It is February of 1994, and Al Shaqab had just purchased the Naborr granddaughter, Kajora (Kaborr x Edjora). Naborr is no stranger to Arabian horse circles. He was foaled at the Tersk Stud in Russia, was later exported to Poland and then to the United States after he was purchased by Anne McCormick of Scottsdale, Arizona. He was from the Ibrahim sire line through the Skowronek son, Naseem. Naborr’s dam, Lagodna, was also of the Ibrahim sire line through his son, Posejdon. Kaborr’s dam was Bint Kholameh, whose sire and dam both descend through the Egyptian mare, Amida (Ibn Yashmak x Ajramieh, a granddaughter of Queen of Sheba). The rest of Bint Kholameh’s pedigree included mainly Crabbet/Egyptian as well as early Polish lines. So, Kajora had a smattering of Egyptian blood on her sire’s side, primarily through horses that were purchased or bred/owned by Lady Anne Blunt, like Rissalma, dam of Priboj. Kajora’s dam, Edjora, was an Exelsjor daughter. 1972 U.S. National Champion Stallion, Elkin, and owned by Mike Nichols, was very closely related to Exelsjor, as both were by Aquinor (a maternal half brother to Aramus) and both through the mare, Eleonora, Exelsjor being a son, and Elkin a grandson through her daughter, Ellenai. 1972 U.S. National Champion Mare, Elkana, was also an Aquinor daughter and out of Estebna (Naborr x Estokada). See post on the Estokada family on April 19, 2024. What an incredible mare family!
So, there you have it! A lovely mare, primarily of Polish bloodlines with a few of the early Abbas Pasha, Ali Pasha Sherif and Lady Anne Blunt Egyptian lines sprinkled in for good measure. How to breed her to maximize her potential? That was the question.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world, two great breeders, whose names are now synonymous with breeding quality Egyptian Arabian horses were establishing a very successful niche. They had patiently persisted in the pursuit of the very finest Straight Egyptian mares. They had noticed the extremely successful cross of Sameh on the Nazeer daughters. This was the cross that had produced U.S. National Champion, Serenity Sonbolah (Sameh x Bint Om El Saad [x Nazeer]) and her full blood sister, Shamah (Sameh x Rafica [x Nazeer]); U.S. National Top Ten Mare, Romanaa II (Sameh x Nazeera [x Nazeer]), and her full sister, Omayma (Sameh x Nazeera [x Nazeer]), and their full blood sister, U.S. National Top Ten Mare, Fawkia (Sameh x Mamlouka [x Nazeer], Ansata Bint Misr (Sameh x Ansata Bint Bukra [x Nazeer]), and the beautiful Deenaa (Sameh x Dahma II [Nazeer x Futna]. Some of these mares were the show mares, and some were the plainer full sisters back home doing a great job as part of the broodmare band. Wanting to take it a step further, this dynamic duo, Les & Lois St. Clair, managed to acquire Deenaa in her later years. They made arrangements to have her bred to none other than Ansata Ibn Halima and the result was the legendary Bint Deenaa. Ibn Halima complemented Deenaa in every important way, and she him. Both were tail female descendants of the Dahmah Shawaniah mare, Farida; Deenaa through her Shahloul daughter, Futna, and Ibn Halima through her daughter, Ragia, by Ibn Rabdan. The cross only happened once, but proved to be of pivotal importance, not only within Straight Egyptian circles, but within the overall Arabian horse population world wide. Consider the production record of this one great mare:
Bint Deenaa (x Ansata Ibn Halima)
· Ibn El Mareekh, bay stallion, 1982 (x El Mareekh)
· Taarifa, bay mare, 1984 (x Moatasim)
· Amir Alih, chestnut stallion, 1985 (x Ruminaja Ali)
· Anaza Bay Shahh, 1986, bay stallion (x Shaikh Al Badi)
· Anaza El Nizr, 1987, grey stallion (x Ruminaja Ali)
· Anaza El Farid, 1988, bay stallion (x Ruminaja Ali)
· Meenaa Mareekha, 1990, bay mare (x Ibn El Mareekh)
· Anaza Nahzir, 1993, grey stallion (x Ruminaja Ali)
· D Na, 1994, chestnut mare (x Ruminaja Ali)
· Anaza El Kadeen, 1996, bay stallion (x Ruminaja Ali)
· Anaza BB Deenaa, 1997, bay mare (x Ibn El Mareekh)
· Ibn Ibn El Mareekh, 1998, bay stallion (x Ibn El Mareekh)
Out of all the Bint Deenaa sons, it was Anaza El Farid who was standing at Michael Byatt’s place at the same time that the lovely Kajora was there, and the rest is history, as they say.
Was it fate that she happened to be at Michael Byatt’s place while he was managing the Egyptian stallion, Anaza El Farid? Surely it was more than a matter of mere convenience that brought them together. But regardless of how this was all decided, the beautiful Kajora was bred to the stunning Anaza El Farid, and together they produced the exceptional, Gazal Al Shaqab. And through him, the Arabian world was given Emandoria (x Emanda), Pianissima (x Pianosa), Marwan Al Shaqab (x Little Liza Fame), Stival (x Paloma de Jamaal), Hariry Al Shaqab (x Marwan Al Shaqab), Hadidy Al Shaqab (x White Silkk), and SF Veraz (x Veronica GA).
We could continue with an impressive list of wins at local, national, and international shows, but that is not the point of this brief study. It has been to demonstrate the niches and the patterns that are on display in each and every horse that is produced. Noticing them, observing them, and applying them takes so much of the guesswork out of breeding decisions. Identifying the established patterns that have proven to work well over many decades, centuries and even millennia now is part of the challenge, the passion and the joy we find in the art of breeding Egyptian Arabian horses. The greater Arabian world needs them. What fillies being born in our day will be the next Bint Deenaa? And how will she be bred to produce the next Anaza El Farid? Where is the next Kajora, and what will the circumstances be that make it possible for her to be bred to the stallion that will present the world with the next Gazal Al Shaqab? And what part will you play in all of that?
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