Madinah's dam Mona II (Mahomed x Mahiba, by Alaa El Din) was the last in a line. The last in a line of exceptional horses, the youngest offspring in a family of beauty and fame. First there was her sister, the chestnut mare Kis Mahiba (Ibn Galal x Mahiba), grandam of the classically beautiful stallion Maysoun. Then their full sister Sabah, who gave birth to the World Champion Stallion Sherif Pasha. Next came Ibrahim (Mahomed x Mahiba), a superior sire of broodmares. And finally his younger sister Mona II. She - along with her siblings - was bred by Dr. Nagel of Germany and descended from the Moniet El Nefous line. Mona II was the kind of horse that everyone loved - with her expressive dark eyes, high tail set and an incredibly delicate face. Perhaps her length of neck wouldn't come up to the standards of today and her topline was far away from "straight". But this mare personified Arabian type! Dr. Nagel's friend, the late Dr. Hans-Jörg Tauschke of the "El Thayeba Stud" saw Mona II and fell in love with her. He wanted that mare badly and finally got her.

Photo: Heidi Frank

Madinah's dam, Mona II (Mahomed x Mahiba)

As soon as Mona II was of breeding age she was mated to Ibn Galal, the head sire of the Hungarian State Stud Bábolna, who was on lease to Dr. Nagel's studfarm. A horse of Kuhaylan type, Ibn Galal was a stallion of substance and strength: very powerful and masculine, with a superb arch of neck, and plenty of presence. He was known for his extravagant motion. His foals inherited his wonderful trot and balanced, showy canter. The nick with Mona II produced the bay mare Madinah (born in 1978), who closely resembled her sire: a tall and robust mare who had nothing in common with her refined dam. Nevertheless, her motion and good conformation won her some championships. And her relaxed attitude made her the perfect Arabian horse. But Madinah's forte was her foals, who surpassed their dam in beauty and nobility.

Photo: Rik van Lent

Ibn Galal (Galal x Mohga), the sire of Madinah

For a broodmare to achieve the full potential of her heritage, she needs to have owners who breed her wisely. Madinah had been fortunate, as she had been owned since she was a weanling by Ruth and Professor Siegfried Paufler in Göttingen/Germany. Madinah was a born broodmare and the foals she produced were to help pay for the education of the Paufler children. Her first foal was the stallion El Moniet (by Mohafez), a horse quite different in type from his mother. A dry chestnut with great style and a soft attitude. He excelled in the stallion performance test and achieved a class-win at the first Asil Cup in 1985, but has not made a mark as a sire. "I raised El Moniet, and I'm prejudiced," says his owner Elke Bahlmann, "but I think he's really great. He has personality and the sweetest character one can imagine. He literally taught our daughter to ride!"

Photo: Sachs

El Moniet (Mohafez x Madinah) at the age of six years
Click here to see his sire!

The most important "man" in Madinah's life was the stallion Messaoud (Madkour by Morafic x Maymoonah by Hadban Enzahi). Together they produced a total of five foals. The two most spectacular were Imperial Madheen and Mesoudah-M.

Ladies first! Mesoudah-M is a halter champion, and at the age of seven she passed the (free) mare performance test with flying colours. She inherited her parents' size, balance, and strong fluid trot. Perhaps one of the most famous living straight Egyptian broodmares of Germany, Mesoudah-M is the dam of some of the most successful straight Egyptian show horses. And literally all of her sons and daughters went on to become remarkable breeding animals in their own right. "Mesoudah is an outstanding producer," says her breeder Siegfried Paufler. "All of her foals are a little bit different in terms of type, but she always contributes a lot of trot."

Photo: Escher

Mesoudah-M (Messaoud x Madinah), a broodmare supreme
Click here to see her offspring!

Mesoudah-M was purchased by the German breeder Horst Preuss in 1993 (along with her colt, Maydan-Madheen). "Mesoudah has incredible motion and looks more beautiful than ever," he comments. "But I never campaigned her because she was so important to me as a broodmare. "

Photo: Anders

The next generation: Mesoudah's granddaughter Mahrana Al Sabah (Ansata El Salaam x Mathea M) with her filly Mirjah Al Sabah (by Adnan), who won a Reserve Junior Championship at a German Regional show in 1999

The star of Mesoudah's foals is Maydan-Madheen who literally won everything in the German showring. The highlight of his career was in 1998: He achieved the Supreme title at the European Egyptian Event and was named "Egyptian of the Year". in 2002 he was German National Champion Stallion and won his class at the All Nations Cup. If you know his grandsire Messaoud and if you have seen his sire Maysoun you can't help but think that Maydan-Madheen inherited the best points of both. But nobody is perfect and some people critizise Maydan-Madheen's front legs. However, one of his first daughters, Maydana Madheen (out of his half sister Madallah Madheen), already won the foal reserve championship at a German regional show in 1999. His daughter Shabbura (x Shahneekha) was named Reserve Champion Filly at the Egyptian Event Europe in 2002.

Photo: Zoom-Performance

Maydan-Madheen (Maysoun x Mesoudah-M) - the star of the family

Maydan-Madheen's two younger brothers Mishaal HP and Mutair HP (both by Ansata Sinan x Mesoudah-M) are waiting in the wings to challenge him. "Both are bred to be successful in the show ring and as herd sires," says owner and breeder Horst Preuss. The very attractive, short headed Mutair HP, who was born in 1997, won Junior Champion titles at the 1999 German Nationals and the "Egyptian Classic Show" in the Netherlands. Upright, showy and very typey, this colt could be a serious rival for Maydan-Madheen. "Time will tell," muses Horst Preuss.

