Cross-Roads

First it was almost a sacrilege. But then it became more popular and in the end many critics changed their mind and praised this cross as a new opportunity to breed the ultimate Arabian show horse: A straight Egyptian mare bred to a stallion of a different bloodline!

At the moment, horses of this cross competing extremely successful in the European show rings. What started out as an so-called "aberration" of one or two breeders now can be seen as a whole new trend.

The breeders who set the ball rolling in Europe were Joanna and Pat Maxwell of England's Lodge Farm. Remember, we don't talk about the time before the Pyramid Society was established. In those times breeders were not aware of the extreme rarity of Egyptian horses and crossed their Egyptian mares with stallions of various bloodlines. That's why some of the early imports from Egypt were lost to Egyptian breeders of today. But this happened by chance – no planned breeding was involved. Breeders of the past simply tried to produce a good-looking horse – no one was talking about "straight this" or "pure that".

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Photo: Escher

Mansul, one of the most influential sires in Germany -
his dam was the part Polish Malikah daughter Mekka

For example, the first foals of the German straight Egyptian "icons" Malikah (grandam of Asfour) and Moheba II (grandam of Jamil/Jamilll) were sired by stallions of Polish bloodlines! The results were no less than exceptional and became tremendously successful in the breeding shed. However, Malikah's owner, the late Dr. Erwin Filsinger soon realised the importance of a straight Egyptian breeding program and bred Malikah exclusively to the Nazeer son Hadban Enzahi. Dr. Filsinger was the first European breeder who practised "straight Egyptian" breeding. And this was in 1968 - at a time where neither the Pyramid Society nor the Asil Club were in existence.

In 1976 Joanna and Pat Maxwell decided to breed their straight Egyptian mare AK Atallah (Ansata Ibn Halima x Al Nahr Mon Ami) to the Crabbet stallion Indian Silver. It was a decision against the common sense. Straight Egyptian horses were already in great demand on both sides of the Atlantic. They dominated the American show rings and commanded prizes the Arabian industry had never heard before. But the Maxwells swam against the stream. They tried to achieve the "next step" in their breeding program and wanted to create something special, something completely different.
Nearly all European and American breeders sent their domestic mares to Egyptian stallions. For the Maxwells it was the logical move to go the opposite way. Sure, it was a risk but it was repaid manifold: AK Atallah delivered her monument to posterity by producing the incomparable Aliha. One of Europe's most successful show horses, Aliha won such prestigious shows as the World Championships of Paris and the National Championships of Great Britain. She inherited her mother's charm and the big trot and charisma her sire was noted for – a winning combination! But her greatest achievement were her winning offspring. Her daughter Atlantica (by El Shaklan) alone won numerous titles (including National, International and World Champion titles), was raced successfully and produced another generation of champion daughters like Amazonn or Ayat.

The Maxwells were the first but others followed. For example, Countess Lewenhaupt of Sweden sent their straight Egyptian mare AK Kastana to the Russian stallion Kapron, Marion Richmond of Australia bred Simeon Safanad (dam of Simeon Sadik) to the El Shaklan son Simeon Sa'ar and Patts of Germany bred the asil mare Munja (Shaker El Masri x Mastura) to their head sire Mashour to produce the well-known mare Mahari. But this were rather hesitating attempts. Aliha remained the most prominent individual of the "Vice Versa Cross" (as it was named in Europe).

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