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the
of
Egypt
Ghallab.
the
of
Egypt
b y D e n i s e H e a r s t · p h o t o s b y G l e n n J a c o b s
F
ollow along the Nile canals heading south from the Giza Pyramids toward Dahshur.
As the miles click by you’ll leave the noisy traffic of Cairo far behind and feel as though
you’ve entered another era — there’s the water buffalo yoked to the waterwheel, an egret
perched on his back, flood-irrigated fields of berseem and barley, onions growing in the shade
of the date palms heavy with fruit, mud brick houses, and donkey carts.
Friends forever.
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Look west toward the empty desert and find serenity and solitude among
the little-known pyramids and temples.
Here at the desert’s edge, the Dahshur Pyramids a short gallop away,
is the home of Philippe Paraskevas’s breeding program, where the Arabians,
too, bear an ancient and distinctive stamp. There is an earthy beauty to
these horses, bred in unbroken lines from select EAO sources, and with an
appreciation for such qualities as heart, character, soundness, and fertility.
In this way, Philippe believes they remain close to the form and spirit of the
Arabian horse of the desert.
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Heavy wooden gates open
from the desert into the tranquil
gardens where mares and foals
enjoy turnout time in shady
pens. Stallions, fresh from their
exercise in the desert, return,
quieter now, to their stables at an
adjoining farm.
Philippe has been breeding
Arabians for nearly 30 years, with
70 horses (some five generations of
his breeding) and 15 foals coming
in 2012, yet few in Arabian horse
breeding circles outside Egypt have heard about his horses. Partly because, as
he says, “I do not show my horses at halter, this is not what I do.” His lack of
exposure as a breeder also stems from the fact that he rarely sells his horses.
“We sometimes let go of fillies and young mares, with the understanding that
their siblings may be adequate replacements,” Philippe explains. “Not so for
stallions. Our long-standing policy is to keep most of our colts to full maturity
to see how they develop over time and to see how they perform in the desert
under the saddle. Often enough, the wait is worth the effort, if only because of
the lessons learned.”
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“Ghallab traces back to our foundation stallion Shams El Assil Ateya through
our very own Rizkallah. We acquired Ateya from Shams el Assil as a weanling.
Ateya was a double Hadban Enzahi by Misk out of an Alifa granddaughter.
Ateya was chosen some 25 years ago on a primary consideration, inner beauty
and typical masculine Arabian character: ‘full of fire, but free of malice’. In
return, as a present, the aptly named Ateya, ‘The Gift,’ gave us Rizkallah,
a heavily Sameh-influenced stallion out of Haneyat, an old-style EAO mare
tracing back to Rawayeh EAO. In turn, Rizkallah sired Ghallab for us, out
of Shameya EAO, a mare carrying (and displaying) predominant Gassir and
Sameh characteristics. Shameya is a bay of a pronounced Kohailan type. As
a result, Ghallab passes on strong Ibn Rabdan characteristics including wide
chests, high arching but masculine necks, bold powerful movement and obvious
masculinity. This trend is kept well within the limits we would like by virtue
of his tail female line, Moniet el Nefous.
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“Ghallab has now given us 10 males from very
different strains and we are keeping them all to
full maturity. Some of them are of breeding age
and are pictured on the following pages together
with their foals. Of course, as soon as they come of
age, they are ridden in demanding conditions and
are tested for what we value the most: courage and
adaptation to the desert.”
Chances are most Egyptian Arabian breeders are far more familiar with
Philippe’s first book published last year, The Egyptian Alternative, which
stirred controversy for some of the hot-button topics covered in its pages. “I
will address the so-called controversy that accompanied the publication of
Volume I, and that will surely be amplified with Volume II, due out soon,” says
Philippe. “My books were never meant to be descriptive and deferential to the
status quo, but analytical and critical. Such thinking can lead to novel proposals
for a better future for the Egyptian Arabian. In the conclusion to my book, I
called for riding ability to be elevated to equal status with other criteria in any
evaluation of our horses. This is not in the least a maverick opinion; it happens
to be the silent majority’s opinion as well, as witnessed by the feedback I have
received from readers. I also called for better preservation of every single EAO
bloodline away from the ‘New-Look Arabian,’ and I encouraged breeders to
develop families of Arabians of their own.”
