred in the Babolna Stud, different from those in Crabbet Park, even when a lot of their horses were brought from Egypt to this Stud, but as known, later crossed with Syrian

A Saudi Arabian mare belonging to their special breeding program for local Arabians.

The best head of an Arabian mare in Iraq Photographed in 1989.

imports, and they were also different from the Polish ones, which originated mostly from the already existing older studs established by the old Polish aristocracy. Egypt had an Arabian population which had its own typical look. From Dr. Zaher I learned to know as well, that two types of Arabians were bred and available in El Zahraa since the early 50ies. The old traditional ones, going back to Abbas Pascha breeding, and a taller solid type, a bit less refined and bred to satisfy the horse-racing community in Egypt; at least this was the original idea why to bring additional stallions. I was discussing at length with Dr. Zaher, which of the horses in the Stud he would order into the first group and which ones would belong to the second. One could find out these differences by checking their pedigree, but by the time I was also able to see this difference just by looking at their features. No doubt I was totally committed to the first group. To my surprise in the years to come the later following Egyptian Stud Directors have given up this separation and bred the two groups together as one population. Why do these Egyptian Arabians or at least most of them have only very little in common with those Arabians I saw and judged in Saudi Arabia? I was keen to find out if these Egyptian types still existed somewhere in the Arabian Peninsula, both belonging to the same homeland and once bred in this area. The “Saudi State Stud Dirabh” near Riyadh had made great effort to collect the best of the original Arabians in their country and started a breeding programme exclusively with such horses. But when

El Zahraa, the Mares Paddock, Cairo, Egypt

Savier

The two root mares Hanan and Lotfeia in their old age, both over 20 years old.

comparing these carefully chosen ones with the best local ones in Iraq or Syria, there was no doubt they all were in principle still of the same type; no similarity with the Egyptians at all. In the 19th century the Egyptians must have been taken away, first as ransom during the “Wahabit War” or later by private initiative, the best of the horses bred by the Bedouins and emptied the country to a great extent. This gap was filled up again later by imports from the north. It is interesting that one can read in the report of the Austrian / Hungarian expedition around 1900 the same remark; They could not find any horses different from those in Syria or Iraq, when they searched for Arabians in the south of Palestine and even further south in the direction to the Arabian Peninsula; they made the same observation and came to the above conclusion as I did, however about 100 years earlier In seeing and judging all these Arabians during the travelling years, I became more and more confident, that I had made the right decision to choose my root mares out of the El Zahraa population. It resumed however the challenge, that this would be the suitable breeding concept in considering historical facts and modern breeding knowledge as well. Therefore, one must start to think from the very beginning of the creation of this type of southern

Jamil (Madkour I x Hanan)

Arabians and must decide in the end for a very particular breeding programme, which would recognize traditions and beliefs, data and conditions as set and dictated by nature, and by finally applying all advanced knowledge in animal breeding.

a new modern breeding concepT

There is today a common understanding that the cradle of the Arabian horse is the Arabian Peninsula or more specific, the poor and mostly desert like regions in the centre of this half-island, called “The Nejd”.

When about 500 AD a lighter horse type from the North, from Iraq over the Caspian Bridge, entered the Arabian Peninsula, this country was horse empty. Further on, two vital conditions were existing. Firstly, a relatively good geographical isolation and secondly nearly no contact with other existing horse breeds. Such an isolation could be only offered by the Arabian Peninsula in comparison with other Arab countries in the northern region. Thirdly, a particular breed has only a good chance to emerge as a relative homogeneous population, when their number is somehow limited. The poorness of most of the territories in the Arabian Peninsula never allowed a huge population of thousands of horses as it existed in the north of Arabia. Bedouins in the south owned only little numbers in their tribes; it is said that around 1880 only 500 Arabian horses were kept by the Bedouins roaming in the Nejd region and surroundings. It was finally in the 18/19 century, when these remote territories of the Arabian Peninsula opened to the West, when only a few adventurous and curious travellers had the courage to enter these dangerous regions and to encounter those desert people. Even when this Peninsula was the country, where the world’s second most important religion, the Islam, emerged, it remained closed for western culture for centuries. Neither the Romans before, nor the later Middle Eastern dynasties, and not even the Ottoman Kingdom showed interest to extend their political influence further south. Their southern borders were these territories, highly lifeunfriendly and only suitable for a nomadic way of life. These Bedouins, refusing any political power over them, strongly guided by their traditions only, very independent, and unable to read and to write,

Painting by V. Adam.

Painting by E. Volkers.

Arabians in the Stud of the King of Württemberg, Germany (around 1875).

migrated constantly as a nomadic population by following the seasons which offered them the needed pasture for their animals. They kept their own horses away from other breeds due to their pride and possessiveness concerning their horses, which they believed to be superior to any other breed.

The inner region of this Arabian Peninsula was the Bedouin country for thousands of years. These Bedouins were the authentic breeders of the Arabian horse and their first owners. It happened in the 19th century, when the first travellers discovered the existence of this breed. It is interesting to know, each one of them mentioned these fine horses in their books or in records, some in general only, others in detail. However, in the end remained only a few ones, which were competent enough in horse affairs and which could be chosen as reliable witnesses in this respect.

These were:

The emissaries of Abbas Pasha, the Viceroy of Egypt

Mr. Palgrave, an Englishman

Lady Ann Blunt, an English Lady

An Arabian mare in the palace garden of the Pasha, painted by v. Mayr during his visit in Egypt, accompanying the King of Bavaria in the late 19th century.

The Abbas Pasha’s views are documented in his famous “Abbas Pasha Manuscript”. His emissaries, who searched for him for the best Arabian horses, travelled to the Bedouin tribes living in the Peninsula, but also appeared in the north of Syria, since many Bedouin tribes left the Peninsula due to a big drought in the early 19th century and settled with their goods and horses in the north. In this even sometimes confusing manuscript one can find valuable information about the Bedouins and their knowledge about their horses, their origin, their genealogy, and the way, they were bred. Mr. Palgrave travelled under the cover of a medical doctor from Palestine to Riyadh and gave the best detailed report and description of the Arabian as he saw them at that time in the stables of the Great Sheikh in Riyadh. He described them as follows, with a convincing accuracy, as the noblest creature to be in Arabia; these were the Southern type of Arabian horses.

