Ansata Sirius The star of Isis, called Sothis, or Sirius, is the brightest star in the night sky. The Ancient Egyptians believed that Sirius had a tremendous effect upon life on the planet Earth. Sirius is three times the mass of the sun, and over ten times as bright, shining with a brilliant blue-white radiance. Of all the stars in the sky, only the annual heliacal rising of Sirius exactly matches the length of Earth’s solar year, 365.25 days. The Ancient Egyptians were somehow aware of this unique relationship between Earth’s system and Sirius and marked the heliacal rising of Sirius as the first day of their calendar year. Even today, unbeknownst to most of the people of the world, the News Year’s Eve celebration originates from a most ancient ritual honoring the return of Sirius to the mid-heaven position at midnight, occurring around January 1st. Continuing down through the ages for thousands of years and all around the world, without knowing the hidden reason, many have marked this midnight moment by jumping for joy!1 Bait Al Arab, the State Stud of Kuwait, stands at stud the ‘shining silver star’ of stallions, Ansata Sirius. This noble grey stallion mirrors his own name through his aesthetic beauty and his strength of character. He was foaled in 1996 at Ansata Arabian Stud in Mena, Arkansas. Ansata Sirius is a Dahman Shahwan from the elite Bukra family, through Ansata Delilah to Ansata Bint Bukra. “Ansata Sirius was a star rising from the time he was born,” recounted his breeder Judith Forbis. “His early beauty captured the imagination of many who saw him, including Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Hamad Al Thani [of the famous Al Rayyan Farm of Doha, Qatar] who planned to purchase him. One morning Sirius was being lunged in the round pen and hit his hoof against the wall, shattering his pastern into pieces.” The injury required a complicated surgery, and at the time, the highly specialized veterinary facilities that would be required to perform a reconstruction of this magnitude were just being developed in Qatar. Consequently, Sh. Abdul Aziz decided against the purchase. Meanwhile, stated Judi, “The surgeon at Oklahoma State University said he would try to repair the damage, but it was very costly and questionable whether [ Ansata Sirius ] could win the battle for life.” The veterinary clinic fixed the shattered bone with a steel plate and instructed that the colt be kept on stall rest for many months. “Sirius was determined to live, however, and after a year of stall rest and careful attention by the Ansata staff, he healed.” Ansata Sirius seemed to understand that it was necessary that he stay in the box stall. “His tremendous courage and spirit, and thanks to excellent surgery performed at Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine, allowed his survival when many other horses would have given up.”2 Finally, all went well. “In fact,” Judi continued, “he recovered so well that he was taken to the Egyptian Event to compete and won Top Ten in his class.” While attending the US Egyptian Event, many people admired Ansata Sirius because of his presence, charisma, balance, and gentle behavior. For several years, he stood at stud at Ansata and was also used on some outside mares whose owners put their trust and faith in him.
In her book Authentic Arabian Bloodstock II, Judith Forbis described Ansata Sirius as being a perfectly balanced pure white stallion with a unique, extremely short head, good expressive dark eyes, well set and very small pricked ears ( inherited from *Jamilll and Hadban Enzahi ), huge jowls, a good dish and small muzzle, a well-shaped upstanding arched neck, high tail carriage, and an excellent body and topline. “Despite a year’s stall rest…, he is now perfectly sound and moves freely with good, ground covering gaits. His extreme type and quality are evident in his first foal crops…”
In 2003, the Kuwait State Stud’s Arabian Horse Committee began looking for a new stallion. After careful consideration, they decided to buy Ansata Sirius. Ansata Sirius was moved to Bait Al Arab in Kuwait in 2003, where he became a stable mate to his full brother in blood Ansata Osiron, owned by H.H. Sha. Sarah Fahad Al Sabah’s Al Arab Stud. Ansata Sekhmet, Sirius’s dam, and Ansata Selket, Osirion’s dam, are full sisters, and both stallions were sired by Ansata Iemhotep. Ansata Sirius was bred to the first State Stud mares in 2004. Today, he stands at stud to both Bait Al Arab mares and to mares belonging to private breeders in Kuwait.
Bait Al Arab’s general manager Klaus Beste provided some insight regarding Ansata Sirius’s siring abilities when he stated, “Ansata Sirius passes on very good and nicely balanced bodies; solid strong legs; upright, well-arched necks; and short exotic heads with small ears and fine muzzles. His get have beautiful tail carriage and excellent movement.” While at Ansata, Ansata Sirius sired the beautiful stallion Ansata Ibn Sirius ( out of Ansata Rahmah, by Ansata Hejazi ). Ansata Ibn Sirius was sold to Al Shaqab Stud of Doha, Qatar, where he now stands at stud. Some of Ansata Sirius’s best offspring at Bait Al Arab include:
Additionally, one of the best mares at Bait Al Arab, Wafaa Elkuwait (Ansata Hejazi x Ansata White Nile, by Prince Fa Moniet) has produced a very promising colt by Ansata Sirius. The colt’s name is Waseem Elkuwait. He is not yet two years old and will be watched carefully to see if he will develop into a future breeding stallion for Bait Al Arab. These are just some of Ansata Sirius’s get which will be added to the breeding program of Bait Al Arab.
Ansata Sirius has the trust and faith of many breeders, as well as the confidence of the State Stud. Bait Al Arab is looking forward to getting more high quality foals by him. He is still young and full of energy and has a great presence and personality. He is the ‘shining silver star’ at any presentation Bait Al Arab organizes for breeders and people who admire Arabian horses for their beauty, nobleness, and elegance. In Judi’s words, “When faced with certain death, Ansata Sirius proved he had one of the most admirable traits of the breed extolled by Arab poets for centuries: courage in the face of death.” Perhaps his courage is that which illuminates Ansata Sirius, the brightest star of Bait Al Arab!
“Behold Sirius rising,
Background on the State Stud Bait Al Arab is the government State Stud of Kuwait. Formerly it was named the Arabian Horse Center, but it now exists as Bait Al Arab. The State Stud belongs to the Hunting & Equestrian Club of Kuwait. The Hunting & Equestrian Club established a committee called the Arabian Horse Committee, which supervises the State Stud. H.H. Sha. Sarah Fahad Al Sabah of Al Arab Stud is the chairman of this committee. In 2007 the Hunting & Equestrian Club transferred the responsibilities for the State Stud to private management. Al Aadeyat International Real Estate of Mr. Mohammed J. Al Marzouk, owner of Ajmal Arabian Stud, has been managing the State Stud since then. Bait Al Arab is not a collaboration of breeders. It is a single stud, but it works with the private farms of Kuwait in a very good way. The State Stud and the private breeders support each other in different fields. Just recently, Ansata Sirius has been joined by two more stable mates. El Thay Khemal Pasha (El Thay Mansour x Kamla II, by Ansata Halim Shah) arrived at Bait Al Arab on lease. El Thay Khemal Pasha was bred by El Thayeba Stud in Germany, and is proudly owned by H.H. Sh. Khaled Bagedo’s Al Khaled Farm of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Ajmal Mashreq (Adnan x Ansata Nefertiti [Ansata Nefertiti is a full sister to Ansata Hejazi]) is the second recent arrival. He is a young and very promising stallion. Ansata Sirius generously accepts and welcomes these newcomers. For more information about Ansata Sirius or the Kuwait State Stud, visit Bait Al Arab online.
Article by Laurie Schmelzle of Al Badia Arabian Stud, Contributing Editor for StraightEgyptians.com This feature was brought to you in January 2010 by: |
