A Gift From The Desert

there has rarely been a story on us like that of the Arabian horse [Music] from the first sighting its beauty captivated man its power and speed and thraldom when God wished to create the horse said the ancient better wooden legend he told the Southwind I shall create from the ANU be and I shall make him good fortune for my followers humiliation for my enemies and protection for the obedience God condemns in and made from it a horse then God said I named the horse and I make the Arabia I make thee to fly without wings [Music] the Middle East was indeed the cradle of civilization an agricultural and desert cradle that gave birth to the invention of writing at the hand of the Sumerians built the first cities invented the wheel then created systems of monarchies raw mathematics and the calendar and from this region emerged some of the earliest horses and horsemen Anne's fascination turned to skill in a partnership that would change all of history first piracy horse ancient legend has it that they reinforce the spirit of the desert was God's gift Ishmael as a reward for his faithfulness he told his mind to go to the mountain and call for his gift when they smile called all the Arabians ran to his side and he was the first to ride them [Music] and it was in the heart of the Middle East Syria Turkey then the Arabian Peninsula vast areas of desert the nomadic Bedouin tribes roam that the true Arabian horse was to evolve [Music] the horse that could withstand searing heat the hole for long periods without water a horse of extreme intelligence and beauty and a critter natural attachment to humans the land often too arid to support pastures for horse bonded the Bedouin and their horses ever more closely the horses relied upon them for their food the Bedouins in view of pastures and them camel's milk and dates they kept them by their tents their children played with the foals from the earliest times there's been a profound almost mystical attachment between these people and the horse [Music] the better ones kept strict pedigrees of their horses through oral tradition an owner could recite the history of every horse in his herd like memory their expertise is horse for his extraordinary and they trained their children from their earliest years the horse became the very heart of Bedouin folklore Bedouin life until the dead ones in the Arabian horse became one historian al Lucy wrote in an ancient world the horse was at the heart of life security a man's most valued possession horses to the Arabs were the most significant things in life they were the symbol of their attractive fortresses their everlasting treasures their finest glories the Arabs he noted excelled in their knowledge about these animals more than all other nations as riders they dazzled the world chariots grew ever sleeker the riders more skilled the horses or refined horse chariot and composite PO in Egypt carried the Pharaohs as commanders to glory while the Assyrians assembled in Concord with the first cavalry in the near East a team of man and horse the speed the power skill that led to Empire's [Music] [Music] [Music] arab poet rose he endures great hunger and sees a great distance he is a very great thinker of the arabic he is the terror of the enemy in battle the Warriors of the horses became so esteemed they were adorned with artisans works so exquisite that they rivaled jewelry [Music] their victories these warriors the riders of the pre Islamic empires became legend and created empires the Syrians Egyptians he takes practice asanas [Music] and they would ultimately become the vehicle that spread the word and conquests of a new religion from Arabia Islam across deserts and continents the Prophet Muhammad's followers first from Mecca and then the entire Middle East charge forward to four thousand seven hundred and fifty years it is the most important dominant sort of force and everything in people's life in agriculture in wars and victories Saudi Arabia is the heart of radiant Peninsula and that's where the Arabian horse started to me what really glorified and emphasized the role and importance of the horse is our holy book that aspect I think there is a whole surah that talks about the horse is called so little odd yet and that tells you how important it is part of even the belief to glorify this amine creature the holy quran's words about these creatures that carried islam to the ends of the earth are haunting powerful the steeds that run with panting breath and strike sparks of fire and push all the charge in the morning and raised dust [Music] as they spread empires these extraordinary horses scattered across continents Asia Africa Europe the Islamic conquests in the seventh century and onward through the expansion of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th century and on end each step seemed to follow the next entering Spain with Islamic conquests where conquests didn't take the Arabian horse traders did Columbus in search of new trade routes to India took horses with Arabian blood to the Americas the Arabian traders who controlled the spices also sold their horses to India to the Mediterranean coast of Africa Egypt word of the attributes of the Arabian horse became dog and Europeans sought to acquire them they became gifts of sometimes prize of kings and spread even fatherís royalty sent the jewel of the desert to one another in the late 1600s they came to England as royal gifts and with breeders who crossbred them with their own horses the result was the thoroughbred the most famous racehorse of today all of whom traced back to three original