Ubayyaan Azheer M361 at the Stud of Sh. Muhammad B. Salman. Photo Amanda Jane Smith.
Mlolesh Wesaal M654 at the stud of Sh. Mohamed b. Salman. Photo courtesy Amanda Jane Smith.
Putting together information from Judi Forbis’ series of articles “Pearls of Great Price” on Bahraini horses as reproduced in Classic Arabian Bloodstock, with information from Dana Al Khalifa’s introduction to her “Living Treasures of Bahrain”, and comparing these with the current strains existing at the Bahraini Royal studs, one can list the Arabian horse strains lost to Bahrain in the course of the last 80 years: Shuhayban, which is Kuhaylan ibn Waberah (mare gifted to Egypt in 1930s, as reported in Forbis, strain died out before 1970s) Kuhaylan Om Soura (in Forbis, strain died out before Forbis visit in 1970s) Dahman Najib (in Forbis, strain died out before Forbis visit in 1970s) Kuhaylan ‘Ajuz (reported as current in Forbis and Danah, died out before WAHO conference of 1998) Hadban (reported as current in Danah, died out in 1980s) Hadhfan, which is Ubayyan Umm Al-Ardaf (last stallion featured in 1998 catalogue, strain died out in early 2000s) Wadnan (last stallion featured in 1998 catalogue, strain died out in 2000s) Suwaiti (last stallion featured in 1998 catalogue, strain died out of 2000s, replaced with a branch from Saudi Arabia) Krushan (strain died in 1990s or 2000s, replaced with non-asil branch from UK) Dahman Umm…
Rabdaan Sary Al Leil 1090, dark bay stallion, born 1998, by Ma´anaghy 148 out of Rabda Al Wannaan 815
Dhahmaan Hoobeishi 1085, dark bay stallion, born 1998, by Kuheilaan Umm Zorayr al Dheleem 407 out of Dhahma Umm Wajnah 821
From Kina Murray: I always find it interesting how much the Bahraini horses, especially the stallions, somehow change when in motion. This is Jellaby Kher, from 1998 WAHO conference visit to Umm Jidr stud.
One of the main reasons why some strains do not appear in the Abbas Pasha Manuscript is that they had not been formed or named yet. One example is Kuhaylan Hayfi in Northern Arabia, and another is Kuhaylan Al-Aadiyat in Bahrain. The latter strain is peculiar to Bahrain, stemming from a Kuhaylah Ajuz of the Bedouin Shaykhs of the ‘Ajman tribe, gifted to Bahrain at the turn of the XXth century. The story of how it was named is told here. Note that both Kuhaylat al-Aadiyat and Kuhaylat Umm Surayyir/Zurayr both came to Bahrain from the ‘Ajman tribe of Eastern Arabia. Lady Anne Blunt already noted the ‘Ajman original provenance of many of the Bahrain strains.
Again, elevating this other quote Laszlo relayed from Valerie Noli-Marais’ 1972 article in Arabian Horse News, because it’s very relevant to the discussion about the pronounced male-female difference in Arabian horses, but also to other earlier discussions on dished profiles: ”The stallions are between 14.3 and 16 h.h., very masculine, short-backed and compact, with long powerful necks, with prominent crests, good withers, broad and deep chests, and tremendously powerful quarters. Top-lines are good and tail carriage is truly magnificent. the legs apart from disfigurement by the shackling,are excellent and dry with large flat knees,short pasterns and large strong hooves… The mares are smaller, 14.2 to 15 hands high, feminine, with finer heads,more to our western taste. Some had quite good dished profiles, although this factor is not mentioned in the traditional standards. When questioned about the “dish”, it was apparent that this was not sought after or bred for, but happened to be present in some horses. It is tolerated in mares but not in stallions.”.. She certainly knew how to identify and describe the good points in an Arabian horse. Her last sentence, about the dish being tolerated in mares but not in stallions, certainly rings a bell, in…
Kuheilaan Aladiyat Dami 1587, grey stallion, born 2009, by Hamdaany Wadhah 901 out of Kuheila´t Aladiyat Afeefa 1212
Saqlaawy Al Faisal 1275, grey stallion, born 2002, by Kuheilaan Aafas Falaah 916 out of Saqlawieh Schmooc 1033
Hamdaany Senafee 1381, bay stallion, born 2005, by Jellaby Nejib 404 out of Hamdanieh Alyatima Roudhah 761
In a comment on an earlier post, Laszlo reminded us of this quote from Valerie Noli-Marais in an article from a 1972 Arabian Horse News issue about the horses of Bahrain: “When a Bahrain Arabian horse is taken off its hobbles and proudly bursts into motion, with mane flying, dark kohl ringed eyes flashing, tail straight up like a banner and arching his long neck, it is a sight to bring tears to the eyes of any horse lover – for truly it is he – the real Drinker of the Wind… The wonderful photos Matthias Oster has been featuring here over the past two days are an illustration of this. So is this photo of Saidan Gharib at the 1998 WAHO conference in Bahrain. One of the things I loved the most about these Bahraini horses is how different stallions are from closely related mares, often their sisters and their mothers. Just as in wildlife, there is a differentiation between the male and the female, which has almost been erased in the show horse. Bahraini stallions exhibit strong primary masculine features like thicker necks, while mares’ neck are much thinner.
