A blog on desert arabian horses, past, present and future
Shafi Ibn Sha’ban, the leader of the sub-tribe of Bani Hajar of Qahtan in the mid-XIXth century, is the one who led his tribe from the valleys of Najd to the shores of Eastern Arabia (al-Ihsa) in 1248 H, which is equivalent to 1832. The Bani Hajar, separated from the bulk of their Qahtan brethen, eventually broke … Read more
Pauline Lagmay of Jedda, in Saudi Arabia, sent me these photos of the asil Arabian stallion, Lazam Najd, a Suwayti, who is in her care. This beautiful stallion, by Haleem out of Ghazalet Najd, was featured in a video on this blog a few years ago. That’s a strain originally from the Sharif of Mecca, … Read more
Lady Anne’s Journals and Correspondence, edited by Rosemary Archer and James Fleming, and published by Alexander Heriot & Co. Ltd Booksellers and Publishers in 1986, is, together with the Abbas Pasha Manuscript (Forbis and Sherif), the most important publication on the Arabian horse in recent memory. I have read it time and again, and I … Read more
There appears to have been a senior stallion at the Sa’ud Royal Studs in the 1940s of the strain of Obeyan el Seifi (correct spelling Suyayfi, a strain well referenced in the Abbas Pasha Manuscript); he is the sire of several mares and one stallion sent as gifts to King Faruk of Egypt. One of … Read more
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 … Read more
Lady Anne Blunt’s Journals entry for December 31, 1907 (page 327) contains this interesting mention (in relation to the Ali Pasha Sharif stallion Harkan): “I must go through the Ali Pasha Sherif Memoranda that I have with Mutlak, hhe will be able to clear up several points.” An excerpt of a much earlier Journal entry, made … Read more
Yesterday, I spent some time reading the story of al-Kuhaylah al-Harqah in the Abbas Pascha Manuscript (not the English version of Forbis and Sherif, but rather the large excerpts in Hamad al-Jassir’s Usul al-Khayl al-Arabiyyah al-Hadithah). The story of al-Harqah is remarkable for its simplicity (it’s not hard to follow), its conciseness (relative to other … Read more
Now that I have read the Abbas Pasha Manuscript — the equivalent of the Bible for Arabian horses — from cover to cover a fair number of times, I have learned that all Kuhaylan ‘Ajuz horses originate from two wellsprings: the Sharif of Mecca in the Hijaz, and the major tribe of Qahtan, and more specifically the Qahtan … Read more
This magnificent stallion is a gift from the King of Bahrain to the Queen of English. Photo from the Arabian Horse World Magazine.
In my opinion, this is one of the best up and coming Davenport stallions. He is almost perfect, and very reminiscent of 1960s Davenport stallions. He is by Dubloon CF out of Genuine Tes LD by Tesio CF.
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 … Read more
A Kuhaylan Al Krush of Davenport breeding. In real life, did he look as good and as deserty as in this picture and others? Who is his best offspring today? What powerful shoulder he had and what short back! where do you find this today? Bred by Charles Craver.
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 … Read more
Images from arabianmagazineonline.com, by way of URL photo link
These were Barghi Ibn Dirri’s own words, in my translation of the certificate of his mare Meshura, a Saqlawiyah Jadraniyah of Ibn Dirri, who was bought by Lady Anne Blunt, and who was Pharaoh’s sister, Azrek’s maternal aunt, and a close relative of Basilisk’s: “I declare that I took part in a raid with a group of … Read more
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 … Read more
A relatively recent revised edition of Abdallah al-Bassam’s (Lady Anne Blunt’s acquaintance from ‘Unayzah in Qassim) book “Tuhfat al-mushtaq fi akhbar Najd wa al-Hijaz wa al-‘Iraq” (edited by Ibrahim al-Khalidi, pub. Kuwait, 2000) has this photo that claims to represent the Emir of Hail Mohammad Ibn Abdallah Ibn Rashid of Hail (Lady Anne Blunt’s host … Read more
In the same vein as the new information pertaining to the hujjah of the mare *Jedah, I thought I’d try my luck and look up the Bedouin owner of the Davenport import *Azra in the same table of Fad’aan clans. And it worked. *Azra is a Saqlawi Ubayri from the marbat of Muharib al-Kharraz of … Read more
Early this afternoon during lunch break I was looking at some lists of Fad’aan Bedouin clans on a ‘Anazah tribal website, and while searching for something else, I stumbled on this remarkable piece of information in relation to the hujjah (original document) of the Davenport mare *Jedah imported by Homer Davenport to the USA in … Read more
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.
