The Ezzain Saqlawiyah

Moniet Ezzain by Salaa el Dine out of NK Momtaza, secures the place of reverence that we have for her dam, NK Momtaza, as one of the most influential mares in the Ezzain breeding program. She has produced three daughters for the breeding program, the full sisters, Nasseyrah Ezzain and Omneyah Ezzain, both by Nooreddine and the up-and-coming filly, Najeiah Ezzain by NK Qaswarah. Her daughters, Nasseyrah and Omneyah are spreading the influence of the Momtaza family further into the future with their progeny. Nasseyrah has produced two daughters, Mardeiah by Aneesilnefous and Hhawra by Yaasoob. It is important to say that Mardeiah is a pure-in-the-strain Saqlawiyah, as both her sire and dam trace to Momtaza in the tail female line. Omneyah produced  a spectacular filly named Amaani Ezzain by NK Qaswarah. This beautiful mare, Moniet Ezzain, physically embodies the very essence that defines Saqlawi type in the authentic Arabian horse.

Reference Sire: NK Hafid Jamil

Without NK Hafid Jamil, there would be no Ezzain super horse. This elegant and refined son of Ibn Nejdy (out of the Salaa el Dine daughter, Helala) is the most crucially important cornerstone of the Ezzain breeding program. In the beginning, Usamah Alkazemi purchased NK Jurie, who was the first foal sired by NK Hafid Jamil.  The more Usamah saw NK Jurie, the more he felt that the cross of NK Hafid Jamil and NK Nariman produced the type of Arabian horse that he wanted.

"SHE IS THE JEWEL AND WAS THE HORSE THAT TIED ME TO DR. NAGEL'S PROGRAM."-Usamah Alkazemi 

He made it a priority to purchase all of the offspring produced by these two horses, including NK Qaswarah, who would eventually become the chief sire of Ezzain and the primary way in which the influence of NK Hafid Jamil is felt at Ezzain. The current program features six Qaswarah sons and fifteen daughters. While NK Qaswarah represents NK Hafid Jamil through the sire line; Ezzain also has three daughters Dhuha AlNakeeb, Jenan AlNakeeb and the mare that started it all, NK Jurie. With 37 of the current 45 horses influenced by NK Hafid Jamil, one immediately recognizes the significance that this stallion represents for Ezzain.

PS Credit to Arlette Studer for her photo of NK Hafid Jamil

Reference Sire: Suror Ezzain

The late Suror Ezzain was an extraordinary stallion, sired by Ansata AlMurtajiz, out of Zahra. Suror was a full brother to the wonderful broodmare, Azhaar Ezzain. His pedigree is interesting, as his mother's ancestors are horses that are becoming scarce in today's Egyptian bloodlines: Gharib, Tuhotmos, Hadban Enzahi, Galal and Ghazal.  His sire is an interesting line-bred Ansata horse, concentrated in the blood of *Ansata Ibn Halima, Bukra, *Morafic and his full sister,*Ansata Bint Mabrouka. The outcross blood in Ansata AlMurtajiz's pedigree comes from the Babson Horses via Prince Fa Moniet and the Inshass stallion, Sameh, who is the sire of Ansata's best producing broodmare: Ansata Bint Misr. *Ansata Ibn Halima is the "glue" which holds both sides of the pedigree together, on the maternal side we see Ansata Halim Shah, the sire of Motassem, who in turn sired Zahra's father, KP Nameed. Messaouda, the dam of Motassem, was sired by the horse who revolutionized the Marbach breeding program, Gharib. As we make notice of the close connections to Ibn Halima;  we also notice Moniet El Nefous in Suror's sire line, as well as in his dam lines, through *Tuhotmos (the sire of Nana, who produced Nameeza, the dam of KP Nameed),  through Shaarawi, the sire of Adeeb and through Ameer, the sire of Ibn Nazeema. It is also through this stallion, Ibn Nazeema, that we also notice Alaa El Din, as the sire of Nazeema (the dam of Ibn Nazeema) as well as the sire of Hanan (who produced Ameera).  In Madkour I, we find both Hadban Enzahi and Ghazal, with an interesting twist that further complements Suror's pedigree. I think it is especially poignant, that these two Nazeer sons, from another long ago era,  are found together again in one horse, who brings so much honor to their memory. Hadban Enzahi sired the stallion Madkour I (the sire of Ameera), while Ghazal sired Madkour's dam, Moheba II, out of Malacha, who traces to the dam of *Ansata Ibn Halima, through the Sid Abouhom daughter, Moheba. All of this genetic superpower came together to create a very modern Egyptian super horse...Suror Ezzain. Tragically, Suror is no longer alive, however, Ezzain has retained two Suror daughters in the program: Anwaar Ezzain (out of NK Yasmin) and Nayyerah Ezzain (out of Ansata Suleyma). Suror's influence continues further into the future as a maternal grandsire of the following fillies: Naqam Ezzain, Radhwaa Ezzain, Mnaar Ezzain, Einaas Ezzain, Saneiah Ezzain, 

