The story of Hooreyah Ezzain begins well before her grandmother, NK Alamirah (pictured above) was even born. Usamah Alkazemi, a breeder of Egyptian Arabian horses, continually evaluates the progress of his program, to determine how close he is coming to producing his vision of the ideal Arabian horse. I admire him, for his perserverance, for his tenacity and for the loyalty he has, for his personal vision. He does not get distracted from his goals, as I would get distracted, if I were in his shoes. Usamah was able to purchase a young Katharinenhof-bred mare by the name of NK Jurie, who holds the honor of being the first offspring sired by NK Hafid Jamil. Her dam is NK Nariman, a Salaa el Dine daughter out of the *Jamil-sired daughter, Amarilla. Usamah fell in love with NK Nariman and desired to incorporate her influence into his program. Eventually, NK Nariman produced two full sisters named NK Alamirah and NK Lolowah, plus a full brother named NK Qaswarah. Usamah purchased these siblings as well and brought them to his farm, named Ezzain, which means the best...la creme de la creme. A fitting name for the farm where the Nariman progeny will live.
"I was hoping that I would get fillies from Jurie, Alamirah and Lolowah to breed back to Qaswarah and God destined Alamirah and Jurie to be bred to him and the result, thanks be to God,was Hooreyah and Jureiah, two of the best of NK Qaswarah's fillies."
The pedigree for NK Alamirah is not only interesting; it is completely fascinating, as the pedigree is concentrated in the blood of Hanan plus two mares which I greatly admire and value for their continuing influence on the modern Egyptian: Farida and Bukra. Both mares appear multiple times, on both sides of the pedigree. I was intrigued over the fact that the Ansata Rosetta son, Ansata Halim Shah is joined in the pedigree wth his sister, Ansata Ghazala. She anchors the tail female line of NK Hafid Jamil. Both horses share Ansata Rosetta, however, while Ansata Halim Shah is sired by *Ansata Ibn Halima, Ansata Ghazala is sired by the *Ansata Ibn Halima son, Ansata Ibn Sudan. Bred to *Ansata Ibn Halima, Ansata Ghazala produced the mare, Ansata Ghazia. When bred to the Ansata Halim Shah son, Salaa el Dine, she produced Ansata Gloriana. This is a intense concentration of one of my favorite Egyptian stallions, *Ansata Ibn Halima. WOW! The beautiful Ghazal daughter, Ghazala, is doubly represented, as she is the dam of Amarilla, NK Nariman's dam and she is also the dam of Ibn Nedjy, the sire of NK Hafid Jamil. The classic stallion, Ghazal, unfortunately, is not generously represented in straight Egyptian breeding. Thanks to the cross of Ghazal with Hanan, which resulted in Ghazala, we are fortunate to have some of his influence available.
NK Alamirah was bred to one of the best Ansata Hejazi sons, Ansata AlMurtajiz, who in both of his tail female lines, traces to Bukra, albeit through a different source than is found in NK Hafid Jamil or NK Nariman; via the Sameh sired daughter, Ansata Bint Misr, one of the greatest brood mares not only at Ansata but in the Egyptian breeding community as well. On August 24, 2005, a filly, so delicate, so refined, so loving, so trusting was born....sweet little Alamirah Ezzain.
The day you were born,
you touched my soul.
You were the missing link,
that made my life whole.-Wendy L. Nichols, from her poem Open Arms
Her birth was greeted with much joy, as it was a most incredible moment, having been an eagerly anticipated event at Ezzain Arabians for the Alkazemi family. NK Alamirah has finally foaled!
A FILLY!
No one could resist her, this little filly, of so royal a birth and earnest expectation. Usamah's wife, Haifa, had been presented with her mother, NK Alamirah by Dr. Nagel and had fallen head-over-heels in love with this pretty and sweet mare. Even if Usamah had changed his mind over buying NK Alamirah, he would have had to purchase the mare as a present for his wife. She loved her. Now, the beautiful mare foaled a filly, that would fulfill Usamah's plan to breed her to NK Qaswarah. These were very happy days at Ezzain, as everyone enjoyed Alamirah's great gift. It never ceases to amaze me the inspirational and encouraging power that Egyptian Arabian horses have on the people whose lives surround them. This is why the above picture, taken by Usamah's son Jaber is one of my favorites. The happiness oozes out of every pixel, as Haifa's smile tells the whole story of the powerful feelings these horses generate in the people who love them.
However, the happy days at Ezzain were numbered. Tragedy reared its ugly head two days later, as NK Alamirah died from an infection which the veterinarian had missed diagnosing. NK Alamirah had received a 1 centimeter cut in her vagina, which became infected. Had the veterinarian administered the needed antibiotic, then maybe, NK Alamirah would still be alive.
