DB Rulique (Ruta-Am x Desert Malique by Desert Jalam) is a 1987 Hamdani Simri stallion bred by Rodger Davis entirely from original desert stock. He traces in tail female to Sindidah, a mare from the stables of the House of Saud. His owner Kelly Miller of Alberta, Canada, trained him as a level 3 dressage horse. Bedouins consider the ‘blood marking’ on the body to be a mark of ‘asalah’ (purity, authenticity). Photo from Lee Oellerich, who owned the horse for a couple years.
The cause of the asil Arabian horse in the USA just gained a major boost last week, with the coming of Hazaim Alwair to this country. Hazaim, a heart surgeon, and a native of Hims in Syria, is now settled in Greenville, NC, and is more knowledgeable and passionate bout the Syrian asil Arabian horse than anyone I know. Wait till you meet him, and you’ll understand what I mean.
Below is a photo of Hamdani Ibn Bahri (Bahri x Qaisumeh by Qaisum who is Bahri’s full brother), a 2001 asil Hamdani Simri stallion from the breeding of Lee Oellerich in British Columbia, Canada. He has six lines to the stallion *Taamri, DB and carries 50% Taamri blood and three lines to *Rudann, DB and thee lines to *Halwaaji, DB. *Taamri, Rudann, and *Halwaaji were all imported to the USA in 1960 by Sam Roach from the Saud Royal Stud of al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia. The hujjah (certificate of authenticity) of *Taamri was featured here.
In this photo, Bill Cody (Buffalo Bill) on *Muson, and Said Abdallah on *Wadduda, face off in a the Wild West show in 1907. Both *Muson and *Wadduda were imported from the Arabian desert by Homer Davenport in 1906; Said Abdallah, one of the slaves of Bedouin leader Hakim Ibn Mhayd came to the USA with *Wadduda, which he did not want to leave.
This stallion was the favorite of my wife Gabriele and I during our visit at the Najd Stud near Al-Kharj in Saudi Arabia: Nabeh, a fleebitten grey stallion 8 years by Haleem (already featured on this blog earlier), from the Ubayyan al-Sufayfi. Nabeh was the most beautiful desert-bred we saw on our trip, with small and tippy ears, a pretty face and also special action. He had less cadence and a longer stride trotting. By the way all the stallions at the Najd Stud are ridden daily. They looked like they could make perfect dressage horses. Of the 300 asil horses in that private stud, about 20 were from the Kuhaylan Krush strain, 20 of the Hamdani Simri strain, 5 of the Suwayti al-Firm strain, 4 of the Kuhaylan al-Musinn strain, 4 of the Shuhayb strain and all the rest of the Ubayyan al-Suyayfi strain.
This photo is of my stallion Dahman Al Bahrain (now deceased) a chestnut Dahman Shahwan, born in 1977, by Mirath out of Hadriya DB. Dahman was a Flat Racing, Endurance and CTR veteran and a winner of numerous Match races. His dam Hadriya lived to be 36 years old and produced to age 28. His sire Mirath (Ruta-Am x Taamhaal) was also a Racing, Endurance and Trail Ride stallion of pure Hamdani bloodlines and had a priceless disposition. He was the sire of racing and endurance horses, including Naizahq, out of Dahmah Al Shaqra, who ran 4 furlongs in 47.2 seconds, and 1 furlong in 11 second. This is the blood that has been used for centuries to upgrade and regenerate the breeding programs of Egypt, Poland and Europe in general. “Blood alone is the most important factor in selecting a stud stallion. Quality means evidence of blood. Blood implies superior energy, wind, muscular power, endurance, bones of ivory-like texture, steel-like tendons and faultless disposition.“ “Dahman” was one of the greatest horses I ever put my saddle on. I could write a book just about him. I still have two of his daughters Hadiyeh and Bahiyeh.
Below is a photo of a USA bred Arabian mare, which we saw at the stables of Prince Turki bin Fahd Bin Jiluwi Aal Saud, a scion of the Jiluwi family who were the Eastern al-Ihsaa (Hasa) province governor. The mare is a Dahmat Shahwan, AAS Sawannah, by AAS Hezzez out of DB Jasidah by Desert Jalam. Prince Turki bint Fahd Al-Jalawi told us that this mare traces to the horses of his family’s stud in al-Hufuf, and that he had bought her because this line had died out in Saudi Arabia. Prince Turki also imported two ‘Ubayyah mares from his grandfathers’ horses: Sahar Ataeq and DB Faimah, both from the *Muhaira tail female. It is nice to see that least one member of the Saud Royal family obtained horses preserved with us Westerners back their homeland, and is proud to continue the horsebreeding tradition of his family.
Another photo from our trip to the Najd Stud near al-Kharj, in Saudi Arabia is that of Shamlan, a 10 year-old stallion by Qais out of al-Shaymaa, from the ‘Ubayyan al-Suyayfi strain.
