In the autumn of 2008, I paid Wegdan El Barbary (aka Dani) a visit to learn about the Arabian horse. Actually, I used to pay Dani many visits, and I photographed her horses many times. Dani never ceased to teach beginners about the Arabian horse. She would talk incessantly all day long about breeding, the heritage and culture of the Arabian horse, the industrialization and monetization of what she dubbed the Pyramid of the Arabian Peninsula. Dani came from a generation that was religious about history and heritage, a sentiment the reader will strongly feel when she strongly criticized embryo transfer and artificial insemination. I can describe her methodology in breeding as the Traditional School of Breeding, which can be traced to the foundations of breeding laid down by the people of the Arabian horse. I will elaborate on this school in another article.
Dani witnessed a significant transitional period in breeding Arabian horses. She witnessed the organization of the first Arabian show, which took place circa 1989 at Sakkara Horse Park. Judi Parks Al Abbasiyah, a very close friend of Dani and an established breeder herself, provided me with the following photos which document this monumental period. It’s a period that marks the transition from tradition to the introduction of the show-ring culture and the change in the Arabian horse world which ensued.
To listen to Dani speaking about the first show organized, click here!
Dani never approved of importing Arabian horses to compete against the Arabian horses born and bred in Egypt. She had imported an Hispano-Árabe horse to ride, and tested his offspring when she bred him to a local-breed mare. Shaykh Khaled bin Laden of Rabab stud asked her to breed him to an Arabian mare. She bred him to one of her Arabian mares and the result was al-Shaymaa. But when Shaykh Khaled wanted al-Shaymaa to compete in the first-organized show, Dani refused.
When we organised the first competition event in Egypt, Khaled asked if al-Shaymaa can participate. I said: “No!”… “Now if we do that, it won’t be for the best interest of our horses [the Arabian horses], you see! This is a matter of the heart. You love her [the filly] and I love the horse [the Arabian horse]. He said: “You are right.” I said: “I will not compete with foreign horses against the Arabian horse. I don’t approve of it, you see! He instantly agreed with me.
Listen to the complete story here
The years that followed witnessed the inclusion of competitors coming from abroad. At that point, Shaykh Khaled decided that al-Shaymaa would compete. Al-Shaymaa achieved a landslide victory in the show ring, not once, but twice.
The following photographs were taken of Dani in jumping competitions. Unfortunately, the historical context of these photographs is not known yet. But these photographs brought to my mind what Dani had said about the relationship between riding and breeding:
” I truly believe that you get to know the horse best through riding. It reveals the intelligence, character and the wonderful connection that you have with the Arabian. This has stayed with me throughout over 50 years of breeding and brought me the joy of having the eighth generation of my own breeding on the farm.”
https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/20064681/download-pdf-philippe-paraskevas-the-egyptian-alternative
In part III of the interview, Dani spoke about having one of her mares covered by a stallion that HM the King of Bahrain had gifted El Zahraa Stud with. Judi Parks Al Abbasiyah mentioned important details about that stallion and the offspring:
“The Bahrain stallion at the EAO, Jellaby Bashar, was used by Dani on her mare SEA Neama and she produced the stallion Al Bahrain SEA. Dani’s dear friend Philippe Pavaskaves bred the mare Aneedah, a Rashdan daughter to Al Bahrain SEA to produce Ibn Al Bahrain.”
Did you know that Aneedah’s sire EAO Rashdan was indebted to Dani for remaining in Egypt?
“I first saw him when he was six weeks old. I told the EAO administration that this colt should never leave the EAO. I also offered to pay the equivalent to whatever sum of money offered for that colt so that he stays at the EAO.”
Listen to Dani talking about EAO Rashdan here.
Thank you, Judi, for your contribution to this piece!
The Horse in Word and Picture 