"NK Alamirah has left us in sorrow as she bravely gave birth to a first class filly by Ansata Almurtajiz. I told her that she has a place reserved in my heart and I will never forget her."
With the sudden death of her "mama", the newly-born Alamirah Ezzain was raised, in the company of a devoted sheep named Miro and with the love of all the people who lived with her at Ezzain Arabians. Little Alamirah followed Miro everywhere. And Miro, took great care over her "little baby", who was much, much bigger than any of the lambs she ever produced. All over the world, Arabian Horse enthusiasts emailed their prayers and wishes, out of concern for this little treasure and the hope that one day, she would join the breeding herd at Ezzain Arabians, to fulfill her promise. For four months, she was bottle-fed goat's and cow's milk, while a silent prayer was offered to a most merciful God, for her continued protection, her good health and for her continued prosperity into adulthood. God must have heard these prayers, as Alamirah grew and grew, each day stronger than the day before and loving her human family very much.
"THAT FILLY grew exactly as her mum did and behaved the same exact way, even in her playing around, attending to people and even her neighing, was a replica of mama."
Over time and prospering from the loving care which she received, Alamirah Ezzain, like a beautiful rose, bloomed into a dazzling mare, with a strong body, curvey and harmonious in all her lines. It was now time to think of her future and of the foals that she could produce.
IT WAS TIME.
Alamirah was bred to her dam's full brother, NK Qaswarah, an elegant and refined stallion, who has already sired horses beyond Usamah's expectations.
"As days turned to months,
and months turned to years.
I watched you grow,
Facing lifes challenges and fighting your fears."-Wendy L. Nichols, from her poem Open Arms
And from this cross, a special filly was born, who will become a pivotal next step for Usamah, in his ability to breed the horse of his dreams. This was the moment that Usamah had planned for years before. This filly, the ultra-feminine Hooreyah Ezzain, is the new diva, to be loved and treasured as the many other beautiful divas at Ezzain Arabians are also cherished.
"As much as I like all the Qaswarah's babies, Hooreyah has most of my heart and she is considered by me THE ABSOLUTE FAVOURITE."
I am impressed with the quality of this filly. At such a young age, she already possesses a refinement which is clearly evident. Acknowledging the line-breeding of *Ansata Ibn Halima, I see so much of the Farida influence in Hooreyah, as her neck is elegantly longer and set higher, gently arching to meet her head at an angle which creates a very clean, long and roomy mitbah. She has a strong and level topline, which flows smoothly past the loin, a deep hip to a full, round hindquarter, like most Farida-influenced horses. With the influence of Bukra, I notice the definition of the tear bones in her face, they are prominent and at such an early age, we see the chiseled features which are a hallmark of classic type. How dramatic will she look, when she "dries out" to reveal an ethereal, deserty look? Her head is so short and wide, while her muzzle is tapered and delicate, with large and elastic nostrils emphasizing the desert horse look like the dot in an exclamation point. Her eyes, which are large and lustrous, are deeply black and have a depth which takes my breath away, like windows to Hooreyah's soul. Her ears are short and sharp with a nice inward curve, reminiscent of the quality that we saw in the ears of her grandmother and mother. Yes, I like this filly very much.
I sent her picture to a friend, who is also an Egyptian Arabian breeder. Marilyn breeds some of the finest quality Egyptians that I have ever seen and over the many years that she has been involved with the horses, she has been exposed to horses who have given her chills and goosebumps, horses who continue to be giants in our community. When she saw the picture of Hooreyah, she exclaimed,
"OMG! Look at her beautiful eyes! The mare is very pretty but her daughter is stunning."
"Now that your grown,
you take that next step.
Those years gone by,
in my heart there kept.
If you get lost along your way,
not sure what to do or what to say.
Know that I'm present in spirit and soul
with open arms and a hand for you always to hold."-Wendy L. Nichols, from her poem, Open Arms
I can only imagine the wonderful foals that this young filly will produce for Ezzain, when she reaches breeding age. She will spread the influence of NK Nariman, NK Hafid Jamil and NK Alamirah farther in the world, inspiring all who love the Egyptian Arabian horse with their incredible beauty. In the meantime, I will continue to day-dream over how much closer she will take Usamah Alkazemi on his quest to breed this breath-taking, refined, ultimate Arabian Horse. With every new Ezzain horse, I believe Usamah has bred the most perfect horse ever and then another horse is born to prove how wrong I was in my assumptions...as fantastic as Hooreyah Ezzain is, I know that the best of Ezzain is still yet to come.
EnJOY,
Ralph
PS The black and white picture of NK Alamirah was taken by Erwin Escher. The picture of Alamirah Ezzain as an older mare and Hooreyah Ezzain were taken by Jenni Ogden. Jaber Alkazemi took the pictures of Alamirah Ezzain as a foal and with his mother. Many thanks to the photographers for their most wonderful photos!