irradiance sires more gift Arabians followed from the Sultan of Turkey ruler of escaped mane Victoria received them from heads of state in India Egypt Turkey as did many of the kings and queens of Europe many that weren't given as gifts were captured in war a famous stand-in Marengo was captured by Napoleon in Egypt in 1815 the British then captured Marengo at the Battle of Waterloo so famous was this status prowess that when he died at the age of 38 his skeleton was held on display at the royal service Museum they spread across Europe as kings creams Sahar's sought them for their beauty and ability and began to crossbreed them with their own horses the stunning legacy of lists was the creation of what is now every light horse breed in existence and is prized by horseman as the Arabians moved across Europe the famous European stud farms were created in Hungary Poland Spain Russia the military in these countries eagerly sought them for their extreme intelligence and agility in battle and use of Arabian blood became very significant in the development of light cavalry in Europe but times through the 1800s were becoming lean in the Middle East and eBooks warfare had taken its toll poverty was a constant [Music] in a strange twist of fate the Arabian horses new Fame abroad was ultimately to be it savior through these harsh times by the 1800s the single largest stronghold of Arabian horse remained in Egypt beginning in the early 1700s Egypt's rulers sent his Scouts into the desert to acquire the most beautiful horses from the Bedouin tribes this tradition continued on through his son and grandson ava's Pasha home he put in charge of running the breeding program as Pasha scoured the deserts of Arabia and he was particularly entranced by those bred by the owl sold in what is now Saudi Arabia these he brought back to Egypt in hopes of maintaining the exquisite bloodlines of his grandfather's of baby uns he spent a million pounds to create three different studs and at one of the farms had 300 camels to produce milk for the coals according to the Bedouin tradition he ultimately created one of the most famous collections of Arabians ever Ava's Pasha's passion ultimately became the source and the savior for much of the blood stock both the horses and the history Willie the situation in the Middle East had continued to disintegrate hard times had become devastating times the Ottoman Empire which had held sway over most of the region had begun to collapse leaving poverty and chaos behind the people suffered the horses suffered their numbers bender many of the things that Arab breeders could no longer afford to breathe into this sad episode came some travels some adventurers who would feel the unlikely rescuers in this novel read Europeans and Americans who had been fascinated by their beauty and nobility traveled into the deserts of Arabia to seek blood stock the expedition's and the people themselves were extraordinary stories in 1873 lady and blunt of England the Baroness of Wentworth and her husband began their travels in the Middle East to seek out Iranian forces to bring back to England buying them from the Bedouin tribes and from Ali Pasha Sharif in Egypt they returned to their kravid stud in England with desert horses whose names have become legend in the annals of Radiance mussel wound Danya Oz Rock Queen of Sheba the jarnia they began to breed these horses and sell them throughout the world Australia Africa India Europe the legacy of this single endeavor was astonished today the majority of Arabian horses worldwide have descended from the lines of lady and Blanc's kravid stud in the United States over 90% of all registered Arabians traced back to Lady Anne and cravat [Music] detecting the possible interest in the broader us the Turks sent some Arabians to the World Fair of 1893 prior to that the Pugh Arabians in the US had been used to improve other breeds such as racing stock the American Saddlebred the Tennessee Walking Horse but the public in general was not familiar with purebred Arabians [Music] the Turks ran out of money by the time of horses were to come home and had to leave them behind creating another fortuitous Diaspora of the Arabians or the church maybe their horses had thrilled the Americans [Music] one of those was Houma Davenport the famous political cartoonist for the Hearst Newspapers as a boy his father had read stories to him about the Bedouins and this spectacular Morse's Davenport saw his first in person at the World Fair in 1905 hormon Davenport contacted President Theodore Roosevelt a rider and horse lover himself Davenport explained the beauty of the horses and said that he wished to travel to Turkey which had never previously agreed to sell its precious Arabian mares to bring them back to America President Roosevelt was fascinated davenport left for Turkey to acquire horses from the Sultan then on into Syria and beyond wild adventure followed wild adventure but in the end moment to have important return to America bringing the Arabian horses of his quest the first mass importation of Arabian horses to the US the handful of early wealthy breeders in the US Spencer Borden WK Kellogg Rajah Selby WR Brown Daisy Tankersley were captivated by the beauty and acquired the Arabian horses who came via Davenport the Turks the crabbin stunt and the Americans came far and wide to see them their fascination combined with the next unlikely turn of history would time the u.s. into the world's largest breeder of Arabians and then the Arabian Peninsula back to center stage in its life history began an extraordinary swing of the pendulum that none had