The Sheykh Obeyd Foundation was founded in 1988 for the purpose of preserving what remains of a small group of Arabian horses who descend in every line from the desert horses gathered by the Royal Egyptian breeders of the 19th and early 20th century. Amazingly, a small number of these horses, around 800 world wide, have survived in pure form to modern times. They are primarily straight Egyptian, all are Al Khamsa and can be traced exclusively to the Egypt 1, 2 and Blunt ancestral elements, as defined by Al Khamsa Arabians in 1983. The Egypt 1 ancestral element includes foundation horses from the breeders Abbas Pasha (22 horses), Ali Pasha Sherif (8 horses), Prince Ahmed Pasha Kemal (7 horses), Khedive Abbas II (3 horses), Ahmed Bey Sennari (3 horses); the Blunt ancestral element comes from Lady Anne Blunt (15 horses); the Egypt 2 ancestral element from the Royal Agricultural Society (RAS) of Egypt (8 horses).
The Sheykh Obeyd Foundation was named after Lady Anne Blunt's stud just outside of Cairo, Egypt. That stud was originally owned by Abbas Pasha's uncle, Ibrahim Pasha, and named Sheykh Obeyd after the saint - a companion of the prophet Mohammed. Lady Anne developed close ties with the Egyptian breeders who shared her devotion to the meticulous breeding philosophies of the Bedouin. The group included Ali Pasha Sherif, Prince Ahmed Pasha Kemal, Prince Mohamed Ali and Dr. Branch of the RAS.
Horses bred by the Egyptian breeders have a letter code following their name which identifies the breeder. For example, Nazeer RAS means that Nazeer was bred by the Royal Agricultural Society. If an (F) follows the breeder code, it indicates that the horse was imported by that breeder as a foundation horse from the desert. Zobeyni AP (F) tells us that Zobeyni was a foundation horse for Abbas Pasha.
Sheykh Obeyd Sub-groups Frequently Encountered
Donald and Judith Forbis of Ansata Arabians imported a total of five Sheykh Obeyed Arabians all by Nazeer. In 1959 they imported the first two as yearlings, the stallion *Ansata Ibn Halima (Nazeer x Halima) and the mare *Ansata Bint Zaafarana (Nazeer x Zaafarana), full sister to the later import *Talal. The elegant *Ansata Bint Zaafarana introduced to America the treasured Ghadia/Radia family. Bint Radia bred to Ibn Rabdan produced the fabulous four, Shahloul, Hamdan, Radwan and Samira. Zaafarana (Balance x Samira) was known for her brilliant trot, regal presence and her ability to produce winning race horses. *Ansata Bint Zaafarana was always bred to *Ansata Ibn Halima. She produced two national winners and 3 of her offspring produced national winners. While *Ansata Bint Zaafarana is very well represented in Egyptian lines, sadly almost none of her blood remains within Sheykh Obeyd lines.
*Ansata Ibn Halima's show ring presence was to win the hearts of many. He is the only imported Sheykh Obeyd stallion to sire both a National Champion stallion and mare and he sired 14 national winners himself. Through 1987, 11 sons and 11 daughters have sired at least one national winner. In addition, he is the sire of the very popular Sheykh Obeyd sire El Hilal (x *Bint Nefisaa). The Forbis stallions were always at public stud, which gave them considerable exposure to American breeders. American breeders began using *Ansata Ibn Halima and his sons and the results were well received. Many of his sons were used at stud, whether from Sheykh Obeyd bloodlines or others, and as a result his influence became very widespread and made him one of the most influential Nazeer sons in the breed. Like his 3/4 brothers *Rashad Ibn Nazeer, Hadban Enzahi (Nazeer x Kamla) in Germany and Aswan (Nazeer x Yosriea) in Russia, *Ansata Ibn Halima was the product of breeding a Mansour son to a Mansour grandaughter (37.5% Mansour line breeding). There is a special quality found in the head and facial details found in many offspring of this combination of Nazeer bred to Sheikh El Arab daughters. The graceful and shapely set of the ears, eyes and prominent forehead with muzzle parts low in the line of the face are often seen in this group.
In 1965 Donald and Judy Forbis returned to Egypt to select additional imports to add to their program and these included the exquisite *Ansata Bint Bukra (Nazeer x Bukra). *Ansata Bint Bukra was a full sister to the beautiful stallion Ghazal in Germany and was very much the feminine version of him. *Ansata Bint Bukra is very well known for her son Ansata El Sherif by *Ansata Ibn Halima.
