“ … To see Sabeh Al Salhiyah in flight is to understand why Arabian poets spent their lives searching for just the right words to describe the indescribable.”
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W i n t e r s t e e n G i g i
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he Arabian horse has become a truly global breed, cherished on every habitable continent. But despite the breed’s international acclaim, it still enjoys a cherished stature in the region of its birth, particularly in the heart of the Arabian peninsula.
Breeders there continue to strive to make their own unique contribution to an integral part of their heritage. Recently a young grey stallion from Saudi Arabia has captured the imagination of all those who have seen him. Mohammed bin Laden of Al Salhia Stud breeds primarily straight Egyptians with a few other bloodlines sprinkled in throughout his herd. Mohammed is a businessman, well-educated and surrounded by a delightful family. His farm, based in Jeddah, would enchant any Arabian enthusiast with the quality of its mares. In 2009, one of those revered mares gave Mohammed a colt that has a special place in his breeder’s heart, Sabeh Al Salhiyah (Ansata Nile Echo x Mareeka). It is best explained in Mohammed’s own words, “For all our effort, sometimes a special one comes along. Who is, from his birth, the one and only one to be placed above all others. To see Sabeh Al Salhiyah in flight is to understand why Arabian poets spent their lives searching for just the right words to describe the indescribable.” It is lofty praise, but Mohammed is quick to point out that Sabeh Al Salhiyah is no accident. He is the product of a thoughtful breeding decision, the result of breeding “one of our finest mares, Mareeka (Maysoun x Mahasin by Al Kidir), to the incomparable Ansata Nile Echo, who has been called ‘the king of trotting’ for his effortless flight over ground. It is almost as if he had wings.”
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2009 grey stallion · Ansata Nile Echo x Mareeka by Maysoun
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2014 filly (Sabeh Al Salhiyah x Omni Magidaa), owned by Alfala Stud.
Ansata Nile Echo is a son of Ansata Hejazi, known in Egyptian breeding circles as the “kingmaker” and out of Ansata White Nile, a classic example of the famous “Nile” family, which is known for type, movement, style, and a wonderful people-loving temperament. While Ansata Nile Echo has consistently passed on these wonderful qualities, the essence of what makes Sabeh Al Salhiyah unique comes from his dam, the exquisite Mareeka. Mohammed explains, “Mareeka is the ideal Hadbah Inzahiyah mare, the perfect blend of strength and depth with eternal beauty. Mareeka comes from the Yosreia line that also produced the immortal Aswan. Many of the world’s greatest Egyptian sires claim their fame in coming from the Hadban Inzahi strain, and Sabeh Al Salhiyah is positioned to be the next great Hadban-strain sire.” A few months after Sabeh Al Salhiyah was foaled, photographer and breeder Gigi Grasso of Alfabia Stud was in Jeddah for a photo shoot. Grasso remembers the day vividly. “I saw this remarkable colt. He was only about six months old, but I fell in love with him instantly.
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I immediately proposed to Mohammed a partnership on the colt. Mohammed was very kind,” Grasso says with a smile, “and he accepted this arrangement.” Several months later Sabeh Al Salhiyah was on his way to Grasso’s farm in Italy. At about two and a half years of age, Grasso started to breed a few mares to him. The following spring some very nice foals were on the ground and it was clear to Grasso that Sabeh Al Salhiyah was special. As Grasso explains, “This really got people excited when they saw the first foals. As a result, Mohammed wanted him back in Saudi Arabia at his stud. When Sabeh got there, Mohammed bred him to some of his best mares and the result was more of the same — exquisite foals. This, in turn, just created more enthusiasm about the potential for Sabeh as a sire.”
