Effort underway to identify and preserve Pritzlaff bloodlines

Al Khamsa President Pam Studebaker, her daughter Jill Erisman, and a few other dedicated breeders have began an effort to identify, locate, and preserve the remaining horses of Richard Pritzlaff’s breeding in the USA, which includes the bloodlines from Rabanna (Rasik x Banna by Nasr), pictured below. I wish them good luck.

RJ Cadranell wrote about Pritzlaff’s life and breeding program, in an article which you can read here.

28 Replies to “Effort underway to identify and preserve Pritzlaff bloodlines

  1. If you would like to see some nice Pritzlaff horses you can go to rarest of the rare egyption arabians website. Most of there horses carrie multiple lines to RSI, and there are a handfull of straight Pritzlaff. Enjoy!

  2. Teymur: That is Rabanna. She was noted as a broodmare for Richard Pritzlaff. She goes back to the Blunt-Eygyptians IIRC. I think when he was setting up his stud Pritzlaff was advised by Carl Raswan to get some Ali Pasha Cherif horses if possible. So he did. The Pritzlaff horses that i’ve seen have been good. A few years back some newcomers at a Harry Whitney clinic in Washington had a Pritzlaff filly that they were told by the breeder was ,”hot,” and conformed to travel stiff and inverted. Harry had her calmed down and focused and relaxed in just a few minutes. He took the time to give the fillys’ owners extra help so they could communicate with her and continue her training. Like a lot of horses they do need work on focus and attention span, but are execptionally athletic.
    Best wishes
    Bruce Peek

  3. many thanks for this interesting explanation
    I have never seen an image of this mare, just descriptions.
    What surprised me prittzlaff, is the combination of Rashaad Ibn Nazeer and Bint Monietl El Nefous,
    Bint, was much too nice for Rashaad.
    the foal lost the type of her mother and grandmother

  4. Well yeah in a way.. Edouard is it ok to reccomend other websites? There is one of a guy in Utah named Crockett Dumas who has Pritzlaff horses he uses in endurance– He has done very well with them and they seem very well conformed. The guy lives in the area where Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid used to hang out with the hole in the wall gang. IIRC the Sultan horses of a few years back who did so well in endurance were of Pritzlaff lines.
    Best Wishes
    Bruce Peek

  5. We saw both *Bint Moniet and *Rashad in person, and they were quite in different in type, but both lovely. *Bint Moniet photographed well, and *Rashad did not, but he was a fine horse indeed! Their offspring together produced a wide range, but we knew and loved most of them. Some were exquisite.

    *Rashad had some bad, shall we say press? But he was a magnificent horse. We have both of their skulls here, and their general measurements are very close to identical.

  6. IIRC Rashad was trained by Pritzlaff and the Director of the Spanish Riding School Hans Handler. Carol Lyons told me Pritzlaff was very outspoken in his dislike for the ,” show system,”,, said if people bred horses for the surrealistic demands of the show system they would ruin the breed. As it turned out he was pretty much prohpetically correct.
    To me the Pritzlaff horses looked like arabian event horses- lean athletes.
    Best Wishes
    Bruce Peek

    1. Richard left it to the Nature Conservatory. They just left it go. Richard’s nephew convinced the Conservatiry to sell it to him and he created a type of natural research center.

  7. With respect to Rashad Ibn Nazeer, my lament is that he did not have the opportunity to breed a greater diversity of Egyptian mares in his lifetime. Remarkably he was a grandson of Bint Rissala, so he was close up to her blood. The Bint Rissala family has a way of producing some great mare sires such as Alaa El Din, Iknhatoon, Kaisoon, Farag, Imperial Kamar and ZT Faaiq also. Those stallions all got a wider variety of mares compared to Rashad. Rashad sired 37 foals in 18 years compared to Henry Babson’s Fadl who sired 74 in a 21 year period, before Rashad was imported. I think the setting for Rashad was not conducive to his being more widely used. Richard was a private and very selective person and I don’t believe that Rashad was ever at public stud. He did a fine job with his own small band but they were only one small slice of the pie of Egyptian lines available to him in his lifetime. It would have been interesting indeed if he could have been bred to some of the excellent Gleannloch mares of the Rodania line. Those mares were a high quality group — his match or better in conformation and movement. So we will never know what he could have done as a sire in a broader context. If only there was more breeder cooperation back then. Should be a lesson for today. Good preservation requires cooperation.