In 1970 Donald and Judy Forbis completed their Sheykh Obeyd importations with the Nazeer daughters *Ansata Bint Nazeer (x El Bataa) and *Ansata Bint Misuna (x Maysouna). Sadly, both are lost to Sheykh Obeyd breeding.
While Ansata Arabians themselves did not maintain any Sheykh Obeyd horses in their breeding program, other dedicated Sheykh Obeyd breeders have been preserving the blood of these magnificent imports for the future.
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In 1932 Mr. Henry B. Babson traveled to Egypt. Unfortunately, Mr. Babson did not get to meet Prince Kemal el-Dine Hussein but Dr. A.E. Branch of the R.A.S., who attended the Prince's horses, did show him through the stables. From among the entire herd, Dr. Branch felt Serra to be one of the finest mares in Egypt and he wanted Mr. Babson to take her daughter to America. Thus, Dr. Branch interceded on Mr. Babson's behalf and Bint Serra was acquired. She was Mr. Babson's favorite mare of the importation. A tail-female descendant of the elegant Saqlawi Jidran Ibn Sudan strain (through Horra) of Abbas Pasha lineage, she descended in tail male line from the famous Abbas Pasha Saqlawi Jidran foundation stallion Zobeyni. *Bint Serra I was of an unusually high percentage, 75%, Ali Pasha Sherif breeding. Her son *Metsur by Rustem accompanied her to the U.S., but he died shortly after his arrival and before he could be used at stud.
*Fadl and *Maaroufa, bred by Prince Mohammed Ali, were full brother and sister and foals of the beautiful Mahroussa (made famous by Carl Raswan's photographs). *Fadl and *Maaroufa were of the celebrated Kuhaylan Jallabi strain, descended from Bint Yamama KED.
Mr. Babson imported in 1932 seven horses from Egypt, six of which survived. Those horses were: *Fadl MNL, *Maaroufa MNL, *Bint Serra I KED, *Bint Saada MNL, *Bint Bint Sabbah RAS and *Bint Bint Durra RAS.
The Babson importation has been divided up into six sub-groups. The first group is defined as horses descending only from *Fadl,*Bint Serra I and *Bint Bint Sabbah. This group is nearly gone with only one breeding mare remaining, Nefer Tiye (Fa Asar x Serr Beth) at Chariot Farm. There are several remaining stallions including Fa Asar, Ahmed Fabah and Serr Ibn Fa-Serr (Fa Asar x Serr Beth). Group 2 Babsons trace only to the imports *Fadl, *Bint Serra I, *Bint Bint Sabbah and *Bint Saada. This group will end with the death of the two remaining aged stallions, both bred and owned by Candice Cohn. Group 3 Babsons trace all the imports but *Maaroufa. This is also a small group which currently has only 4 breedable mares, Zahara Sabiya and her daughter Masada Anisah at Masada Arabians, Dahma Saafada at Bint Al Bahr Arabians and Masada Malima at Nadara Arabians. All mares are being bred to Group 1 or Group 3 stallions. There are several stallions within Group 3, including Masada Samhan, three full brothers by Fa Asar x Zahara Sabiya and three full brothers by Ahmed Fabah x Dahma Saafada. The Group 4 Babsons trace to all six imports. Surprisingly, this group is relatively small. However, in a few generations the majority of straight Babsons are expected to fall into the Group 4 or Group 6 category. Group 5 traces to all imports except *Bint Bint Durra. The largest current categorization of straight Babsons is Group 6 which trace to *Fadl,*Maaroufa, *Bint Serra I and *Bint Bint Sabbah.
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The Brown imports began in 1918 with a massive group of 18 horses: 14 mares and four stallions. This importation would remain the largest group for the next years. Among these were the impressive *Berk noted for his brilliant trot, *Battla, *Nafia and *Rijma, which have bred on and are represented in the offspring of Rabanna, Ghadaf and Gulida. *Baraza, *Hazna, *Kerbela, *Nueyra, *Numera, *Rajafan, *Ramim, *Felestin, *Ramla, *Rishrash, *Rokhsa, *Simawa and *Rizvan were lost to the Sheykh Obeyd genetic pool. *Kasima's blood is preserved through her son Kazmeyn in Egypt. An additional Brown import was *Hamida, who is represented in Sheykh Obeyd breeding through Gulida.