“…. I had never seen or imagined so lovely a collection. Their statue was indeed somewhat low; I do not think that any came fully up to fifteen hands; fourteen appeared to me about their average; but they were so exquisitely well shaped that want of greater size seemed hardly, if at all, a defect. Remarkably full in the haunches, with a shoulder of a slope so elegant as to make one, in the words of an Arab poet, “go raving mad about it:” a little, a very little, saddle-backed, just the curve which indicates springiness without any weakness; a head broad above, and tapering down to a nose fine enough to verity the phrase “drinking from a pint-pot, “

Adnan (Salaa El Dine x Ghazala)

NK Nasrin (Adnan x Nashua)

did print-pots exist in Nejd; a most intelligent and yet a singularly gentle look, full eye, shape thorn-like little ear, legs fore and hind that seemed as if made of hammered iron, so clean and yet so well twisted with sinew; a neat round hoof, just the requisite for hard ground; the tail set on or rather thrown out at a perfect arch; coats smooth, shining, and light; the mane long, but not overgrown or heavy; and an air and step that seemed to say “look at me, am I not pretty?” (W. G. Palgrave, 1867-68).

Lady Ann Blunt and her husband reached the town of Hail in the north of the Peninsula as travellers and from the experience of this visit, she drew in detail a most impressive painting, showing a typical Arabian mare from this region with a very nice attractive Arabian head. She eventually obtained this mare and named her “Sherifa”.

It was only Abbas Pasha, who owned and bred Arabians, which he had brought from the Arabian Peninsula to Egypt in a greater number. So became his stables at that time the only important and very famous source of the “pure-bred Egyptian Arabians” as they are named today. His amazing collection in and around Cairo and his breeding efforts made it possible, that such fine horses could be obtained by European breeders and found their way into the stable of the King of Württemberg, of King Victor Emanuele II in Italy and into the Stud of Saint-Cloud, founded by King Louis Philippe II of France.

NK Nadirah (Adnan x Nashua)

It was the artists and painters Victor Adam, Emil Volkers, von Mayr and Carl Vernet, all familiar with these two famous royal Studs mentioned above, who have shown the posterity, how these Arabians looked like, either in Egypt (von Mayr) or when they have reached their new homes in Europe (Volkers / V. Adam). To portray famous Arabian horses was a fine luxury in Europe at that time and a valuable documentation about Arabians in history. A great number of these fantastic paintings are now in the hand of some dedicated collectors. Around 1914 the Egyptian RAS (Royal Agricultural Society), later on followed by the EAO, collected the remains of the Abbas Pasha horses and also the ones of his followers with the intention to preserve them as a valuable heritage, a type of an Arabian horse with remarkable features and different from all other Arabian horse populations. “El Zahraa Stud” in Cairo finally became their home. All my further search ended in this Egyptian Stud and it remained a pleasant time to find out which were the best mares and stallions within this exceptional population particular about the mares, which were the parentage of my first three chosen fillies. In addition, a very particular breeding concept for this acquired Arabians should be designed, which will be inspired and orientated on what could be learned from the history of this breed.

1. Such a horse population of Arabians could develop only in a relatively well isolated territory, also with a limited number of horses.

2. As for today, one would replace such a former situation by deciding to breed these Arabians as a “closed population” and a limited number of families.

In its history this breed lived in a very poor environment, their country was not able to nourish a great number of livestock. In times of peace and war, in the south the camel was always the biggest group followed by sheep and goats and finally the horses, only in a low number. Besides the poor living conditions, one could look also concerning limitation into the following circumstances: concerning the fact that on one hand the total horse population of the Bedouin breeders in the Peninsula was relatively small, and that on the other hand so many strains and sub-strains of horses existed, which stood for a certain population and which breeders claimed to own, one could conclude that each of these populations must have been composed of a very limited number of horses. Whatever, it needs this limited number, staying as a one-horse population together, that the rate of homozygosis in the south population could eventually increase and many horses of similar type would appear. Consequently, for now, one has to decide to start such a programme also with only a limited number of horses as a rootstock of the Stud.

In the past the nature was the strongest selection power on the horses following the principle of “the survival of the fittest”, clearing up at the same time the population from weaknesses of all kinds then followed during the long course of time, the men who were the second ones to pick up all recessive undesirable characteristics, which had shown up.

Today the men are the first and the only ones, who decide what to keep and what to select according to their best knowledge about breeding and horsemanship. But they should keep in mind that the Arabian horse is a heritage from another culture and must not lose its exotic flair.

The Katharinenhof breeding programme is consequently built on these three principles:

A closed population.

A limited number of females. Three or four mare families and one sire line, about 25 – 30 horses in total.

To save the Arabian as a heritage and not to change it into another type of horse. In combining these three requirements in one programme, a great chance is given to create a very typical Arabian with a fascinating historical background.

The noble mareS

NK Katharinenhof’ s Arabian broodmares are of a very particular and unique quality. Each one of them is a member of a carefully elaborated long-term breeding concept, which is worldwide the only one in its very special selection method, its application, and its newly developed monitoring procedures. Therefore, no other mares are existing worldwide which are comparable to them. This concept is built on the following detailed facts:

On a closed population, which has been under a severe selection pressure for 40 years. In total it is composed of about 25 breeding horses. They are ordered into 4 different mare families. Each of these mare families has certain characteristics which make them different from each other. These characteristics are positive ones, each one is adding value to the whole population. These mares are bred to stallions, which belong to one and the same stallion line, the one of Nazeer. He and his

Salaa El Dine (Ansata Halim Shah x Hanan) Nabhan (NK Nadeer x NK Nerham)

famous sons have created the high reputation of the Egyptian Arabians since 1960. All of them, mares and stallions trace back to the El Zahraa Arabian Horse Stud in Egypt. The beginning of the stud goes back to the 60's when 7 carefully selected yearling fillies were imported from Egypt. They were chosen from such families, which had proven to be very important and essential for the success of the El Zahraa Stud in the past. When these fillies were grown up and became brood mares, each one of them had to bring 3 – 4 foals which were used for evaluation of their breeding value (progeny testing). This method of testing is imperative in such a program. Only three of these fillies fulfilled all the necessary requirements and became root mares of the Katharinenhof Stud. The fourth required root mare was added later.

