Shamikh al Jabri, Kuhaylan al-Wati stallion
This is not a photo I would have shared a few months ago. I don’t remember who sent it to me. It features a member of the Islamic State (IS) on the Kuhaylan al-Wati stallion Shamikh Al Jabri.
The background to the photo is the equestrian club of Raqqah with its conspicuous blue gate. The club was destroyed in the US coalition bombings. Many horses perished. Shamikh and a few mares survived. He died last year, but several mares are alive that are in foal to him. His pedigree is one of the best in Syria, and certainly one of the cleanest.
The sire of Shamikh is Wesam Halab (Raad x Aaliyah), a Hamdani al-‘Efri of the breeding of Omar ‘Anbargi. His dam is Fattanah (Faris II x Dawhah), a Kuhaylat al-Wati. Dawhah was one of the original Kuhaylat al-Wati mares of Mustafa Jabri, from the breeding of Hakim al-Ghism. Faris II was by the Kuhaylan Mimrah stallion Basil (Mahrous x Halah) out of the ‘Ubayyah Suhayliyah mare Qatheefah.
Below, from top to bottom: Halah the chestnut, Qatheefah the bay, and Dawhah the chestnut. Three mares I have known through the 1990s and continue to admire. I don’t think either have been replaced by an offspring of equal quality.
Now, two photos of Raad, the Kuhaylah al-Musinn of Jamal al-Turki al-Saw’an, Shaykh of the Sabkhah tribe of the Euphrates valley. The first one by his owner Omar Anbarji. The second by my father with me as a teen.
Here, Mahrous:
I need to dig out pictures of Wesam, Faris II, Aliyah, and Basil, but that will require some scanning. That was all pre-digital cameras. Fattanah the dam of Shamikh I don’t recall.
They are all such beautiful horses. I particularly like the photo of Halah, and the one of Raad in motion, all arched neck and airy step.
Quite the bascule shown by Raad. So scopey! Also in the second picture you can see he has a very nice eye. I wonder if things quiet down on the politics/ war front in Syria the studbook officials would be willing to setup a frozen semen sales system.
best
Bruce Peek
That wonderful photo of Raad is one that I remember as from the 2007 WAHO meeting in Syria, and the Khamsat published it as part of Rosemary Doyle’s report of the conference. What a time! How I wish we could have been there! Rosemary and I were even speaking about that today.
I am glad you are able to publish the photo of Shamikh, and give him his due. Wonderful horse. Wonderful horses. May they and their people have better days.