foreseen in the very heart and soul man and the last awesome captured the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on horseback Abdul Aziz I call is the story of the last horsemen you know King Abdulaziz United this country on horseback and the last leg of his unification of Saudi Arabia was a horseback the Battle of Jeddah King Abdul Aziz United the desert tribes into Saudi Arabia and then decided to let an American oil company here to explore they discovered oil and to the excitement of the horsemen and that proved the Arabian horse [Music] Judy and conformist came with the oil company and began sending Arabians back home to their unsatisfied and the huge wave of interest in America it created well we were married in Turkey and I'd always loved Arabian horse I love Taurus has cut my teeth on the black stallion like so many other young people and when we married we became very interested in in racing Arabians and we lived in the southeast part of Turkey and from there we proceeded to decide that we'd like to raise Arabians just for fun in the state someday when we went to Cairo and we went to the to the breeding farm the elzar at the Egyptian Agricultural organization the minute we drove on to the farm we knew that we had found the the mecca of the Arabian horse so to speak and these were the horses that have been preserved from the days of Abbas Pasha relatively unspoiled or unchanged through either introduction of other Arabian bloodlines there was a stallion they're called nausea and he was one of these Greeks probably one of the greatest breeding horses of the 20th century and so we chose three of his eurowings and brought them to the States and it started a brand new renaissance to the Egyptian Arabian horse in America the Iranian horse in the West and then farther west no longer just for the few wealthy breeders but to the thrill of ranches [Music] the West fell in love and before long those Arabian horses could do anything John Wayne ever had had in mind [Music] horsemen West begins freakin welcoming each birth with excitement [Music] mr. Ellis I understand you have nothing but Arab horses here is that right that's right because I'd consider them the most beautiful of all and beside being beautiful there are wonderful workhorses if they get a chance to show what they can do like in Colorado especially one big arrests they use them all together for stock horses I see it can do anything any other horse can do while the Arabian horse was captivating the West oil was returning the wealth to Arabia with it the rebirth of one of the deepest paths of his culture reading reining horses [Music] King Abdullah became determined to bring back the horses and Saudi Arabia has returned at the head of a renaissance of purebred Arabian reading in the news [Music] [Music] today some of the most beautiful in the world our King Abdullah's Janna Barea [Music] from Prince Khalid he was a Triple Crown winner in 1998 triple Khamenei and European champion world champion an arc and All Nations Cup champion this is qur'anic in 2004 years come the most winning this horse ever it's a stallion as a leading sailor on the farm very charismatic stallion and first this in 2008 side by a qur'anic son so he's a chronic grunts and the grey stallion we saw earlier that's all he's been shown he hasn't been shown that much because he's home bred so he's a character he likes himself too you were talking about in general the breeding program here now breeding program we have about 400 Arabians on the farm and we breed certainly you know many of the horses are bred for showing but we have a very active breeding program for the desert breads we're very very keen to try and produce quality horses and I keep emphasizing the point horses that have conformation and horses that have function so we are showing you two horses one is the classic and desert bread which is a strong robust horse with a generally excellent conformation excellent temperament and overall you know just I would say what would be typical of the Arabian horse over the past century the Arabian horse has become quite modified for its looks and we are trying to find a fine balance between the looks for showing and the functionality of the Arabian horse as per the tradition and and how do you how would you describe modified over time I would say that you know I'm a vet by profession and we look very carefully at conformation and I think you know that personally I would ever I feel that you know you can have horses that have that are perfect for showing but don't have the conformation for what I would call functionality so we want to make sure that as we are reading the horses were breeding horses with good bone good conformation and good feet and that would be the basis of your Arabian horse because the typical desert bred here and you know they have very refined features but the probably don't have the degree of refinement that's possibly required for showing but they are fantastic horses to ride to ride and you know for every purpose you know they've got beautiful action and this is the tradition is that these are horses that can trace their lineage back you know 1012 generations most of them back to the time of King Abdulaziz so these are the lines that the King Abdullah has maintained these would be what you would choose for the new cavalry today yes we have we have an American trainer and he talks about he's one of our turbo trainers and he talks about horses and he said that in the Wild West if you robbed a bank and you were trying to make a getaway what type of horse would you want to make a getaway on and if