On the paternal side, only one stallion from Egypt, Alaa El Dine by Nazeer as the sire of the three imported fillies and in Europe, two sires Ibn Galal and Mohafez were involved in this program. After these three fillies were finally chosen as root mares, the stallions Madkour I, Ghazal and Ansata Halim Shah from the US were used for breeding. Only these ones became part of Katharinenhof’s breeding program, and not any stallions of other existing Egyptian sire lines.

To be able to make such decisions, a testing period of 15 years has passed to collect enough results in Germany besides the others already taken in the El Zahraa Stud before choosing the fillies. It was very essential that all the unwanted characteristics and features had to be detected and if possible, removed during this time, either for constitutional or health reasons. Since then, only stallions and mares bred by Katharinenhof itself have been introduced into the breeding stock.

The above scheme shows the parental relations between some of the important NK Arabians within the breeding concept, based on DNA analysis.

In cooperation with the University of Göttingen and later with the University of Florida under the guidance of Prof. Samantha Brooks, the development of the herd was studied in detail mainly by investigating the speed of increasing homozygosis over a period of 20 years and establishing its status in that year of testing. At the same time the studies focused on the genetic imprint of each Arabian in the Stud, showing the influence of the ancestors (parental relations) on each horse, and allowing to determine the prevailing ones. Further studies on similar topics are in preparation. It is felt that by applying such a narrow breeding concept, such knowledge as a kind of monitoring is very essential and necessary.

The decision for a closed population was triggered by the fact, that a certain type of breeding and even inbreeding was applied in history on many occasions by the Bedouin breeders and that the horse population in the Peninsula was small and limited. Several Bedouin tribes were known as famous horse breeders and they were very keen on their own breed, guarded it with great jealousy and kept it away from other breeding stock.

It is an interesting fact, when looking to a single Bedouin family or a tribe, which such a family belongs to, that they all lived also in a closed society and were used to such a narrow family system.

Finally, under these conditions in the Middle East, in the Peninsula, in the South the Arabian breed emerged. It is a great challenge to choose such historical data in a breeding concept. An Arabian horse corresponding to such a concept can be characterized by these five following features: a very light constitution, an overall dryness, a triangular noble head, a high tail carriage and a firm mental and docile disposition. The selection procedure for these features should be also strictly controlled following today’s scientific knowledge. By time and after several generations, a population with a high increased homozygosis is bound to show up and consequently similar offspring of a well proven quality will appear.

The respective mare families at Katharinenhof have until now produced four to six generations under this closed concept. From each generation, those mares were selected for further testing which corresponded to the required overall quality. The measurement of such quality is not one and the same standard, it considers as well the type, which characterizes each of the four families.

The prevailing mating in this herd follows the principle of breeding "equal to equal". Since four families are involved, inbreeding as generally specified is not applied. In addition, attention is paid to the fact that certain differences in type and conformation remain; such a variation is required to give room in order that new and interesting characteristics and features could show up in the future. All the above principles apply for the mare- and stallion candidates. This breeding concept could be carried out until today without any mayor setbacks. Even the contrary is true, a high percentage of good typical foals were born in each season; certainly, a result because the choice of the four foundation mares originating from the Egyptian El Zahraa Stud was carried out with great care.

A few years before a good friend of mine made a list of all foals which were born in Katharinenhof since the beginning. The figure came to a total of 450 foals, 221 females and 229 males. Considering some later mortality about 200 registered females carry the blood of these four families, which originally came from Egypt. Only 70 of them were in the course of time a part of Katharinenhof’s concept and they will be bred further on in this well-considered and controlled concept as a closed population. The remaining ones of about 130 fillies went into the hands of other breeders. Some remained in Germany; the majority made their career in major studs in the Middle East. Looking at the stallion side, a dramatically high selection rate was applied. Only twelve stallions out of all the born ones within 50 years, showed the quality and the features, as the commonly wanted ones and those particularly required by Katharinenhof. Ten further stallions of about equal quality, as Safir in Qatar, NK Qaswarah in Kuwait or Mubarak in Iran, were sold to other studs. The remaining ones became pleasure or riding horses, and it is interesting to note that their new owners found out very quickly that they had acquired Arabians with an outstanding gentle behavior, a perfect proof that the selection for a good disposition has positively worked.

This comparatively small breeding population, in comparison to so many bigger ones, is now bringing the Stud into the direction to work with a more and more equal population and to become a source of very fine Arabians with a high degree of homozygosis. This is expressed by the fact that these horses have preserved their light and elegant type of their ancestors, which were grown for generations in another culture, in another environment, in the south of Saudi Arabia.

These four families, each composed of three to six mares as an average in former years, have been constantly improved by always adding the better ones of a new generation, replacing the older ones as they passed away. In addition, each family could maintain, during all these years, its own particularities although the relative mares and stallions have been closely bred together and were crossed with each other. This indicates that a lot of room is left to create and to bring forward again and again for a long time, elegant Arabians. This process will continue, paying high attention that only healthy Arabians and those of the finest type are prevailing in such a limited closed population.

All what was experienced and learned during those years of searching, studying and later, when operating the stud, has shown the vital importance of the brood mares concerning their quality, however, also the variation between the different four families has proven to be a vital factor.

