Daughters of the Wind

Qubbah Gardens was the upscale Cairo neighborhood surrounding the Khedivial Palace of Qubbah/Qubbeh. This list (in French) of the neighborhood’s residents in 1936 and their profession (if “Crown Prince”, “member of the royal family” or “Rentier” are professions) reads like a Who’s Who of Egypt’s rich and famous of that time. Note the diversity of … Read more

In memory of the late Mostafa Al-Jabri, this blog will feature a photo of one of his horses every day for fourty days.

An immense veil of sadness looms over my old father today, who lost one of his best friends. Long time family friend and premier Syrian Arabian horse breeder Mustafa al-Jabri passed away three days ago in Gazi Antep, Turkey. My thoughts are with his family now in exile.

So the other day I attended the event where the Arabian Horse Website of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina was launched, thanks to the efforts of Amr Shalabi. It is a nice  portal that ambitions to gather the existing archives and documentation pertaining to Arabian horse breeding in Egypt. The event included a number of presentations, including … Read more

The Al Khamsa website has a very nice and comprehensive feature on the stallion *Azra, a Saqlawi Ubayri imported by Davenport from the desert in 1906, and his remaining descendants. Check it out here. By the way, it was not until a few days ago that I realized that the stallion’s name actually meant “grey”, … Read more

Yesterday night, my two Krush mares Bint al-Barra and Cinnabar Myst arrived at their new retirement home, at Kathy Werking’s in Kentucky (who was the last home for another mare of rare lines, Princess Asjah, who died recently). I owe a huge dept of gratitude to Jeannie Lieb, who found them this new home; Kim … Read more

With the holiday season upon us I just wanted to take a moment to reflect on the gift of the Arabian horse in our lives. It is a great teacher whose lessons go well beyond borders and cultures and if we are good stewards of this noble creature, we are better because of it. With … Read more

Jamr (Vice Regent x Jadiba) is growing up nicely, and really looks like his pedigree, a mix of the old Blunt/Doyle look — you can’t beat the classiness of that — and the Davenport/Schilla look. He has his dam’s very deep jaws, and his sire’s pointy ears. His dam’s ears were understated. His eye is … Read more

I am offering the two Kuhaylat al-Krush full sisters Bint al-Barra, 22, and Cinnabar Myst, 21, by ASF David out of Mystalla for a good retirement home, or to someone who may wish to continue the preservation work I started with them. I am doing so because I need to make room for new arrivals … Read more

An Egyptian horse breeder tells me that the ruins of Abbas Pasha’s stables can be seen on the road from Cairo to Suez. That’s another place worth seeing.. before it is razed.  

The other morning on my way to work, I stopped at the main gate of the Manial Palace and took a walk in the garden. The palace itself, now a museum, has been closed for seven years, and is scheduled to reopen to the public in a couple months (says the guard at the entrance). … Read more

This post builds on the previous one below, about the Tunisian racing stallion Okba (1983-2006). Here is an initial list (in no order) of the desert-bred foundation horses in his pedigree, which I will keep updating as I move on: 1. Dynamite II, ca. 1920 (Hamdani x Tayyara), to Sidi Thabet 2. Tamerlan, a Dahman, … Read more

    The photo and info are from the Khamsat magazine, Volume 6, Number 3, July 1989  

This morning I stumbled upon an erudite and thoroughly researched paper by Dr. Shihab al-Sarraf of the International Center of Furusiyyah [Horsemanship] Studies on “Mamluk Furusiyyah Literature and Its Antecedents”, published at the University of Chicago’s Mamluk Studies Review, VIII-1-2004. It is the most comprehensive review to date of the Islamic literature on horses and … Read more

Here is a photo of his son Brassicaire out of the wonderful Jilfat al-Dhawi mare Bossa Nova (Iricho x Bassala by Masbout)  

Photo from Olivia Greene. We are trying hard to find Bint Jadiba (Ibn Tirf x Jadiba), the foal in the picture. She was alive as of two years ago.

 Il est décevant de constater qu’effectivement la politique d’élevage à Tiaret obliqua très vite aux abords de l’année 1970 ! Il est à noter que deux mâles de trois ans furent exportés à Cuba en 1964 !? Il s’agit de : GUEM par Beyrouth et Alouta par Loubieh et Mesqa par Masbout (OR). GUEDACH par Masbout (OR) et … Read more

Anyone knows the exact location of the Sheykh Obeyd stud in today’s Cairo? It is supposed to be half way between the neighborhoods of Matarieh and Ain Shams, but I need a street address.

Last week, my beloved 28 year old Ma’naqi Sbayli mare, Dakhala Sahra, was put down. She had a stroke, which had left her moving in circles from point A to point B, instead of straight lines. I saw footage of this, which I will not share here out of deference for her. I had never … Read more

I have previously written twice and in some detail about the desert-bred stallion El Sbaa imported to France in the 1920s (here and here). It turns out that the strain of the horse is Kuhaylan J’aitni (that’s from his file at Pompadour) and that he was purchased by French Inspector Rieu de Madron from Ahmad … Read more

The interior of this historical landmark of Cairo was burned down by vandals on February 1, 2013. With it will disappear one of Cairo’s most storied and opulent residences, as well as a small part of the story of the Egyptian Arabian horse. See article here.      

From the British Journal of the Arab Horse Society, 1935-1938, p. 168, under “Royal Gifts of Arabian Horses”: In December 1937, 4 Arabian horses and 4 camels were unloaded from the liner Mantola at the Royal Albert Docks, London. They were presented by His Majesty King Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia to His Majesty the … Read more

Louis is the President of the French Union Pour la Sauvegarde du Cheval Arabe Oriental (USCAR), and guest writer on this blog. Here he conveys in powerful, precise yet evocative language his ideal Arabian horse, in the form of a short prayer. I have asked Louis’s permission to translate it.

I just arrived in Cairo Egypt with the family for a three year stint. Still busy settling. Sorry for the prolonged absence on the blog, and for not returning phone calls and emails from friends and others. I will start catching up this week.

Darlene Summers and I purchased a complete set of the Khamsat magazine. Darlene will scan them for the Al Khamsa archives project, and I will get the hard copies. I have been wanting a complete set for ten years. Isn’t this cool?

I find this photo of Walter Schimanski and his beloved stallion Fabo very touching, and emblematic of the friendship between man and horse. The horse clearly looks proud to walk next to his owner.

Does anyone know how the mare *Werdi made her way to Davenport in 1906? There is no mention of her in his “Quest”, and her original documentation (hujjah) points towards the central Syrian city of Hama as a place of origin. Hama is not a place Davenport or his friends visited, he only visited Aleppo … Read more

Mayyassah Al Arab is by Clarion CF out of Cinnabar Myst and is the youngest foal of the Al-Dahdah preservation program of old American asil lines. She has lines to Hanad from his son Mainad and his daughter Dhanad. All the photos are by Kim Davis. I am genuinely interested in your candid and critical feedback … Read more

Fayrouz Beni Sakr (Mahboob Halab x Safiyah Beni Sakr by Hortal El Din) is a young and promising son of the Syrian stallion Mahboob Halab, now in France. Bred and owned by Fabienne Vesco.    

Another filly — now a mare — I have been following on this blog for some time is Jenny Krieg’s Labwah Al Shaykhah (DB Khrush x HS Marayah) now 4 years old.. Many more pictures here. I have to keep reminding myself to learn more about which family of Ubayyan she belongs to.