Here is another photo from our trip to Saudi Arabia, with the Asil Club delegation. This one was taken at the Najd Stud of Prince Turki Bin Fahd Bin Abdullah Al Saud near al-Kharj. This was the highlight of our trip. There are about 300 asil DB horses in that stud, as well as some Egyptians of the Dahman Shahwan line. We saw very nice stallions that could have stepped out of the historic photographs of the Blunts and others. Below is the bay stallion Alfat, 12 years, by Al Beshir out of Al-Sayeda, from the strain of ‘Ubayyan al-Suyayfi. Matthias
Matthias is back from Saudi Arabia from a horse tour organized by Europe’s Asil Club, and he and his wife brought back pictures of Arabians of the desert-bred lines, including one he sent me, below, of the stallion Khaleel Dirab, a Kuhaylan Abu ‘Urqub by by Rezaiq out of Khuzamah, bred and owned by the Dirab government stud. Rezaiq was featured here before. Not sure why the Dirab folks insist on mimicking the West by putting this stupid makeup on their desert-horses; it makes sick to see this proud asil steed, this son of the desert, this Kuhaylan (he who has beautiful eyes [naturally] with black around them, as if it was kohl), Kuhaylan by strain and by soul, so painted like a vulgar show horse. More soon on the background of the Kuhaylan Abu ‘Urqub horses of the Dirab Stud, and on that strain in general.
An exciting collaborative project that brings together Jeanne Craver, Radwan Shabareq, Joe Ferriss and your favorite Arab blogger is in the works, which will hopefully find its way on the equine section of your bookshelves as of this coming June. I foresee its impact on the scholarship on Arabian horses to be nothing short of transformational. More in the coming weeks…
Another handsome young stallion from the Jabri Stud in Aleppo, Syria, is Yazan. Photo by Gudrun Waiditschka. Don’t know his strain or his pedigree, but will inquire.
Take a look at the descendants of the 1920 stallion Ribal (Berk x Rijma by Rijm), one of the foundation sires of old American (asil) Arabian horse breeding: he has 11 progeny that bred on within Al Khamsa (asil) lines; I am re-listing them below: 1. Baribeh, out of Babirah (who is from 100% Blunt lines) 2. Ghadaf, out of Gulnare (who is from 100% Blunt lines) 3. Ghanighat, out of Guemura (who is from Blunt and other Old English lines) 4. Ghawi, out of Gulnare (100 % of Blunt lines) 5. Sahalli, out of Sherah (who is from 100% Davenport lines) 6. Curfa, out of Nardina (who is from 100% Blunt lines) 7. Pareta, out of Zenee (who is mostly from Davenport lines) 8. Borkaan, out of Babe Azab (who is from 100% Davenport lines) 9. Caravan, out of Fasal (who is from 100% Davenport lines) 10. Royal Amber, out of Babe Azab (see above) 11. Yakouta, out of Ferdika (who is from 100% Blunt lines) All of these 11 offspring of Ribal are otherwise foundation horses of early American breeding and have bred on successfully outside the asil realm. Of these 11 lines, no less than five lines…
Another younger asil stallion of the Dahman Shahwan strain owned by veteran breedere Lee Oellerich of Canada is Haziz (Bahri x Hulaifa), a full brother of Hulaif, pictured below. No wonder Bedouins used the word ‘Bahr’ (sea) to refer to their horses, ever since the time of the Prophet Muhammad: the action of this horse is reminiscent of sea waves swirling towards you.
Another stallion of Lee Oellerich in Canada in Hulaif (Bahri x Hulaifa by Naizahq) a 1997 asil Dahman Shahwan stallion of the strain tracing the *Sawannah, imported from Bahrain to the USA in 1954. The photo is from Lee and a bit fuzzy, but it shows the might of this horse.
The glorious asil Hamdani Simri stallion Bahri (Ruta-Am x Taamhal by Taamri out of Halwaaji), a four-times grandson of the desert, since all his grandparents were imported by Sam Roach from the stables of King Ibn Saud in al-Kharj, Saudi Arabia. Bahri was bred by Lee Oellerich in Canada, and is still doing great at 28 years old. His color certainly comes from his double grandsire *Taamri, whose name means ‘date-color’ from ‘tamr’, dates in Arabic.
This is Jenny Krieg’s mare HS Marayah, from the rare Shaykhan strain from Lebanon, which is actually Ubayyan Sharrak. Photo C. Emmert, 2009
This is Jalaa’, a young chestnut ‘Ubayyan Sharrak stallion at the Jabri stud farm in Aleppo. Jalaa is a ‘Ubayyan Sharrak of the marbat of Ibn Duwayhiss of the ‘Anazah. Thanks to Arnault for posting his pedigree on allbreedpedigree.com. Photo by G. Waiditschka. He is by the Shabareq-bred Ma’naghi Sbayli stallion Tadmor (Al-Aawar x Holwah) out of the Jabri-bred mare Shareefah (Ihsan x Dalahem by Mahrous out of Nawal). Al-Aawar was featured here; Holwah here; Ihsan here; Mahrous here and Nawal here, all on this blog. Here is a full shot, also by by G. Waiditschka.