Hamdany Ra´an 1294, bay stallion, born 2002, by Jellaby Hataan 945 out of Hamdanieh Khaznah 914, one of my favourite stallions in Bahrain
Jellabi Balsam 1169, grey stallion, born 2000, by Kuheilan Aafas Ttaawoos 416 out of Jellabieh Awaali 778
Jellabie Soroog 1169, bay mare, born 2000, by Mlolshaan Areen 827 out of Jellabieh Al Anoud 889 and her colt Jellaby 1783, bay, born 2016 by Rabdaan Sary Al Leil 1090 Jellabieh Malaha 1548, grey mare, born 2008, by Shawaf al Betaar 953 out of Jellabieh Soroog 1169 Jallabieh Ghabra 1622, grey mare, born 2010, by Shawaf Al Betaar 953 out of Jellabieh Soroog 1169 Jellaby 1704, bay stallion, born 2014, by Shuwaimaan Sadeq 1117 out of Jellabieh Soroog 1169
Mlolesh Samra 1020, bay mare, born 1996, by Kuheilaan Umm Zorayr al Dheelem 407 out of Mlolesh Alyatima Radhwah 412 with her filly Mlolesh 1780, black by Jellaby Balsam Mlolshaan Wesam 1371, bay stallion, born 2004, by Kuheilaan aafas Rakaan 886 out of Mlolesh Samra 1020 Mlolshaan Al Ward 1471, bay stallion, born 2012, by Obeyaan Barakat 1093 out of Mlolesh Samra 1020
Tuwaisah Zeinat Al Bahrain 1094, bay mare, born 1998, by Kuheilaan Umm Zorayr Al Dheleem 407 out of Tuwaisah Newaadir 859 Tuwaisah Ishtahar 1411, bay mare, born 2005, by Obeyaan al Muheeb 957 out of Tuwaisah Zeinat Al Bahrain 1094 Tuwaisah Yasmin 1522, bay mare, born 2008, by Dahmaan Hoobeishi 1085 out of Tuwaisah Newaadir 859
Tuwaisaan al Jamur 1613, bay stallion, born 2010, by Obeyaan Barakat 1093 out of Tuwaisah Newaadir 859 And his dam: Tuwaisah Newaadir 859, bay mare, born 1991, by Hamdaany Shaamikh 81 out of Tuwaisah Ttaraayif 758
Obeyaan Shamet 1335, grey stallion by Kuheilan Aafas Falaah 916 out of Obeyah Karaeb, born 2006 His dam Obeyah Karaeb 1042, bay mare, born 1997 by Jellaby Nejib 404 out of Obeyah Danaanir 808
Musannah Bint Al Bahrain 1192, grey mare born 2003, by Obeyaan al Muheeb 957 out of Musannah Galaayid 855
Kuheilah Umm Zorayr Mafkhara 1387, grey mare born 2005 by Hamdany Wadhah 901 out of Kuheilah Umm Zorayr Corrat Al-Ein 798, at the Royal Stables , 12. February 2017
I came back from Bahrain with my head swirling with images of desert-bred Arabians, which still look like the way Arabians ought to look like (read: not like China dolls or sea horses or “living art”). One of the strains that survive over there — and nowhere else — is that of Kuhaylah Umm Zorayr, with a precious few mares left at the Royal Stud (below, a yearling from that strain in 1998, second photo credit Kina Murray). In her “pearls of great price” article series, Judi Forbis mentions the strain in passing among the many strains Bahrain had preserved by the early 1970s, but without elaborating further. There is a bit more information on the website of the Royal Stud, which relates the wonderful story of an old black mare of that strain that was first believed to be way past breeding age, but when put back in training in 1969, produced a daughter that carried the line forward. I thought this was all there was. Then, while flipping through the Abbas Pasha Manuscript — that bottomless treasure — I came across “the History of Kuhayla om Sareer”, and Her Name is Dahma”, on pages 580 and 581, and it occurred…
This camel statuette is in the British Museum, and came from the Hadramaut area around 1907. It has a short dedication in Sabean to the god Wadd-Ab, “Wadd is the father”. From the 2nd or 1st century BC.
