Reflections
With the holiday season upon us I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the gift of the Arabian horse in our lives. It is a great teacher whose lessons go well beyond borders and cultures and if we are good stewards of this noble creature, we are better because of it. With gratitude to Edouard Al Dahdah, we share our ideas and our enthusiasm for the Arabian horse in the context of its origins and because of this blog, we have become one global community connected by the Arabian horse.
Agree, Joe, agree!
I was just asked in a privately as to who these two horses are so I will identify them here. The chestnut stallion at the top is Plantagenet, a 100% Bedouin bred horse. The photo was taken in an informal way at the 75th anniversary of the Davenport importation, held at Craver Farms in 1981. Plantagenet was only 5 years old in this photo, and this is a good likeness of him in the fleeting moment but I have to say that having known this horse in person, no photos can contain or capture his nobility and joy for life. He was the quintessential horse of the desert. Some features of him would become de ja vu for me 15 years later when I was in Syria and saw Mobarak at the Al Basel Government stud. Plantagenet was a horse who is never forgotten by any who knew him, as he was charming, noble, handsome with lively big eyes and a free spirit expressing so much of what we love in the Arabian horse and why it is a gift to us. The second horse, pictured below Plantagenet, is the grey stallion Imperial Imdal, a 100% Egyptian horse. Like Plantegenet, Imperial Imdal was charming, noble, handsome with big eyes, and he had a particularly confident and friendly nature that caused many to like him. But in addition to that he was widely accepted in the American and Egyptian oriented community by winning US Reserve National Champion Stallion and Egyptian Event Supreme Champion Stallion. But knowing Imdal in person, none of those accolades meant anything to him. He loved people and life and the picture above expresses that with renowned breeder-trainer Whit Byers riding him bareback just for fun.
These are but two of the many thousands of reminders of the “why” of Arabian horses — the reason why we are curious and tolerant of other cultures and why we are willing to sacrifice considerably to have these horses in our lives.
Loud clapping from this quarter Joe. I couldn’t agree more.
I can’t begin to express how the Arabian horse has enriched my life i feel so blessed to have been born with this love of the horse. I was able to spend 10 minutes alone with Imdal before his exportation and I will never forget what a stunning creature he was and how I felt in his presence.
Well said, Joe. The Arabian horse is a better ambassador than any 50 politicians put together.
A wonderful Christmas and holiday season to everyone.
Although you can’t see him, that is our dear friend, Frank Hannesschlager, leading Plantagenet.