Edouard’s posting of the mare Afaf reminded me strongly of En Pointe CF. She is a 1998 chestnut Kuhaylah Hayfiyah, by Triermain CF out of Pirouette CF. The first photo gives a better sense of her style; the second of her conformation (although note that she’s not standing on level ground, so don’t be fooled into thinking she’s butt-high; she’s not. Blame the photographer. *raises hand*) The background for these photos is Homer Davenport’s childhood home, Geercrest Farm, in Silverton Oregon. They were taken in 2006 during preparations for “Davenport’s Arabian Quest”, a “living history experience” retelling the story of the importation for busloads and busloads of visitors.
I am taking a break from writing about asil horses to support my Egyptian and Yemeni friends as they fight for democracy against the oppressive regimes of Hosni Mubarak and Ali Abdallah Saleh. Arab horses and heritage are important, but Arab freedom and dignity are more important. By the same occasion, you get are rare glimpse into my political views. 😉
Another photo taken by G. Waiditschka at the Jabri Stud outside Aleppo, Syria. This one shows the young mare ‘Afaf, a Hamdaniyat al-‘Ifri (from the same family as the stallion *Ta’an who was imported to the USA). These horses, also known as Hamdaniyat al-Tulan after their original Bedouin owner Munwikh al-Tawil, are Hamdani al-‘Ifri. Al-‘Ifri was a man from the ‘Anazah who bred a most famous and reputed marbat of Hamdani Simri. In the Northern Arabian desert, the two marabet of Hamdani al-‘Ifri and Hamdani Ibn Ghurab are equally valued branches of Hamdani Simri.
The photo is part of a series of professional shots which G. Waiditschka took at the stud of Jabri Stud. I don’t know the stallion, nor his strain, but I will call Mustafa to find out. The last time I was there was in 1998 and Omeir was certainly not born yet. That said, he looks to me like a son of Zayn al-Khayl, the Rabdan stallion which Mustafa got from the Tai Bedouins. Note Omeir’s general likeness to the asil Kuhaylan Haifi stallion Zachary, owned by Diane Lyons in Oregon, USA. Photo below by C. Mingst.
This is Mayzar al-‘Abd al-Muhsin al-Jarba, a leader of the Shammar in Syria and an MP in the Syrian House of Representatives in the 1940s. He was the owner (sahib or ra’i) of the marbat of the Kuhaylan Krush strain as Krush al-Baida, or Krush al-‘Abd al-Muhsin. The desert-bred stallion Mokhtar, now in France and often featured on this blog, is from his marbat.
I just emerged from three days without power because of a heavy snowstorm in the Mid-Atlantic region. It’s good to be back.
Amoori (Al-Aawar x Ghallaieh, by the black Saqlawi Marzakani, the “horse of Al-‘Anud”) is a full brother to Amshet Shammar, pictured below. He was bred by Radwan Shabareq in Aleppo, from a mare bred by Rakan al-Jarba of the Shammar Bedouins, from a line originating from the Tai leaders, in turn originating from the Fad’aan Bedouins. This is the same line that produced the Kuhaylan Ibn Mizhir horses. The photo comes from Arnault Decroix who took it in 2000.
This is the third feature on the series on uncommon strains, and it features the strain of Kuhaylan ibn Mizhir. Kuhaylan ibn Mizhir is a little known strain in the West. It is specific to Syria and to parts of Iraq that are adjacent to the Syrian border. The strain belongs to the Bedouin tribe of Tai, who are very proud of it. The reason it is so little known is that the strain is actually Kuhaylan al-Krush. About eight or ninety years ago, a Tai Bedouin by the name of Ibn Mizhir acquired a Kuhaylat al-Krush from ‘Anazah (either from the Fad’aan or the Sba’ah, and more probably the former), and many in the Tai tribe started calling the strain after its new owner. Other Tai Bedouins stuck to the old Krush strain name. One of the descendants of this original Kuhaylat Krush of Ibn Mizhir went to the leading clan of the Tai Bedouins, and one of the offspring of this mare then passed to Nuri al-Mash’al al-Jarba of the Shammar, who married a woman from the Tai leading clan. The Jarba leaders of the Shammar, who took pride in their own Kuhaylan al-Krush marbat (Krush al-Baida, a marbat that came to the Shammar from the Mutayr Bedouins…
When Arabia’s Bedouins tribes engaged in warfare with one another, mares were typically chosen over stallions as war mounts. A number of these war mares found their way to the hands of Western buyers like Homer Davenport and the Blunts, and became part of the foundation stock of Arabian horse breeding in the West. Below is a non-exhaustive list of such mares, which had actually taken part in these battles and raids: — Rodania, taken in war by Tays ibn Sharban of the Sba’ah Bedouins from Sattam ibn Sha’lan of the Ruwalah Bedouins; the Blunts bought her from Tays. — *Wadduda, the war mount of Hakim ibn Mhayd of the Fad’aan Bedouins; Hakim gave her to Ahmad al-Hafiz, who gave her to Davenport. She had two battle scars on her body. — *Abeyah, the war mare of Mit’ab al-Habd of the Shammar Bedouins, taken in war by the ‘Anazah, and later obtained by Davenport. — *Hadba, the war mare of ‘Ajil ibn Zaydan al-Jarba of the Shammar, went to two other people after his death, before she was obtained by Davenport. There should be more, but, as far as I can recall, there is no direct evidence of their participation…
Ralph just nominated Daughters of the Wind for the Bloggers Choice Award under the “best animal blogger” category (sometimes, I forget that Arabian horses are animals, but that was a useful reminder). I am not sure what this entails, but if you like this blog more than other animal blogs, click here and vote for it by clicking on the yellow “vote” button. Thanks, Ralph, how thoughtful of you.