I finally saw the Arabian horses of Bahrain, those “Pearls of Great Price”, after a 30 year wait. Thanks to Jenny Lees who arranged the private visit to the Stud of the late Sheikh Mohammad Bin Salman Aal Khalifah, we, my father and I, had the privilege of seeing these horses two days before their presentation. In an unforgivable episode of forgetfulness, I only brought my camera phone, the battery of which died after snapping photos of the third stallion. The others are in my head, just like hundred of other horses seen but not photographed. Most impressive among the horses of the late Sh. Mohammed was a grey Hamdani (no photos). An older Rabdan, a chestnut Sa’eedan, a grey Tuwaisan, a grey Shawafan, and a dark chestnut Radban, many of these sons of the older Radban. The three below were among my favorites: from top to bottom: a very showy ‘yellow Ubayyan; a very balanced and powerful Jellabi; and a more refined, drier speckled Mlolshaan.
Bill Biel just sent me these two older photos of his Bahraini stallion Mlolshaan Hager Solomon, which I thought I’d share with you.
I am happy to report that Chris and Kara Yost of Bar Lazy Y Ranch are the new owners of my DA Ginger Moon’s young black colt by Serr Serabaar. The colt, who will be named “Twin Turbo” will be entered in endurance racing, and you will hopefully see him competing in the Tevis Cup in the coming years. Chris is a three times Tevis Cup finisher with three different horses, including on the colt’s full sister, DA Ebony Moon. By the way, his dam DA Ginger Moon is in foal to Mlolshaan Hager Solomon for a mid 2015 colt.
Kina Murray kindly shared with me this rare photo of the 1946 Bahraini bay mare *Thorayyah, which was recently posted by a research group on Facebook; she was bred by Sheikh Khalifah Bin Mohamed Al Khalifah, Bahrain, then imported by to the USA John Rogers of California. She was apparently by a Hathfan out a Tuwayssah. Unfortunately, she left no asil descendants.
This magnificent stallion is a gift from the King of Bahrain to the Queen of English. Photo from the Arabian Horse World Magazine.
I really enjoy the images Lee Oellerich sends me from British Columbia, Canada from time to time, and I have the highest regard for his taste in breeding, what he selects for, and what he achieves with his herd of Saudi and Bahraini-origin Arabian horses. This is an absolute favorite, the 2002 Dahman Shahwan stallion Haziz (Bahri x Haulaifah by Naizahq). Lee, if you read this, I hope all is well with you. I miss our talks.
In an earlier thread, Ahmad al-Tamimi share pictures of his wonderful, and very well built, asil Bahraini Kuhaylan Aafess stallion in Hail, Saudi Arabia. An antique horse for sure, of which he can be proud.
This is my favorite Bahraini horse outside Bahrain. He is standing at stand at Jenny Lees’ but unfortunately not available to public stud. More photos on Jenny’s website. I love the bone structure on the face.
Nuhra was a 1936 bay mare presented by the ruler of Bahrain to the British Earl of Athlone during his and wife’s visit to Bahrain in 1939. She was by a Kuhaylan Jellabi stallion out of a Wadhnah Khursaniyah mare. In light of the habit of Arab Sheykh’s of maintaining only a handful of stallions for breeding, especially at that time of pre-oil discovery when resources were scarce, I wonder whether that Kuhaylan Jellabi stallion is the same as “Old Speckled Jellabi I” presented in old age to Crown Prince Saud in 1937″, as per the table of Bahraini stallions here. Dates certainly match. Unless they maintained two Jellabi stallions at the same time, which is probable.
