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Insh Allah - Reserve Champion Stallion
By
Liz Salmon
Photos by Carol Maginn
This year due to the ridiculous photographer’s rules at US Nationals,
where we could not take any photos inside the coliseum at all, I decided
that I would rather go to the Middle East Championships in Jordan. I had
been there four years ago to judge and loved it. I then invited Carol Maginn
and Diana Cantey—two of the photographers that provide me with wonderful
photos for my articles to join me. Carol took a little persuading, but eventually
she agreed. So we all set off from Chicago on the long thirteen hour flight
to Amman aboard a Royal Jordanian plane.
When we arrived we were met
by an official, who had our passports stamped with VIP in Arabic, then ushered
us to our vehicle and driver who transported us to the hotel, to the show and
anywhere else for the next three days. The hospitality and organisation in
the capable hands of Ghalia Nooreddin was absolutely wonderful. We were all
made to feel very special.
The
show was held on October 16th-18th at the Royal Stables in Amman— a beautiful setting with a very
green arena surrounded by trees. One of the whole long sides of the arena was
set up with tables and umbrellas for the VIP guests, where we were constantly
supplied with drinks and munchies. The weather was absolute perfection all
three days—not too hot and with a lovely breeze. We all agreed that this
was much more fun than going to US Nationals. Carol and Diana took all the
photos they wanted from the ringside. and then went into the arena for winning
shots.
The judges came from all
over the world. Patricia Lindsay from the UK, Dr. Toon Hulshof from Holland,
Dr. Mohammad Machmoum from Morocco, Dr. Thomas Stohler from Switzerland and
Dr Marek Trela from Poland. They did a great job and were fair and mostly very
close in scores. Princess Alia was observed unwrapping the beautiful glass
trophies and taking a very active part in the proceedings as well as welcoming
the many guests. She hosted a wonderful lunch at her house for all the judges
and VIPs on the final day of the show. We met so many interesting people and
made numerous new friends.
First into the ring on the first day were the yearling fillies—a lovely
class of eight typey young ladies. Many of the top horses were bred
in the USA, so it was interesting to see what bloodlines had been imported. The
first two placed fillies were very close in scores by .40, but it was the
very typey, good bodied US bred Cinnamon N Spice (First Cyte x Cinnamon Candy
V) owned by Mr. Nofal Kahook from Jordan who just squeezed past another
really outstanding, German bred filly Juwanda OS ( WH Justice x Shak
Lavanda) owned by Dubai Arabian Stud to win the class. Both had everything
it takes to win in Halter.
Cinnamon N Spice
Another
eight fillies came under the judges for the two year old class. Again there
were several US bred fillies and this was also a nice class. The final scores
for the top two were identical of 89.5, but the deciding factor of type made
RAH Fantasy (Rahere
x Magnums Caress IA) owned by Mr. Nofal Kahook the winner with her excellent
type and great hip. In second place was another US import—the pretty,
excellent moving Ballerina BVA (Ames Charisma x LC Pirouette) owned by Al Mohamadia
Stud of Saudi Arabia.
The
class for three years olds was an excellent one and probably the best of
the morning. The winner here has been a favourite of mine since I saw her
at US Nationals a couple of years ago. This was the wonderful Shownel (Showkayce
x WR Jullane). She has everything going for her and scored a high 92.2 having
scored the first 20 for type. She is owned by the Dubai Arabian Stud. In
second place was Mostly Roses SSA (ML Mostly Padron x Desert Rose SSA) owned
by Mr. Nofal Kahook—a
very attractive and typey dark liver chestnut mare.
We then had a two hour lunch
break and were kindly invited to join the judges for lunch. It was fun wandering
round the Royal stables or looking at the camels, before the afternoon classes
started at 2 pm. In fact during one lunch break, we went and sat in a black
tent and joined some of the staff for coffee or tea. Carol and Diana had their
first camel ride down there too.
First in during the afternoon was a small, but good class of six yearling
colts. The winner here with a score of 90.80 was Naif Al Mohamadia ( Marwan
Al Shaqab x Maria Al Besson) a good moving and typey colt with lots to like
about him. He is owned by Al Mohamadia Stud. In second place was the
very typey, showy Moetaz Al Aseel (Nibrass x Crystal Almenesia) owned and
bred by Muwafaq Al Khadra from Syria with a score of 88.9.