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Philippe’s appreciation for riding, and for the breed, began to form when he was just a six-year-old boy
growing up in Cairo. “I started riding in Nadi el Ferousseya in the Gezira area, a formal riding school that
normally turns out show jumpers, but I soon veered toward the desert, and the Arabian. My first riding
instructor was Ibrahim Abdullah el Salamoni; he was of an army background, a throwback to times past.
My parents were not horse people, but I owe them a debt of gratitude for encouraging my enjoyment of
horses. The club used to rent out horses by the month. I rode all sorts of horses before I noticed the inner
qualities that define the Arabian. On the basis of the intangibles of the breed, I decided there and then that
the Arabian was for me and never looked back. The Arabian horse has given me so much joy over the years
that I came to feel that I owed the breed something in exchange. My books are all about ‘giving back’ to
the noble breed.”
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Ghallab, top right, and eight of his sons pictured in the desert, above.
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Above: “Diwan El Arab by Ghallab out of Bedaya
EAO is a dream come true. An Obayan of the
Wasfeya family, we think that he carries the genes
that may prove to sire bays and blacks. As for the
rest, his attitude under the saddle at age three gives
us hope indeed. His first foal is a double Obayan
Om Greiss, Qualb El Leil, ‘The Heart of the
Night,’ left, pictured at the age of four days in his
first venture outside, and we hope he will be bay.”
Facing page: Four Ghallab sons under saddle.
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Like many horse lovers before him, Philippe started breeding horses without a clear vision of where
it would lead. “Very quickly though, I distanced myself from the prevailing modus operandi and from
showrings,” he says. “It took me a long time to develop an alternative to the mainstream. I looked long and
hard for the best specimens of some neglected bloodlines and experimented with those, and I am proud of
the result. Our horses reflect our philosophy; we strive to live by our credos. I am not a commercial breeder,
but a preservation breeder and a passionate practitioner of 30 years devoted to the conservation of rare and
precious bloodlines.
“First and foremost, we have developed a family of horses of our own, horses bred out of a combination
of EAO bloodlines that are becoming hard to find. Caring for a large number of horses is no easy task, and
it would not have been possible without the dedication of my stud manager Hammad Rabei and that of
his family. In the past week, we were thrilled to get our latest foals, including a black Krusheya filly that we
named Eitr el Leil — she is the ninety-sixth foal that we have bred (all conceived via natural cover, I might
add). In order to care for our horses in the way they deserve, we employ a little army of grooms and riders;
20 people full time and six part time.”
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Philippe’s wife, an accomplished artist, plays an important role as well.
“My wife has a unique eye for all things beautiful,” he says. “In addition to
her perceptive suggestions on stallion choices, her role (and it is a central role)
is in selecting the names of our foals, always in Arabic. We strive to choose
meaningful names, and the names of the foals are almost always related to that
of either sire or dam, not an easy proposition. Sometimes, at foaling, the choice
of the name is influenced by outside events.”
Currently Philippe’s program includes 30-plus males representing most
Egyptian strains, ranging from foals to mature stallions. “We keep just two sire
lines, however: Anter, tracing back to Gamil el Kebir through Rabdan el Azrak,
and Akhtal tracing back to El Deree through Sid Abouhom. These are our
favorites. The rationale behind sire line selections is that there are in my opinion
enough Saklawi I stallions in this world, probably too many. Whereas the Anter
and Akhtal sire lines are underestimated to the point of unconscionability.
Above, right, and facing page, top: “This is an
eponymous Ateya, bred by us, a double S.E.A.