Images from arabianmagazineonline.com, by way of URL photo link
If case you had been wondering what this spat of blog entries on Bahraini horses was all about, here is the answer: my most recent acquisition DA Ginger Moon (DB Destiny Moniet x Kumence RSI by Monietor RSI) was just checked in foal to the 28 year old Bahraini stallion Mlolshaan Hager Solomon, at Bill Biel’s in Michigan. This is such an exciting development I can’t wait for the foal already (and it’s a damn 11 months to go!) All this time I had been trying to learn more about these Bahraini horses, and wanting to share some of what I have been finding.
Thank Heaven is now in the ownership of Jeannie Lieb, who took this photo of the beautiful Mlolshaan Solomon daughter as was settling in her new home. She has her sire’s withers, shoulder, and clean legs. Compare with his own photo, in extreme old age, below.
The stud of Sheykh Muhammad B. Salman Aal Khalifah in Bahrain includes representatives of an Arabian horse strain by the name of “Saidan”, of which one representative is the stallion pictured below, Saidan Gharib (photo from the 1998 WAHO Convention in Bahrain). While the strain sounds very similar to the strain of Saadan (as in Saadan Tuqan, the strain of, among others, the mare Francolin imported by the Blunts) they are not the same, and are not written in the same way in Arabic. It seems that the Bahraini “Saidan” strain gots its name from the ruling family of Oman, the Aal Said. Here is a quote from the Bahraini studbook volume 1: “The Kuheilah Sai’da strain is a family of horse peculiar to Bahrain. The oft told story of how the name came about is still repeated in gatherings when men discuss horses of old and their merits. In the early 19th century the Al-Khalifas had to repel many invaders to ascertain their supremacy in Bahrain. In the year 1816, in one of the attempts to overtake the islands by the forces of the Sultan of Muscat, Said bin Sultan, a big battle was fought on the shores of Bahrain. When…
Jenny Lees sent me these four beautiful photos of the two new Bahraini stallions standing at her stud, with her grand-daughter. She meant them as an example of the wonderful disposition and temperament of Arabian stallions in general and Bahraini horses in particular. She wrote: I was invited to take the two Bahraini stallions presented to HM the Queen to the AHS National Show at Malvern this summer. After they had done the display we all settled down in a corner of the showground for a picnic. This is my five year old granddaughter Elsie with the stallions Tuwaisaan That’atha’ta the grey and Mlolshaan Mahrous. Both stallions are in their early teens and both have covered mares. Elsie has a special relationship with the grey Tuwaisaan. To learn more about the pedigrees of both stallions, visit this link.
Mlolshaan (Bahrain Studbook spelling) is an Arabian horse strain now only found in Bahrain, but which was also present in Najd in the past, as evidenced by its mention in the Abbas Pasha Manuscript page 251, under Kuhaylan al-Mulawlish. I was always curious about the origin of the word Mulawlish, which is uncommon in Arabic today. It is obviously a Bedouin Arabic word, which means it can be traced to Classical Arabic, the language of the Qur’an and of pre-Islamic Bedouin Arabia. The Bahrain Royal Stud website offers this interpretation of the meaning of the strain: “The name Mlolesh is believed to derivate from the word “Mlolash” the trilling high-pitched sound the Arab women make at weddings and other happy or exciting occasions. The original Mlolesh mare must have had a beautiful neigh!”. So a Mlolesh is a trill, so to speak, and its usage, originally associated with women, was extended to mares. It is a common pattern with horse strain names, as is the case with the Kuhaylah. Still, I thought I’d look up the word in another way, through a dictionary. The first step to find the origin of an any Arabic word is to take it back…
The visit of Judi Forbis to Bahrain adds another piece of extra information not otherwise mentioned in Bahraini studbooks, with regards to the mare Dahmah Al Tawilah, the dam of Dahman II (Dahman Al Thaani): “…then came an interesting contrast between two elderly Dahmah matrons, both chestnuts, both very distinctive but of a very different type and sire line. One was half sister to the old Dahman stallion [Dahman I or Al Awwal], but sired by a Krush, and far more refined than he.” The caption of a photograph of a chestnut mare in the same article reinforces this identification: “Dahma, a chestnut mare at Sakhir. Dam of Dahman II and IV, who are breeding stallions used by Sheikh Isa, she is also a sister to old Dahman I. Pictured in her 20s. Forbis photo.” From this we learn that the sire of Dahmah Al Tawilah is a Krush (in the Bahrain studbook this horse appears as OA Original Arab with no strain mention). This Krush may be “Krushan Bay” (aka Krush Al Asday, meaning the Bay Krush) who is the sire of the Jallabiyah dam of Jellabi II (Jellabi Sakhir), a mare contemporary to Dahmah Al Tawilah.