Reserve Junior Male Champion: Naif Al Mohamadia
Winning
the small class of five two year old colts was the stunning grey Preemium (WH Justice x
Priscilla) bred in Belgium and owned by the Dubai Arabian Stud. Coming in a
close second with 90.4 was another excellent colt, but with in my opinion a
prettier head, but with not such good movement. This was Al Bourak (El Thay
Mansour x Al Yamaamah) owned and bred by Said Khair Stables of Jordan.
The
final colt class for three year olds had some pretty flashy entries.
These boys were full of themselves. The top two scores were very close indeed
with the winner emerging with a score of 91.8, this was Matrix LL (Magnum
Chall HPV x Estancia LL) bred in the US and owned by Nofal Kahook, a lovely
masculine, but very typey colt. Scoring the very close 91.5 was another exquisite
colt Khidaro (Khidar x Crown Muscosa) bred in Germany and owned by the Amman
Stables Jordan. I was invited to present the awards in this class and just
missed a good back hander from both barrels from the the winner who was still
very full of himself !!
The last class of the day was the Junior Liberty class—always fun
to watch. The winner was Ibn Anmenes (Laman HPV x Anmenes) with Shumookh
(Hlayyil Ramadan x Shaafi’ah) in second place. Then it was back to
the hotel for a good dinner and discussing the day with many nationalities.
Friday
began with the first of the four mare classes, with a fairly good class of
eight four year
olds. There seemed to be a few plainish heads, but also some good movers. TS
Madeleine (Ansata Sinan x Thee Sharaqa) prevailed here with a good score of
91.80. A lovely feminine mare with a beautiful head and a great body, she was
bred in the USA and is owned by Al Mohamadia Stud. Coming in second with 90.4
was another very typey mare with enormous presence, this was the US bred
Psymply Satin (TF Psymreekhe x Satin Fire) owned by Mr.Nofal Kahook.
An impressive
class of seven five and six year olds were up next. I loved the winner of
this one, this was Sheikha (Scudsly x Minstrils Grace) owned and bred by Said Khair Stables.
She scored 91.1 and was very ethereal with great type and an excellent body.
Malak (Hlayyil Ramadan x Malekia) was second with 90.3, another very pretty
mare with great presence and movement, owned by Mr. Talal Al Saleh of
Jordan.
In my opinion the best class was the one for mares aged nine to seven years
of age, although there were only five mares forward. It was lovely to watch.
The very high score of 93.6 was achieved and well deserved by the winner
Saida Bint Shahlia (Classic Shadwan x Ansata Shahlia) she was outstanding
in every way and is bred by Birkhof Stud in Germany and owned by Al Mohamadia
Stud. Another high score of 92.3 was awarded to the second placed mare Yusra
(Sattam x Al Yamaamah) with her excellent type, body and topline, owned and
bred by The Royal Stables.
Saida Bint Shahlia - Champion Mare
The final mare class born in 1998 and before was another small but not such
a good class. However, the winner was very impressive with her great presence
and movement. This was Goleh Gola (Abakan x Grojka) scoring 92.6 bred
in France and owned by H.R.H Prince Hussein Mirza of the Royal Stables. A
score of 91.4 was achieved by the second place mare—Gho Gha (Nadir
1 x Grojka) in fact a half sister to the winner, she was also a very attractive
and pleasing mare. She was bred in France and owned by The Royal Stables.
Goleh Gola - Champion in the 10 year old mares class
After
another great lunch, we all settled down to watch the three classes of
stallions. The crowds in the stands opposite were pretty full by then,
Friday being a religious holiday. The class for four to six year old came
bursting in to the ring with much encouragement from the spectators. It
was to be a hard decision between the top three stallions. In fact the
scores were very, very close. Savio (Dreamcatcher x Om El Shadina) emerged
as the winner with a score of 92.7—an impression stallion with
great type, conformation and movement with very strange markings. He
is owned by Al Mohamadia Stud. The second placed score of 92.6 and was given
to Insh Allah (Ashal Al Rayyan x India) a very ethereal stallion with a great
body, topline and hip. He is owned by King Abdullah 11.
The next class seven to nine year old stallions was not as impressive,
but the winner scored a good 92.5. This was Hamras Akid (Ali Valentino
x Aktysha Moon) a very ethereal and typey stallion with excellent
movement. Bred in Germany, he is owned by Al Mohamadia Stud.