Yesterday, long-time asil Arabian breeder Lee Oellerich of British Columbia, Canada, and I initiated a fascinating conversation that was long overdue. Lee knew several of the importers and owners of the last asil desert-breds to come to North America, like Sam Roach, John Rogers, and Ella Chastain, as well as other veteran breeders like the Otts and the Searles. The video below is one of the outputs of this rich conversation: it features the 2002 dark chestnut asil stallion Haziz (Bahri x Hulaifah by Naizahq), of the precious Bahraini Dahman Shahwan strain that is now extinct in Bahrain. mikarrun, miffarun, muqbilun, mudbirun, ma’an // kajulmudi sakhrin hattahu al-sayllu min ‘ali This very roughly tranlates as: “[My horse] attacks, and retreats, he runs forward and bounces backwards, all at once, like a big rock which the floods have driven down from above [the mountain]“. I will look for a more exacts translation in the orientalists’ publications.
With thanks to Jeanne Craver, a photo of the 1911 chestnut mare Satwan (*Deyr x *Haffia), a Ubayyan. Satwan persists in the straight Davenports through the Bint Ralf descendants; her full brother Harara is everywhere, most notably as the sire of Antez.
The Tahawi website maintained by Mohammed al-Tahawy is a wonderful resource of original testimonies about the horses that this Bedouin clan bred throughout the XXth century. A few months ago, English translations of some of the hujaj (Arabic certification documents) of some of the foundation horses acquired by the Tahawi were featured on this website, as part of the collective effort of getting the three Tahawi mares of Egypt’s Hamdan stables accepted in the roster of Al Khamsa, Inc, the North American preservation organization. Here is a translation of another one of these original documents; this one is not a hujjah but rather a letter written to a member of the Tahawi tribe: To our beloved brother Faysal Abu Abdallah [al-Tahawi] may God protect him, Greetings and salutations, and longings to see your beautiful face, and after that, I would like to congratulate you on the advent of this holy month [of Ramadan], may God make you witness its advent again in health and well-being. You had asked us about the lineage of the colt, and in accordance to your demand, we are writing to you about the lineage of his dam and her ancestors, and that of his sire and his ancestors. The dam of the horse is al-Dahmah…
Check out this compelling article, by W. Michael Briggs Jr., on the website of the Davenport Arabian Horse Conservancy. It is graced with the picture of the beautiful Kuhaylan Hayfi stallion Audobon LD (Iliad x Audacity by Lysander), ridden by owner Marge Smith, and by the Hamdani Simri stallion Personic LF (Ibn Don Carlos x Persephone by Regency CF), photo below by Christine Emmert.
This is an old photo from the collection of French breeder Pierre-Henri Beillard. It shows the 1916 asil mare Noble Reine (by Dahman d.b. out of Nacre by Achmet out of Naeleh d.b.), a mare bred at the French government stud of Pompadour. Noble Reine is a daughter of the magnificent desert-bred stallion Dahman (by a Dahman Amer out of a Kuhaylat al-Rabdah), a former herdsire with the Shammar Bedouins, who has been often featured on this blog, including here. Noble Reine also traces to another prominent desert-bred stalli0n, the Saqlawi Jadran Edhen, bred by the Sba’ah Bedouins. Note the resemblance with some of the early horses of Davenport bloodlines in the USA.