you were to look at some beautiful show horse or a solid robust looking desert bird you go for the desert bed because what when you miles across the desert you'd be what makes this course particularly special um basically is his charisma his attitude to want to express himself in the correct manner with his tail over his back and his nostrils flared and it does the this motion is absolutely superb his attitude is spot-on overall he's got a good face good-sized eye lovely shape to his neck on a very level a level back his backs very level [Music] that was this is a desert bred stallion so totally different origins from the first coat and a totally different type this is more what you'd see in the desert about the more of a type you'd see about two or three hundred years ago in the desert the shorter shorter legs more correct conformation a stronger type more suitable for riding than the previous type and totally different qualities but in himself is very charismatic when he's showing off and he loves to Chi his tail but a very different type to the previous one at the King Abdul Aziz for centenary God reading the perfect Arabian is a key focus [Music] King Abdullah is Arabian Horse Center provide a lot of services to the breeders in Saudi Arabia for their Arabian horses we do all the trust for Arabian according to the rules and regulations of the world Arabian horse organization wahoo the horse born they should do the blood type and or DNA to make the qualification for the bed agree that it's related back to this stallion this mare this is the first point to trust that this is a pure Arabian horse and we send all the document from the registry Saudi Arabia to any registry in the world for the export horses I think what him very circa so he was the winner of the most beautiful head in the world and the championship in Qatar he is very quiet and very good for breeding he has an ego because he is beautiful [Music] the breathing of the Arabian the desert Cypriot Arabian horses it's there is a big difference between them and Arabian polish and Arabian Russian with they have a beautiful movement pure Arabian desert to breed horses they born in Saudi Arabia they are a special breed line related to the deserts of Saudi Arabia and we are trying to to improve a lot of things in the breeding of this kind of horses and you cannot see the improvement in Arabian horses within one generation or within four years five fields at least you needed 20 years to see how they improved going back to desert red also heightened the search for lineage the record of bloodlines for all of the Arabians it led King Abdullah along with historians on a worldwide search for the single greatest missing reckon on them the desert is more of verbum they don't right so the starting of writing the history of the horse I think that is one I mean what started the development when a bus bus sent to Lima FS Alvin Turkey and told him I want the name and pedigree and I said well we are bad ones we'll send some people so I sent some people and they start writing he send them to the tribes because he presented him with some horses when he sent those Bash's from Egypt they start writing from where this is Hamdani cycler we decide and then that was the start of writing the pedigree this is and that's almost 175 years and some 150 years the Arbour special script is very important transcript I think it's for us it is their era see the earliest manuscript we ever get in this library related to horses it was unique I was a devotee of Lady Anne Blount and of course in her books she mentions this Abbas Pasha manuscript and so did Prince Muhammad Ali enter in two of his books so that well somewhere in Egypt that man still has to exist and I kind of put that in my the back of my head this someday I would find that and when my husband and I moved to each of 1967 we were also good friend became good friends with the family of descendants of Ollie Pasha Sharif so I asked mr. Sharif as well is there any chance that you might have this book and he said well he didn't think so but after a period of time we kept talking about it and he said well you know there's an old book down in the basement that he brought it up and we sat down and looked at it and then after a short period of time we figured it out this was the long-lost manuscript [Music] [Applause] [Music] as the Raven horse dispersed through Europe England on to the United States it truly became an international citizen with characteristics development in these different locations [Music] [Music] Saudi Arabia never been in having an international competition so four years ago it disturbed me Saudi Arabia is the base and the land for the horses very big horses we should have it not all you should have it we should have the best competition so that's how it comes not only a competition for beauty contest I made sure that it become like a festival for for the Arabian horses and all the lovers of Arabian horses can can gather around from all over the world it has plus it has an endurance competition and race competition and hopefully in the future I'm still thinking about it but to have a special jumping competition so that means a very refined that type but this being said I mean there's a place for every type as long as it's good how would you describe the American type worth I would say so it's a show horse above all of course that's there to be be admired by the public so if you Scotty excuse wounding Lee beautiful lines I'd say very long neck very pretty head I would say maybe in the stallion division the American stallions are slightly more feminine they