Ansata Ibn Halima Ansata Halim Shah Ansata Rosetta Ansata Hejazi Ansata Abu Sudan Ansata Sudarra Ansata Delilah Ansata Nile Echo The Egyptian Prince Prince Fa Moniet Fa Moniet Ansata White Nile Ansata Ibn Sudan Ansata Nile Gift Ansata Nile Jewel
Ansata Ibn Halima Ansata Halim Shah Ansata Rosetta Maysoun Ibn Galal Maysouna Kis Mahiba Mareeka The Egyptian Prince Al Kidir AK Khattaara Mahasin II Morhaf Malisa Bint Bint El Nile
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Nazeer Halima Ansata Shah Zaman Ansata Bint Bukra Ansata Ibn Sudan Ansata Bint Misuna Ansata Shah Zaman Ansata Bint Misr Morafic Bint Mona Ibn Moniet El Nefous Fada Ansata Ibn Halima Ansata Bint Mabrouka Morafic Falima Nazeer Halima Ansata Shah Zaman Ansata Bint Bukra Galal Mohga Ibn Galal 6 Mahiba Morafic Bint Mona Ibn Moniet El Nefous Omnia Akhtal Mahlaha Akhtal Bint El Nil
Sabeh Al Salhiyah’s sire, Ansata Nile Echo, left, and his dam Mareeka, below.
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After his second breeding season in Saudi Arabia, Sabeh Al Salhiyah returned to Europe and went to Belgium, first for freezing semen, and then back to Grasso’s Alfabia Stud. Grasso was now supremely confident in Sabeh Al Salhiyah. “I bred all my straight Egyptian mares to him this year,” he says, “but he is proving himself with a variety of bloodlines, including non-Egyptian.” Sabeh Al Salhiyah is stamping his foals with movement, type, and expressive liquid eyes. And something atypical for Egyptian horses, Sabeh Al Salhiyah has a tremendous length of neck that is refined with excellent shape and throat. “He is also a very balanced horse,” explains Grasso, “and that shows consistently in the foals.” Grasso, who has been breeding Arabians for 16 years, saw a unique and much needed place for Sabeh Al Salhiyah. “My focus has always been to differentiate a little from what is currently found in the market. I love *Marwan Al Shaqab, in fact, I am crazy about Marwan, but the problem is that everybody is breeding these types of horses. In my opinion, we should try to breed something that is different so we can eventually cross back to these lines. That is why Sabeh will be so useful; he will cross splendidly on these bloodlines.”
2014 filly (Sabeh Al Salhiyah x LE Shareia), owned by Alfabia Stud.
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As it so happens, there was a horseman from across the Atlantic who also had a vision of where he wanted to take the Arabian breed: Michael Byatt. Byatt’s vision was not far removed from Grasso’s, and it included the use of a straight Egyptian stallion, something that had been developed from his lifetime with the Arabian horse. As Michael explains, “Straight Egyptian horses were a source of inspiration to me as a teenager in the 70s. In 1971, at the U.S. Nationals, *Serenity Sonbolah and Ansata Ibn Sudan were the National Champion Mare and Stallion and were the pinnacles of my imagination. I thought so much about those horses. It was also a very heady time for Egyptian breeding with Ansata and Gleannloch along with many others making huge contributions to the breed. *Morafic, *Ansata Ibn Halima, *Talal, *Sakr, and the *Morafic and Halima daughters were front and center in the journals and the shows. This seemingly endless stream of exquisite horses went deep into my thinking on the subject of Arabian horses.” In the following decade, this idea of what the Egyptian stallion could contribute was further illustrated by Nabiel and Ruminaja Ali, “… horses that played a huge role in what I thought the ideal Arabian should be,” remembers Byatt. “Later on Aswan, his son Palas, and other straight Egyptian stallions demonstrated a huge influence in the Russian, Polish, and other breeding programs. I saw that straight Egyptian horses could be vital as outcrosses.”
2014 colt (Sabeh Al Salhiyah x Asila Al Salhia), owned by Al Salhia Stud.
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2014 filly (Sabeh Al Salhiyah x Omni Magidaa), owned by Alfala Stud.