Radwan Shabareq of Aleppo told me the fascinating story of what is believed to be Thomas Darley’s rifle. Thomas Darley was Her Majesty’s Consul to the Levant, based in Aleppo, during the reign of British Queen Anne. In 1702, Thomas Darley acquired a young colt from the Fad’aan ‘Anazah Bedouins, which became the most prepotent of three foundation stallions of the English Thoroughbred horse breed. This was the “Darley Arabian”. Radwan told me that he had heard the story of Darley’s rifle from Raymond Juwayyid, an elderly Alepine collector, many years ago. According to Juwayyid, an ‘Anazeh Bedouin came to an Armenian jeweler in downtown Aleppo in the early XXth century to sell a long rifle intricately ornated with silver. Upon being asked for its provenance, the Bedouin admitted that he stolen it from his Shaykh, who had had it in his family for several generation. He reportedly claimed that his Shaykh would refer to the rifle as “Darley’s rifle”, and it was treasured family heirloom. The Armenian jeweler bought the rifle, and later sold it to Nu’man al-Dali’ (see the entry on *Mirage’s strain below, which is how I learned of this story), who gave it to his heirs, who gave it to Raymond…
Today, Daughters of the Wind turned three. I recall starting this blog on January 11, 2008, towards the last days of my wife’s pregnancy, to keep in touch with a small circle of likeminded friends and breeders of asil Arabians. I had become aware that the duties of a soon-to-be-father were going to make it harder for me to see these friends and enjoy the horses and the horse talk as often as I would have liked, and I felt I had to find a way to remain in touch online. This small circle of breeders and horse enthusiasts had been exchanging regular group emails about preservations issues, and I thought a blog would provide an appropriate platform. I never thought it would become what it is now: a truly global community of enthusiasts dedicated to the preservation of the original qualities and heritage of the asil Arabian horse. Neither did I ever think it would achieve its current status as the number 1 most visited website on Arabian horses at large. Indeed, a quick look at traffic ranking websites this morning puts Daughters of the Wind among the 75,000 most visited websites in the USA on any subject, up from 12 millions when it started. This…
The 1919 grey desert-bred stallion *Mirage (photo below, with owner Roger Selby) is a legend in American Arabian horse breeding. This Saqlawi Jadran stallion was born in the desert, and selected as a mount of the newly installed King of Iraq, Faysal I, before he was sold to a European ambassador and ending up in Lady Wentworth’s hands by 1923. You can read more about this in a good article by Michael Bowling, here. He was her dream grey horse, but the British registration authorities would not let her register him, so he sold him to Roger Selby of Ohio in the USA in 1930. Here *Mirage had a brilliant career at stud, and his is now one of the most successful sire line in the USA (that of Bey Shah, Huckleberry Bey, and Barbary, among others). *Mirage’s strain is recorded as “Seglawi Jedran of Dalia” which is better transliterated as “Saqlawi Jadran of al-Dali’ “. Recently, while looking at some documents pertaining to the Syrian Saqlawi Jadran stallion al-Abjar (photo below, from Raed Yakan, thank you Raed), which was owned the Yakan family of Aleppo, and which I saw at their stud in the early 1990s, I came across his breeder’s description of al-Abjar’s strain as…
The Egyptian foundation mare Venus is the tail female for one of Egypt’s most successful lines. The stallions Nazeer, Aswan, Khofo, and the mares Yosreia, Samha, Kamla, all come from this line, and so do countless others. Page 63 of Egypt’s Royal Agricultural Society’s Volume I Studbook, also known as the RAS History, has Venus as a chestnut Hadbah Inzihiyah imported in 1893 to Egypt by Hassan Abu Amin Agha, later in the stud of Khedive (Egypt’s Viceroy) Abbas II Hilmi. There is no recorded information as to her tribal provenance in the RAS History. The only tribal information on Venus comes from Carl Raswan. Venus, like other horses owned by the Western educated Abbas II (he was still studying in Vienna when he was called to assume the throne upon the sudden death of his father), had a Western name. She was called Venus after the Roman goddess of love. Another Egyptian foundation mare from the same stud, and probably from the same provenance, was known as the “Halabia mare”, or the ‘mare from Aleppo’ (Halab in Arabic), but she had a Western name, Carmen, after the opera of Bizet. Carl Raswan, who had a habit of conflating Arabian horses’…
Joe Achcar passed away this morning, from a heart attack. I will miss him sorely. This place will not be the same without him.