Ateya, and therefore also a double Anter. This
stallion straightens out any unbalanced mares
and he is very refined considering his Ibn Rabdan
origins. A five-year-old double Hadban, he is
destined to be bred to Saklaweyat.”
Facing page, bottom: “In true Kawkab El Shark
(Um Kulthum) spirit, this is El Sit, the legendary
singer’s nickname. We expect her to be a lady. She is
tail female Moniet El Nefous, the result of breeding
a double Anter (Ateya) to a double Akhtal mare,
Kawkab El Shark (Gabbar to Rashdane daughter).”
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“The Anters, we believe, provide superior rear-motor skills, and they
are ideally suited to harmonize with the Sid Abouhom/Akhtal mares that are
lighter in the hindquarters, and frequently more angular, as racehorses often are.
Anters certainly also improve on character and disposition of the Akhtals, not
the easiest horses to raise. Our breeding program (on the male side) consists of
breeding Anters to Akhtals and vice versa. Occasionally, we double the blood
of Anter, and that of Akhtal as well, with pleasing results. That is not to say
that our herd does not carry Nazeer influence; it does, since we own many
EAO mares that were sired by some Morafic or Alaa el Dine descendants. Still,
these mares are bred to one or the other of our wide variety of Anter or Akhtal
stallions, depending on the direction we want to take any given mare. The ill
effects of inbreeding are avoided by the use of a wide variety of mares, from
most, if not all, EAO strains.
Facing page, top: “The first Ghallab male progeny,
Rafik El Oumr is a Krushan stallion tracing back
to Rowaida EAO through Rassayel EAO. He is
large and imposing … a handful. He was given the
name Rafik El Oumr, ‘Companion of a Lifetime,’
just to make extra sure that he would never be sold.
His biomechanics are very good, and we turn to
him for that. In the head he resembles Ghallab.
We expect him to come into his own late in life,
perhaps at age eight.”
Facing page, bottom: “Badr El Doga is double
Inshass, of one of our favorite combinations of
strains: Krushan and Obayan. As such, we see him
as a good outcross. We are waiting to see whether
he carries more the imprimatur of the sire (the
Kohailan Krush stallion Rafik El Oumr) or the
dam Wedd (an Obayan Om Greiss mare). So far,
the sire is prevailing, but this may change.”
Left: “Misk el Leil, meaning ‘The Nightime Musk
Fragrance,’ out of a Gabbar daughter, our Quareat
el Fingale, ‘The Fortune Teller,’ a Saklawi Gidran
tracing back to Moniet el Nefous. We hope for him
to become a prime example of what Anter, Akhtal,
Sameh, and Gassir can do together.”
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“I have a favorite Anter and Akhtal of almost every strain,
according to what I believe Anter and Akhtal stand for, each
woven on the truss of their very different tail female lines, and
according to my understanding of the very different strains. I have
no less than 20 horses that approach my ideal, to various degrees,
naturally. I do not have a single favorite stallion or mare.
“In anticipation of the future, we have recently acquired
a young Gassir male and another of a Royal Bahraini sire line;
Bahrain, of course, being an impeccable source of Arabian blood.”
Philippe sees to it that all his horses of riding age, stallions
and mares, are ridden in the desert regularly, no small task. “We
employ six riders from outside our stud who take turns spending
a week on the premises and whose sole occupation is just that:
riding the horses in the desert,” he says. “In addition, our own
people ride daily, and the extended family of our stud manager
and master of the horses rides as well, since childhood. I personally
ride only occasionally — time does not allow me to indulge nearly
often enough. My son and daughter ride as often as they can,
and I am counting on them to continue the preservation of this
heritage into the future.
