Or - in other words - all important straight Egyptian stallions someday will end up at one place. This time it's Dr. Nagel's famous Katharinenhof Stud in Germany. For a very short time in February four international acclaimed stallions are standing side by side in the old barn in Northern Germany. They came from such far away places as Morocco, Qatar and North America. But the origin of this "Fab Four" was the Katharinenhof.
Here they stand before me - with flaring nostrils, curved necks and flickering eyes. A sight to behold. They view at each other and trumpet their battle call. Who is king of this empire? The four stallions are Imperial Madheen, Ashhal Al Rayyan, Adnan and Salaa El Dine. Did you ever wonder how it feels to be in heaven? I can assure you that standing before this group of stallions is heaven for every Arabian horse lover!
Imperial Madheen (Messaoud x Madinah by Ibn Galal)
Photo: Bösche
Many articles are written about this globe-trotting horse. Literally everything is said. We know his get have accomplished world-wide recognition. His sons made of their own in the breeding barns of Kings and Sheikhs. The latest news that rocked the straight Egyptian community: Omar Sakr decided to bought Madheen and will import him to Egypt. These are the "fast facts". But did you know that his grandam, Mona II (Mahomed x Mahiba), was born at Katharinenhof Stud? Dr. Nagel is well-acquainted with Madheen's pedigree and didn't hesitate to take him at his farm before his final departure to Cairo. "It's like seeing a missing friend again," Dr. Nagel puts it. Madheen will not breed any mares in Germany. He simply waits for his flight to Egypt.
Photo: Boesche
The years have been kind to this horse. In excellent condition, proud and eager, he stands in front of the barn and looks into the distance. He is "a lot of horse" - not that type of stallion that could be confused with a piece of china. His legs are long, in body he is very reminiscent of Morafic (his paternal great grandsire). His head looks refined and extremely nice. By all accounts, Madheen personifies what his pedigree predicts. You see in him his sire's dark, round eyes and the same calm demeanour. His maternal grandsire, Ibn Galal, threw in his bold movements. From his dam he inherited the excellent shoulder. Madheen stands as an outcross source for breeders world-wide as his pedigree contains not a single drop of the popular Ansata Halim Shah blood.
Ashhal Al Rayyan (Safir x Ansata Majesta by Ansata Halim Shah)
Photo: Toischel
This stallion could easily win in the European show ring. Snow white, snorting and blowing, Ashhal Al Rayyan displays the extraordinary refinement of his ancestor, Ansata Halim Shah - but in a compact package! He is a perfect "X horse": Words like "exotic", "extreme", "excellent" come to mind when watching this stallion. He looks like a child of the desert - not a child of the "original" desert with Bedouin tribes and black tents but the Qatari "desert" conditions of today with air-conditioned stables, swimming pools and skillful trainers. Born at Sheikh Abdulaziz's stud, Ashhal Al Rayyan traces at both sides of his pedigree to German origin. His sire, Safir, was bred by Dr. Nagel. Ashhal's tail female line is that of Moheba (half sister to Ansata Ibn Halima) who came to Germany in 1955. In fact, his maternal great grandam Masouda is a full sister to Madheen's own sire, Messaoud. Ashhal can best described as the opposite of Imperial Madheen: A short coupled, compact and very vertical horse, he steps delicately like a dancer. Petite and refined like a bronze sculpted by Karen Kasper yet impressive like a lion with a deep and broad chest, this stallion will make an impact. And his legs? Well, you have to decide. I have seen better and I have seen worse front legs. This and the next season, Ashhal Al Rayyan will stand at the Katharinenhof to breed eleven hand-picked outside mares (plus some mares of Dr. Nagel and Cornelia Tauschke of El Thayeba Stud and two mares from Kai Heckenbücker and handler Frank Spönle).
Adnan (Salaa El Dine x Ghazala by Ghazal)
Photo: Bösche
Long time ago, there was a stallion who captured the hearts and imagination of many German breeders. His name was Ghazal, the full-brother of Ansata's foundation mare Bint Bukra (Nazeer x Bukra). What remained for those fortunate to see him was the hope that someday a grandson would come along with the same charisma Ghazal was famous for. From out of the blue a silvery white horse named "Adnan" appeared at the annual German stallion show in 1997. Instantly many spectators compared him with the famed Ghazal and to their delight, Adnan was awarded a gold medal. His breeder and owner was Dr. Nagel but Adnan came from Morocco where he was exported as a young horse. Some years later Dr. Nagel visited him at his new home and - bewitched by his charme - bought him back.
Photo:
Bösche
I never had the opportunity to see Ghazal in the flesh (when I learned to walk properly he already was gone). I only know him from photos and old video tapes. But to see Adnan is to feel Ghazal and to get an idea of how he could have looked like. It was the same experience with Soufian, Moniet's last son. When I visited Egypt for the first time, Moniet El Nefous already galloped on greener pastures. But to see her son Soufian at Gleannloch Farm was like a vision of her. At the moment Adnan looks more like a Polar bear than an Arabian horse. But his beauty shines trough. His foals out of a variety of mares display a uniformity of type that I have seldom seen. Though not tall, he stands like a man - upright and proud, with a broad chest and strong legs. His head high in the air, his neck curved, Adnan's eyes focuse his sire, Salaa El Dine, who makes his entrance as the last of the four.
Salaa El Dine (Ansata Halim Shah x Hanan by Alaa El Din)
Photo: Bösche
More robust and with shorter lines than his son Adnan, Salaa El Dine is the last son of the famous broodmatron Hanan. He is known as one of the most popular straight Egyptian sires in Germany with sons and daughters in literally every country. Often criticised for his somewhat short neck and his legs, he emerged as a prepotent sire. The Katharinenhof broodmare band comprises of his daughters and granddaughters and they really look like peas in a pod. Especially the mares Ranya (Salaa El Dine x Ansata Prima Rose) and Nawal (Adnan's full sister) are outstanding examples of classic Arabian type.
Though all four stallions share more ore less the same bloodlines (with the exception of Imperial Madheen who is "Halim Shah free"), they are different individuals. Every stallion has something to contribute, something special to offer. Now it's up to you...