The camels were white and elegant, fast and enduring, as befit the mounts of kings. The mare, tethered to the saddle of the first camel, was as white, as elegant, as enduring, and even faster. Her ancestors had traveled the same way, tethered to camels, waiting for the shock of the rider’s leap and the joy of racing into battle. The journey was strange to her, familiar to them, but their presence comforted her. It was a long journey, and there were many stops. At each stop, there were sleeping children. Under the beds were boxes filled with wilting grass; the camels shared their sustenance with the mare. Once emptied, the boxes were filled with gifts from the camels’ packs. The kings, splendid in their eternal service to children, remounted, and the journey continued. Over and over, the motion and the halt, the children and the boxes, the grass and the gifts. Until they arrived at a black iron bedstead. Here, the box of grass was presented to the mare alone, as she was tethered by the heel to the bedstead. The kings and their camels continued on their patient, joyful journey. For the mare was a gift too. Footnotes…
Recently, I wrote here about the little-known group of horses from the Hadban strain tracing to the desert-bred mare *Hadba, imported by Homer Davenport from Arabia in 1906. The hujjah (Arabic authentication certificate) of that mare is available, and I did a new translation of it, which appeared in the reference book Al Khamsa Arabians III (2008). I am reproducing an updated, revised version of this translation here: We, who put our names and seals below, based on our honor, say that the bay mare whose has a stocking on her left hind leg and a star on her face, that her dam is a Hadbah to be mated and her sire is Shuwayman Sabbah, and the sire of her filly is Ma’naqi Sbayli; Abd al-Sakam Azraq took this mare from Hajj Ismail the Shaykh of Sfireh, and Hajj Ismail took her from ‘Ajil ibn Zaydan the Shaykh of Shammar, and for the sake of clarity, we have put our names and seals [below]. Written by: Abdessalam Azraq [seal] From the people of [the town of] Sfireh: Muhammad Nur [or Nadar or Thawr, unclear] [finger print] Ahmad al-Muhammad [seal] Mustapha al-Bdeiwi [seal] Hajj Ahmad al-Abdallah from the tribe of al-Fardun [seal] Ahmad Sarraj [seal] I swear by God…
Yesterday, Lisa from the UK asked about the meaning of the word “Kuhaylan” and its feminine “Kuhaylah”, as applied to Arabian horses; I won’t tell you anything that most of you don’t know already, I only want to give a sense of its etymology. If you want to understand the meaning of a concept in Arabic, you need to keep a couple things in mind: first, that the Arabic language was developed and enriched by poets — famously, at such venues as the Arabian market of Okaz, which by the way has recently been revived; indeed, the oldest evidence of Arabic language ever comes from an inscription found in 1979 at Ein Avdat in the Negev desert. The inscription dates from the 1st century of our era (0-100 AD) and consists of six lines, two of which are in Arabic, and they are in verse. So, in a nutshell, not only is poetry a central feature of Arab culture in general, and Bedouin culture in particular, but it is also central to its genesis, too. Second, Bedouins are born poets, and like most poets and people who enjoy poetry, they make heavy use of metaphors to express themselves. Here’s Wikipedia (sorry) on the meaning of the word ‘metaphor’: Metaphor…
Nine, ten, eleven, …many. Let’s throw counting to the winds, shall we? (Bonus Red Dwarf humor included, because that’s the way my mind works.) The mares say: This is mine:1 And this is mine:2 This is mine too:3 In fact, all this here is mine:4 Except that. But he can nurse anyway.5 Key Capucine and 2005 filly ADA Intuition, photo by JC Dill. Petit Point CF and 2004 colt ADA Point Reyes, Diaz photo. Fay and 1950 colt Tirf-Aynad by Hanad. Larry Kenney photo via Arabian Horse News via Datasource. Fay is not a straight Davenport, but is heavily Davenport-bred—a hasty calculation puts her at 71% Davenport, with close lines to Domow (*Astraled? x *Wadduda) through three separate offspring. I was struck by her resemblance to both *Wadduda and the modern En Pointe CF. Bint Meringue playing pied piper to four of the five 2009 foals at New Albion. Somewhere in the scrum are her Lirac HD (by Shiraz CF), ADA Selene (Ascendant x Petit Point CF), Poeticus HD (Latitude HD x Brandy Sioux Jeannate), and Celestia (Cantador x Laikah, non-asil). Yes, she let them all nurse. Photo by Kat Walden. From left to right, Amador HD (Shiraz CF x…
This is the second item in the series on rare, uncommon Arabian horse strains, after the strain of Hazqan Misrabi, featured earlier. This time I will mention the strain of Kuhaylan al-Shaykhan, feminine Kuhaylat al-Shaykhah. This is one of the most respected branches of Kuhaylan al-‘Ajuz, and the Sba’ah tribe possessed a couple marabet from that strain. As far as I know, the last Kuhaylat al-Shaykhah mare in Arabia Deserta was with Dr. Iskander Kassis of Aleppo. I believe she came from the Sba’ah or the Fad’aan, like most of Kassis’ horses. Kassis was one of the Middle East’s foremost master breeders in the 1940s, 50s and 60s, and had a collection of the some of the rarest and most precious strains of desert-bred, asil, Arabian horses. Radwan Shabareq, who saw that mare in his youth, tells me she had the most elegant and fine neck he had seen on a mare. In the West, the strain is represented in the asil descendants of the desert-bred mare 60-Adjuse, imported by Mikhail Fadllallah al-Haddad to Babolna, Hungary. According to Haddad in his travel journals, she was bought from the “Anazeh El Sbaa Mseni (?)” tribe, her sire a “Kuhaylan Adjuze”, her dam a “Schecha”.…
I wrote the following the following for Al Khamsa Arabians III (2008), and I will be expanding on it to deal with other aspects of a hujjah over the following days: “Certificates of origin (singular hujjah, plural hujjaj) of horses written in the Arab world follow a clear and uniform pattern that seldom varies. The first part of these certificates is always a more or less extensive religious invocation that includes passages from the Qur’an (the Holy Book of Islam) and quotations of the Hadith (the approved and authenticated collections of the deeds and sayings of Muhammad, the Prophet of Islam). In general, the shorter the religious preamble the greater the chance that the by a Bedouin and the greater the probablity that the horse was Bedouin-owned at the time of the sale. Conversely, the longer a greater the likelihood that the certificate is the work of a townsman. There are several reasons for this situation, and at least a few words may be said of these. First, Bedouins tend to be less pious, or at least to have a different kind of piety, than townsfolk. At the time these certificates were being written for Europeans and Americans, Bedouins were still…
If I want to guess at the looks of a Davenport I only know from their pedigree, I look at their grandparents. This is the 2004 Hamdaniyah Simriyah Lili Marlene SHF, granddaughter of Major Barbara and Trill, of Ibn Alamein and Salutation. She certainly is. Lili Marlene is the work of the hands and hearts of Dr. Fred and Barbara Mimmack, Smoky Hill Farm. Photo by Linda Sherrill.