Another interesting snapshot is the information Judi Forbis reports about Hamdany Riadh, a stallion at Sheykh Mohammad B. Salman (brother of the then ruling emir and uncle of the present King), during her 1970 visit to Bahrain: “Despite deep chuck holes and the rocky desert, the car succeeded in reaching Ganabia safely where Sheikh Mohamed’s farm was located a few kilometers away. An old grey Hamdaniyah mare from the Saud’s stud and a desert-bred [implied — not from Bahrain and not the Saud’s studs] grey Obeyah mare were the most attractive of some fifteen broodmares. Sheikh Mohamed had also kept a good Hamdani stallion which he received from the Saud’s as a gift, but unfortunately the horse had died recently.” A few years ago, a discussion on this blog had come to the conclusion that Hamdany Riad was in all probability the Saudi stallion Faris (Al Harqan x Al Hadbaa), #84 in the Saudi Studbook, which gifted to Bahrain in 1964 along with a number of Hamdani mares.
The set of articles on the Arabian horses of Bahrain which Judi Forbis published in the Arabian Horse World in 1971, and reprinted in her Authentic Arabian Bloodstock contains so much information that it has become one of those snapshots that help chronicle the history of Arabian horses, often complementing existing pedigree and studbook information. One example where her material add extra information not otherwise available is her description of the stallion Dahman I (1938-1970) whom she saw in extreme old age: “Of particular interest at this stud [Jezra] was old DAHMAN, well over thirty years of age. He had been used extensively and while having size and great forehand depth, he was light behind, short and somewhat rounded in croup and possessed a strangely pointed triangular head which was very large, convex, bony and coarse, though dry. It is said he is responsible for many of the plain heads on Bahrain today. Sired by a Mlolshan, he was out of a chestnut Dahmah [Dahmah Al Shaqra] who was one of the old Khalifa mares left on Qatar and eventually sent back to Bahrain as a gift from Abdul Jasim [in reality Abdallah bin Jasim] al Thani, the ruler of Qatar.” The…
This news from the Bahrain News Agency from August 2014 was just displayed on Philippe Paraskevas’ “Egyptian Alternative” Facebook page. I find it fascinating that more than 80 years after the importation of the first Kuhaylan Afas to Poland by Bogdan Zientarski, a stallion from same bloodline joins the Polish State Studs. Below a photo of this gorgeous stallion.
“At Cairo we heard from sportsmen, that from time to time one or two horses ‘asil’ from the stud of the Sheikh of Bahrain came up on the race track; they always ran with great success. This stud, existing since 1785, is pure-in-the strain bred. The same was confirmed to us by the Bedouins of Damascus.”