Photo: Escher

Mishaal HP (Ansata Sinan x Mesoudah-M)

"But don't forget Mishaal. He was born in 1996 and he is as spectacular as his brothers. He had a serious illness so we couldn't show him for a while. But you must reckon with him in the future!" That's for sure. In opposite to his younger full brother, he closely resembles his dam - and his grandsire, Messaoud. He has nice movements, an ideal croup and a lovely head. A foretaste of what's in store for him was his appearance at Germany's stallion licensing show in 1999 where he received a "gold" medal. Meanwhile Mutair resides in Saudi Arabia and won the Reserve Senior Championship at the Middle East Championships in 2002.

Mesoudah's full sisters were far less successful in the breeding shed, but Medinah-M (Messaoud x Madinah) produced the exceptionally typey black mare Malinah (by Ansata El Salaam). She is at home at Tanja Franke's studfarm in Germany, where her sire Ansata El Salaam resides as a herd sire.

Photo: Escher

Malinah (Ansata El Salaam x Medinah-M) - one of the loveliest mares of this family

Madinah's most successful son is the "globe trotting" Imperial Madheen (by Messaoud). The journey of life first let him to North America, then to Canada and now he has found his final destination in South America at the farm of Count Federico Zichy-Thyssen. Although he never achieved the ultimate show title, Imperial Madheen rose to significance as a sire of type and athleticism.

At the beginning of the eighties, Imperial Egyptian Stud's manager Eileen Verdieck traveled the world to find an outcross stallion for the Imperial broodmare band. In Germany she found two candidates: The yearling colt Orashan (Messaoud x Ora) and his younger half brother "Madhin" (his registered name in Germany). Both met her criteria for type and conformation. Although Madhin already had a reserve championship to his credit, Orashan was her "first choice" - and in the following years he became one of the best promoted straight Egyptian stallions of the universe. He sired twice as many Imperial foals as Madheen and won twice as many championships. But sometimes life has its own rules. The first two Maheen babies arrived in 1987 and looked awfully good. Both argued well for Madheen's abilities as a sire. And in fact, his firstborn son, Imperial Madaar (x Ansata Nile Mist) later won the Australian Championships. From Madheen's next small foal crop derived Imperial Madhan (x Imperial Imalana), who won some major junior championships. In 1989 eleven Madheen foals were born - the most remarkable were Imperial Madanah and Imperial Mahzeer (both were exported to Qatar) who blossomed into remarkable individuals. Some years later breeders, kings and sheikhs from around the world came to buy Madheen's foals. The King of Morocco (he took three), the Sheikhs of Qatar and breeders from Egypt to Israel admired the "European" type of Madheen's get and incorporated his blood into their programs. They never were disappointed. His sons not only won championships on four different continents (including National and World Championships) but they proved to be exquisite sires themselves.

Photo: van Lent jr.

Imperial Madheen
Click here to see some of Madheen's successful sons and daughters around the world!

Today, many breeders in the United States may regret never sending a mare to Madheen. They realise now that a significant show title and an extremely long neck are not essential for producing exceptional foals! But Madheen now resides as a herd sire at Count Federico's estancia in Argentina and will never come back to the States again. It is reported that he looks as beautiful as ever and continues to sire excellent foals. After all, Count Federico's hand selected broodmare band is one of the best in the world today. Be prepared to see many more Madheen offspring conquering the show rings in the future! After Messaoud was leased to the United States in 1988, Ruth and Siegfried Paufler were faced with the difficult decision of finding another stallion to sire the next foals from Madinah. After some experiments, they found him in Ansata El Salaam (Ansata Ibn Shah x Ansata Samantha). This masculine stallion with his extreme short head fit like a glove. The foals they produced together were of exceptional quality. The black mare Madallah-Madheen won several junior championships in 1995 and then went on to produce some outsanding foals (who already won two reserve championships as well). She is still with the Paufler family.

Photo: Escher

Madallah-Madheen's first filly Maydra Madheen (by Dalia Halim) was born in 1998

Her full brother Madallan-Madheen - a black, very masculine stallion with an exceptionally dry head - was awarded a gold medal at Germany's stallion licensing. He is owned by Annette and Erwin Escher - yes, that Erwin Escher who give us all those beautiful photos! Madallan-Madheen is one of Annette's favourites. "He has a phenomenal temperament - he is so cooperative and intelligent. And his eyes...!" Indeed, the four-year-old stallion has huge eyes - a trait evident in his foals as well. He is a rising star on the "Egyptian" horizon and has been unsed quite heavily last year. His foals are living proof that he can sire excellent type and conformation.

Photo: Escher

Madallan-Madheen (Ansata El Salaam x Madinah)
Click here to see some of his foals!

In October 1996 Madinah was put to sleep. She suffered from a colic and immediately was transported to a clinic - yet it was too late. The supposed colic turned out to be a tumor and there was nothing the veterinarians could do for her. A sad moment for her destroyed owners, Ruth and Siegfried Paufler. They would never be greeted again by the soft nuzzle of their beloved mare... What remains is her young daughter Madallah-Madheen and the satisfaction that one single mare allone can influence major breeding programs on four continents. And of course the memory of "the old", as they used to call Madinah in a loving and a little disrespectful way.

Philip Hollerbusch & Oliver Wibihal

In 2002 Madinah was honored as an "Elite Mare" by the German
Arab Horse Society. In the same year her son Imperial Madheen passed away.