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The 2005 Middle East Arabian Horse Championship Show
Amman, Jordan
by
Majid Alsayegh
Photo: www.ErwinEscher.de
Senior Champion Stallion
SHAMEKH AL SHAQAB
Click the photos to enlarge!
Photo: www.ErwinEscher.de
The show was held at the Royal Stables in Amman, on September 30, October 1, and 2, under the auspices of the Royal Jordanian Equestrian Federation, chaired by its President, HRH Princess Alia Al Hussein Al Saleh.
The Junior Female Championship was won by Im Khadidja Cathare (Padrons Immage x Kaura) and Reserve Magora (Gazal Al Shaqab x Margotka), both owned by HRH Prince Khalid bin Sultan from Saudi Arabia.
The Senior Female Championship was won by Lumiar Symphony (Lumiar Amadeus x Last Danse VV) and Reserve Nyagara El Jamaal (Ali El Jamaal x Naharra), both owned by HRH Prince Khalid bin Sultan. Colts and stallions were shown who were sired by stallions such as Pobeditel, Shamekh Al Shaqab, Jandeh Al Naif, Ansata Safeer, Eid Jaafar, Ashhal Al Rayyan, Khair, Thee Elixer, Thaqib Al Nasser, Hlayyil Ramadan, Classic Shadwan, Verinag, FS Bengali, Simeon Shemini, Taladin, and Padrons Psyche.
The Junior Male Championship was won by the straight Egyptian Insh Allah (Ashhal Al Rayyan x India) owned by HRH Prince Khalid bin Sultan, with Reserve Hakim (Shamekh Al Shaqab x Picola) owned by Royal Jaafar Stud.
The Senior Male Championship was won by the straight Egyptian Shamekh Al Shaqab (Ansata Sinan x Malaka) owned by The Royal Stables, and Reserve the straight Egyptian F Shamaal (Maysoun x Sarameena) owned by Al Khalidia Stud/KSA. While there were many professional handlers who came from the USA and Europe to participate in the show, there were several young Jordanians, who competed in many of the classes. Congratulations to Abdul Hamid Al Saleh, Zuhair Shammout, Jaafar Al Saleh, Talal Al Saleh, and Bashir Khair, who handled their horses in a professional manner and did very well in the classes.
A major highlight of the show was seeing Shamekh Al Shaqab win the Grand Championship with many proud Jordanians coming into the show ring to cheer his win. HRH Prince Khalid bin Sultan brought many nice horses to the show and won many of the classes. After Prince Khalid’s stallion, Insh Allah, won the Junior Champion Stallion class, Prince Khalid gifted Insh Allah to His Majesty King Abdullah, after being awarded his prize. It was a very nice gesture. In addition to the Halter classes, there were Liberty classes, and classes for best female and male heads, and classes for young fillies and colts at foot. Best female head was awarded to Shaafi`ah (Verinag x Shaymaa) owned by the Royal Stables, and best male head was awarded to the Grand Champion Stallion, Shamekh Al Shaqab. The stands were full of spectators who cheered with enthusiasm. They obviously had their favorites! The music accompanying the classes was a good mix of East and West, sometimes playing Arabic music and other times Western music. There were many remarks about how well the music complimented the show.
Congratulations Mr. Marwan!
In addition to the regular classes, there were special exhibitions. The most breathtaking, was a family called Al Rashid, who dressed in authentic Islamic leather armor, and rode a group of Arabian horses and one Andalusian horse. They exhibited the arts of swordsmanship, throwing spears, and extreme riding, based on 14th Century Islamic equestrian skills, researched and documented from 14th Century manuscripts from Spain. It was a delight for the spectators who loved the riding skills. One of the riders was a young woman, named Yusra Al Rashid, age 15, who wowed the crowd with her daring feats.
A group of riders on camels, demonstrated special drills for the crowd as well, showing how camels are able to respond handily with fleet footedness when necessary! Other performers sang Arabic songs and presented traditional ethnic dances as well. On the second day of the show an Arabic feast was served under a Bedu tent, very much in the traditional manner. The entertainment certainly complemented the competitive classes.
On the day after the horse show, Majdi Al Saleh and HRH Princess Zein, held an open house at the Royal Jaafar Stables and showed their horses. We were treated to several colts and fillies by Ansata Safeer, and also beautiful mares such as Maria Callas, and Tai Emerald Bay, and Noora (AK El Sennari x SN Wasama). They have been relying mainly on Polish, Egyptian and Spanish blood lines and Ma`Sha Allah, they are breeding some stunningly beautiful world class horses. There were some special guests who attended the horse show. It was a delight to meet Brenda Spradlin, and her son Jeff, and granddaughter Emily. Brenda is from Texas, USA, and had been working on a project to bring special horse shoes to the horses used at Petra for transport of tourists into the area of the temples. The ground is very rough and rocky in the Petra area, and horses are used to transport some of the tourists into the area of antiquities. The protective horse shoes called Ground Control Horseshoes, which are urethane plastic shoes that provide shock absorption and traction. It was also a pleasure to meet Lisa Adshead, who attended the show from Wales. She and her husband, Harri, had just completed riding from Wales through Europe, into Turkey, through Syria, all of the way to Jordan, on horseback. They did the ride with three purebred Arabian horses over a time period of 15 months. Now that is really distance riding! Their experiences are a special story that needs to be told! Outside the show arena, there were several artists and a purveyor of traditional Arabic halters. I found the paintings of Arabian horses by Fawaz Ayoub, an artist who is originally from Mosul, Iraq, to be especially appealing and came home with two of his paintings!
We, like many of the other guests coming to the horse show allowed a few more days to see many of the historical sites. We were fortunate to visit Jerash, where the Roman ruins, built 2,000 years ago, still stand. The amphitheater in Jerash still holds musical and craft festivals, and chariot exhibitions.
We visited Ajloun, in the northern mountains, where castles were built more than 800 years ago to defend against the Crusaders.
Traveling south through the desert to Aqaba, we spent a couple of days enjoying the crisp clear beauty of the Red Sea and its coral reefs. On the way back to Amman, we stopped and toured Petra, built by ancient civilizations more than 2,000 years ago. Petra is an inspiring monument to humankind and a testimony to the ingenuity and hard work of peoples past.
Petra Jordan is a very special place. Its geography is diverse, from the green pine and olive tree covered mountains in the north, to the starkly beautiful deserts of the south. Traveling in Jordan, history does come alive, and one cannot help but feel connected to the people who have lived here for thousands of years. It is truly a unique feeling. The most delightful aspect of the visit was the Jordanian people, who give a new meaning to the term – hospitality. Their warm generosity and efforts to make us feel at home is unparalleled. At the horse show, and everywhere we visited, the Jordanians were kind, considerate and always concerned that every need was met. The Middle East championship horse show was a great show, to no small extent, a credit to the leadership and efforts of HRH Princess Alia and her staff. While the show seemed to flow effortlessly, it was clear to anyone who has been involved in such shows, that a lot of hard work and planning went into making the show a great experience and meaningful to the participants and guests. There were excellent quality horses, professional judging, great sportsmanship, good entertainment, great weather, and wonderful hospitality! In one word, it was a great success. Insha' Allah, the Middle East Championships will continue to flourish in the future, as more and more people become involved in the celebration of the Arabian horse back where the Arabian horse originated. Click here to see the all champions of the show
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