Solomon picture taken in 2010 by Jenny Krieg. I love how much we know about his sire line, which dives deep into Arabian and Bahraini history. He is 28 years old this year. He is Mlolshaan (M118 in the Bahrain Studbook), born in 1986, bred by Sheykh Mohammed Bin Salman, brother of ruling Sheykh Isa Bin Salman (ruled 1961-1999), and uncle of current King Hamad (ruling 1999-present), out of Mlolesh Asila M105. His sire is Rabdan Al Wasmy (M19), born in 1979 (out of a Rabda M16 — M indicating a mare/horse at the stud of Sh. Mohammed), photo below His sire is Managhy Al Ahmar, born in 1971, died in 1989 (M20) His sire is Dahman II of Jesra (one of the Amiri Studs), born 1962, died accidentally in 1977 photo below from Royal Bahraini Stud website His sire is Jellabi Al Wasmiya (another Stud), born 1943, died 1973, favorite stallion of ruling Sheykh Isa Bin Salman, a.k.a Old Jellabi I, photo below His sire is Dahman I, born 1938, died in 1970, photo below His sire is Mlolshaan Al Marshoosh (speckled), born 1930, died 1968, perhaps the longest living known Arabian horse His sire is sire is Jellabi…
To continue with the series of this year’s foals, here are a couple from Regine and Warren Staas in Germany, from desert Saudi-Bahraini lines, tracking to *Savannah in tail female. This black filly is alredy on allbreedpedigree.com (here) by AAS Japik (AAS Sail out of AAS Al Kamila) out of AAS Ghazala, and both dam and daughter look splendid! The chestnut colt below is also a Dahman, by AAS Japik out of AAS Muharraq (AAS Theeb x AAS Ghazala), and is also a promising one. These are all close lines to the desert, and as Lady Anne Blunt wrote in her Journals about a mare of same strain and same origin (Bint El Bahreyn) “the Dahmeh Shawanieh from Ibn Khalifeh, she is a fine mare and authentic” (Dec. 22 1907) and “authentic blood from eastern Arabia is rare” (Dec. 30 1907). It still is.
Select pictures of new asil foals from around the world. This one is special, because she traces to the only desert-bred stallion in America, the old Mlolshaan Hager Solomon; he is a son of DB Khrush, so close up Davenport and Saudi imports there, and out of a daughter of Mlolshaan. Her breeder and owner is Cathy Fye, and judging from both the pedigree and the conformation, she will be an endurance athlete.
From Jenny Lees: “Here is Mlolshaan Mahrous . He is around 15 hands 1” a very pretty stallion with a slightly cheekier sense of humour. He will cover Hamdanieh Munya this summer.”
Jenny Lees kindly sent me these photos of the Bahraini stallion Tuwaisaan Tha’atha’a, which was presented by the King of Bahrain to the Queen of England. He will stand at her place along with the other stallion, a Mlolshaan.
I am now told that the two horses offered by the King of Bahrain to the Queen of England are stallions, not mares, and that the Bahrainis brought over 7 or 8 stallions which were displayed at the Royal Windsor Horse Show, partly as Bahrain was sponsoring the big FEI Endurance ride at the same venue. Each of the 7-8 stallions appear to be from a different strain. You can see amateur photos here, here and here. The one below is my favorite (URL copied and redirects to website, with credits to “AnnaMaisy25” who took the picture). He appears to be one of the two offered to the Queen.
Read the story here. Hopefully these would end with Jenny Lees of Pearl Island Stud, and be bred to the Bahraini stallions already there (thanks Jeanne Craver for the link).
I am extremely impressed with the structure and conformation of Jenny Krieg’s filly, Ubayyat al-Bahrain, one of two daughters of the twenty seven year old desert-bred Bahraini stallion Mlolshaan Hager Solomon, out of the Ubayyah mare DB Kalilah. I don’r think she is even two years old. To be honest, I have never seen such depth of girth, shortness of back, strength of musculature, and length of ear (all marks of an asil ware mare) in any Arabian horse in the USA before. She reminds of war mares I have seen in Syria including Mari a Shuwaymah Sabbah at Radwan Shabareq and Nawwarah a Saqlawiyah Jadraniyah at Abdel Mohsen al-Nassif. That’s how war mares in the desert were like. Really. Seeing this photo encouraged me to breed to this Bahraini stallion and I will do it as early as this spring, even if I would have preferred not to have to fork out 1,000 USD in breeding fees. The image below is copy of Loan Oak Photography.
Regina and Warren from Germany wrote the other day to give me an update about their asil Arabians which are from desert bred Saudi and Bahraini lines (no Egyptian blood) by way of the US, and from the rare and precious Dahman Shahwan strain. Here is the 2009 Dahmah mare AAS Muharraq (AAS Theeb x AAS Ghazala by Ibn Taam-Rud), whose tail female is to *Savannah, a mare bred by Shaykh Salman Ibn Hamad al-Khalifah of Bahrain and imported from Bahrain to the United States of America in 1954 by K.M. Kelly. Note the striking resemblance with the mare Bahraini Bint El Bahrein of Lady Anne Blunt in Sheykh Obeyd, of same strain, marbat and same provenance (the Royal Stud of Bahrain, we need to run an mtDNA test). Striking, no, even though AAS Muharraq has not one ounce of Bint El Bahrein blood! This one is Ralihadiyyah, Muharraq’s brother. Note the shoulder. This one is his brother Gudaibiyah, Muharraq’s other brother.
