Thank you Eric, Emma, Scott, Frank, Michael and all the other handlers for making this show a joy to watch. It was really fun to see so many beautiful horses that acted animated and spirited but were not frightened in any way. A joy to behold. Of course some exceptions to the rule were seen and a few horses looked intimidated – but no comparison to former years. However, the noise of the handlers' crews to ”wake up” their horses is more than disturbing.

Here and in the title:
Senior World Champion Stallion 
Al Aadeed Al Shaqab

Many  horses in Paris moved pretty well but certainly one of the most impressive was the Polish bred stallion Premier (by Monogramm). It was a miracle for me how Emma Maxwell managed it to keep pace with her wonderful moving stallion. With his flying trot Premier literally brought the house down. He has the light way of moving which made the Arabian horse once famous. This trot is poetry in motion. Needless to say he made Top Ten and stole the 
heart of many a visitor of this glamorous show. He was the horse that 
gave me goose-bumps. 

Premier, 
(Monogramm x Premiera)

Another effortless mover was another entry from Great Britain (though born in the United States), the flamboyant Imperial Kamilll (by Imperial Al Kamar) who improves with every single year. Hopefully the breeders in Great Britain will realise his potential as a breeding stallion. The foals already born at Imperial Egyptian Stud (where he was born and stood his first two seasons at stud) are more than promising. 

Imperial Kamilll, 
(Imperial Al Kamar x Imperial Mistilll)

A third entry from Great Britain (but like the other two stallions not bred there) flew through the arena: It was the bay beauty FL Sayawan. It seems that British breeders have an eye for bold-moving horses...

FL Sayawan, 
(Ibn Yathreb x Oml Sanaya Estopa)

Judging at Paris this time was very even. Obviously all the judges had pretty much the same ideal of the perfect Arabian horse in their minds – this year they preferred the Egyptian type of horse. The horses from Poland had to suffer, but remember the year 2000 when they won nearly all titles (Emmona, Ekstern, Zagrobla and Kwestura) and Egyptian horses got the gate? When it comes down to quality, or let’s say to the combination of quality, preparation and presentation, it really should not matter what bloodlines or country a horse represents. ”But why all the Championships went to one single country?” Good question but as the judges Klaus Beste and Nayla Hayek simultaneously answered: ”We have chosen the best horses. We know it would have been wiser to select horses from another country as well - but would this have been fair to the horses from Qatar? Quality first, politics aside.”


Al Aadeed Al Shaqab 
(Ansata Halim Shah x Sundar Alisayyah)

However, nobody who saw Al Aadeed Al Shaqab’s presentation at Paris will deny that he is a true World Champion Stallion. Obviously this was his show! Everything seemed to fit, he was in excellent condition, full of himself and made his presence felt in the ring right from the start. It was impossible to overlook him. I will not describe his body and type in detail – you know, one good picture is worth a thousand words.  Just consider this: I never saw a more beautiful stallion than him. And that includes his sire. Congratulations to Sheikh Hamad Al Thani, manager of Al Shaqab. He certainly had a ball in Paris this year.

Senior World Champion Mare 
ZT Sharuby 
(ZT Sharello x ZT Bint Ruby)

Another stunningly beautiful horse is ZT Sharuby. I saw her several times and loved her on every occasion. She won many championships in every corner of the world but occasionally got the gate. This time she made it to the top again. A lovely mare, ZT Sharuby combines Ansata and Gainey bloodlines and was bred by Count Zichy-Thyssen of Argentina. A fairy-tale beauty, one wonders if she is real or just imagination. Some say her neck could be better and that’s certainly true. But then, perfection is never achieved in horse breeding. Like Al Aadeed Al Shaqab and the Junior World Champion Colt Marwan Al Shaqab (who won this title twice and is, by the way a blend of Egyptian, Polish and American lines) ZT Sharuby is owned by Al Shaqab Stud of Qatar.

Junior World Champion Colt 
Marwan Al Shaqab 
(Gazal Al Shaqab x Little Liza Fame)

My  favourite filly Johara Al Naif won the championship. This elegant little Arabian princess rightfully was crowned the new ”World Champion Filly”. At my Nations Cup report I already promised her a big career and – voilà – at Paris she stood in the spotlight. Though bred and owned by Al Naif Stud of Qatar, her pedigree is ”pure Ansata” and goes back in tail-female line to Ansata Majesta, the famous champion mare and champion producer of Al Rayyan Stud.

Junior World Champion Filly 
Johara Al Naif
(Ansata Shalim x Al Johara)

The stallion Psytadel once again sent two of his best get and both took the Junior Reserve Championships. They were Lady Psyche and El Amin, both bay, both very typey, both very correct individuals.



Reserve Junior World Champion Colt 
El Amin
(Psytadel x RA Cool Elygance)  

Reserve Junior Champion Filly
Lady Psyche
(Psytadel x Ibara)  

The Royal Stables of Jordan were represented by Hlayyil Ramadan, who already won some important championships. This elegant grandson of Salaa El Dine behaved not as  ”showy” as some of the other stallions but when you look him over closely you’ll see he is balanced as a horse can be and has an extremely nice face with huge eyes. He isn’t a straight Egyptian and I doubt that he will be much used in Europe because a successful horse needs a ”label”. How about a new label for him? Call him ”pure quality” or ”straight beautiful”!

Reserve Senior World Champion Stallion 
Hlayyil Ramadan
(Kamar El Zaman x Haboub)

The Reserve Senior Champion Mare again was an entry from Qatar, this time from the Al Nasser Stud. The beautiful white beauty Bint Saida Al Nasser is one reason why we all know her sire Imperial Mahzeer (by Imperial Madheen). She is a lovely mare and deserved the title very much.

Reserve Senior World Champion Mare 
Bint Saida Al Nasser
(Imperial Mahzeer x Saida)

Many of the horses in the different ”Top Ten” groups were worth a championship but in every show there are only four champions. No reason to complain – next year there will be another World Championship!

Niina Hartmann

Al Aadeed Al Shaqab

Click here for the TOP TEN horses

All photos by 
Erwin Escher