A quick overview of the Sharp program in Asil Arabians in the USA
Much of Arabian horse breeding program in the West follows patterns based on the exclusion or inclusion of specific horses or groups of horses: within the Babson Egyptians, for example you have the non-*Maaroufa, which is a sub-group that excludes lines to this mare. The Babson Egyptians are themselves an artificial sub-group of Egyptians Arabians, tracing in all lines from the horses imported by Henry Babson. Here’s what I mean by artificial: had Mr. Babson imported another mare than *Bint Bint Sabbah, the descendants of this other mare would have been labeled as Babson Egyptians, and the otherwise eligible descendants of *Bint Bint Sabbah would not. Within the Davenports Arabians, you have the non-Fasal, all without lines to this mare, even though the ancestors of Fasal (*Hamrah x Amran by *Deyr *Wadduda), are present in the pedigree of all non-Fasal Davenports. These groups and sub-groups have their own logic, and are usually meant to preserve different phenotypes.
The Sharp breeding program is one of those rare artificial Western-created breeding groups that I think are worth breeding in isolation and preserving, when the bigger picture of Arabian horse breeding is taken into consideration. The Sharps are basically Al Khamsa Arabian horses without Blunt blood, not tracing to any of the imports made by lady Anne and Wilfred Scawen Blunt from the Arabian Desert: Azrek, Basilisk, Dajania, Ferida, Hadban, Jerboa, Kars, Pharaoh, Queen of Sheba, Rodania and Saadun — the latter being the only not to go to England.
Except for the relatively large herds of BLUE STAR Arabians and Davenport Arabians (a few hundred horses all in all), and a tiny group of other horses that is the subject of this present entry, the above mentioned Blunt foundation elements are present in all Al Khamsa Arabians alive today, and in all Egyptian horses alive today. So, in theory, “Sharps” are made of BLUE STAR Arabians, Davenport Arabians, and that tiny third group of horses, none of whom have Blunt blood. However, since the BLUE STAR and the Davenports have their own advocates, conservancies and self-standing preservation programs, attention on preserving the Sharps, and as result term “Sharp” itself, has historically been restricted to the third tiny component of Sharp breeding. This tiny third group of non-Blunt horses that are neither of 100% Davenport lines, nor 100% BLUE STAR lines has first been identified by the late Carol Lyons, who also invented the concept of Sharp itself. Carol, who along with the Oregon-based Al Khamsa breeders around her, bred most of the modern Sharps from that third sub-group of Non-Blunt horses. Carol has several articles in the Khamsat magazine raising awareness about Sharps and advocating for them, and this overview may well be redundant in the end.
There has never been many of Sharp horses strictly speaking, and there are even less today. The good news is that this is not a closed breeding group, but rather one that can be recreated by breeding BLUE STARs and Davenports with each other, or by breeding Davenports and/or BLUE STAR Arabians with Arabians horses from that tiny third group. It is tough to identify foundation horses for a group of horses that is not a closed breeding group, because any new Davenport or BLUE STAT infusion can always bring in new foundation horses into the program, but here’s an attempt at listing these foundation horses with lines surviving today:
— The 1976 Davenport, Kuhaylah Hayfiyah mare Lady Leaf (Porthos x Lady Grey by Tripoli) was bred to the BLUE STAR stallion Ibn Sirecho (Sirecho x Turfara by *Fadl x *Turfa) to produce the 1981 mare Leafs Echo (Ibn Sirecho x Lady Leaf by Porthos), a Sharp foundation mare from that strain. She was bred to the Davenport stallions, Sir and Audobon, to the BLUE STAR stallion Mnahi Al Shohbani, and to the Sharp stallion Alliance LD (see below). This line still goes on in tail female Sharp breeding.
— The 1978 mare Hamdaniyah Simiriyah mare Fasharecho Moliah (Ibn Sirecho x Shar Moliah by Fa-Turf), herself a Sharp resulting from breeding the BLUE STAR stallion Ibn Sirecho to the mare Shar Moliah (Fa-Turf x Shiba by Hanad x Schilan), who is 50% BLUE STAR and 50% Davenport is another foundation mare. Her line still goes on in tail female as well, and is represented by one daughter, Jadah Moliah, and a grandson, both at Randall Harris in Illinois.