This photograph, found in the WR Brown Collection (owned by AHOF), is labeled *Urfah, and has the left fore and two white hind feet as described in the studbook. *Urfah is wound around and through the straight Davenports through her son *Hamrah and her daughter Sheria. Says the DAHC pedigree site (which is a bit behind the times): “Total descendants: 1437.” “As we departed the mare was a picture. She walked with the grace of a well-bred woman; her tail would gracefully sway from side to side, her ears were ever in motion, and her eyes sparkled. The very sight of her rested us from the long day’s ride of the day before and then she broke into a gallop and her swinging tassels were soon lost sight of as she disappeared on the horizon.” —Homer Davenport, My Quest of the Arab Horse
Not a straight Davenport this time, but too good to keep to myself: the 1987 Kuhaylan Hayfi stallion Audition LD (Audobon x Leafs Echo). This is one of Carol Lyons’ “Sharps” (no Blunt breeding). I know very little about him, other than his location (Illinois—these images look like StarWest to me), his pedigree, that he’s been shown in training level Dressage, his registered progeny (none, alas) and that he’s well-loved. Maybe Jeanne or Alice Martin knows him and can fill us in a bit more.
A picture of a new foal for a new year. Hang in there, spring is coming. This is the 2009 Hamdaniyah Simriyah filly, Lirac HD (Shiraz CF x Bint Meringue), shown at two days. The bare patch on Bint Meringue’s cheek is from the Breeder Alert sensor taped to her halter during foal watch.
“It’s been a long December, and there’s reason to believe Maybe this year will be better than the last.” — Counting Crows, “A Long December” Saqlawi al-’Abd Tripoli, a cornerstone of the straight Davenports as they exist today (images in the left column), and his Kuhaylan Hayfi grandson Memoir UF, called Rory by those who loved him (images in the right column). Do click through that last shot of Rory, he’s all there and very admirable to boot. Tripoli is serving as a lesson horse in his under-saddle photo, with Tom Neese up; Rory as a show horse, though I don’t know the rider’s name or the photographer. Thanks to Aida Schreiber for taking the conformation shots of Rory, and for bringing Rababe CF and Neroli CF to him in his old age, producing his two sons Firewater SF and Damascus SF respectively. (You saw his daughter, ADA Recapitulation, earlier in the series.) One last thought for the year to come, from the TB Friends (a Thoroughbred rescue) sort-of blog: Another of my favorite comments from 2010. A family in Davis greeted an older thoroughbred mare from the Wilton feed lot. A young boy, 9 or 10, walked up to…
A father-son pairing this time, both Kuhaylan Hayfi. Atticus (Dharanad x Fairy Queen) is 24 in the first image. Attikos (Atticus x Marigold CF) is three (and, I think, in the middle of a trot-canter transition—). See how Attikos is using his LS joint, “sitting down” in the rear to push off? A quick look found this image showing the ideal LS joint as being over the point of the hip, creating a short, strong loin and a long hip (the illustration says “long croup“). Attikos is pretty close to this ideal.