would be than they would be in Poland or they're really show horses in Europe there's a trend mortared breeding horses they're looking more for correctness of stallion is it had to be worth in Europe to emphasize more than movement and in America being emphasized more the stand up of the horse as it a beautiful and it stood up that in Europe has to be both beautiful and it stood but it also remove a lesson Italy's middle is a little bit of a make they make they they following an American trend but also they're very attentive to Europe and they can't they participate in all the major European shows so they they really want to win in Europe [Music] [Applause] [Music] winning a championship and taking anywhere in the world for the Arabian horse who may have become the world's most international citizen the frequent flyer of all-time this does named emer sadena thus a more than two year indica Lydia they say mint and 2006 a wealthy champion Oh Mel means it was bred by ohm el Arab international yes okay and that is owned by you Ziggy comes Dante and is in Santa Ynez California correct this first in other words was born in California and is now in Saudi Arabia taha avea right and Shekinah is a beautiful example of operating program because she is a very tall gorgeous Arabian mayor and she has produced beautiful babies too we sell versus all over the world we have sold horses to Saudi Arabia to almost every country in Europe to South Africa to Brazil I think there's no country left we haven't exported to the Arabian horse is combining all countries and our cultures and people have been interchanging bloodlines for many years my mom when she was in her early 20s this is 40 years ago I went to Spain and bought her foundation Marist oppa she actually was named a century mare she's a very famous and she went to Egypt and bought a stallion chakra ma Suri and what she did was she combined the strong Spanish horses which they're heavier workhorses with the lighter more refined Egyptian horse and it was really it's done often now but at that time it was revolutionary and they were actually these young students my parents were and they were scoffed at by the establishment for doing this but what they did is they developed this horse much like much like this like like this that are refined big athletic horses that can do anything but are beautiful to look at and they excel in the show ring because they have sort of an airy charismatic way about them as the breeding intensifies so too does the focus on the different strains Christy what are the ideal attributes the ideal features that you are breeding for of the horses that we concentrate on originate their bloodlines originated with those that were recorded by Abbas Pasha as you see on a lease aruch we love the big dark liquid eye that really speaks the tales say that it speaks of the soul of the horse we like the nice close ears that have a little scorpion shape to them with a tipping in but still set enough that they can hear well as you see his ears revolving the beautiful big jowl and the nostril set very high so they can catch wind he is very upright and has beautiful fine skin and everything he has a lot of the attributes that we really like in his very classic and tight very smooth bone he's tall has great tail carriage and a wonderful presence in a very good line [Music] Scottsdale Arizona of Dubai London calls the sky as forces go all over the world and the competitions become ever more important not just for beauty but for their ability also as athletes as the Arabians have surged onto the racetrack with the endurance field and hunter/jumper competitions the Arabians versatility seems limitless a horse that you can do everything [Applause] [Music] [Music] and in true desert form the endurance races dazzle the ability of the rider and the horse intertwined over miles of desert well I think endurance riding is a is a part of our culture and I think it's a sport where you need to concentrate you need to calculate and you need to be more patient and practicing this kind of sport where I think all these things are a part of the Arabian horse by Nature you need to to help your horse and order for your horse to help you and took to achieve a good results in these races [Music] [Music] [Music] it's a sport longer confined to them but a signal of old New Era's start to do endurance when I was 16 years old and I love endurance because I think it's a good chance to understand your horses and also it's apart from our religion and crowd part of our tradition also from our family female from our family they used to do horse riding so I think it's a big responsibility for me to be a first female rider in Saudi Arabia say for for male we shock them because I'm a girl and they shocked but I think they understand that we equal women and men and I feel I have a message to our generation to remind them how is great to ride horse and to use to this sport Arabian is equally spectacular all over the world as a jumper I started in Rome when I was a young child that's heaven and in the summer I used to ride and in the winter where I was studying in Jeddah Saudi Arabia I was riding just a little bit and it's most Arabians then from that you know I took it further and started competing in shows and you know when you start it's difficult but you don't give up when you find the first obstacle you just find ways around it and then you take it to the next step and you have to juggle that's life you know the blanket change the one things have changed a lot tremendously during these last 18 years we have women now competing we have women and