But for Byatt, the domestic stallion Ali Jamaal confirmed this idea. “He removed any doubt,” he remembers. “Ali Jamaal is by the straight Egyptian stallion Ruminaja Ali and out of a domestic-bred mare. He is recognized as being one of the most beautiful as well as one of the most accomplished breeding stallions in our breed’s history.” Later in the 90s when Byatt was breeding his own horses, he was part owner in Anaza El Farid. As he explains, “I used him a lot as an outcross stallion with enormous success. Farid was able to endow a huge change in a single generation. The most famous result, of course, being *Gazal Al Shaqab. From that point on I have always looked for the most interesting straight Egyptian stallions available to use in my program.” It was serendipitous then, when Byatt visited Grasso’s farm in Italy a year ago. In Sabeh Al Salhiyah, he found that elusive next step that he was seeking. As he explains, “I always hope that a stallion I use has at least one characteristic that is extraordinary, something unique. And Sabeh’s face is just that. He reminded me of *Farazdac or *Morafic, and many of the breed’s most artistic and exotic horses. That was my initial response; it was very powerful,” Byatt remembers. But Sabeh Al Salhiyah proved to be something more than just a face. “He also has a beautiful clean neck, beautiful wither and shoulder, and an overall very harmonious look,” explains Byatt. “His tail carriage is beautiful and he has an engaged way of moving. The sum of all his aspects was and is irresistible.” As Byatt spent more time with Sabeh Al Salhiyah, an idea crystalized in his mind. “As Sabeh Al Salhiyah came into my focus,” he says, “he was one stallion that I felt I must use and, if possible, have in the United States.”
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It was, after all, Michael Byatt, so it was soon decided that Sabeh Al Salhiyah would begin another journey, this time to Byatt’s farm in Texas. For Grasso, it mirrored perfectly what he also envisioned for the horse. “What I understand from Michael,” explains Grasso, “is that there is a need for Egyptian blood in the U.S. that is different from what is currently being used. So we decided to go on this adventure.” For Al Salhia Stud, it will be the first time a horse from their breeding program will be represented in the United States. In reality, however, it was not a difficult decision for partners Mohammed and Grasso. “We really believe in this horse and look forward to seeing a lot of foals by him out of those great American mares from all bloodlines. I think it is also important from a breeding perspective to give breeders in the U.S. access to this very special mare line of Hadbah Inzahiyah.” And for Byatt, it marks another important step in his journey with the Arabian horse. There is a possibility Sabeh Al Salhiyah may be shown, but the emphasis will be on breeding the next generation. “I look to Sabeh to bring me another step closer,” Byatt says. “When I visualize him with my Gazal, Marwan, Besson, and Justice daughters, I am very excited about the possible outcomes. Sabeh’s pedigree is so deep in beautiful horses I am sure he will sire his own exotic look and have an immediate impact on my next generation. We are also establishing a straight Egyptian program and Sabeh will be used to create our future breeding mares and hopefully leave us with a son to carry on after his return. I am honored and privileged that his owners consented to allow me to have him in the United States.”
2014 filly (Sabeh Al Salhiyah x Alfabia Bint Kamaria), owned by Alfabia Stud.
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The pedigree of the Arabian horse is an intricate tapestry woven with the imagination and inspiration of breeders from around the globe. Sometimes from these smallest beginnings, with nurturing and vision, the most spectacular outcomes result. Such may well be the story of Sabeh Al Salhiyah, writing another important chapter of our breed.
Sabeh Al Salhiyah is owned by: Al Salhia Stud 路 Saudi Arabia and Alfabia Stud 路 Italy Gigi Grasso and Paolo Damilano www.alfabiastud.com Standing at:
Michael Byatt Arabians New Ulm, Texas 路 U.S.A. 979.357.2614 路 www.MichaelByattArabians.com
Sabeh Al Salhiyah is owned by: Al Salhia Stud 路 Saudi Arabia and Alfabia Stud 路 Italy Gigi Grasso and Paolo Damilano www.alfabiastud.com Standing at:
Michael Byatt Arabians New Ulm, Texas 路 U.S.A. 979.357.2614 www.MichaelByattArabians.com
Designed and produced by Arabian Horse World 路 09/14