It is common that a breeder chose the best suitable stallion for his mares to improve his breeding, wherever he can find him and by applying today’s breeding techniques (artificial insemination) without any geographical limits. Katharinenhof’s choice of stallion, however, depends to a much higher degree on its brood mares, the most logic procedure when one considers the following: Due to Katharinenhof’s already long-lasting closed concept, a stallion from any other source is a stranger. The rule of breeding “equal to equal” has created such traits and features, which are already strongly fixed in the whole breeding herd. An outside stallion, however, originates from a totally different parentage. Only progeny testing and a serious comprehensive health examination would give proper evidence about his possible qualification, and above all, it makes only sense to use such an outsider, when he is able to bring elements into the population, which might still be missing and are additionally required. Such a situation is, under the given circumstances, neither prevailing, nor realistic considering Katharinenhof’s stallion quality in the past.

This fact explains immediately why it is preferable that Katharinenhof breeds its own stallions. The variation between the families gives enough room that further improvements are feasible. In addition, in Katharinenhof’s population are all positive traits available, distributed between four families, which makes an Arabian a beautiful and docile horse. It is knowledge and a bit of luck to choose those stallions born by an appropriate mare, which can increase the value of the population. Salaa El Dine, NK Hafid Jamil and NK Nabhan are eloquent examples as stallions of such quality. In Bedouin times, these people must have collected during hundreds of years of breeding, a lot of experience. Their daily life gave them more than enough time to observe and to share opinions between them, possibly again and again the same subjects. They must have noticed the immense importance and value of their mares in the breeding process. It is therefore not an expression of great simplicity, it must be much more than that, namely that the genealogy of their Arabians is only based on the mare’s side. Stallions were nowhere recorded neither in oral traditions or in any written records and when they were mentioned, only as sons of a certain mother’s strain. In fact, all this makes sense when a breed lives in a certain isolation as it happened in the Arabian Peninsula.

When the RAS collected its root mares for the Stud around 1920, they chose 14 mares, but only 8 of them succeeded to create their own family and became a solid part of El Zahraa’s long-time population. To breed these Arabians as a “heritage” was the official purpose.

Until 1930, for 15 years, the brood mare band was increased to 35 mares and grew later under very knowledgeable care up to 70 mares. This was around the year 1960. It was a closed and limited population until this time. El Zahraa’s most famous mares and stallions were born during this period.

Then, and already several years before, in a second period, other stallions were introduced, and the number of mares was in a short time drastically increased. The population grew to more than 100 mares and doubled later to over 200. El Zahraa’s Arabians began to look different compared with the ones of earlier times. That this would happen, should have been expected. In other words, with the opening for other stallions and giving up a well-considered limitation, the population lost its moderate homogeneous status and finally became a heterogeneous one. This makes it now not easy to breed a sufficient percentage of Arabians with a particular distinguished look. However, most of the scientists think different. They go for heterozygosis; it guarantees the existence of a breed. Katharinenhof’s Arabians connect directly to El Zahraa’s breeding activities during its first period. This concerns the chosen breeding stock as well as explained in this study and it also applies to the concept: to form a closed and limited population and to continue with such concept from then on. Consequently, the NK Arabian breeding herd remained in this respect a “heritage”, an adequate preservation of this amazing Arabian breed as it had emerged in the Arabian Peninsula, bred by the Bedouin tribes, and enjoying the reputation to be the most noble horse breed amongst all the others world-wide.

LITERATURE

Blunt, Lady Anne, A pilgrimage to the Nejd, London 1851

Palgrave, W. Gifford, Reise in Arabien, Dyk, Leipzig 1867

The Abbas Pasha Manuscript, 1800 - 1880

Ansata Publications Mena Arkansas 1993

Löffler, Eduard, Die Österreichische PferdeeinkaufsKommission, Schreibers Buchhandlung 1860, Reprint Olms Presse Hildesheim 1978

Chevaux et cavaliers arabes, Institut du Monde Arab, Edition Gallimard Paris 2002

Zaher, Dr. Ameen, Arabian Horse Breeding and the Arabians of America, Cairo, University Press 1964

The Egyptian Agricultural Organisation (EAO)

The Arabian Stud Book Vol. II, Cairo 1966

The Egyptian Agricultural Organisation (EAO) formerly Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) Arab Horse Breeding Administration

El Zahra Arab Horse Stud

EAO S. B. Vol. I - Second edition Cairo 1983

H. J. Nagel, The Arabian Horse, Natures Creation and the Art of Breeding, Italy 2013

NK Arabians

Nagels Katharinenhof

Am Gräberfeld 15

26197 Grossenkneten , Germany

Tel. home: 00 49 44 33/13 56

Tel. office: 00 49 44 33/15 35

E-Mail: office@nagels-arabianstud.de

Rothenberg

the success no matter what comes the way.

by Urszula Łęczycka photos by Annette & Erwin Escher

Urszula Łęczycka: Your farm has been established 30 years ago by you and your husband Erwin. Nowadays you run it all by yourself and Straight Egyptian horses with GR prefix are worldwide known. You also run one of the largest Straight Egyptian black coloured herds in the world – that is in high demand nowadays.

Can you tell us more about the idea of establishing your breeding program? Was it the same from the beginning or it has been changing through the years and following the market?

What were your first horses and where did you get them from?

Annette Escher: We started our Straight Egyptian breeding with a small number of horses several years before we could buy the right place and built “Rothenberg Stud” in 1991. In 1992 the stud and pastures was ready and we moved

“Do what you love to do with all your heart and force … and never give up!”

