I really did.
Me
A nobody, from a little seaside town in New Jersey, boarded two planes and traveled over 7,000 miles to get there, just like another New Jerseyan, "Stormin' Norman Schwarzkopf" from Trenton, a great hero of mine, who ironically, had died on my birthday, this past December. But unlike General Schwarzkopf, I went to Kuwait to see a horse.
THIS HORSE.
and all because of a picture.
THIS PICTURE
I can't even begin to tell you how many times I have looked at this picture of the stallion, Aneesilnefous Ezzain. It's my favorite of him. Maybe 1,000 times? 2,500 times? 100,000 times? I lost count. Let's just say that I looked at it a lot. When I was happy, when I was sad, when I was excited, when I was anxious...whenever I needed to look at the picture, for whatever reason, I looked at it.
There is just something special about this horse. Call it charisma, if you will. It oozes out of every pixel. There's a very positive energy transmitted by the photo. You look at the picture and you feel good...instantly. This energy, like a magnet, had a pull so strong, that I could no longer ignore it.
I must go to Kuwait.
I must meet this horse.
I must meet Aneesilnefous Ezzain.
I must go to Kuwait...NOW!
For more than 16 hours, I thought of this horse. The photo, now burned in my memory, helped me to pass the time on the plane. The more I thought of him, the happier I became. And, I must admit, that I was not very happy. I was really sad. My beloved friend had died earlier in the day. It was surreal. My best friend had died and here I am, on a plane, that will take me to meet another horse. A horse I don't even know. Someone might say to me that I didn't even care about Rosie, if I could leave so soon after the tragedy.
Was I crazy?
No, I was not crazy. If there ever was a time to leave, Rosie's death was the perfect reason to get away,
far
far
far
from the scene of where it all went down. I didn't want to be there. Rosie's death was unexpected and of course, even after 19 years, I was not prepared to say goodbye.
I didn't want to say goodbye.
I didn't want to touch or feel or see all of the things that would remind me of her.
There was no better time to escape from the place where my friend lived and would never return to. It was all over and I was ready to turn the page and start a new chapter.
I was also afraid.
I was afraid of being disappointed. Was he going to be every bit as beautiful, as the horse that I saw in the picture?
What if he isn't?
I hadn't thought of this and I wasn't really sure how I would deal with it. So, I took a deep breath and continued to count down the hours, minutes and seconds...until I would come face-to-face with Aneesilnefous, the horse that I knew so well and yet, didn't know at all.
"An inborn love of the horse is instinctive, quite unreasoning, and one cannot recall any beginning of what seems to have always been there, together with a craving for perfection in the object of interest."-Lady Ann Blunt
Annesilnefous Ezzain, whose name means "the pleasure of the soul", is sired by NK Qaswarah out of one of the most important foundation mares and the foundress of the Saqlawi strain at Ezzain, NK Momtaza (Ibn Nedjy x Sanaya). Aneesilnefous is representative of the wise choices made by Mr. Usamah Zaid Alkazemi, in not only selecting the spectacular horses that he would combine in his breeding program but also, for the rigorous selection of individual horses, producing the qualities that come closest to meeting Usamah's personal vision of the ideal horse. Usamah is a formidable breeder, as evidenced by the horse he has bred, Aneesilnefous Ezzain. That was a fact that I learned right away, not only because of Aneesilnefous but also, because this quality was consistent among the other horses at the farm.
The dam of NK Momtaza is Sanaya, who is out of a mare named Malaka, an Ansata Halim Shah daughter out of Kis Mahiba. I am fascinated by the production record of the Ibn Galal daughter, Kis Mahiba, as she was a brilliant broodmare, producing high quality daughters like Maysouna, KEN Bint Bint Mahiba, KEN Malaka, KEN Muniba, Hallah, Mana and Maha.
"To me if an outcross individual proves to be prepotent for good qualities in its first generation, it seems a good sign of an influential ancestor who will stand up well in the line breeding for generations."-Joe Ferriss
I think it is important to emphasize the pedigree details, as one can understand better, how the influence of horses like Alaa el Din and Moniet el Nefous, when combined, resulted in a modern Arabian horse with a new level of refinement not seen previously.
Aneesilnefous looks a lot like his sire. There is no mistaking it. Of all the get NK Qawarah has sired at Ezzain, Aneesilnefous is the most like him. He is like his sire in terms of his strength, with the same wonderful strong points in his muscling, in his substance, in the prominence of the bone. As Qaswarah is beautiful, so is Aneesilnefous but his beauty is at a more dramatic level than his sire. Aneesilnefous is a more refined version of Qaswarah, thanks to the influence of his dam. Aneesilnefous is extraordinary, and in those fine details, there is no question that he is an authentic son of the desert. He is so smooth-bodied, with a strong, level topline connecting a wide, muscled chest with a round, well-muscled hindquarter. His hocks are strong and elastic and his front legs have a longer, well-muscled forearm, contrasted with very short cannons. Annesilnefous is graceful, underscored by the flowing lines that create a classic silhouette of the perfect Arabian horse. His skin is heavily pigmented and has that translucence, that very thin quality which accentuates every tear bone and vein in his face. This quality of the skin is loyal to the desert, a direct result of life lived within a harsh environment. Nature is a skilled artist, in her wisdom, which no man or woman can rival. His muzzle is fine, not meaty or thick and his nostrils are elastic and of a beautiful shape. His ears are small, with a lovely shape to them, giving him a look of intelligent curiosity. His eye is large, round and luminous. His jowl, like Qaswarah's, is prominent and my fist fit comfortably in the space between the jowls. His neck is longer and like Qaswarah, Aneesilnefous has a very nice mitbah, with a clean underline. His neck is so beautiful, I found myself stroking it over and over and over.
"...in terms of correctness, conformation and harmony, there is no comparison, at least this is my humble judgement."-Usamah Alkazemi
Something happened to me, while I was in Kuwait. I am not the same person. It's not possible to be the same person anymore.And it is all because of Aneesilnefous.
He has become the new standard for me, in evaluating correct Arabian Horse type. Now, because of Aneesilnefous Ezzain (and his extraordinary level of refinement) I see Arabian Horses in varying degrees of coarseness. He has revolutionized all that I knew and had held dear and sacred, as concerns the Egyptian Arabian horse. If Aneesilnefous means the pleasure of my soul, then the windows of my soul were opened wide in Kuwait, to let the fresh air in, so that stale thoughts, opinions and perspectives would be replaced, so that my soul can continue to marvel over the fierce beauty that my eyes witnessed, without second-guessing all that I had seen (it's just not possible).
Annesilnefous was definitely more horse than I could ever imagine him to be. My soul overflows with pleasure, over meeting a horse like this. Actually it is more appropriate to say that my soul dances with my heart in celebration, over meeting a beauty as fierce as the desert he lives in. There is a great treasure in Kuwait and the name of the treasure is
Aneesilnefous Ezzain
Well done, Usamah, well done.
En
JOY,
Ralph