endurance we have girls showjumping and the number is tremendously increase and for Lucia also have an additional hobby the origin of horsemanship is from the Arabian Peninsula and the best and most sought-after varieties of horses are the pure Arabian you shouldn't be surprised that there is a great interest and that many owners are present in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and of course their horses and and outside of the kingdom and always the Arabian horse is distinguished in its form its stock and its beauty the Saudis are people who love horsemanship in a general sense and there is no encouragement and development in the sponsorship of and interest in the question ISM and with our coming projects riders may take an interest in horsemanship from their youth the Saudi aquestion Federation began a number of years ago but it is not very old nevertheless the achievements during these years have installed a great hope we are very proud of our accomplishments in Sydney in terms of medals and we also obtain an advanced positions in peaking in the last Olympics falernum VI the left here I like riding any I feel I'm flying when I ride the West is turning out performers and dressage jumping Western pleasure and working cow horses [Music] I come from the country and the country comes with me [Music] come and a country comes with me [Music] I can follow in the springtime I can shake your [Music] do they have the physical versatility to do a number of different things dressage hunter/jumper western pleasure well what's what's happening now in the modern show horse world and breathing world actually these people are breeding specific even though there are still Arabians they're breeding for specific disciplines English trainers are breeding for high trotting long hind necks good minded horses Western trainers are breeding for a more substantial horse that's quiet and and easy and very pretty and so what we've found and the same thing for dressage people are breeding for Arabian dressage horses now for Arabian cutting horses and working Western horses there are different looking Arabian and all those Arabians no longer look the same so it's no longer the versatile Arabian that it was 30 years ago where the one horse did all these different divisions it actually takes different types of horses to really excel in the extreme distance it's like Western versus English the saddle see horses it's it's exciting because those those breeds can now those horses can now go out and compete in the open world their dressage Arabian horses that are really bred for that they can go and compete in open dressage [Music] those forces can now go out and compete in the open world the dressage Arabian horses that are really bred for that they can go and compete in Elkin dressage that the works I mean they can compete against other breeds success exact exact so they can do that in dressage what else they've in the open reigning world in the cutting horse world and you know whatever discipline you want my opinion Ravens are very versatile overall you just have to choose the one that's that's suited for what you want to do [Music] the Arabian jumping divisions have grown tenfold since I started doing it in this country alone The Horse Show and Scottsdale had a huge number of entries in every jumping class this year in the United States a good jumping Arab is hard to beat footspeed alone makes them the good jumpers basically their heart and if you never show them what they can't do and they think they can do it they have the heart of a lion and they'll try anything for you you could have trained any horse you wanted to and you decided on a career training Arabians what I had horses when I was born my sister had a horse just a great horse and I rode whatever I could ride until I was 10 years old and my parents got me my first Arabian and the difference that I the biggest difference I noticed is that they wanted to be with me their interaction with people and how you know how the better ones just to keep them in their tents and and they were part of the family they're really wonderful to Train and they're very interactive horses with people I like that responsiveness I like the connection it's much better connection for me with an Arabian than it was for the other horses that I wrote the Arabian horse has not only become a matter of huge trade worldwide it has become a bridge between cultures weave him the horses is part of the beasts messenger between the people in all over the world a peace messenger yes because it's a hobby what we like here the other people they like it so crosses international yeah it's about nationality no whatever all of us everywhere we love and we like those horses so when I go to Europe or to the state I enjoy racing over there as enjoy it here and we have much one happy between us and other people and everywhere all the continent so it's as I said it's this this muscle I see during the present day as horses and horsemanship have become in a journal sense have become very important and are among the distinguished factors that can play a great role in peace very much so equation ISM can constitute a message of peace and so the Arabian horse having gone on one of the most remarkable Odysseys of all of history has become not only the ultimate international citizen but a bond spanning all points and all peoples of the globe [Music] [Music] you

Channel: lonny hitchen

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Keywords: Arabian Horse

Id: 6Mc9IqufaGY

Length: 56min 3sec (3363 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 25 2018