Emotional and inspiring talk with Annette Escher, the woman who keep fulfilling her dreams and reach

Stud

Annette and GR Anastacia (Classic Shadwan x Halims Asmara) full-sister to Multi-Champion & gold premium stallion GR Amaretto

Rothenberg Stud

Dalima Shah Multi Champion mare by Ansata Halim Shah - one of our foundation mares

GR Adelle black filly 2022 (GR Ishad x GR Anastacia) - the future

GR Alinah (GR Lahab x GR Anisha by GR Faleeh) great granddaughter of Halims Asmara - black producing

our horses to here … from this time, having place enough, we were looking for the right additions and after we haven’t found most of them in Europe (there was only few Egyptians in Germany / Europe at this time and nearly nothing for sale) we went several times to USA looking at studs and horses driving thousands of miles weekly. During this time we found and bought the foundation horses for my recent breeding, so the mares like: Halims Asmara (Ansata Halim Shah x Lancers Asmara- US National Top Ten and twice World Res. Champion mare), Dalima Shah (Ansata Halim Shah x AK Bint Dalia II), Ansata Aya Maria (Ansata Shah Zaman x Ansata Aya Halima by Ansata Ibn Halima) – Bukra line and the black mare Maria Halima (Haziz Halim x Chelsea), Then the black mare Fasinah (Nahaman x Fatima) we found in Germany a bit later and before 1992 we already have owned the

GR Aliyah

(GR Faleeh x GR Anastacia by Classic Shadwan) first black out of Halims Asmara line

Classic Shadwan (Alidaar x Shagia Bint Shadwan) - Multi-Champion, foundation stallion

Rothenberg Stud

mare Samara (Ibn Moheba x Safiniya by Ibn Galal), I still own her granddaughter GR Safiniya and her black great-granddaughter GR Samantha!

Over the years we sometimes leased a mare or made breeding-cooperation to add foals out of interesting mothers and motherlines – this way we bred GR Nashidah (by Classic Shadwan) which is the mother of black gold-premium stallion GR Nashad (exp. Kuwait, by GR Faleeh) and our young mare GR Layla (by GR Faleeh). After we moved to Rothenberg Stud we also bought our foundation-stallions: Classic Shadwan (Alidaar x Shagia Bint Shadwan) imported from Egypt, we found him in France, he was four years old at this time, Madallan-Madheen - when we heard about a

GR Anisha (GR Faleeh x GR Anastacia by Classic Shadwan)

GR Faleeh (Madallan-Madheen x Fasinah) & Annette 25-09-17, the day before GR Faleeh left to Kuwait

GR Aya Malikah (GR Faleeh x GR Aya Mahiba by Maheeb) goes back to Ansata Aya Maria, Bukra line

very special black colt being born 1994 out of special bloodlines we quickly went to see him, and we bought him in age of 6 weeks! He was the very first foundation for our black breeding! Madallan-Madheen was not bred to get black, his parents were chestnut (Ansata El Salaam) and bay (the famous Madinah, mother of Imperial Madheen) but he got black “by accident” and was just bred to be a great horse … and got a rare gold ribbon from the German registry later at the licensing show!

Most of our early blacks were out of non black lines … blacks were seldom and good blacks even more and usually they were impossible to buy! Since I was a child I always was a big fan of black horses but Erwin mostly

GR Dalimah (GR Mahal (GR Lahab x black Champion mare GR Marianah) x GR Danielle by GR Faleeh) goes back to Dalima Shah

GR Bint Asmara (GR Moneef x GR Asmara) this year high pregnant goes back to Halims Asmara

GR Bint Asmara (GR Moneef x GR Asmara by GR Lahab) 13.9.16 - 4 months after Erwins death

Rothenberg Stud

loved the greys - in the end we love all colors so we only had a few blacks in the first years. Over the years we got more and more black foals (also Classic Shadwan produced fantastic blacks) and after 30 years I have managed to get great blacks from all our foundation-horses … for several I needed generations but meanwhile I have a fantastic group of black and black producing broodmares, many are already 4th and 5th generation of our foundation-mares! But color was not most important all the time – we both loved pretty exotic faces, good (proven) Straight Egyptian pedigrees and as we also were riders since the beginning we wanted to have a solid horse with good body, legs and movements which are able to carry us

GR Farasha

(Maheeb x Fasinah by Nahaman) - full-sister to GR Fasin

GR Fasin

born 2019 (Maheeb x Fasinah by Nahaman) my youngest black gold premium stallion

GR Ishad

(GR Nashad (exp. Kuwait, black gold premium stallion by GR Faleeh x Shaylah Bint Iman) - black gold premium stallion, Dahman Shahwan

2022 (GR Ishad x GR Farasha, Maheeb x Fasinah) - the future

GR Larissa (GR Ishad x GR Layla) Abayyan line - the future

GR Fayadah

Rothenberg Stud

over the fields! The goal was not to lose any of this points over the years … type, body, movement … and most important at all the fantastic, people loving sweet character the Egyptians are famous for.

UŁ: Straight Egyptian breeding is one of most difficult ones as you must use a very limited gene pool that creates some problems in avoiding inbreeding and breeding overall harmonius and typey horse. Limiting the Straight Egyptian breeding to black colour group only must be even more challenging. How do you find your way to keep breeding beautiful and correct horses with such a limited requirements?

AE: Most of our foundation horses were not bred to get black which means they had a bigger gene-pool as if we would bought mostly blacks in the beginning … there were only very few black and black producing lines at this time which already often were inbred. And over the years we always were open to use sometimes outside stallions doesn’t matter the color like World Champion Al Lahab if we thought they would bring us something new in blood and look … in my recent herd

GR Moneef (GR Faleeh x GR Mona by Madallan-Madheen)

GR Mahidah black filly 2022 (GR Ishad x GR Maheeba) - Moniet El Nefous line - the future

GR Samantha black filly 2019 (Maheeb x GR Safiniya by GR Faleeh)goes back to our first SE mare Samara (by Ibn Moheba)

GR Layla (GR Faleeh x leasing-mare Sheherazade) - Abayyan line

GR Nashidah (Classic Shadwan x Nejdshah) - mother of our homebred stallions GR Nashad (gold premium) and GR Lahab

GR Nasirah black-bay filly *2022 (GR Fasin x GR Nashidah by Classic Shadwan) - GR Fasin’s first foal

GR Mariyah (GR Moneef x Champion GR Marianah by MadallanMadheen x Maria Halima), goes back to foundation-mare Maria Halima - in foal to GR Fasin

Rothenberg Stud

I have some great black mares and fillies from this line! We always used the Straight Egyptian bloodlines we liked personally not looking for trends and what other breeders prefer … we went our own way for our own taste and what we loved ourselves!

