Working Western

Working Western, which encompasses trail, cutting, working cow horse and reining, is growing in popularity with fanciers of Egyptian horses. Pako, a predominantly Egyptian gelding sired by a son of U.S.Top Ten Stallion *Ibn Moniet El Nefous, has excelled in trail competition. He was named 1997 U.S. National Champion Trail and Reserve National Champion Trail AOTR, and is owned by Bob James of New Mexico. In Reining, the half-Egyptian Shahtaan (by Ansata Shah Zam) was the 1997 Region II Reining AOTR Champion. Raddja (by the Straight Egyptian stallion Amer Dosadd) is a 1997 Region VI Top Five Working Cow Horse. The straight Egyptian mare Ziba Jalisa was named the Region VIII Champion Working Cow Horse and earned a Top Five Working Cow Horse AOTR. She was also a 1997 Scottsdale Top Ten Bitted Working Cow Horse. Another straight Egyptian horse named Top Ten Working Cow Horse at Scottsdale in 1997 (in the hackamore/snaffle bit class) is Ruminaja Sultan, a grandson of Shaikh Al Badi. Interestingly, Raddja, Ziba Jalisa and Ruminaja Sultan are grandget of *Sultann, the only Egyptian stallion to sire three national champions in performance, including U.S. National Champion Stallion and English Pleasure *Asadd.

Egyptian Arabians had a good show in the Working Cow Horse division at the 1998 Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show as well. Ziba Jalisa was once again earned a Top Ten Working Cow Horse Bitted title, as was the straight Egyptian gelding Taj Mo Ali (a Shaikh Al Badi grandson like Ruminaja Sultan). Of the four horses who placed in the Working Cow Horse Hackamore Class, one is the straight Egyptian Rasadiy (a *Morafic grandson).

Endurance

The ever-increasing popularity of straight Egyptian horses in endurance comes as no surprise, given the close relationship many Egyptian owners enjoy with their horses. Endurance is a sport where teamwork of horse and rider is vital, and where "to finish is to win". Many endurance riders prize a best condition award far more than finishing first on a ride!

We spoke to three endurance riders who are using Egyptian horses to compete on endurance rides on the West Coast. Dan Haahr of Fallbrook, CA, has been riding endurance on an Egyptian stallion for the last two years. "I am a heavyweight rider," he explains, "and to keep my horse sound throughout the season I need to Start with a big, strong, athletic horse. I was not looking for a straight Egyptian horse initially, but after logging many frequent flyer miles in several months, we purchased our first straight Egyptian, Kamal Ibn Maalik, then a two year old colt. He was the most athletic horse we had seen."

Kamal Ibn Maalik's toughness, willingness to work, and athletic ability have sold the Haahrs on Egyptian lines. Four years after his purchase, Haahr reports that Kamal is living up to his potential, with several rides fmished and always being in contention for Best Condition awards. "He has great recoveries and very high vet scores, which is quite an accomplishment considering the horses against whom we are competing carry a lot less weight." Haahr feels fortunate that Kamal has been bred to some of the top performance mares in the area in 1998. "Our intention is to continue to breed athletic horses with good minds. Although I love seeing them go down the trail, these horses should be capable of excelling in many different performance events."

The Harris family of Bishop, CA, began with endurance with another breed-a Morgan. Don Harris started riding the trails with his Morgan in 1986, but quickly realized that to be fully competitive he needed an Arabian. In his early years of competition Don enjoyed success with horses of varied bloodlines including Polish/Crabbet and Egyptian/Crabbett, but when the Harris breeding program shifted to primarily Egyptian lines, the other horses were sold. "I have always favored the Egyptians because I prefer an extremely typey horse," explains Jackey. "Don has proven that Egyptians can be both beautiful and athletic as well."

Tayaran has numerous awards, including 1994 IAHA Region II Top Five and Best Condition, and won his Legion of Honor in 1997 with all points earned in endurance riding. Don also rode Tayaran's maternal half-sister Nazeerina Farraar, on a limited-distance ride this past year. Jackey comments, "We are focusing on raising classic Egyptian Arabians with show horse looks but we’d much rather spend our time proving their athletic ability on the endurance trails rather than in the show ring."

Marty Ginsburg of Pearblossom, CA, rode her first endurance race in 1974 with a mustang mare who was a former barrel racer. The results were disastrous-the mare was so hyper that Marty stopped at the 25-mile point and gave her away to the man who was putting on the ride! Fortunately, Marty persevered in her interest in distance riding and spent the next few years on Polish and Crabbet horses because "my husband said our straight Egyptian mares were too valuable to ride so we kept them in production." Marty was determined to try out the straight Egyptians in endurance because they had been bred for centuries for toughness and athletic ability, and she felt they would have an edge over Arabians of other bloodlines. Her hunch proved right, as her Egyptian horses had excellent ground-covering trots and exceptionally fast recovery times at vet checkpoints.

In the past year, Marty has competed with DW Khayyam, a Shaikh Al Badi gelding who was a former show horse; DW Chapparal, a nine-year-old gelding by her Ruminaja Ali son; and with the 15-year-old DW Shakh Wave, a gelding by the *Morafic son Shakhs. Shakhs Wave has won more endurance rides that Marty can count and has an 18-mile-an-hour trot. In the past, her endurance mounts included the Ansata Shah Zam gelding DW Westwind, who was also an English pleasure and native costume champion). Five years ago, when he was 11, "Boober" and Marty did 11 rides, placing fourth in the lightweight division and tenth overall in the Southwest division of the American Endurance Ride Conference. He was also the IAHA Region I and II Endurance Champion as well as having two coveted best condition awards. Horses sold by Marty have also done well for new owners, including DW Zapp for Larry Fleet and DW Monsoon for Maureen Selzler.

Marty has logged over 4,000 total miles in endurance, and thanks to her Egyptian horses, she says, "I can count on one hand the number of times I did not come in Top Ten. On most of my rides I was in the top three. I've also had at least ten Best Conditions, which I consider better than winning. Since I stopped showing in 1992, I have focused on breeding endurance horses, but my breeding program has not had to change. I've always liked a beautiful horse, and since I've been riding Egyptians since the early 1980s, that's what I have. Horses need straight legs, good bone, and great shoulders to be competitive in endurance, and my Egyptian horses have that. My stallion, DW Ali Kaliph, has been successful at halter and English pleasure in the show ring, and at team penning. He won his first 25-mile ride and came in third in his first fifty-mile ride. Egyptian horses can do it all!" enthuses Ginsburg.