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Facing page, top: “‘The Reciter of Poems,’ Shadi El Alhan, is a third Ghallab
chestnut, this time a Dahman Shahwan Bukra. We plan to breed him to
several mares in his first year at stud. We are very happy with his type and
conformation (even though not perfect), and we love the way he took to being
ridden in the desert. Refined but not overrefined, he definitely has his uses.”
Facing page, bottom, above, and top inset: “Hafez El Ahd — ‘The Keeper
of the Tradition.’ When I think of Shahloul, I think of Hafez El Ahd. This
is another Kohailan Krush, tracing back to Rowayda, but this time through
Atbara EAO. We turn to him anytime we are unsure what to do, and he never
disappoints. A true gentleman.”
Right: “Nasheed El Amal, ‘The Poem of Hope,’ a young colt by Hafez El Ahd,
is special — he hardly ever appears without his tail flipped over his back,
without prodding (or God forbid, gingering).”
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“Apart from conformation and soundness,
the most important criteria for a riding horse
are character, heart, and willingness to please,”
continues Philippe. “These are the sine qua non
characteristics of a true Arabian of the desert, and I
will only ride such horses. My favorite horse will not
only gladly obey me in any circumstance, he will
also anticipate my wishes and be my full partner
in the desert. I confess to liking horses with power
and ample reserves of endurance. I like a horse that
will come back fresh and still prancing after a threehour trek in the desert. Our terrain varies between
deep sandy dunes, excessively strenuous to climb,
and rocky plateaus, which are treacherous and
trying for any horse. In my estimate, an hour in the
desert is more demanding than two hours in any
other terrain.”
When contemplating horses not owned by
him, and breeding programs that have impressed
him, Philippe says, “Generally speaking, what
impresses me the most is a purposeful breeding
program. Behind any impressive horse, I like to
see the hand of a breeder, using bloodlines of his
own. I am never impressed by look-alikes, or by
modern-day inbred horses, no matter how pretty
they may be.
Facing page and top inset: “A Hadban Enzahi
stallion sired by Ghallab, the young Quaher El
Dhalam is used for his well-laid-back shoulder, and
when we want Saklawi ‘stretch,’ with not too much
length in the back. Of course, he is not Saklawi in
everything, the muzzle is square, and he is notably
robust. Quaher El Dhalam means ‘The Piercer of
Darkness.’”
Facing page, bottom left: “Adventurous in her first
steps, Eitr El Leil (Quaher El Dhalam x Razane
EAO) is a black Krusheya filly. We expect her to
grow into a good mover. Her dam, a bay, never
gave us a progeny that disappointed us, and this is
her second black.”
Right top and bottom: “Faress El Ahlam is a
full brother to Ateya. He is a year younger, very
different in build, wider in the chest and perhaps
stronger. We are waiting to see how he develops
before deciding on his use. He’s a work in progress.”
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“Of course I admire the horses of the
EAO — they are of great importance to the
breed ‘such as it once was.’ To this day, the
EAO remains the fountainhead, the most
important stud farm in the world. I say
this even as I am convinced that times call
for its restructuring, refoundation, and the
rebirth of the true desert horse. This is why I
believe that a sovereign-driven EAO is crucial
to the future of the Egyptian Arabian, and
the reason I have been compelled to write
my books. If I have to name my favorites,
I will mention, in Egypt, the EAO’s Maher,
Akhtal, and Sonbol who were, to my eye,
the most interesting available from their
respective sire lines. In private hands, looking
at three of our historical breeders, Bilal I was
impossible to ignore, Farid Albadia was a joy
to behold, and Ezz, the bay Safinaz son, was
a stallion of true timber. In Volume II, soon
to be published, I give my own reading of
the history of the EAO bloodlines, as these
evolved through time.”
Left: “Ataa is our last S.E.A. Ateya daughter, and
one of our best broodmares. Her tail female is
Hamdan Stables’ Bint Yosreia, and we love to breed
her to the Ateya-Anter sire line.”
