ARTICLES
39. All Nations Cup – Polish marks
author : Hanna Sztuka
photos : Ewa Imielska-Hebda
This year’s All Nations Cup catalogue listed 123 horses. However, as many as 31 participants did not show up, which in some classes limited the number of participants to 2-3 horses. This situation qualified all class participants for the finals, which made the elimination competitions only a formality. The overall level should be considered equal and quite high, especially in the junior and senior mares classes.
In the yearling fillies classes, the undisputed star was the exceptionally refined, dry and excellently moving Shahalel Al Shaqab (Na-mous Al Shahaniah – Siwar Al Shaqab) from Al Shaqab Stud (QA), who already during her presentation in the class showed that she is second to none . The silver went to the grey filly D Aserah (AJ Nofan - D Shihanah) from Dubai Stud (UAE), who lost to Shahalel both in the class and gave way to her in the final. An interesting fact is that D Aserah is, on her sire’s side, the granddaughter of Kwestura from Michałów. Among several interesting fillies in the final, the judges chose Shahbrys HVP (Royal Asad - Rebecca HVP) from Ajmal Stud (SA) for bronze, and all three medals went to the Middle East. The performance of the Polish participants in this age category was not particularly impressive, but it should be remembered that the long journey did not make their performance easier. There have been Polish horses in the past that have won medals in youth categories, such as Pianissima (gold in 2004 as a yearling), Perfinka (gold in 2013 as a two-year-old), Piacolla (gold in 2015 as a two-year-old) and Morion (gold in 2015 as a two-year-old), but these were isolated cases of outstanding horses. Perfinka was also the last horse with a purely Polish pedigree to win a medal in Aachen in the last decade. It has long been known that Polish Arabian horses mature later and most successes at shows therefore belong to horses in senior categories. The breeding that has been used over the last two decades, replacing Polish pedigrees in favour of show horse pedigrees, has not fundamentally changed this.
Arabian Futurity Europe
In the yearling colts category, Sahm Sarm (EKS Faraj – Bandahleeza ZB), bred and owned by Sarm Stud (SA), definitely stood out, but ultimately the judges only awarded him the bronze medal. In the junior mares' final, the level was extremely high and very even, but there was only one star - Nourah Al Khalediah (Hilal Al Khalediah - Gazalat Al Khalediah), bred by Al Khalediah Stables (SA), owned by Akmal Stud (SA). This beautiful filly has already won medals at title shows, and her performance this year in Aachen has certainly made her one of the most interesting show mares of recent seasons. Her pedigree is a synthetic combination of the best show lines based on an excellent female line (derived from the Jezupol mare Pomponia from the Sahara d.b. dam line), and her sire’s maternal side of the pedigree includes an excellent son of the Michałów-bred El Dorada 1998 - El Palacio by Al Lahaab, who turned out to be a valuable sire, although due to reproduction problems he left a small number of offspring. A few years ago, Biant Hazy Al Khaleidah, a daughter of this stallion also from Al Khalediah Stud, had great successes at title shows. Despite the use of El Palacio in Michałów in 2018, his daughters were not left in breeding and the only daughter of this stallion currently in state breeding is in the Białka herd, which, interestingly, like Nourah Al Khalediah, comes from the Sahara d.b. dam line. Taking into account the successes of El Palacio's few but very good offspring, it is a pity that El Dorada's blood did not remain in the parent stud also in the male line. The Nourah dam line leads directly to the mare Limba, born in 1930 in Janów Podlaski, who, together with a group of horses seized by the Soviets in 1939, went to Tersk in the Caucasus. There, in 1946, she gave birth to the mare Kanitel, whose granddaughter Kapella 1956 was the dam of the famous mare Karta 1962 by Arax, dam of Taktika 1980 by Tamerlan, from which Nourah Al Khalediah comes. What is also interesting, Tamerlan is, in the dam line, the grandson of another mare Taktika 1943 by the stallion Taki Pan 1937, seized from Janów in 1939. The daml ine descended from Limba also became famous for Karta's grandson, the stallion Kubinec (SU) 1987, which was considered one of the foundations of world breeding, producing many valuable daughters and at the same time extending the line of the stallion Bairactar d.b. in world breeding.
DAserah ( AJ Nofan-D Shahaniah) hod.Dubai Stud
Nourah Al Khalediah's high class score of 93.83, including a set of 20s for movement, and scores of 18.5 and 19 for the body, perfectly meets the expectations for a modern Arabian horse. Despite maintaining, to the maximum extent, the type expected at shows, she is an extremely well-built, feminine mare, and extensive correct movement with the suspension phase characteristic of old Polish horses combined with a light, charismatic, slightly haughty way of moving made Nourah Al Khalediah a gold medallist in Aachen. Looking at Nourah Al Khalediah, who represents the type of Polish Saklavi mare created by Ignacy Jaworowski, it is only regrettable that Michałów is now abandoning this type and Michałów horses can rarely boast outstanding movement and grey color.