Sulayman (Zaa’ir x Saba) a very attractive and athletic horse scored
88.1 to come in second for his owner Mr. Barakat Al Natour of Jordan.
Hamras Akid - 9 Year Old Stallions - Champion
Only four stallions were forward for the class for those born in 1998 and
before. The winner with a score of 90.1 was a fabulous mover with wonderful
type. This was Shamekh Al Shaqab (Ansata Sinan x Malaka) bred in Qatar and
owned by The Royal Stables. The second placed horse with a score of 89.1
was SS Barabas (Simeon Shemini x SS Barzani) he had a great topline as well
as good type and movement. He was bred in New Zealand and is owned by H.E.
Mr. Abd El Hamid Al Saleh of The Royal Stables.
Shamekh Al Shaqab
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SS Barabas (Simeon Shemini x SS Barzani)
The last class of the day was the Senior
Liberty deservedly won by Katira AAsa (Abakan x Kasraa) she gave a great
performance and is owned by The Royal Stables. In Reserve was Sulayman,
owned by Mr. Barakat Al Natour of Jordan. It was a sad thought that we were once again on
the showground, but for the last time on this final day. The first Championship
was the Junior Females. It looked to be a tough decision, but finally Shownel
won this coveted award with Cinnamon N Spice in Reserve.
Shownel's
win shot - she was Jr. Champion Filly.
The Junior Male Championship followed with some explosive young colts showing
off. Matrix LL prevailed here with the yearling Naif Al Mohamadia in
Reserve. There was much clapping and celebrating from the Champion’s
owner and his entourage in the ring !
Matrix LL - Junior Male Champion
We
had some wonderful displays in the ring in between Championships of tent
pegging, dancers to pipes and drums and a camel corps. The last class before lunch was the best female
head. This was won by an enchanting grey filly foal with an incredibly exotic
head, her name was Hoore (Monarcos DD x Hasanaat Al Haneefah) owned and
bred by Mrs. Muna Al Saleh of Jordan. In second place was Al Yamaamah (Abakan
x Al Hamaama) owned by HRH Prince Hamzah bin Al Hussein of Jordan.
Lunch by kind invitation
of Princess Alia at her home was next. This was wonderful as her house sits
on top of a hill among beautiful trees, and the food was incredible with so
many great Jordanian dishes to try.
Back
to the showground for the rest of the Championships. First were the mares,
a lovely array of these feminine beauties. After much deliberation Saida
Bint Shahlia prevailed with TS Madeleine in Reserve.
Following
this Championship we had the first of the two foal Championships. Some of
these filly foals were loose and some were led. The eventual Champion was
Radiyyah (Monarcos DD x Rahaf) a very pretty filly owned and bred by The
Royal Stables, who gave a great display with her tail straight up. Reserve
was the beautiful Hoore.
The
colt foals were very cocky and pleased with themselves. There were some very
promising entries. The Champion was Salman Al Mohamadia (GR Amaretto x Thee
Scheherezade) a very typey little guy with super movement, owned by Al Mohamadia
Stud. Reserve went to Al Saqir (Kyro Ka x Salma) bred and owned by
HM King Abdullah 11. It was very entertaining as he lost sight of his mother
for a short while and gave quite a show.
We then went on to the Stallion Championship, which was won by Savio with
Insh Allah in Reserve. The best Male head was awarded to the very popular
and beautiful Hlayyil Ramadan (Kamar El Zaman x Haboub) owned and bred by
The Royal Stables. With those huge dark eyes, how could he miss. In my opinion
he is the epitome of a classic Arabian head. In Reserve was Monarcos LL (Psytadel
x Monogrammed Lady) another beautiful head, he was bred in Belgium and is
owned by The Royal Stables.
Savio - Champion Stallion
Insh Allah - Reserve Champion Stallion
Monarcos LL - Reserve Male Best Head
It had been a wonderful three days and sad to think it was over. After many
goodbyes to new found friends, we went back to the hotel for a final dinner
before we set off the next day for a two day sight seeing tour.
I can’t stress enough what a fabulous country Jordan is—so
friendly and welcoming. We all decided that we wanted to come back next year
and once again ignore US Nationals.
Liz Salmon
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