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Touching Greatness

Last week we started to share some of the more well-known results of crossing

Egyptian Arabians with purebred Arabians of other bloodlines. Over the years this

formula has delivered proven and positive outcomes; and as a result there have

been many truly great Arabians produced, both show horses, and of equal or even

greater importance, breeding horses.


Marsianin - U.S. National Champion Stallion. He was sired by Aswan, the

Nazeer son out of Yosreia. Aswan was originally named Raafat in Egypt, but they

changed his name when he was presented as a gift to the Soviet Union by the

Egyptian government in 1963, in return for their help in building the Aswan Dam.

He stood at the Tersk Stud in Russia until the time of his death in 1984 where he

was highly influential as a breeding horse. In this case, he was bred to the Arax

daughter, Magnolia to produce Mars, subsequently known as Marsianin after being

imported to the U.S.


Talagato, the beautiful bay son of Talal (Nazeer x Zaafarana) and out of the

Spanish mare imported by the Steens, Agata III. He was a U.S. Top Ten Stallion

owned my Mike Nichols.


High Hopes (Al Fahir x Cerise) U.S. National Champion Formal Driving, U.S.

National Reserve Champion Park Horse, U.S. National Champion Informal

Combination, several halter championships and Most Classic Awards


Maisa El Bene (Shamruk [Ibn Hafiza x Dahmah Shawaniah] x Mora Bene

[Morafic x Bint ZiBene]), dam of U.S. National Reserve Champion Mare, Maisa

El Mars (x Marsianin [x Aswan]). Bint ZiBene was out of ZiBene, a daughter of

Ga’Zi and out of Nejd Benaya descending in tail female to the desert bred mare,

Nejdme, the first Arabian horse registered in the United States.


And then, of course, there was the incomparable El Shaklan (Shaker El Masri x

Estopa). Shaker El Masri was a son of Morafic and was out of the mare, Zebeda.

El Shaklan was both a show horse and a breeding horse and produced great sons as

well as daughters. Among his sons were Sanadik El Shaklan (x Mohena) and

Sharem El Sheikh (x Samanna), both the results of breeding El Shaklan to

Egyptian Sired Mares, Mohena being a daughter of Hadban Enzahi and Samanna

being a daughter of Gharib and out of a Hadban Enzahi daughter).


Another El Shaklan son who bred forward in an important way was El Sher-

Mann. He was out of the Ga’Zi daughter, Gazira (x Sur-Rad Raziya [El Hilal x

Surita Rad-Dolly]). At approximately the same time as Gazira’s dam was born,

another beautiful bay mare had come into the hands of a young college student.

She traced in tail female back to the Blunt’s desert bred mare, Rodania, and was

sired by Sur-Lee, a full blood brother to Gleannloch’s Champion Stallion, Surf (by

Sureyn and out of Jubilema, who was the full sister to Sur-Lee’s dam, Jubilee).

This nick worked well. In addition to Surf, Jubilema had also produced multi-

champion Taj Jauhar (x Royal Diamond, a 15/16 ths Egyptian stallion imported from

Crabbet Park Stud in England by Bazy Tankersley). And Jubilema had also

crossed well with the new Egyptian stallion, Morafic. So the pretty little bay mare,

known as Jamal Colleen, was bred to the young stallion, Mohssen (Ansata Ibn

Halima x Bint Mona) while he was standing with the Paleleks in Vantage, WA.

The result was Jassen, sire of Renea, who would be bred to El Sher-Mann, to

produce Vona Sher-Renea, dam of the Champion Maker, WH Justice. A quick

glance at his pedigree reveals four Straight Egyptian Stallions, Aswan, Shaker El

Masri, El Hilal and Mohssen, giving Justice a heritage of 18.75% Egyptian blood.

But, on closer inspection, the percentage of Straight Egyptian blood in the

Champion Maker is just over 45%. There were other lines to Aswan, to the

Egyptian stallion, Oran, the Egyptian mares, Razina and Sharfina, and Rissalma,

the dam of the well-known Polish stallion, Priboj, and Rixalina, the dam of Korej.

There were even some Egyptian horses in the pedigrees of some of the Spanish

Arabians in his pedigree. The beautiful Egyptian import, Ghazala, is represented

in many of the horses in his pedigree as well. Of course, there were many great

horses from a wide variety of bloodlines who played a role in the making of The

Champion Maker, but today we highlight the role the Egyptian Arabian made in

the creation of this beautiful stallion, so aptly named. Oh, and the young college

student? That was none other than Bruce Berg. He acquired his first Arabian at

age 16 and never looked back. Reflecting on those early years, Keri Wright

recalls: “Of course I remember Bruce and his mare, Jamal Colleen, and I

remember Jassen and had the privilege of showing him a number of times.” Does

it occur to us that it is in the common, every day care that we give these beautiful

horses, that we are touching greatness both past, present and future? May each of

us recognize the great privilege it is to be associated with them, that we are part of

something much bigger than ourselves.



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