Yaasoob

Yaasoob Ezzain is a NK Qaswarah son, out of NK Nada (Adnan x Nashua), a double Salaa El Dine granddaughter, as both Adnan and Nashua are sired by him. On the sire side, NK Qaswarah has three lines to Salaa el Dine and when combined with Nada,  a total of five lines to this special horse appear in Yaasoob's pedigree. In tail female, Yaasoob is a Hadban, as he traces through Kamla to Bint Samiha, the dam of Nazeer. This tail female line is also the same line that has produced stallions like Hadban Enzahi (Nazeer x Kamla), Shaarawi (*Morafic x Bint Kamla), the Alaa el Din daughters, Lutfia and Nazeema. Yaasoob has sired four horses selected for the Ezzain breeding program, a colt named Bihnas and three fillies: Radhwaa, Kamilia and Saneiah. 

The Continuing Influence of NK Nakeebya

NK Nakeebya has produced so well for Ezzain. Through her progeny, she has created a dynasty of horses who are outrageously beautiful, producing a level of consistency, from daughter-to-daughter, like nothing we have ever seen before. With Ansata AlMurtajiz she produced a LIVING masterpiece, the national champion mare of Bahrain, Nabaweyah Ezzain, pictured above. NK Nakeebya vividly illustrates why she is considered influential. She is a beautiful mare herself but she has produced daughters whose quality is far greater than her own.

Aneesilnefous Ezzain

"HE IS OUT OF NK QASWARAH AND NK MOMTAZA,THE SECOND SENIOR SON OF THE SMILEMAKER AND HE IS A BIG SMILEMAKER TOO,INDEED,MASHAALLAH WA AL7AMDOLILLAH."- Usamah Alkazemi

Of all the sons and daughters that NK Qaswarah has sired for Ezzain Arabians, Aneesilnefous is the most like him. As NK Qaswarah is beautiful, so too is Aneesilnefous but his beauty is more intensely dramatic than his sire. Aneesilnefous is a more refined version of Qaswarah, thanks to the influence of his dam, NK Momtaza. Aneesilnefous is truly extraordinary and in the fine details, you find an authentic son of the desert. Nature is a skilled artist and in her wisdom, the qualities we admire in the horse as "beautiful", actually allows the horse to survive in this harsh environment  Aneesilnefous is smooth-bodied and strong,  a picture book example of strength, with the substance of his sire, including a wide, muscled chest, a round, well-muscled hindquarter and barrel with a well sprung rib cage and deeper heart girth. His hocks drive his body forward with much power and longer, well-muscled forearms with shorter cannons allow him to reach out and swallow the ground in front of him. When he moves, there is nothing more beautiful in this world than Aneesilnefous.. You are enchanted by the horse. His skin is heavily pigmented and fine, which accentuates every tear bone and vein in his face. His muzzle is fine, not thick or boxy and his nostrils are elastic. His ears are small, with a lovely, pointy shape to them, giving him a look of intelligent curiosity. His eye is large, round and luminous. His neck is longer, with length in the poll and like Qaswarah, he has a very nice mitbah, with a clean underline. The qualities that one sees in Aneesilnefous are the unique characteristics that make the Arabian Horse so unlike any other horse. Aneesilnefous is a celebration, in one body, of all the special qualities we cherish in the Arabian horse.