— The 1962 mare Shar Turfa (Fa-Turf x Shar-Hiba by Fa-Turf), a Hamdaniyah Simriyah that’s a close relative of the above, and that is also the result of top-crossing a BLUE STAR stallion over a Davenport mare over two generations, is another foundation mare as she produced the 1971 mare Karims Moog by the Sharp stallion Karimkhan (see below), who in turn produced the 1979 mare FF Fatimite by the BLUE STAR stallion Ibn Muhaira (IbnFadl x *Muhaira), who is turn produced the 2006 mare CW Danelle by the Davenport stallion Jubilation. This line is a good example of crossing BLUE STARs and Davenports on top of each other, and also of bringing in new lines into the Sharp breeding, in this case, the line of the desert-bred mare *Muhaira.
— The 1968 Saqlawi Jadran stallion Karimkhan (Dhahmida x Hamara by Hallany Mistanny x Haraka by Kenur) is also a Sharp foundation stallion. He brings in bloodlines from Albert Harris imports from Saudi Arabia (*Sunshine and *Tairah) to the mix of bloodlines of Prince Mohammed Ali Tewfiq’s horses (*Fadl, *Zarife, *Roda, *H.H. Mohammed Ali’s Hamida, *Nasr), and the desert bred mares Exochorda and *Turfa, which are the foundation blocks of the Sharp program as we have seen above.
— The 1964 Saqlawiyah Jadraniyah mare Mistara (Mista-Bin x Haraka by Kenur) is a close relative of Karimkhan above was added to the Sharp program as an old mare. She produced 1981 Sharp mare LD Ice Capade by the Davenport stallion Anchorage, who was in turn bred to Davenport stallions and to Karimkhan to produce a few Sharps including Snow Princess LD and Polynesia LD. The 1985 sister of LD Ice Capade, Hamida Ivey (Karimkhan x Mistara), is still alive, and an effort is now being considered to bring her back into breeding. Hamida Ivey is extremely special within the Sharp program, because he is the last Sharp mare (stricto sensu) without Davenport blood.
— The 1985 Hamdaniyah Simriyah mare Halley (Audobon x Peta by Lysander x Faleta by Ibn Fadl x Kaleta) was purposefully bred within the Sharp group for at least three generation and her breeding shows Carol Lyons imprint, through top crossing her rare dam line with Davenport and BLUE STAR stallions. She bring in the blood of the Harris imports (*Sunshine and *Samirah, the latter being the tail female), as well as the stallion Alcazar who was owned by Albert Harris as well. While still alive, she has never been bred and is likely to drop out of the group soon. A pity, as she is the only representative of *Samirah in the Sharp breeding group. She was on the code-Red list of the Al Khamsa Preservation Task Force until we realized that her owners did not plan to breed her.
— The 1982 Kuhaylat al-Ajuz mare LD Rubic (Plantagenet x Tarrla by Tarff) was bred by Carol Lyons of Lyons Den (LD) Arabians, and is the last female line in the Sharp Program. Other than the usual BLUE STAR (through Tarff, one of the *Fadl-*Turfa siblings) and Davenport lines, she brings in the Albert Harris line of *Nufoud in tail female, as well as the stallion Alcazar. Today, three living Sharp mares, MSF Rubie, Jadah Necessity and Jadah BelloftheBall, and three living Sharp stallions, Salil Ibn Iliad, Jadah Sharuuq, and Jadah Abu Nufoud trace to her.
All in all, maybe not more than 15 mares and stallions alive today constitute the Sharp program. The gene pool is rather broad, relatively to existing numbers, and is not closed as many other individual BLUE STAR and Davenport lines (the Krush, the Hadban) can be added to the original building blocks. These consist, again, of Davenport lines, BLUE STAR lines (mainly *Fadl-Turfa-Sirecho but also *Muhaira), as well as other lines from Prince Mohammed Ali (the Zarife-Roda-Hamida horses), and horses from the collection of Albert Harris, mainly his Saudi imports *Nufoud, *Samirah, *Tairah, *Sunshine, but his stallion Alcazar (Nedjran Jr. x Rhua by *Haleb) who brings lines from the Hamidie and Davenport importations. This is all what seems to remain from the Blunt horses tsunami. Another obervation: the Sharp program was started in the early 1980s, when the main foundation horses were assembled or bred, and it thrived while Carol Lyons was overseeing it, and mentoring new breeders. Since then, some breeding by Marge Smith, Marilyn McHallam, and Randall Harris have done some breeding in the 1990s and 2000s, but on a smaller scale.
Below, the gorgeous and very desert-like mare Peta (Lysander x Keta by Ibn Fadl x Kaleta), tail female to *Samirah a representative of this successful Davenport-BLUE STAR-Harris blend of bloodlines that’s at the core of the Sharp program, and a sad reminder of how quickly this Sharp program can go down the drain.
i so wish i owned this mare Peta
Ditto, Edouard!