In 1932 W.R. Brown made another historic importation, this time from Egypt, of seven Arabians all bred by Prince Mohammed Ali. These Brown imports were considered by some among the finest ever imported into this country. They were all of the Kuhaylan Jallabi strain. Brown had become one of the largest and most prominent breeders of Arabians in America, having established his Maynesboro Stud in 1912 based primarily on the Egypt and Blunt breeding imported from England. Brown is the breeder of the noted early sires Ribal and Gulastra. His Sheykh Obeyd imports were well regarded and considered nearly the pick of the choice stock of Prince Mohammed Ali. This group included the stallions *Nasr (Rabdan El Azrak x Bint Yamama), *Zarife (Ibn Samhan x Mahroussa), *Silver Yew (Ibn Rabdan x *Aziza) who died shortly after importation, and the mares *Roda (Mansour x Negma), *Aziza (Gamil Manial x Negma), *HH Mohamed Ali's Hamida (*Nasr x Mahroussa) and *HH Mohamed Alis Hamama (Kawkab x Mahroussa).
In Egypt, the lovely Negma was considered by Prince Mohammed Ali to be the key to true Arabian quality. Her daughter Mahroussa was considered by Brown to be one of the most beautiful mares he had ever seen. She was one of the most photographed mares of her time.
Soon after the Great Depression began to take its toll, Brown dispersed his breeding program and many of the Brown horses were acquired by Dickinson of the Traveler's Rest Stud. *Nasr became the senior sire at Traveler's Rest and was used heavily. *Nasr survives in Sheykh Obeyd breeding only through his son Sirecho out of Exochorda, *Zarife and *Roda through their son Hallany Mistanny and *Aziza through her son Julep by Gulastra.
To learn more about *Aziza and *Roda please read the Arabian Visions archived article.
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In 1949, Dr. J.L. Doyle of Sigourney, Iowa abandoned an already successful program and began a breeding program designed to save and utilize what remained of the high percentage "Ali Pasha Sherif bloodlines in this country". He was concerned because the Sheykh Obeyd bloodlines were quickly being absorbed into other programs and combined as new owners discovered the innate ability of these mares to add breeding power to a farm's herd. A well liked and knowledgeable individual, he was able through diligent efforts to obtain three key horses to begin his new breeding program. Gulida (Gulastra x Valida), whom he sent to Nusi (Gulastra x Nusara) and produced Im Gulnar. He was also able to acquire the 22 year old stallion Ghadaf (Ribal x Gulnare). In 1957 Dr. Doyle passed away and his wife Ellen took up the reins of this important program until 1969 when she became ill. A family friend, Dr. Ed Kelly, maintained the bulk of the herd for a couple of years and the remaining horses were inherited among the Doyle relatives. Barbara Baird, Dr. Doyle's niece, led the way in a return to the Doyle breeding. The mare Bint Gulida (Ghadaf x Gulida) has earned the title "broodmare supreme" in the difficult sport of endurance. Through the efforts of various dedicated small breeders the work of Dr. Doyle has been saved and the living Arabians of Doyle breeding continues as a significant part of Sheykh Obeyd breeding even though small in numbers. These horses are among the highest percentage Ali Pasha Sherif horses that remain in Sheykh Obeyd breeding.
Controversy has swarmed around the Sheykh Obeyd horses descended from Dr. Doyle's Ghadaf/Gulida/Nusi program. A simple question is, if Heirloom horses are the "old" Egyptian blood stock, why aren't all of them identified as "straight" Egyptian by the Pyramid Society? The answer is unfortunately not simple.
The reason is that this line traces to the Blunt desert-breds Kars and Jerboa (exported 1878 to England) who never set foot themselves in Egypt. Both of these horses are in the pedigrees of horses purchased by the R.A.S. for their purebred breeding program and included among the "Root" horses in the first R.A.S. studbook. Both are foundation horses of Al Khamsa. However, the Pyramid Society does not recognize these two horses as components in Pyramid bloodstock. In addition to Dr. Doyle's Ghadaf/Gulida/Nusi program, Richard Pritzlaff's foundation mare Rabanna, is also excluded by the Pyramid society for the same reasons.