Philippe Paraskevas has posted dozens of photos of the asil Arabians of the Royal Stud of Bahrain on his Facebook page, the Egyptian Alternative, under three albums: stallions, mares, fillies and colts. If you don’t have a Facebook account, I would get one just for that.
Cathie Fye recently shared with me this picture of her 2003 Dahmah Shahwaniyah mare Thank Heaven (*Mlolshaan Hager Solomon x Llanys Winddancer x Ru Serr Llany), one of two daughters of the Bahraini stallion Mlolshaan in the USA. She is doing well in endurance, as she should. Look at the gaskin, and the clean hocks. Where do you see this anymore? I had already decided to breed one of my mares to this stallion before he is done, but seeing this photo confirms my decision. He will be 25 next year.
Someone from the EAO contacted me and asked me (nicely) to remove these two posts. I have a good relation with EAO management that’s based on mutual trust, so I have agreed. We will be taking that discussion off-line and starting a constructive dialogue on the future role the EAO sees for these Bahraini stallions. I will keep readers posted on how this dialogue evolves. Comments will stay because they are the readers’.
Someone from the EAO contacted me and asked me (nicely) to remove these two posts. I have a good relation with EAO management that’s based on mutual trust, so I have agreed. We will be taking that discussion off-line and starting a constructive dialogue on the future role the EAO sees for these Bahraini stallions. I will keep readers posted on how this dialogue evolves. Comments will stay because they are the readers’.
A recent photo of the 2006 Dahman Shahwan stallion DB Ibn Najem Huda at the stud of Rodger Vance Davis in Illinois. The rider in the photo is the Davis’ head trainer, Sarah Sanders who has been preparing him to be another one of her demo horses in her Ride with Excellence clinics. Photo by Lone Oak Photography.
Last year, Jenny Krieg and Rodger Vance Davis teamed up to take two of Rodger’s mares to be bred to the old Bahraini stallion *Mlolshaan Hager Solomon, in Michigan. This stallion, who came from Bahrain as a gift to his present owner Bill Biel, is currently the only stallion in the USA who was born in Arabia Deserta. Until then he had produced one asil mare, and Jenny decided to do something about the 24 year old stallion got any older. Rodger’s Dahmat Shahwan mare foaled a big handsome colt with the foot turned the wrong way who had to be destroyed. But his Ubayyah mare, who is tail female to *Mahraa of Ibn Jalawi of Saudi Arabia, foaled a very special filly for Jenny last month, named Ubayyat al-Bahrain, below. I wished we had more fillies displaying as much character and true Arab features as this one. Jenny even tells me there are plans to bring two other Saudi mares from Rodger’s to Solomon this year. Fingers crossed for that, and for more Solomon foals. Photo by Jamie Lamborn.
Another asil horse bred and owned Lee Oellerich in Canada was the 1977 asil stallion Naizahq (Mirath x Dahma al-Shaqra by Ruta-Am), also a Dahman Shahwan of the Bahraini line that traces back to *Sawannah. Lee tells me: “He is a winnner of numerous match races, against all comers, including English Thoroughbreds (TB). He ran 4 F. (1/2 M.) in 47.2 and beat a TB in a morning work, carrying close to 20 pounds more than the TB. He sprinted a F. (1/8 M.) in 11 seconds. He could also run a distance and beat TB’s over 1-1/2 and 2 mile match races. Many Arabians ate his dust, mostly in 1/2M. and 1M. Races. Typically they would, get a 5 to 10 length moving start, and he would break from a starting gate. He also won over his sire Mirath, by a head, in a 5 F. Race. His daughter Hulaifah produced the mare Saudah and the two stallions Hulaif and Haziz. All sired by Bahri. Although they never raced, they show a “good turn of foot”, reminiscent of their grandsire Naizahq.”