|
 I loathe shopping trips of any sort, yes
gentleman a woman is writing this article! However, one shopping trip I
would dearly have loved to have been part of took place in the 1930’s
when Mr. Bogdan Zientarski set off in the company of Mr.Carl Raswan in
search of new blood for the Arabian horse studs of Prince Roman
Sanguszko. As a devotee of Bahrain’s Arabian horses I will concentrate
on what I consider was the gem in their shopping basket, a bay Kuheilaan
Aafas colt. The two-year-old was brought into Poland for the Gumniska
stud where he made a significant contribution to the Polish breeding programme. The colt was bred in Bahrain by His
Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin
Isa Al Khalifa great-grandfather of the present King, His Majesty
Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa Al Khalifa. Out of a Kuheila’t Aafas mare by a
Kuheilaan Wadhnaan stallion, Kuheilaan Aafas was brought into Poland
after Mr.Zientarski’s visit to Bahrain, a visit inspired by the many
tales of
the wonderful horses to be found on this island. Tales of courage
in battle, speed, stamina and above all purity. The horses
of the Royal Studs of
Bahrain are war-horses, direct descendants of those
used in battles to take the island for the Al Khalifa family. From the
tales that were told
all over the Middle East it must have made the
horses seem like the Tornados or F 15’s of their day! It is not
surprising therefore that Mr.Zientarski was very keen to visit the
fabled horses of the Al Khalifa ruling family in Bahrain. He wrote:
“At Cairo we heard from sportsmen, that
from time to time one or two horses ‘asil’ from the stud of the Sheikh
of Bahrain came up on the race track; they always
ran with great success. This stud,
existing since 1785, is pure-in-the strain
bred. The same was confirmed to us by the Bedouins
of Damascus.”
Mr. Zientarskis visit to Bahrain was
fruitful and Kuheilaan Aafas was secured for Poland and arrived at the
Gumniska Stud of Prince Roman Sanguszko. After winning on the racetrack
in Poland, Kuheilaan Aafas went to stud in 1938, unfortunately after
only two seasons at stud he disappeared without trace on the fall of
Poland in 1939, another victim of World War II. However in just two
seasons he left his stamp on the Polish Arabian via Bad Afas sire of Abu
Afas who in turn sired the much-valued Comet. During a visit to Poland
in the summer of 1997 I was enthralled to hear from Director Jaworowski
at
Michalow and now, sadly, the late Director Krzysztalowicz at Janow
their descriptions and opinions of Bad Afas and Abu Afas. Whilst one
preferred Abu Afas and the other Bad Afas
they were united in their
admiration of Comet.
The Polish Prestige Sale of 1998 was
dedicated to Kuheilaan Aafas with a “Kuheilaan Aafas Parade” showing
the best of his descendants. FAWOR and 1997 Polish Reserve National Champion
EMILDA were the stars of the
parade.
While the descendants of Kuheilaan Aafas
have been going out from Poland to impress the world what has been
happening back in land of his
birth? Thankfully very little! In the Royal Studs of Bahra in His
Majesty the King Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa Al
Khalifa, inherited the royal horses from his
father and in his capable hands centuries
old breeding traditions are being upheld and the purity is carefully
preserved. These horses continue to be traditionally bred as they have
been for centuries thus their purity and the preservation
of rare Arabian horse families is
assured. The horses are not bred
for commercial purposes and the only horses to leave Bahrain are given
as gifts.
In November 1998 His Majesty the King
then the Crown Prince hosted the WAHO Conference in Bahrain. Two
wonderful displays were put on which showed Bahrain’s horses from two of
the Royal Studs. The display of The Crown Prince’s horses included
several individuals
from the Kuheilaan Aafas family. During the display
of grey mares, visitors had their first opportunity to see the Kuheila’t
 Aafas
line of Bahrain as it is today, one of the many, pure-in-the- strain
desert horse families preserved by the ruling Al Khalifa family.
The two grey mares Kuheila’t Aafas Kharaayid and Kuheilat Aafas
Ganaatteer trotted into the arena dancing to the tunes being played by
the band of the Bahrain Defence Force.
Later in the programme a bay
yearling colt, Kuheilaan Aafas Al Kaid, really gave visitors a step back
in time. It was as a yearling that Kuheilaan Aafas had caught the eye of
Mr. Bogdan Zientarski on his visit to Bahrain in 1931. Sixty eight years
later it was the eyes of Mrs. Isabella Pawalec-Zawadzka, Registrar of
the Polish Studs, that followed the Kuheilaan Aafas family as they
paraded under the expert eye of Bahrain’s Crown Prince, great grandson
of the breeder of the colt who went to Poland. What a wonderful and
priceless heritage Bahrain has in its horses.
During the summer of 1997 I visited
Poland with a televisi on crew from Bahrain who were making a programme
for Bahrain television. The subject
being horses that had left the Royal Studs of Bahrain and their
influence on outside bloodlines. In
Poland we found so much material. It was a wonderful five days surrounded by
descendants of Kuheilaan Aafas and the warmth and hospitality of the
Polish people. I admired and photographed some of the most exquisite
horses I had even seen, all descendants of Kuheilaan Aafas, bred in
Poland.
The following year I stood and watched
the same reactions from Mrs.Isabella Pawalec-Zawadzka in the magical
setting of the Royal Arabian Stud of Bahrain. “I think I have gone to
heaven” was Isabella’s reaction as Dr.Araya called forward a family
group of six Kuheila’t Aafas mares for her to see. They were led by the
grandmother Kuheila’t Aafas Reem El-Nufood, then in her late twenties,
her daughters Kuheila’t Aafas Ganaatteer, Kuheila’t Aafas Thirwah and
Kuheila’t Aafas Kharaayid and two granddaughters Kuheila’t Aafas
Refaayid and Kuheila’t Aafas Areej. They all stood patiently in the
gentle warmth of the November sunshine while Isabella filled her heart
with memories and in all her excitement
ran out of film!
Taking Isabella on her “trip to heaven”
thanks to His Highness the then Crown Prince Sheikh Hamad Bin Isa Al
Khalifa was an honour. I watched the Kuheilat Aafas
mares encircle Isabella giving her the same warm welcome in Bahrain,
as the Polish people had given the Bahrain film crew during the summer
visit of 1997. From seeds planted in 1931 a friendship continues to grow
between Bahrain and Poland, two countries that share a mutual love for
the desert horses of Arabia.
The author of this piece Ms.
Jenny Lees holds the distinction of being the only breeder of
Arabian horses outside Bahrain to breed pure Bahrain Arabians. You can
learn more about her and her horses at
http://www.pi-arabians.freeserve.co.uk
or she can be contacted at
jenny@pi-arabians.freeserve.co.uk
You can also learn more about the
World Arabian Horse Organization and the conference in Bahrain in 1998
from
http://www.waho.org |