  8. Bruce, I now have RAR Nocona Moon here and I believe he is 65-70% Pritzlaff breeding and he carries lines to Rabanna. I do agree with you that they need a job to do and they are very atheletic horses.
    marge

  9. Below the article is a link to a dispersal sale of Pritzlaff stock, too bad they’re not in Europe, some veeeery pretty mares 🙁

  10. There is still a small but important group of high percentage Pritzlaff horses here in Israel, tracing back to horses that either came with me to Israel, were imported by Kibbutz Sha’ar HaGolan, or through Vincent Melzac’s Israel Asil program. Some have been crossed with Egyptian +Turfa lines, but most have been bred to Straight Egyptians. Ruda Nasr El DIn of Dalyat al Carmel has made some efforts to breed within the group at least every few years.

  11. Richard’s Horses

    Saving the Rabanna line,the Rashad Line (highest persentage of Abbas Pasha breeding), and the various tail female lines imported. Not forgetting Faarad, a Babson stallion with good foals.

    Bint Moniet, Bint Turfa, Zahlya, were all very extreme mares. Hopefully they all will
    be saved. Rarely seen, more beautiful mares.

    Then there is riding, they excelled. Yet Rashad was a very talented horse as to abilities under saddle. Exceptional Stallion of extreme quality. The highest persentage one can find of many crosses to Rashad would be a blessing. Especially for those looking
    for high levels of Abbas Pasha percentage. As a ride the animals would inherit special
    qualities not often found in many Egyptian breedings.

    Monsoon of Davenport breeding was similar in some ways.

    As to Richard his greatest asset was his belief in what he was all about, and his horses. I first went to his Ranch in 1969, my last visit was 1991. I did not visit the years my wife was dieing.

    There are many stories of Richard and his visitors, the Raswan notes, Pedigrees of imported horses, a life time spent breeding and raising the Arabian.

    At the time, there was Babson Farms, the Ott’s, Pritslaff, and Charles Craver. Jane Ott, fostered many breeders, such as George
    Searle. Later came Judy Forbis, Marshall’s
    an countless others.

    The stories are almost larger then life that surround those early Breeders. How any survived is beyound explanation, a credit to
    standing firm. Jackson – Bedouin Arabians

  12. Teymur,

    I knew the offspring of Bint Moniet, all. Owned two, one a Rashad daughter of Bint Moniet. Quality was extreme of those daughters. Their foals were also extreme. Gerald McCracken also owned several. I differ with your opinion!

    I guess this is why we all have so many ideas, different ways of looking, and actually this is good.

    In this case I simply disagree with you, and you disagree with me.

    Jackson

  13. I am reseraching a story on this bloodline. As I gain enough knowledge to ask questions, I will post again, but anyone who feels they can help with interesting stories, accuract information and background would be a GREAT help. I write for various equine publications, and would love contact from knowledgable people…. or just fascinating people. Marsha Hayes mhkansas@comgen.com

  14. I have recently acquired Nefuso Grande RSI he is three yrs old and seems to have a magnificent pedigree. I have frozen semen in a limited amount available. I felt it was worth saving as this is a dying breed. he will be campaigned in endurance. Check out his pedigree on the all pedigree data base. I would be interested in any feedback.

  15. I am sorry for my delay in reply, I have only a few on my Facebook page. He is the chestnut with my 10 year old daughter. He has been at my parents ranch since January. So I have no recent pictures. Look on my Facebook pagenandnyou will notice what incredible bone structure he has for being only 2 years old . Let me know what you think. Thanks .
    Jennifer Niehaus

  16. Eduardo, if you look at my Facebook page for Jennifer Niehaus, I have a coupleofpictures of him last fall with my daughter. He loves people and of course has wonderful feet and bone structure. Let meknowwhat you think and I will try to get some updated pictures in the next month. I have about 13 doses of frozen semen available.

  17. Hi All,
    One of our most exceptional mares is 50% Pritzlaf with Rabanna/50% Doyle to compliment that, as well in Ebonys Doyle LHF (Ebony Nefous RSI x Larkin DE by Greggan). Eduoard, I can send a pic if you want to post it. Jen, what lovely breeding he has, and special he is. There are fewer Pritzlaff lines every year. Can’t find you on FB, send me an email. Would love to see more pics and get details. msfarab at hotmail dot com

  18. I have a stallion and some mares from Richard Pritzlaff’s ranch. Dymoni RSI is a 19 year old stallion that was owned by Crockett Dumas and excelled in endurance before an accident at home which left unrideable. He is still producing gorgeous, balanced performance horses. Check him out at cainperformancearabians.com.

  19. Try this again..
    I knew Richard and his horses. There were none more beautiful ! For me there will be none more beautiful and athletically healthy then those in his line breeding.
    I know there has been false advertising to blacklist his horses because he would not play “the game” however there is no other line I search for more.
    Please assist me. Thankyou.
    ~ jo lynne
    New Mexico

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