The Influence of the Sire at Ezzain

In a previous blog article, we have studied the role of the most influential mares in the Ezzain breeding program. However, what about the stallions? Which horses exert the most influence on the creation of the Ezzain Arabian horse? For many reasons, NK Hafid Jamil will always be the most important cornerstone of the Ezzain breeding program. His continuing influence is primarily felt through the get of NK Qaswarah, pictured above, who is the chief sire of Ezzain Arabians. The current program features six Qaswarah sons and fifteen daughters. That's approximately half of the program!!  Of Qaswarah's six sons,  two stallions, Aneesilnefous and Yaasoob, have sired one son each and collectively, have sired ten daughters, all of whom have been selected for breeding. Additionally, a son of NK Hafid Jamil  named NK Nadeer is represented by one daughter who will also become part of the program. While Qaswarah is the male representative of NK Hafid Jamil in the program; Ezzain also has three daughters, NK Jurie, Dhuha AlNakeeb and Jenan AlNakeeb. So, one can say that NK Hafid Jamil is not only significant; he is crucially important to Ezzain, as 37 of the 45 horses trace to him either as a sire or grandsire. That's over 80% of the program deeply influenced by one horse!

In the early 90's, when Usamah Alkazemi began to formulate a plan of action to breed the horse he envisioned in his mind's eye, he visited Ansata Arabian Stud, as he had become aware that many of the horses he admired, shared common ground in the prefix name, "Ansata". It was on this visit that he met and selected Ansata AlMurtajiz. While we can say that NK Hafid Jamil, through his son NK Qaswarah is a cornerstone of Ezzain, so too, we can say that Ansata Hejazi, is important, through his son, Ansata AlMurtajiz, who is one of the most important and most remarkable of the modern Ansata-bred horses, maybe even eclipsing his sire in consistency, as evidenced by the continuing influence Ansata AlMurtajiz has at Ezzain.   Ansata AlMurtajiz is important because he was the first and he established a level of quality and consistency that made it possible for a super horse like NK Qaswarah to take it to the next level. Ezzain has two Ansata AlMurtajiz daughters in the breeding program, Azhaar, who is a mare of great influence, having founded a vitally important family of horses at Ezzain. The other daughter is Alamirah, who carries much significance personally for Usamah Alkazemi, her breeder. However, the influence of Ansata AlMurtajiz is made  greater through his sons, Suror and Nooreddine, who have sired two daughters each, who are not only beautiful horses but also, active broodmares in the program. But what is amazing about the Ansata AlMurtajiz sons is that as maternal grandsires, their influence continues to be felt! Nooreddine is represented in five horses, while Suror is represented in six! I don't believe that a more compelling statement can be made, as to why Ansata AlMurtajiz remains so significant in the Ezzain breeding program. 

Adnan is a son of Salaa el Dine and the Ghazal daughter, Ghazala. Ezzain has one Adnan daughter in the program, Ajmal Ibtihaj, but what is extremely interesting to consider about Adnan,  is the manner in which his influence continues today, in the Ezzain program. Adnan's influence is felt most as a maternal grandsire. He is represented in the pedigree of nine Ezzain horses, as a maternal grandsire. 

These three horses, Ansata AlMurtajiz, NK Qaswarah and Adnan have collectively defined the Ezzain breeding program with a very unique look, found no where else in the world. They have given flesh and bone to the horse that Usamah Alkazemi envisioned as the ideal Arabian, now recognized the world over as the Ezzain Arabian horse.