UŁ: Did you manage to combine your goals of having the bloodlines, the strenght, stamina and also the colour and then keep into the fashion to win the show titles? It had to be extremely difficult task..

AE: Over the years we often showed our horses and many of our foundation horses and their offspring got Multi-Champions and gold premium stallions. For example Dalima Shah and her daughter Shadwanah (by Classic Shadwan) as well as Halims Asmara and her son GR Amaretto (by Classic Sahdwan) won among other titles the champion titles at the Egyptian Event Europe. Also our first homebred black mares GR

Marietta and GR Marianah (both Madallan-Madheen x Maria Halima) won several championships which was very special at this time as nearly no blacks was shown successfully! Also later our black stallion GR Faleeh (exported to Kuwait; Madallan-Madheen x Fasinah) was shown successfully … and many more.

We sold our foals nearly all over the world and many of them won a lot for their new owners– many champion titles in halter classes as well as endurance races or riding classes.

Our sold horses live around the world as breedinghorses and produce fantastic foals for their new owners … or are just best friends and great riding-horses to give their new owners fun and happy hours.

We also bred several gold premium stallions at the stallion registration of the registry, for me one of the most difficult gold to get at all!

We got gold premium titles for GR Amaretto (exported

GR Shatigah

black mare 2003 (Pasha Farid x Shadwanah) - last daughter of Shadwanah at stud, goes back to Dalima Shah

GR Shasadah

black mare 2018 (black gold premium stallion GR Nashad x GR Shatigah by Pasha Farid) - goes back to Dalima Shah, in foal to GR Fasin

to Iran, Classic Shadwan x Halims Asmara) and for the blacks GR Nashad (exported to Kuwait; GR Faleeh x GR Nashidah by Classic Shadwan) and last year for Nashad’s black son GR Ishad (GR Nashad x Shaylah Bint Iman by Classic Shadwan) who is my chief sire at the moment.

UŁ: Did you manage to establish some dam and sire lines of your own that you admire until that day and continue?

AE: All of my recent breeding-horses come in direct line from our early foundation horses – and all of them carry either the blood of Classic Shadwan or MadallanMadheen or both of them!

Over the years I managed to breed fantastic blacks from all of the foundation-mares which made me very happy and proud and I love to see that the sold ones make their new owners happy, too.

UŁ: There is probably no Arabian horse lover in Europe that would not know the photos made by your husband Erwin who passed away 6 years ago. Since that time you keep running the farm by your own with just one helper. Your strenght, passion and achievements could be an inspiration for many woman or girls who dream or run the horse breeding on their own for different reasons. It must be hard, emotional but probably also satisfying when you manage to breed a great horse at the end? What would you say and advice to the other woman –breeders?

AE: Yes, the death of Erwin for sure was the most terrible time in my life, I thought my life have stopped, too. But the horses helped me a lot because giving up is no solution, you have to go on day by day, they wait for you, they need you!

Additionally, Erwins second favorite mare GR Asmara (GR Lahab x Halims’s Asmara) died a few days after him because of problems after giving birth and let her newborn filly GR Bint Asmara (by GR Moneef) alone with me. This baby nearly died as well because of substitute milk so I needed to take milk from other mares to feed this baby … you can imagine that I nearly had no time to sleep over months which was very hard but maybe also good for me in this situation. My only

Madallan-Madheen (Ansata El Salaam x Madinah) - black gold premium stallion, foundation-stallion

GR Shakadah black filly 2019 (GR Ishad x GR Shakirah, Maheeb x GR Shatigah) - great great granddaughter of Dalima Shah

Rothenberg Stud

aim was that we both need to survive …and we did! This year GR Bint Asmara gave birth to her first foal herself, the wonderful black filly GR Aseela by GR Ishad … and this made me very happy!

My advice is: do what you love to do with all your heart and force … and never give up!

There are always good and bad times in our lifetime … you need to survive the bad time and grow yourself in the good time and take it into your heart for the future. Like my fantastic happy day yesterday when my homebred 3 year old homozygous black stallion GR Fasin (by Maheeb by Classic Shadwan), the much too early born last foal out of our foundation-mare Fasinah (which nearly died several time during the first weeks of his life) got a gold ribbon from the German registry as breeding-stallion with just amazing high scores in all points.

I already got his first foal this year, a wonderful blackbay filly out of Erwins favorite mare GR Nashidah (by Classic Shadwan) and look forward for his next babies in 2023.

UŁ: What an amazing story and the best proof to your words of advice that I would certainly put as a title of this interview! I wish you all the best of luck on reaching your future goals and of course – with mostly those great and happy moments for every breeder.

Rothenberg Stud

Annette Escher

86653 Monheim (Germany)

tel. +49 0 90913707

www.RothenbergArabians.com

instagram: @ RothenbergArabianStud

Maheeb (Classic Shadwan x Bint Bint Mahiba) - black gold premium stallion, sire of many of our breeding-horses

Halims Asmara by Ansata Halim Shah Multi-Champion mare, one of our foundation mares

Invictus

2019 European Championship Silver Medal Stallion

Italian National Gold Medal Colt

Int. C show Manerbio Gold Medal Colt

Int. C show Busto Arsizio Gold Medal Colt

photo by Alessio Azzali

Cavalli | Althea

2021 European Championship Gold Medal Stallion

2022 World Championships Endurance

by Talitha Bakker

Just weeks before the 2022 World Championships endurance was supposed to take place in Verona, Italy, the FEI decided the venue was not ready in time to host such a championship and relocated the championships to the BIEV venue in Butheeb to be held from 20-26 February 2023. A big change for all the riders who already had their horses ready for competition. Now not only did they had to keep their horses fit for another 4 months, the race would also be in another climate and the terrain would be ‘deep’ sand instead of the more solid terrain as it would be in Verona. Another

Visser

factor was the Custodian of the two Holy Mosques Endurance Cup that was held just one week after the championships, forcing the riders to choose between two major endurance races. The BIEV venue, which was strongly recommended by the FEI Endurance Committee, is situated approximately one hour from Abu Dhabi’s city center. The ride itself was scheduled for Saturday, 25 February with on the 23rd a spectacular opening ceremony on the Royal Palace of Abu Dhabi. 122 horses and riders came to start. The weather was hot

z photos by Becky Pearman, Marijke

with temperatures being above the 30 degrees Celsius. The 160km was run over six loops and offered great facilities for both the horses and riders with crew points every 5km and multiple water points throughout the ride.