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
The magnificent HH Tantalus Krush, a 2009 Arabian stallion of the Kuhaylan Krush strain, Davenport lines, out of Quantum LD x Kashmir Krush LD. Thanks to owner Kim Davis for sharing this beautiful video of a superior stallion, true heir to his sire.
Taken at Sue Moss in Pennsylvania, shortly after she arrived there. This mare is top crossed with 6 generation of Straight Egyptian sires on a Crabbet tail female of Milanne/Ferida. I believe she is in foal to Monologue CF.
From 2007, but it now seems like it was ages ago, from the good old days of tracking old Bedouins in Syria with Hazaim Al Wair and asking them about their horses and all sorts of other things. I re-read it now, fascinated by the wealth of information — like a Abbas Pasha Manuscript entry, … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
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 … Read more
Jean-Claude Rajot tells me that Robert Mauvy’s favorite desert bred Arabian horse imports to France were Dahman (a Dahman x a Rabda) from the Shammar, and Diab (a Hamdani Simri x a Kuhaylah Nawwaqiyah). Diab was the sire of the mare Bad dam of Bad Afas in Poland. I am looking for a photo of … Read more
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 … Read more
I just tried and it works for me. Not sure if you must be signed in or not.
“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 … Read more
A fascinating and nostalgic interview in Arabic of Princess Badiaa, daughter of King Ali of Hejaz (1924-1925), sister of regent of Iraq Abd al-Ilah, sister of Queen Aalia the wife of King Ghazi of Iraq, with beautiful memories of then-enchanting Bagdad. Please, never forget that Bagdad was at that time (together with old Aleppo now … Read more
Of course, the ultimate objective of tallying and identifying the horses of Ali Pasha Sherif breeding not owned by the Blunts would be to be able to put a reasonably solid pedigree on horses like Saklawi I, Sabha El Zarka, Roga El Beda, Farida El Debbanie, Muniet El Nefous (the old one), Nader El Kebir, … Read more
There are not many of these. Lady Anne reviews four of them in a letter to Wilfrid Blunt, dated December 13, 1914: “Up to last year Yusuf Bey was the only one of the sons owning a stallion from that Stud [APS’s] — a beautiful white horse about 15 years old. But its name was … Read more
As I continue perusing Lady Anne’s Journals and Correspondence and what was published of her Sheykh Obeyd Studbook looking for information on those horses of Ali Pasha Sharif breeding she did not own, I came across this conclusion, which others might have already reached before. Excerpts from the Sheykh Obeyd Studbook published in Pearson and Mol … Read more
I recently acquired DA Ginger Moon (DB Destiny Moniet x Kumence RSI), a 1998 Saqlawiyah Jadraniyah, from Sheila Harmon of Destiny Arabians, Idaho. She is tail female to the Blunts’ desert-bred mare Basilisk through Rabanna, and has lots of Blunt/Ali Pasha Sharif blood throughout the pedigree. Photos below, taken by Sheila in 2009. I have long been … Read more
Kina Murray just wrote to me that a gelding son of the asil Tunisian Arabian stallion Okba, out of a Polish/French/Russian mare, won the 100 mile Tevis Cup endurance ride. Kina tells me that “the winner, ridden by experienced endurance competitor Heather Reynolds, is called French Open (Okba x Selma Croixnoire, by Ala Croixnoire) – he … Read more
A wonderful blog about Egypt’s Grand Hotels and golden era. On the Shepheard, quoting from this blog: “Long before London’s Savoy or the Paris Ritz, Shepheard’s of Cairo was the epitome of glamour. It was a hotel from which explorers set off for Africa, where kings entertained mistresses, where movie stars rubbed shoulders with of?cers … Read more
From Wikipedia: “Shepheard’s Hotel was the leading hotel in Cairo and one of the most celebrated hotels in the world from the middle of the 19th century until it was burned down in 1952. A modern hotel called the Shepheard Hotel was built nearby in 1957” and “in the First World War, the hotel served as British Headquarters in the Near … Read more