I have drawn a list of 5 asil mares in the USA, which if lost, would represent a huge loss of diversity in the asil Arabian horse in the USA. None have been replaced so far, and four out of five are old mares. Many of them have been mentioned on the website before. In order of decreasing preservation priority, they are: 1. Sarita Bint Raj (Rajmoniet RSI x Nejd Sahra Nisan by *Faleh), unregistered, 12 years old, last extant asil link to the imported stallions *Al-Mashoor and *Euphrates, one of the last asil links to the legendary *Mirage. Tail female to the Blunt mare Basilisk (but not through Pritzlaff’s Rabanna), a Saqlawiyah Jidraniyah. In California now, with a preservation breeder but not being bred. 2. Princess Asjah (Asjah Ibn Faleh who is by *Faleh x Cardinelle by *Saba El Zahraa), 20 years old, last asil tail female line to the Blunt mare Rosemary (Jeroboam x Rodania), through Rayyim from the Fred Glass program of the 1930s and 1940s. A Kuhaylah Rodaniyah, now in Kentucky, owned by a lady who takes good care of her but does not breed her. 3. Halley (Audobon x Peta by Lysander), 25 year old, one of…
The 1911 Ma’naghiyah mare Abbess has no remaining descent, and her sire *Abbeian‘s sire line in the straight Davenports died out with Ibn Ralf. Her dam, *Farha, has a thin line remaining (both in straight Davenports, and another family in Al Khamsa more generally) through Ralf. I don’t know if Abbess’ age in this picture is known, but she looks young to me, perhaps two or three. Photo courtesy of Jeanne Craver.
Michael Bowling tells me this historic image, previously published as *Urfah, is now believed to be Freda (the markings don’t match *Urfah’s in any case.) Freda, it is hypothesized, had her identity confused with Saleefy’s when both mares were sold in 1918. Freda descends entirely from the Hamidie Society importation of 1893. The markings of the foal with her do not match any of her registered Arabian produce—per Michael, this is probably the Anglo-Arabian Frecon (by Consider). The modern image is an October 2007 shot of Freda’s presumed tail female descendant, the splendid mare Jonquil CF, producer of Eldar HD (featured yesterday) among others. You can’t see it as well as I could wish, but that beautiful shoulder (and neck, and loin coupling, and…) have come right down the line. Her sire Ibn Alamein had it as well, and was generous with it.
For today, the 1904 Saqlawi al ‘Abd stallion *Hamrah, of whom much has been said previously, and his century-later echo, the 2004 Hamdani Simri stallion Eldar HD, bred by Michael Bowling. In 2003, I wrote of the 22 year old Palisades CF, “I want a magic wand so I can have another twenty years with this horse.” Replied Michael, “I guess that’s what we breed them for.”
It’s Boxing Day, so you get a bonus Davenport. (Actually, I ran across a series of comparisons between historic and modern Davenports that some Davenport people did in email in 2006, and I’ll try to share the ones I can illustrate.) Sotamm, 1919 brown mare (*Hamrah x *Farha) ADA Recapitulation, 2003 chestnut mare (Memoir UF x Capucine), age 2. When I first saw the Sotamm picture, I was initially shocked by the resemblance, then gratified to realize that we really are doing more than just preserving names in pedigrees.
For our faithful readers who may be taking a break from unwrapping, photographing, and/or toasting, I’m offering a Davenport photo a day for the next twelve days. Do you know anyone who needs yet another partridge in a pear tree? Thought not. Rababe CF, 1987 Hamdaniyah Simriyah (Lydian x Fiddledeedee). When not caring for small children, as in this photo, I understand she has a pretty impressive spin and sliding stop.
The Beirut, Lebanon, race track built in 1910 was a rare piece of Levantine-Florentine architecture that was destroyed in 1982. The Baghdad, Iraq, race track was built in 1920. When the Bagdad racetrack was closed due to political upheavals in Iraq, horse racing in Beirut flourished. Many of the Iraqi racehorse owners began racing their horses in Beirut, where they spent the hot summer months. Iraqi horses began to come to Beirut in the end of the 1940’s. These horses were often from a different type than the desert Syrian horses who until then were a majority at the Beirut racetrack and the Iraqis began to win nearly every race. In 1953, Gilbert Asseily, the well-known journalist in charge of the horse racing section of the French speaking news paper “L’Orient” wrote an article with the title “Why Iraqi horses are beating our horses”, where he said: “these horses are from the progeny of the Anglo Arab “Tabib” and I suggest that they run in separate races”. Of course, nobody took his advice seriously and the Iraqi horse invasion amplified after 1958 when the new Iraqi military leader Abdul Karim Kassem closed the Baghdad racetrack. When in 1987 the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture, followed in 1990 by the Lebanese SPARCA…
In the interest of resurrecting, if only for the duration of a minute or two, a now defunct component of the Bedouin heritage on desert-bred Arabian horses, I am starting this new series on extinct or uncommon strains. It will consist of a mention of the strain, and a couple anecdotes about it. The first such strain I will mention is Hazqan, which is now extinct. The only known marbat of Hazqan that I know of was that of the Masaribah clan of the Sba’ah tribe, and it was called after their name: Hazqan Misrabi. The Dandashi landlords of Tall Kalakh in Western Syria had a branch of that marbat, which they celebrated in their poetry. Interestingly, the stallion Shour, first owned by Lord Herbert Kitchener (d. 1916) and later given to Egypt’s RAS as one of its foundation stallions, was from that strain, which the RAS refers to as “Kuhaylan Hazakan”. Shour qualifies as “Straight Egyptians. Not that it matters, because he did not leave any modern descendents.