The veterinarian inspections were strict with even vets controlling on the track tot pull out tired horses before getting in to metabolic problems. Because of the strict rules and inspection, only 44 combinations manage to complete the course. 78 horses were eliminated.

Individual medals

Right from the start there was a strong group at the head position, containing a few riders from the UAE, Bahrain, Spain and Rebecca Pinder from Great Britain. This last rider, riding the 13 years old gelding Oso Irazu (SDA Silver Legend x OSO Silver Ileanna), managed to came in at the 3rd position after the last loop with an average speed of 20.2 km/h. With only one more loop the go, Rebecca Pinder was almost sure for a medal position. Her horse was easily going through the obligatory veterinarian inspections, however, due to the humid situation, the rider herself lost weight, going under the mandatory 75kgs minimum weight, which got her disqualified from the competition. This gave room for the other riders to ride for the medals. With a mesmerizing speed of 27.4 km/h

average in the last loop and a sprint of more than 40 km/h to the finishline, Saeed Ahmad Alhabri riding Castlebar Cadabra (Castlebar Optic x Yamamah)and Abdulla Ghanim al Marri riding Lockelea Starwood Comet (Elphyn Comet x Sharadh Nerida) for the UAE and HH Sh Nasser bin Hamad al Khalifa riding Darco la Majorie (Baltik des Ors x Quatuba la Majorie) for Bahrain, finished at the first, second and third position. However, due to the fast sprint, both Alhabri and al Marri didn’t manage to get the heartrate of their horses down to 64 within the given 20 minutes after arrival, which made them being disqualified. The horse of HH Sh Nasser bin Hamad al Khalifa passed which moved him up to the Gold medal with an average speed of 21 km/h over the 160km race.

At the second position was Salem Malhoof Alkitibi riding the 12 years old mare Haleh (Kevisan park Kentucky Blue x Saracen Sukalata) riding at an average speed of 20.3 km/h. Haleh won the gold medal at the 2021 World championships Endurance in Pisa and was one of the favorites in this competition.

Bronze medal winner was the Spanish rider Jaume Punti Dachs with his fantastic 17 years old part-bred Arabian Echo Falls (Tango d’Ayres x Song of Wind). This horse already finished three major championships including a bronze medal at the 2019 European Championships. With an average speed of 20.2 km/h, Jaume rode a very consistent and tactic race, earning him this welldeserved bronze medal.

At the 6th position was Omar Blanco Rodrigo, riding the the 11 years old Soraya Peu (Avpy x Kasserine el Chems). The mare did a great race and passed all

veterinary inspections. Unfortunately she was getting worse after the race and was transferred to the Dubai Equine Hospital but died en route. A big loss for the endurance horse world and the Spanish team. Another loss was seen with the Jordan team. Ali Subhi abu Rabie was riding the 10 years old Sahwat al Wahhab AH. The bay mare did a great race with steady recovery times and passing all veterinary inspections and finished at the 32nd position with an average speed of 14.3 km/h. After the race, the bay mare got worse after the race and was rushed to the Dubai Equine Hospital. Despite all efforts, the mare was euthanized three days later.

Team medals

Besides individual medals, there was also a team medal. The Gold initially went to the team of Bahrain. However, one of their horses, Hera Durances, ridden by Abdulrahman Mohammed Alzayed tested positive for the banned anabolic steroid stanozolol and its metabolite 16-beta-hydroxystanozolol, which made him disqualified.

Loosing this rider, made Bahrain loose their Gold medal which then went to France, who had three riders at the finish. Virginie Atger riding Raya de Jalima (Baltik des Ors x Pieszczocha), Vincent Gaudriot riding Bum Baya D’Aqui (Sadepers x Pittocha d’Aqui) and Clementine Chaud riding Winaruz el Djin (Djin Lotois x Ain al Kom) were riding a very nice controlled race with an average speed of 16.6 km/h, finishing at the positions 11,12 and 13 after riding the whole race as a group. An example for many! What a team effort and a welldeserved gold medal!

The silver team medal went to Portugal who also had three riders at the finish. Leonor Moreira, riding Spirit de Crouz (Shogun x Kalypso de Crouz) was 7th with an average speed of 17.2 km/h. Finishing at he 25th and 26th position were Ana Margarida Candido Costo riding Vulcane de Crouz (Laios de Crouz x Quivala de Crouz) and Ana Barbas riding Dormane de la Gesse (Dormane). The bronze team medal went to Italy, who had also three riders at the finish. Camilla Coppini riding Ernest (Ghazallah x Ensena) and Letizia Milani riding FB Karonte (Kaerele de Ghazal x Twom Narooma) finished at the 20th and 21st position with an average speed of 15.9 km/h and Carolina Tavassoli riding Carma du Barthas (Khadar x Asma Lotoise) finishing at the 43th position with an average speed of 13.6 km/h.

Profile of a Competitor

The American based Alisija Zabavska, who was riding for Lithuania also competed at the 2022 world championships in Butheeb with her 16 years old gelding MSA Silver Gazal (Gazal al Shaqab x G Silver Rain by Menes).