NourahAlKhalediah ( Hilal Al Khalediah-Gazalat Al
Khalediah) hod. Al Khalediah Stable , wł.Akmal Stud (KAS)
The silver in this category was won by the Dubai Stud-bred and owned by the Polish stud Lubachnia Arabians D Leen (D Seraj - D Maha), who, after an excellent performance in the class, was in brilliant form and deservedly won the silver for her owners, and at the same time it was the only medal for horses from Poland. D Leen, whose dam line descends from the Jarczowce mare Gazella d.b. and her dam’s pedigree includes famous mares stolen by the Soviets in 1939 - Taraszcza and Mammona - is another example of the good use of horses with Polish roots in today's modern breeding. It should be emphasized that this is the second medal for Lubochnia Arabians in Aachen, after the silver medal won last year by the mare D Modi. The bronze in this extremely interesting class was won by the grey two-year-old TM Bella (TM Itaipu - TM Fahdeelah), bred in Brazil and owned by the Qatari Al Jumail Stud.
DLeen ( D Seraj-D Maha) hod. Dubai Stud, wł.Lubochnia Arabians
(PL)
The final in the junior stallions category, unlike the mares, did not gather horses that are worth remembering for a long time, apart from the already titled winner, the three-year-old stallion D Sharar, bred and owned by Dubai Stud. But the next final in the senior mares category, in which as many as 16 mares entered the ring, brought a lot of emotions to the viewers and owners. The judges awarded a gold medal to the grey D Shihanah, representative of Dubai Stad, who collected six 20s in the class for type and head. D Shihanah is an extremely noble, dry mare and therefore extremely refined, feminine, deep and correct with excellent wide movement. D Shihanah is the granddaughter of one of the best broodmares at Dubai Stud - FT Shaella, whose son D Sharar won gold in the junior stallion category. The judges awarded the silver medal in the senior mares category to Qatar's Safiat Al Shaqab (Kahil Al Shaqab - Shalimat Prestige) from Al Shaqab Stud, and the bronze medal also went to Qatar's Bshaier Al Nasser. Of the Polish mares that made it to the finals, only Mamma Mia (bred by Stadnina Koni Grabów nad Pilicą), representing Switzerland, had a real chance of winning a medal. However, the judges decided otherwise. Among the eight senior stallions that competed in the finals of this category, EKS Farajj, bred by Elkasun Arabian Stud and owned by Haras Royal de Bouznika (MO), clearly stood out. This grey stallion bred in South Africa not only has a very interesting pedigree, but also makes a colossal impression. His mother EKS Bint Helwah, inbred to the stallion Laheeb, also valued in Poland, produced this intriguing young stallion with the son of the RFI Farid stallion, Ibn Farid. Of course, in the final, EKS Farajj had to give up the gold medal to the titled and heavily promoted stallion D Seraj (FA El Rasheem - Lady Veronika) from Dubai Stud, but it was a fight between two excellent rivals that represented the highest class. The bronze in the senior stallion category went to the son of Michałów's Espadrilla, the Belgian-bred Equiborn K.A. Although the stallion classes were not as numerous as the mares' classes, it is worth mentioning the excellent performance of Pinito from Janów, representing Belgium (92.67) and Pireno bred by Paweł Redestowicz, representing the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (92.33).
PsycheApsara ( (Ghaith Al Zobair-Psyche Victoria) hod. Chrcynno Pałac
(PL)
Coming back to the stallion EKS Faraj, who is only six years old and has already achieved considerable success, it should be noted that Polish private breeders started breeding with this interesting stallion three years ago. His offspring appeared at our shows.
Equiborn K.A. ( QR Marc-Espadrilla) hod. NV Zoutekreken, wł. Budheus Stud
(NL)
Special awards for the Best Breeder and the Best Stud of the All Nations Cup went to Dubai Stud, and the stallion FA El Rasheem received, once again, the award for the best sire. The main trophies of the show were the Nations Cup, i.e. The Lady Hamsworth Blunt Memorial Trophy, won by Qatar, while the Breeders' Cup, i.e. Major T.W.I. The Hedley Memorial Trophy was won by the United Arab Emirates.
Pinito ( EKS Alihandro-Piniata) hod. Janów Podlaski, wł. Flaxman Arabians
(BE)
To sum up this year's All Nations Cup, it should be emphasized that the team -as always - was efficient, as was the organization, excellent conditions for horses and good atmosphere. What is difficult for me to accept is the fact that under saddle competitions, which have been taking place simultaneously with the show for years, have been little advertised, it is difficult to find the program and starting lists to watch at least some of the competitions. This year we had a very good performance in Aachen of Daria Klimecka, representing Poland. She won decisively the show jumping competitions on her horse Walor, but to find the starting lists and the competition arena in the right time was quite a challenge. Walor, a grey gelding bred by Leszek Sikora, born in 2004, has been very successful in show jumping competitions for many years. His pedigree is purely "Pure Polish Classic" from the Antoniny sire line of Ibrahim d.b. and the oldest of the preserved Sławuta dam families, the Szweykowska 1800 family. The stamina and longevity of this horse confirm the quality of Polish breeding carried out over the years with the assumption that the Polish Arabian horse should be beautiful and brave. However, in the case of sports competitions, the breeding product is only part of the success. The others are the rider’s work, patience and consistency in training.