Facing page, top: “Saja El Leil, ‘Tranquil Arrival
of the Night,’ by Ghallab out of Bedaya EAO, is
a young black mare, just bred to Gabbar, himself
sired by the black stallion Sajed. We are thankful
for her typical Obayan Wasfeya movement and tail
carriage, in addition to the fact that she is the
snorty kind.”
Facing page, bottom: “Leilet El Eid, by Ghallab
out of our Tasahil, an Obayan Om Greiss mare.”
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We asked Philippe for his thoughts about
international breeding programs that impress him,
and he was quick to point to the way the Polish state
studs are run. “Our own state stud could do worse
than to study their methods,” he says. “I admire the
preservation breeders in the West (and the handful
of them in Egypt) — those small breeders who
Above: “Representing the Akhtal sire line, Sajed is
19 years old. We bought his sire at auction from
the EAO, a Dahman Shahwan Bint El Bahrein Ibn
Akhtal son carrying both Sameh and Seif blood.”
strive to do the right thing at great personal cost.
“I admire all the outspoken critics of the
showring and the proponents of usefulness and
Facing page: “A Kumait with a wide eye and very
Kohailan in type, Goubrane, by Sajed and out of
Shameya EAO, is still drying out. We go to him for
specific qualities.”
continued utility of our horses. Usefulness and
beauty are not antinomic, but if breeders focus
primarily on beauty, usefulness is lost, with no
return. Keep the horse sound and functional, and
beauty will surely come, and it can easily be added
on, if necessary. Such is my opinion. I admire those
who are trying to rescue from extinction precious
desert Arabian bloodlines such as that of Turfa. I
admire the societies that were set up abroad for
educational purposes, rather than marketing.”
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Right: “At age 13, Gabbar (Sajed x Haneyat
EAO) is one of our prolific sires. Many of his
fillies have been sold locally, and we treasure his
daughters for their broodmare qualities. This is
an Akhtal with Sameh influence from both his
sire and dam.”
In Philippe’s 30-year quest to build his
unique “family of horses” there have certainly been
lighter moments. “Here is tragicomedy, one that
thankfully ended up in laughter,” he says. “One
day, a Krusheya mare (a stubborn character who
does not stand the slightest ill-treatment) was to be
palpated by our vet; he was a bit clumsy about it
and she would not stand still. The vet then gave her
a double dose of tranquilizer, the kind of dose that
would put an ox to sleep for an hour. At that point,
I warned him to nevertheless keep the hobbles on
her and not to underestimate her dislike of him
— but he just laughed. Well, he didn’t laugh for
long, for, somehow, from her deep slumber, the
mare aimed such a powerful kick at his head that
he would have been shattered to pieces had she not
missed him, by an inch.”
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Right and below: “The tail female Moniet
El Nefous stallion Zay El Hawa (Gabbar
x Aneeda EAO), ‘Just Like Love,’ is not yet
five but has already won the heart of our
stud manager. A full brother to Kawkab El
Shark (double Akhtal), we are expecting
his first foals this month. He will have
to measure up to his sire, grandsire, and
great-grandsire.”
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Of course, what breeder in the world can glance at the past without having a few regrets? Philippe shares his, “There once was
a wonderful Saklaweya (a Zakeya or an Ohoud daughter if my memory holds) that I was trying to buy at auction at the EAO. After
some other bidders went to exaggerated heights, I stepped back. Later, I learned that the winning bidder almost immediately resold the
filly for a profit. After that occurrence, I never let any trader outbid me in an auction. On the other hand, if I know true breeders who
may be pursuing a filly that I also like, I occasionally defer to them. I must explain here that I like to choose all my stock as yearlings or
two-year-olds. This holds all the more true for males. I would never buy or lease anyone else’s stallion. I chose our foundation stallion
S.E.A. Ateya as a weanling, on character. The only case where I would envision an exception would be if the EAO were to sell at auction
a stallion of historical significance that I would be able to integrate in my program.”