Thank you so much for distilling and sharing your knowledge about the Sharp breeding program’s past. As a new “Sharp” breeder the information presented here is invaluable.
Thanks Edouard for this information. Seeing this reminds me of something Charles Craver said to me about 30 years ago: “continuity very important but is very fragile. Non-Blunt or Sharp is very important and its continuity is near beyond fragile, unless people can see the bigger picture of retaining such elements of diversity. While we are all indebted to the quality of thinking and purpose of the Blunts, their bloodlines have so permeated the entire breed that in North America the Sharps, Davenports and Blue Stars are about the only place left to find non-Blunt. It is ironic to note that two of the most heavily used Polish stallions of all time in America, Bask and Aladdinn, had no Blunt blood, but by today it is likely that all Polish, Spanish, Russian, English and Egyptian (all the major nationalities) carry many lines to Blunt stock. So even with the extraordinary popularity of Bask and Aladdinn, there is no evidence of intentional preserving of non-Blunt Polish lines, which was possible in their time. Such exclusionary breeding, preserving “elements without”, cannot be done in a vacuum, or only on paper, as selection for quality must be inherent for future breeders to even want to continue such preservation, but I have seen many of the horses mentioned on Edouard’s list above and also many Davenports and Blue Stars, and they are true Arabians and quality group, which tells me there is no reason for the non-Blunt horses to not continue. The primary threat to their future is the lack of awareness about them and their breeding value. So thank you Edouard so much for focusing on them on your respected blog.
I know now what sharps, Blunts, soudis are, but blue stars?
BLUE STARs are the Arabians without known Ma’naqi strains in the pedigree as defined by Jane Ott. It’s a definition I don’t agree with. Since all Blunt horses have Ma’naqi from Queen of Sheba then the BLUE STARs don’t have blunt blood. but that’s another article, to come soon
This discussion shows how smart Carol Lyons was. A couple of questions, weren’t the ,’Old Eygyptians,’ a non Blunt source too? Also didn’t the Asil French horses fall into that category also? How about the Marbach horses? Oh wait the germans were crossed heavily into New Eygyptian.
So given the numbers the sharps are rather thin on the ground..
best Wishes
Bruce Peek
Bruce all old Egyptians alive now such as the Babson have Bint Serra through Fay El Dine and Fa-Serra, and she was the daughter of the Blunt stallion Sottamm. Had her son by Rustem survived, there would have been even more Blunt in the Babsons. All through Bint Bint Sabbah who had Kazmeyn’s blood, another Sottamm offspring.
So essentially the Blunt horses are through and through just about everything.. Oh wait- what about the babolna herd.. never mind they are mostly New Eygyptian nowadays…Hmm
Best wishes
Bruce Peek
We leased the wonderful mare Peta in the mid 80’s but were unable to get her in foal. I remember her filly Halley as well as the Caton’s in Missouri who owned and bred these horses.
Jenny if the Catons are not too far from the AK convention, maybe you could pay them a visit and look at Halley?
As previously mentioned, we have the 2006 Sharp mare CW Danelle (Jubilation CF X FF Fantazia)as well as the 1990 Sharp mare Karma LD (Karimkhan x Lady Liberty LD), the 1990 Sharp mare Snow Princess LD (Karimkhan x LD Ice Capade)and her 2012 Sharp colt by Pal-Ara El Salan, and the Sharp mare Pal-Ara Harmoney (Mnahi El Shobahni x Leafs Echo). The 1994 Sharp mare Echo Dancing (Batal Al Wadi x Karma LD) was tragically lost while foaling and a son was gelded.
The Sharp horses have a great future ahead of them. It would be great if you were able to breed a replacement foal for these older mares like Snow Princess and Karma.
Is it bad to have manaqui blood?
Of course not. It actually neither good nor bad. Is it bad to be named Paul? or John? or Gerd? Neither good nor bad. It depends on the horse. If the Ma’naqi horse is good, then it’s good. If the horse is bad, then it’s bad. El Emir was not a good horse, and he was Ma’naqi. *Haleb, *Farha, Ferida, Jerboa, Haidee, Atesh, were good horses, and they were Ma’anqi.
If you are Westerner, can reach English and don’t have access to Bedouin sources (heck, most Arabs I know of don’t have access either), always go by what Lady Ann Blunt did. She not only bred Jerboa, but she used her son Jeroboam (by Pharaoh) as a breeding stallion. Also she used Queen of Sheba’s two sons as stallions, Ahmar and Astraled. And Queen of Sheba’s sire was a Ma’naqi.