Another character who makes occasional appearances in Lady Anne Blunt’s Journals is Thabit Pasha, who acted as Wakil (Trustee) for Ali Pasha Sherif’s estate in the later years of his life, and who was a central character in the process of Lady Anne’s acquisition of the remnant of the Stud of Ali Pasha Sharif in … Read more
Both Ahmad and Fathi Bey Yeken (Yakan, Yeghen) make fleeting appearances in Lady Anne’s Journals and Correspondence (where their name is sometimes mis-transcribed as Bekin) whether as visitors of the Sheykh Obeyd Stud or occasional buyers of surplus stock. Either Ahmed or Fathi Bey is mentioned as the buyer of the colt of Fasiha (Ibn Sherara x … Read more
These Journals are a gold mine. There is not a single horse related entry which does not yield new information about the horses of yesterday and today. Look at this set of entries: July 17, 1911: “In the evening Teddy arrived with the (reported wonderful) bay stallion which Mr. Learmouth took to Australia and brought … Read more
The Kuhaylat al-Krush Nuri Al Krush (Janub Al Krush x Mystalla by SL Jacob) has just foaled a most wonderful colt by Quantum LD (Mandarin x Leafs Ivey by Wotan) for Kim Davis. The dam is a concentrate of rare lines from old American breeding with lines to Mainad (Hanad x Charmain by Abu-Selim), Royal … Read more
The 27 year old Kuhaylah Hayfiyah Jauhar El Khala (Sporting Life x HB Tiffany by Thane) seems to get more and more and more beautiful with age. Photo by owner Christine Emmert. Click on the photo to enlarge it.
Are those of you who are trying to post comments on DOW able to do so? I still have some problems with the blog.
I am in Yemen for the week. I am done with work for today, and the only book I brought with me is Lady Anne Blunt’s invaluable Journals and Correspondence (Archer and Fleming, 1986). Lately I have been combing the Journal entries for references to non-Blunt, non-Ali Pasha Sherif early foundation stock of Egyptian Arabian … Read more
Hopefully, on Sunday the Ma’naqiyah mare I recently acquired, CSA Baroness Lady will be bred to MSF Hamdani Simri (Faydin x IMF Badia Nafila by PRI Gamil Halim) of Lesley Detweiler, a stallion of very similar pedigree. It is a preservation breeding. Both have highly unusual (within Al Khamsa) Blunt/Crabbet tail females, the mare to … Read more
I am breathing a heavy sigh of relief after hours with the hosting service’s technical support. I almost lost all the data on this blog, and this reminds me how precious the interactions with all of you has been over the past 6.5 years and how much knowledge was accumulated on this blog. Thank you.
Everyday I see dozens of photos of mares on my Facebook accounts and on the pages and groups I follow. This mare, Moonflower TA (Oracle RSI x White Iras Moon by Sir White Moon x CH Lyras Moniet by Tomoniet RSI x Lyras by Lysander x Iras, and hence a Kuhaylah Hayfiyah) struck me, pedigree … Read more
There is not a single mention in Lady Anne Blunt’s Journals and Correspondence of a Dahman of Ahmed Pasha Kamal sired by Jamil out of Farida of Ahmed Bey Sennari. There are only two such Dahmans of Ahmed Pasha mentioned again and again in these Journals, both sons of Farida of Ahmed Bey Sennari (a … Read more
He was born in 1875, so he was only 5 when the Blunt met Ali Pasha Sherif for the first time, 24 when he owned what was probably his first Arabian (Saklawi II) in 1899 (according to his herd book), and 32 when he decided to dedicate himself solely to the breeding of Arabian horses … Read more
This asil 1977 stallion, Wahhabit, is by Siglavy Bagdady VI, a Babolna stallion, out of Delicate Air (Laertes x June), a Davenport mare. I had not seen this picture before.
This is a picture of Ghazieh gleaned from the internet. Born in 1897 at APS. Bought by the Blunts in 1897 at the APS sale, died in 1917 at Sheykh Obeyd Stud. By Ibn Nura out of Bint Horra by Aziz out of Horra by Zobeyni. Dam of Feyda by Jamil (Aziz x B. Jamila), … Read more
CSA Baroness Lady, a 1999 Ma’naqiyah Sbayliyah, joined the Al-Dahdah herd yesterday from her breeder Carol Stone. Oh, how I love this strain, and could write pages and pages of non-stop praise for it. This is the tail female of Milanne, Ferseyn, Farana, Amber Satin, and other American greats, back to *Ferida of Lady Anne … Read more
This is just for reference