Meeting Gazal al Shaqab & Silver Gazal

“While I lived in UAE, I visited Al Shaqab Stud in Qatar in a year of 2000. I got to meet Gazal when he was only 5yo and already back then he was taking on the world by a storm. I was told that i was standing next to a future legend and it turned out to be the case :) “Alisija tells us about her meeting with Gazal al Shaqab. “When I moved to Texas, i found out that Gazal Al Shaqab was my “neighbor” again, he lived only an hour away, with Michael Byatt, so I visited him again. It was around the time when MSA Siver Gazal (aka Ghazi) was actually born but I didn’t know about his existence just yet.” It was in 2015 when Alisija received a phone call from a show horse trainer she used to work with, asking her to take a look at a seven years old gelding that could be a great endurance prospect. The moment Alisija saw Silver Gazal, who she calls Ghazi, she knew he would be incredible and immediately bought him, even without trying him under saddle.

The journey towards the World Championships

Alisija started to work with Ghazi and all went smooth until he finished his first 120km race in 2017. “After the

race, he suffered a very bad colic (due to a human error), which required a risky and complicated surgery.” Alisija tells. “By then I knew how much potential he had in this sport and decided to go ahead and do everything I could to save his life. The surgery was successful but since then Ghazi lost his natural sweating ability and had to be kept on a special sweat promoting supplement for the rest of his life.”

Living and training in hot and humid climate in a south of Texas was not ideal for him but that as Alisija could not change that, she worked hard on changing the management of Ghazi. After careful rehab and conditioning, in 2019, we won the National Champion title in the 160km race on a very challenging course with a brutal weather in California, training for it purely on a very flat terrain at home in Texas. Just around that time frame they also qualified to represent Lithuania at the World Endurance Championship in Pisa, Italy.

“I still remember that qualifying race,” Alisija recalls. “Ghazi unexpectedly decided to jump over a narrow creek, as if it was a 5 foot obstacle, which got me of balance upon landing on the other side. Then he managed to dump me and take off with the front runners. An hour later, after a successful reunion, miraculously locating him at a local farm 7 miles down the road, we had to return to a place of separation and resume our competition, in which we still managed to place 2nd, gaining more and more time on each loop.”

In 2021, upon their arrival to Italy for the world championships, after a 10 hour flight and a 29 hour haul in a trailer, he had 3 weeks of rest and conditioning and they felt like they were going to get, minimum, in a top

© Becky Pearman

© Becky Pearman

Alisija Zabavska with Gazal al Shaqab in 2000

10 place, with the way he looked and felt. Sadly, on a third loop of a competition, Ghazi slipped and fell on the asphalt and suffered near to a catastrophic injury, scalping his knee to a capsule, after getting spooked of a sandy trail by a noise of a crashed plastic water bottle from a passing by crew member of the other team. Completely crashed and heartbroken, feeling like 7 years of a hard work and investment was gone down the drain, Alisja was praying that his joint would not get infected and he could recover from this freak accident. A week later, due to his horrible wound, he was denied to fly back home to USA and Alisija was advised to keep him in Europe until he was somewhat healed. Alisija chose to stay with him because she felt that it was the only way to assure he had maximum care possible. “Asking someone to walk him every 2-3 hours, so there would not be a scar tissue build up, that could potentially prevent him from successfully competing in the future, would be a lot to ask.” Alisija explains. “Another problem we were facing was, by the time the wound would be healed, the flights home would be on hold for a couple of months due to lack of demand during a summer time.” Alisija and Ghazi were facing additional 4 months in Europe and in order to make the best of this situation a decision was made to stay, rehab and condition him for the European Championship in Ermelo, Netherlands. With just a couple of long training rides, shortly before the race, Ghazi successfully completed 160km course in the 18th place. That automatically qualified them for the next World Championship, which got relocated to Boutheeb in UAE from originally scheduled Verona, Italy. After a successful arrival home in the USA they started conditioning intensely for the next big race but remained as careful as possible. “It’s better to have undertrained horse than an injured one,”Alisija tells. “Ghazi is already a very difficult horse to own. Being a very dominant and a high strung - he periodically gets hung up on the fences, while fighting other horses at the distance or decides to break posts and gates, because it keeps him away from getting where he wants to be. It is very challenging to keep him safe year around.”

The 2022 World Championships Boutheeb

With just 6 days prior to the competition, Alisija and Ghazi successfully arrived to the venue in Boutheeb from Houston, Texas after being locked up for 30 straight hours (in trailers, then stalls, then trailers, then containers, then trailers again). Then they endured 48 hours of additional lock down at our quarantine facility. “He was thrilled with joy by the time we got to ride out into a desert and explore the terrain,” Alisija tells. “At this point we were only focusing on stretching out his muscles and getting used to camels.”

The race

On the day of a race, starting at 05:45 in the morning in a dark, Alisija was holding Ghazi back on the first loop trying to wait for daylight so they could move out a bit.

“He wasn’t very happy about that,”Alisija recalls “but he complied. However, on a second loop, I hardly had any breaks as he told me to “buckle up and enjoy the ride”. We passed a lot of riders then.” On the 3rd and 4th loop Alisija and Ghazi could feel the heat and Alisija tried to take it as easy as possible. They kept moving up with each loop and by the end of the 5th round it was known that they were in 11th place!

“I told my crew that I can “taste” a top 10,” Alisija says “but they asked me not to take any chances that could potentially mess up our successful finish.” That turned out to be a good decision. At the time of departure to the final stage they discovered that 2 horses ahead of them got pulled out due to metabolic problems and they left on the last loop at 9th place. “Ghazi felt strong as the air was cooling off a lot and I decided to keep moving till the dusk and then take it easy closer to the finish in a dark.”Alisija tells. And it paid off! They crossed the finish line in an 8th position at an average speed of 16.9 km/h! 8th in the World! What a fantastic achievement!

Future plans

When we ask Alisija what her future plans are with MSA Silver Gazal she replies: “Next plan is the world championship in Monpazier next year. We will aim for the podium:)” q

© Becky Pearman

Alisija Zabavska during the 2022 world championships