For nearly 20 years there has been debate over the question of why these horses are not included by the Pyramid Society. Preservation breeders and scholars of the history of the Arabian have long been aware that the Doyle and Rabanna blood is also "Egyptian", and in addition transmits the highest concentration of the treasured Abbas Pasha/Ali Pasha Sherif stock available today.
This conflict has led to confusion and misunderstandings about the term "Egyptian" bloodlines. Fortunately both the Sheykh Obeyd Foundation and the Heirloom Stud Book have recognized the immense value to the Egyptian gene pool of the bloodlines carried by the Doyle and Rabanna stock.
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In 1993 Col. John Fippen and Joan Schleicher introduced the Heirloom Arabian Stud Book. Their goal was to let history alone reveal the identity of what today is our "old Egyptian" blood. They concluded that there were clear historical parameters that divided modern Arabian breeding in Egypt into two eras, with the earlier one ending in 1914.
Using the first authorized studbook published by the Egyptian government, History of the R.A.S. Stud of Authentic Arabian Horses (Cairo, 1948), Fippen and Schleicher felt they found a valid basis for building the Heirloom taproot system. It was based upon the observation that the sections entitled "Root Mares" and Root Stallions" clearly distinguished that group of horses from the remaining chapters describing horses bred by the R.A.S. Thus, the stock designated by the R.A.S. as its own "roots" proved to be a sensible reference point for generating a comprehensive list of extant bloodlines from the earliest era of Egyptian breeding. Thus, the Heirloom horse can be broadly defined as "pre-RAS" Sheykh Obeyd.
Of the 57 horses listed in the "Roots" sections, 52 trace in all lines to Al Khamsa Foundation horses. 51 of the Al Khamsa horses descend entirely from foundation horses exported from desert Arabia before 1914, and are categorized by Al Khamsa as "Egypt 1" and "Blunt". The remaining horse is Bawdy, the only member of the "Egypt 2" element to be included among the roots of the R.A.S. Her date from the desert is unknown but if it is found to be prior to 1914, the Heirloom Stud Book has said they will add Badouia to the Heirloom taproot list.
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Although the name of this group is a bit of a misnomer, it includes all the Sheykh Obeyd horses imported into the United States after 1950 and includes some 64 horses through 1991. This includes the 1958 importation by Richard Pritzlaff of five horses and the Ansata importation of five Sheykh Obeyd horses between 1959 and 1970. Also included is Serenity Farms Limited, owned by Brad and Hansi Heck, importation of five Sheykh Obeyd horses between 1963 and 1973 and Gleannloch Farms, owned by Douglas and Margaret Marshall, importation of nineteen Sheykh Obeyd horses from 1952 to 1970. Gleannloch Farms dispersed its herd of Egyptian Arabians in 1992 and seven of their original imports continue within Sheykh Obeyd breeding.
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The noted Arabian horse authority Carl Raswan encouraged Richard Pritzlaff of New Mexico to go to Egypt and select some of the fine animals being bred by the EAO. As a result, Richard Pritzlaff became the first to import Nazeer offspring into the United States. His importation in 1958 consisted of the Kuhaylan Rodan stallion *Rashad Ibn Nazeer (Nazeer x Yashmak II) and the mares *Bint Moniet El Nefous (Nazeer x Moniet El Nefous), *Bint Nefisa (El Sareei x Nefisa), *Bint El Bataa (Nazeer x El Bataa) and *Bint Dahma (El Sareei x Dahma).
*Rashad Ibn Nazeer had an exceptionally high percentage of original Abbas Pasha breeding. *Bint Moniet El Nefous was the only daughter of the legendary "Queen of Egypt", Moniet El Nefous, to come to America. *Rashad Ibn Nazeer and *Bint El Bataa were three quarter brother and sister. Their son, Sheiko Ibn Sheikh was a popular sire on the west coast and sire of four national winners. The imports were bred to each other and combined with the Pritzlaff foundation mare Rabanna. Rabanna was personally selected for Pritzlaff by Carl Raswan. (For further discussion on Rabanna please see the section on Doyle). The blood of Ansata El Salim, Faarad, *Fakher El Din and Bel Gordas were also incorporated into the Pritzlaff program, which has remained a successful breeding program since the beginning.
For further reading about Richard Pritzlaff please read the Arabian Visions archived article about him.
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