Barely Surviving Lines: Dihkenna, the Kuhaylat al-Hayf time capsule

The desert-bred Kuhaylah Hayfiyah mare *Reshan, imported by Homer Davenport to the USA in 1906 has two surviving asil tail females, and we are lucky to have them both.  The first is through her grand-daughter Antarah (Antez x Hasiker, by Hamrah x *Reshan), and that line bred on thanks to the efforts of Charles and Jeanne Craver. Several horses regularly featured on this blog, such as Sir, Brimstone, Prince Hal, Pirouette and my own Wisteria are all from this line. These horses and others, known as the “Kuhaylan Haifi Davenports”, now form a cohesive group, exclusively tracing to the horses imported by Homer Davenport from the Syrian desert, and from the horses sent by the Ottoman Hamidie Society from Syria to the Chicago World Fair of 1893. This group has about 100-150 live mares of breeding age in the USA [confirmation, correction anyone], so it’s fairly safe.

The other tail female to *Reshan, through another grand-daughter, Medina (Fartak x Hasiker, by Hamrah x *Reshan) is barely surviving today. The line mainly survives through Dihkenna (Gharis x Komet by *Sunshine), a bay mare foaled in 1946. This mare’s pedigree is a perfect illustration of what later came to called “Early American Foundation” Arabian horses, or as the late Billy Sheets used to call them, “Volume V Arabians”, a reference to asil Arabian horses tracing exclusively to horses registered up to the fifth volume of the USA Arabian Horse Association, so before the country was flooded with Polish, Spanish, and yes, Egyptian horses. Dihkenna’s sire Gharis (Abu Zeyd x Guemura by Segario) was an important stallion in early American breeding in the 1930s and 1940s, yet almost nothing asil tracing to him survives today. He was bred at W.R. Brown’s Maynesboro stud and later stood at stud at the Draper Ranch in California. The Drapers were major early importers of “Spanish Arabians” to the USA, which is one reason why there is so little of Gharis’ asil get today. 

Dihkenna was owned by the Sheets’ Arabian Stud Farm (ASF) later in her life. There she produced the stallion ASF David by Daaldan, who became a senior stallion for ASF, together with Dhahran (Sirecho x Turfara) and Abgar (Fa-Serr x Fa-Abba). A small and dwindling number of horses trace to ASF David today. Dihkenna also produced the mares ASF Deba and ASF Diana, both by Dhahran. The latter has only one daughter in the AK Roster, Fa Bahima Pharr, born in 1988. This daughter has no progeny, so that might be the end of that. It would be good to check..

 More interestingly, Dihkenna had two daughters earlier in her life, Gharena and Rifenna, both by another “Early American Foundation” horse, the Kuhaylan al-‘Ajuz stallion Elrif (Alla Amarward x Rifalda by Rifnas), mostly of Kellogg (wow!) and Harris breeding. Alla Amarward and Rifnas, like Gharis, were really importantt horses in their time, and are widely represented in non-asil American horses today. Again, very little asil lines are left from these horses today.

Gharena has a grand-daughter, JT Shanna (Ramses Es Sham X Bint Gharena by Sudairi) born in 1981.  Sudairi adds in the blood of another early “great” of which nothing asil is left, the 1938 stallion Caravan (Ribal x Fasal by *Hamrah). This mare, JT Shanna, if still alive, is a real time capsule. You got back three or gour generations in her pedigree, and you find many of the best US bred stallions of the 1930s, and 1940s, Gharis, Rifnas, Alla Amarward, Elrif, and Caravan all is one pedigree, close up. Unbeliebable! Unfortunately, JT Shanna has no progeny in record.. Is it worth trying to look her up. I would.