Cross-Roads

With two exceptions: The full sisters Gahari and Al Harimba (Abha Harim x Ibn Galal I-8) of Austrian breeder Gerhard Huber/Al Hambra Arabians. "When a Spanish mare is bred to an Egyptian stallion, you get what is referred to as the 'Golden Cross'. Amidst much criticism I reversed that and bred my Egyptian mares to the Spanish stallion Abha Harim," Gerhard Huber says. "The birth of our first foal, Gahari (x Ibn Galal I-8), was a moment I shall never forget."

Photo: Escher

The mare Al Harimba (Abha Harim x Ibn Galal I-8)

In 1991 her sister Al Harimba was born. Both won some international shows and Al Harimba was named 1994 Reserve Junior World Champion Filly at the Salon du Cheval. "In the show ring Al Harimba epitomized the type and grace of the Arabian mare, and today she is a gentle, loving mother, passing on her temperament and spirit to another generation of Al Hambra foals."

At the beginning of the nineties some other "vice versa" horses appeared in European show rings. They all trotted like hell, had type galore and were bred by the Aeschbacher family of Brenles/Switzerland. Rita and Toni Aeschbacher were long-time breeders of straight Egyptian horses but they felt they couldn’t improve the type of their horses anymore. They were satisfied with what they had achieved in this part of their horses. And with mares like Tiffaha (Jamil x Taghreed), Nil Tahar (Ansata Halim Shah x Tiffaha), Nil Najada (Ansata Halim Shah x Naya) or Nil Nafiza (Jamil x Naya) grazing their broodmare band everyone would agree. But there was one thing Aeschbachers wanted to change – they dreamed of horses with more dramatic action. After much consideration they bred all of their straight Egyptian mares to the Russian stallions Gips, Wersal and Almaz. And it worked! The foals never lost the fascinating type of their dams but inherited the powerful trot and the stretchy look of their sires. And the icing of the cake: They won literally every show they attended (and several races). Nil Nubia, Nil Krushan, Nil Tarik or Nil Nura appeared regularly in the winner's circle. And they bred on. Today Nil Tarik (Gips x Nil Tahar) is regarded as one of the most successful sires in Switzerland.

But the Aeschbacher family was treated like deserter. Other breeders of straight Egyptian horses couldn't understand their motives. "They just want to breed a show champion!" was a statement often heard. But this wasn't the case. They had bred enough straight Egyptian champions. They simply wanted to improve their horses! They had their ideal Arabian horse in their mind's eye and tried to achieve this goal. They succeeded – and smoothed the way for another studfarm with similar goals ...

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