Here is some of what Lady Anne said of Jeroboam, who was a Ma’naqi:
http://www.sporthorse-data.com/horse/3534/812/Horse_Jeroboam-_2big.jpg
Thank you for the answer! I think it is important the horse has a good riding conformation is asil and hopefully with arabian beauty (not the modern arabian “Type”)
Sharp Update: The 1990 Sharp mare Snow Princess LD (Karimkhan x LD Ice Capade) foaled a grey colt, by the Davenport stallion Kismet DL (Mandarin CF x CH Iliads Tarikah), in 2014. A VERY NICE colt indeed from a 24 year old mare! Snow Princess’ half sister Polynesia LD is expecting a foal, by the Davenport stallion Fire Dragon LF (Bon Jour CF x Dekadas LF), in April 2015.
Congratulations!
IT’S A FILLY! Polynesia LD has had a fabulous bay filly by the Davenport stallion Fire Dragon LF. She will be named DI (Desert Ice) Pele, for the Hawaiian volcano goddess. Another Sharp female to carry on these wonderful lines.
Tragically, the Sharp mare Karma LD (Karimkhan x Lady Liberty LD) died in a pasture accident a short time after arriving at her new owner’s in 2013.
has anyone frozen any embryos for these sharp mares? or semen for sharp stallions?
Seems like this could work as a preservation both for code “horses” as well as insuring the ability to produce sharps in the future.
Just got a few minutes and managed to read this finally, very interesting program, esp since I have been so deep into the “blunts” and Lady Annes programs. So many good horses she never met, apparently, and wisely people see this and are working to preserve them.
it may be too late now, Donna. Most have died.
I will here, very sadly, report the passing this Fall of all three of the LD Ice Capade Sharp daughters: Snow Princess LD 1990-2021, Polynesia LD 1993-2021, and AAB Shamonix 1997-2021. All three were obtained by me in their later years, therefore very poor candidates for obtaining frozen embryos. Snow Princess leaves one Sharp son, DI Talj Emir, 2014 gs (plus an Al Khamsa daughter of multiple elements), Polynesia leaves one Sharp daughter, DI Pele, 2015 bm. AAB Shamonix had one Sharp daughter, AAB Ebony Rose, but she is now 19 years old, with no offspring and not in a breeding home. Hopefully, DI Talj Emir and DI Pele will produce in the coming years.
Carrie, that’s just sad. Those lines are not replaceable. Best of luck getting your two youngsters to produce with each other and with others.
Thank you, Jeanne.
So very sorry, Carrie! Polynesia was a particular favorite of mine. Hugs.
Thank you, Jenny. Polynesia was one of a kind!
we do what we can. Thank god some people are doing something, otherwise these lines would be gone a long time ago.
I do not know if this comment falls upon deaf ears but I will male it anyway. Daughters of the wind is a vast blog with so much intricate details so I didnt really know where to put this. Over the years, I have maintained my goals in breeding blue stars with Ibn Hafiza…a Robert Cowling imagining brought forward by George Hooper and his Hisani horses. So many of the heroic breeders I have come to know, follow, and study have passed away or have stopped breeding and dispersed as sad as that makes me. The times are perilous for Al Khamsa. Since the beginning there have been some losses for me…many actually. I have never wavered in my goal and after the loss of Susan Whitman’s herd or most of them and the loss of the Hisani horses, I felt defeated. Time has a way of retaining passion. I now have a new lease on continuing those programs on a small but worthy scale. I now have the following horses some ftsm (MD Rabih Echo and a couple mares to be bred to him this coming year), FTSM with Ibn Hafiza (Hisani Jakob Hafiza and HTL Salila Dualah), Mufaja Star by Hisani Jakob Hafiza out of HTL Salila Dualah), EAE Maleeka and her yearling colt by Hisani Jakob Hafiza. Jakob is the last to carry on the Hooper lines. I have acquired Madinas Miracle who is tf Muhaira and also Al Hamdaniah on her dams side. She has the Gulastra/blunt breeding but that shall be kept as an outcross potential. I have the opportunity to acquire a number of blue stars even though they have desert breeding mixed in they recover Al Hamdaniah and Al Muhandis and Bint Sirecho among other lines being quickly lost. Those lines also have some rare lines to Sindidah and Munifeh and Munifan. I have a mission that shall be realized this coming year. Some of these horses have blunt blood and even some SE blood or non blue star elements but they carry some very rare and almost extinct lines on their dam side. I will spend much time attempting to produce FTSM and FTSM with Ibn Hafiza and utilizing the other horses as a separate group for possible outcross in the future as they are still al khamsa and asil. I just thought some may find these details encouraging. There are exciting happenings for my farm coming!