Moments in Time
Beginnings FROM SMALL
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B E T T Y
F I N K E
Europe were there, and In the 1980s, breeders The 1980s were a great time to be involved with Arabian many of the finest Egyptian were still willing to horses in Europe. The breeding and show scene was broodmares, along with experiment, creating new their foals. trends and the first global booming, with new breeding farms and new shows Among them were superstars along the way. two mares destined to be One of those daring constantly popping out of the ground. The Arabian world future “elite” mares of the pioneers was Dr. Hanswas not just growing bigger, but more international. German registry. One of Joachim Nagel of Germany. them was the unassuming In 1984, together with the chestnut Maysouna (Ibn two state studs Marbach Galal x Kis Mahiba), bred and Bábolna, he took a by Dr. Nagel and owned by Maiworm Stud, and the other was gamble in leasing from the U.S. a very well-bred and handsome, the ethereal white-grey Mahameh (Ibrahim x Mona III), bred but totally unproven young stallion named Ansata Halim Shah. and owned by Peter Gross, but at this point in time on lease to I was lucky enough to see this horse a few months after he had El Thayeba Arabians. They were not as famous as they are today, arrived. I didn’t see him in the showring or even groomed for but they both had foals at foot — foals from the very first foal presentation; in fact, he wasn’t groomed at all, but mucking crop of Ansata Halim Shah, the first to be seen in public. Both around in his pasture at Katharinenhof with big patches of were grey colts, cheerfully frolicking alongside their dams. They dirt on his white coat. This is what it’s like when you visit didn’t even have names yet, but because of their sire, they had Katharinenhof: you get to see the horses as they are, all natural, everyone’s attention. warts and all; without the dubious benefits of makeup or And still no one knew what was to come … showmanship. What I saw on that day was a very handsome Because just two years later, at the annual German stallion young stallion. While he didn’t exactly shake my world, I noted licensing, these same two colts once again shared the limelight. that he had wonderful, strong hindquarters, which was not They were among the first Ansata Halim Shah sons to be something you normally saw on straight Egyptians back in presented for licensing, and something happened that had never those days. happened before: they all made the ranks. And that wasn’t all. One year later, another wonderful, typically 1980s thing Maysouna’s son, Maysoun, was named overall champion, the happened: the first ever Egyptian Event Europe. It took place first two-year-old ever to achieve this. Mahameh’s son, El Thay on the grounds of the castle at Wiesbaden-Biebrich, and it Ibn Halim Shah, was awarded a premium, as was another Halim drew huge crowds of spectators that today’s show organizers Shah son. Maysoun and El Thay Ibn Halim Shah — along with can only dream of. It was not a show with classes, judges, their younger half brother Salaa El Dine, who was presented the and championships, but instead allowed breeders to present following year — were for many years Ansata Halim Shah’s most their horses to a huge audience free from the pressure of significant sons, all of them superb sires, all of them eventually competition. The best-known straight Egyptian stallions in 90 b ARABIAN HORSE WORLD b JULY 2017
top left: Ansata Halim Shah (Ansata Ibn Halima x Ansata Rosetta) in the pasture at Katharinenhof in 1984. top right:
Maysouna (Ibn Galal x Kis Mahiba) in 1985 with Maysoun by Ansata Halim Shah.
middle right:
Mahameh (Ibrahim x Mona III) in 1985 with El Thay Ibn Halim Shah by Ansata Halim Shah.
bottom: Maysoun and El Thay Ibn Halim Shah at a stallion presentation in 1989.
graded “elite.” They profoundly changed straight Egyptian breeding; in Germany, in Europe, and ultimately throughout the world, paving the way for their now even better-known brothers, Al Adeed Al Shaqab and Ansata Hejazi. Thirty years on from that historic stallion licensing in 1987, you can’t imagine there not having been an Ansata Halim Shah. There’s an old saying that goes, “breeding means thinking in terms of generations,” which, sadly, is not something very popular among those whose aims go no further than to the
next glittering championship trophy. Real breeders are willing to take risks. From an unproven young stallion 33 years ago, through his first, unnamed foals making their appearance a year later and the unprecedented triumph of his sons in the 1987 stallion licensing to becoming one of the breed’s most influential sires, Ansata Halim Shah’s story serves as a reminder that it can pay off to take a risk, to not go with the flow, to do something completely different. Sure, it’s a risk, so there’s no guarantee it will work. On the other hand — it might just change the world.
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