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Speaking of his own preservation efforts, Philippe notes that twice in the
past he almost lost sire lines after losing head stallions without a sufficient
number of colts to replace them. “Having stared into the depths of that dismal
abyss twice in my life, I vowed never to expose myself again,” he says. “This is
in part why I expanded the number of my broodmares in the last fifteen years
and why I hardly ever sell males.
“With the benefit of hindsight, I also deeply regret that in the first ten years
of my breeding I was under the impression that a ‘dish’ was the prime criterion
for selection of our Arabians. This lack of understanding made me pass on
several males of unique caliber that I could have acquired at that time.”
Top left and right: “Robaeyat El Khayyam is a special filly to us as she was
born the night before we listened to Robaeyat El Khayyam (by Um Kulthoum)
in concert. She is a Kohailan Rodan daughter sired by Khafif EAO, the
Dahman Shahwan Faragallah son and out of Tabashir EAO. She will turn
three next May.”
Bottom left: “Khafif El Dhil represents another branch of the Akhtal line in
our program. His sire Khafif is a very old EAO stallion, about 25, and is
not pictured as we are only featuring our own breeding on these pages. A rare
double Dahman Shahwan Bukra colt, he is from the sire line Akhtal through
Faragallah, out of a mare we acquired from Shams El Assil, having chosen
beforehand the stallion for her.”
Facing page: “Kawkab El Shark is a Gabbar daughter and out of Aneeda
EAO, double Akhtal, and perhaps our most feminine mare at the present time.
We breed her to stallions of the Anter sire line, away from her Moniet tail
female line.”
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Kawkab El Shark
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Above: “Dihket El
Karawan, ‘The Song
of the Nightingale,’ is
a line from a famous
Um Kulthum song we
were listening to as she
was foaled. A Krusheya,
sired by the Akhtal
stallion Khafif EAO,
she will be bred by one
of our Anters.
Bottom left: Amirat El
Shark, ‘The Princess of
the East,’ another filly
sired by Khafif EAO.
Bottom right: “Rissalet
El Shark, ‘The Message
of the East,’ is the
fourth filly in a row
given to us by our
Krusheya EAO mare
Rouchane. She is sired
by a Khafif son.”
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Late in the afternoon, as Egypt’s famous lemony light softens the edges of the day, Philippe reflects
on the breed that has shaped his life and touched his soul. “To me the Arabian horse is the highest form
of expression of a centuries-old culture. At the height of its expression, the Arabian is to Arabia what the
Louvre is to Paris and La Scala to Milan, nothing less.
“Looking forward I hope to be thought of as a breeder who had a hand in saving two seminal sire lines
from extinction, along with several underestimated tail female lines of central importance to the breed,
keeping them as they once were. As an author, I hope that my books will inspire the next generation of
breeders to open a new page in the history of the modern Egyptian Arabian. So help me God.”
“Garet El Kamar, sired by a black Gabbar son, Kamel el Awsaaf (sold since
into a caring and beautiful home), out of Tasahil, an Obayana Om Greiss, is
a chestnut Obayana mare and will be bred soon. We are debating between a
Krush or an Obayan stallion.”
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Right: Stud manager
Hammad Rabei, with
his grandson, Ziad.
Zay El Hawa
Note: “All the horses pictured in these pages were bred by us, some are fifth generation
of our breeding, and in many cases, we bred both sire and dam. Our foundation stock
and acquisitions (mainly from the EAO and some from highly respected private farms)
were not pictured as we wanted to show only those we bred. None of the horses have been
clipped, oiled, or artificially enhanced, as we prefer their natural beauty. And of course,
all the photos are unretouched.”
Ghallab.
www.PhilippeParaskevas.com
El At e y a Ara b i a n s a n d Hoor el Eyoune Arabians
Dahshur, Giza, Eg ypt
•
Tel: 0020 1003888003
email: info@philippeparaskevas.com
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