Sotamm
The Blunt Hamdani Simri stallion Sotamm (Astraled x Selma II) is in every single Egyptian pedigree by now. He is of course the sire of Nazeer‘s maternal grandsire Kazmeen (Sotamm x Kasima). He is also in the n0n-Nazeer’s New Egyptians through El Sareei (Shahloul x Zareefa by Kazmeen), Sid Abouhom (El Deree x Leila out of Bint Sabah by Kazmeen) and Sheikh El Arab (Mansour x Bint Sabah by Kazmeen). He is also in all the Babson Egyptians, either through Bint Serra (Sotamm x Serra), or *Bint Bint Sabbah (Baiyad x Bint Sabah by Kazmeen).
This means all Egyptian horses (the Straight Egyptians, but also the horses with Doyle and Rabanna blood, obviously) alive today have a measure of Blunt blood. This makes the few remaining asil Arabian horses without Blunt blood, which the late Carol Lyons identified as a separate group and called the “Sharps” through a clever play on words) all the more worthwhile.
This is true and an important point Edouard in looking to the future options of diversity. The Egyptian horse has long benefited from the influence of the Astraled sons: Sotamm (Astraled x Selima), Rustem (Astraled x Ridaa), and Gulastra (Astraled x Gulnare) as well as the Berk son Hamran (Berk x Hamasa). All of these stallions are of the Mesaoud sire line. Which sadly is now in jeopardy within straight Egyptian lines. However the concentration of Mesaoud through out the whole part of Egyptian pedigrees is more so especially when one looks at the pedigrees of these stallions above and the Blunt mares Bint Riyala (2x to Mesaoud) and Bint Rissala (Mesaoud granddaughter).
The image you post of Sotamm is one of his better ones. He is double Queen of Sheba close up which I think accounts for the black color in some of his descent. Also there is a kind of “Queen of Sheba” look that is coming down strong from him and from Rustem in some of their descent. You can see it in the stallion Gharib where the look and also the brilliant action from Queen of Sheba comes through.
As appreciated as the contribution of these Blunt-selected desert horses is to the Egyptian heritage, your point in tribute to Carol Lyons is an important one, particularly for Al Khamsa breeders. Those remaining horses in Al Khamsa who do not have any lines to the original Blunt desert breds are key to diversity in future choices, when one considers that in the entire rest of the breed, Mesaoud, Queen of Sheba and Rodania dominate the composition of breeding. Today’s popular and heavily used show sires, Marwan Al Shaqab and WH Justice each have well over 200 crosses to Rodania in their pedigrees, not to mention other Blunt influences.
Even within straight Egyptian breeding, careful analysis of pedigrees will help find balance. For example, Blunt blood is diluted from incorporating the 3 Hamdan Stud Tahawi mares into breeding. In breeding theory, each Tahawi mare’s produce from the stallion Hamdan (Ibn Rabdan x Bint Radia) is a near equivalent of producing another Sameh or Sirecho, each of these stallions being of the Jamil El Khebir sire line and from a genetically unrelated female line. Such mares as Bint Folla (Hamdan x Folla), Bint Futna II (Hamdan x Futna), and Okht El Fol (Hamdan x Bint Barakat), each have no original Blunt desert breeding in their pedigrees. The same is true for Sameh and Sirecho.
In 1970 both Ibn Hafiza and Serenity Bint Nadia were imported to North America and they were the last two straight Egyptians without Blunt-selected desert breeding. It would have been possible for these two to have been bred together while in North America creating another non-Blunt generation of straight Egyptian breeding but it did not happen. All 6 of the 1932 WR Brown Egyptian imports were without Blunt blood and 3 of the Babson imports did not have Blunt blood.
So within straight Egyptian blood one would have to look over carefully the prospective pedigrees for finding ones with low amounts of Blunt, where as within Al Khamsa there is still the luxury of crossing Davenport with Blue Star and also with certain combined source lines to continue the “Sharps” that Carol Lyons carefully documented.
The credit for breeding Sotamm goes to Wilfrid Blunt. When Mr. Blunt and his wife Lady Anne partitioned the Crabbet Stud in 1906, Mr. Blunt chose Selma (Ahmar x Sobha) for his half. Selma produced two foals in Mr. Blunt’s ownership, Sotamm and a filly named Selima, both by *Astraled, before Selma was transferred to Lady Anne’s half in 1913.
Lady Anne bought Sotamm from Mr. Blunt as a yearling in 1911. She used him as a sire starting in 1914 until she died in 1917.
Crabbet sold Sotamm to Egypt in 1920. I believe it was Lady Wentworth, not Wilfrid Blunt, who sold Sotamm to Dr. Branch, although Sotamm subsequently stood at Prince Kamel el-Dine’s farm. Perhaps Branch bought him as agent for the Prince? Sotamm is not listed among the RAS root stallions, although some of his sons are, including Kasmeyn.
Lady Wentworth described Sotamm as “Dark brown exceedingly showy horse very slight in limb & a bit back at the knees. Lovely head & neck arched…. Lovely high carriage of tail & brilliant coat.”
Thank you both for the clarification and research done here regarding these lines.
Although you may not have heard, September 14&15 at the Maynesboro Stud, Berlin,NH many of the family members of W.R.Brown have notified that they will be attending this 100th year celebration recognizing the great tribute to the Arabian horse that W.R. Brown began here in the US. This event is open to anyone wishing to attend and will be as well hosting a 25 & 50 mile sanctioned ride and a 12 mile pleasure ride over many of the lands that W.R. Brown “tested” both endurance and breeding qualities of the imported stock!