One Thousand and One Nights (In Three Days)
World Arabian Horse Championship - Qatar 2023

Then, also “one thousand and one nights” is a collection of mythical tales compiled in one name. Obviously there aren’t 1001 tales in that collection but in its title the magic of imagination begins.

The spirit of those one thousand and one nights of Arabic fictional fairytales were successfully compressed into a three-day festive reality at the first ex-Parisian World Arabian Horse Championship in Doha. 

Bigger, better and bolder than Katara, a worthy World Arabian Horse Championship venue, with clearly no expense spared!

VENUE
Those who are familiar with the Katara Festival, which started three years ago on the beaches of Katara Village, know that it set a new standard for Arabian horse show venues that would not be easy to supersede. Well, the same organizers did supersede themselves with this amazing new venue at the Doha Old Port. Luscious and luxurious, traditional and spacious, set against the dramatic backdrop of the Al Corniche skyline. Bigger, better and bolder than Katara, a worthy World Arabian Horse Championship venue, with clearly no expense spared!

But enough about the beauty of the venue. Let’s look into the beauty of the horses. Join me in the close-ups I was so lucky to observe as it was truly an honor to be so close to some of the most impressive specimens. These are my personal highlights and thoughts, but I am happy to share them with you here. 

YEARLING FILLIES
After the two classes of yearling fillies it was clear that there would be a tight battle between two near perfect fillies in the championship. On the one hand there was a seasoned superstar from the Al Shaqab stables by the name of Shahalel Al Shaqab (Namous Al Shahaniah x Siwar Al Shaqab). A multiple gold medal winner throughout the year and with reason, she’s a very feminine and refined filly with an almost flawless head and neck and an amazingly well-developed body for her young age. Up close you could observe all the fluidity in her lines from the nostrils to the forehead and from the poll through the withers, all the way to the dock. Smoothness all over her compact frame, a feast for the eye. 

… my preferent type — masculine-type stallions and feminine-type mares, crucial basic features we are steadily losing. 

But then there was a surprising challenger to the title; Shabrys HVP (Royal Asad x Rebecca HVP), bred by Haras Vilas dos Pinheiros, Brazil and owned by Ajmal Stud, KSA. This Aachen bronze champion filly made a dramatic entrance showing her amazing improved development since the ANC. Looking very slick in both movement and stand-up, she surely looked the one who could give Shahalel a run for her money.  Unfortunately I was not judging her class but I observed her from the sidelines and was surely going to pay attention to this filly in the championship in comparison. I must admit it was a tough choice but at the end the homebred Shahalel Al Shaqab still won me over. But both are a tribute to modern breeding, I am very curious how they will develop in the coming years. This surely will not be their last race to the finish.

 Champion Yearling Filly was the seasoned superstar from the Al Shaqab stables, Shahalel Al Shaqab (Namous Al Shahaniah x Siwar Al Shaqab).

Reserve Champion Yearling Filly Shabrys HVP (Royal Asad x Rebecca HVP), bred by Haras Vilas dos Pinheiros, Brazil and owned by Ajmal Stud.

JUNIOR FILLIES  
Sometimes things just pan out, as in this group of junior fillies. Although the very typey TM Bella and the usually flamboyant Norah Al Khalediah gave challenging performances, the D Seraj daughter D Beisan, bred by Dubai Stud UAE and owned by Al Shaqab Stud in Qatar, impressed me the most. This mare effortlessly shows off her femininity in a calm, collected manner and displays amazing charismatic Arabian type and harmonious lines that can only be appreciated when seen up close. It was a pleasure to be able to judge both classes of junior fillies and of course as a judge you have certain championship expectations based on the individual presentations. But championships are a different ballgame and a new chance to impress for all qualifiers. D Beisan did not disappoint, as she excelled in the championship as well, earning my vote for gold without a doubt.

Champion Junior Filly was the D Seraj daughter D Beisan (x Rah Rosalia) bred by Dubai Stud UAE and owned by Al Shaqab Stud in Qatar.

Caution should be the word when we keep specifically rewarding heads. The horse is not just the head. It would rather be better to reward “best type.”

SENIOR MARES
I did not judge the first of the two senior mare classes but observing from the sidelines, a clear winner there was the impressive D Shihanah, an FA El Rasheem daughter out D Shahla from the solid Dubai Stud FT Shaella damline, a killer combination almost always guaranteeing extreme type and near perfect conformation. 
This Emirati powerhouse has been collecting medals for half a decade and it was no surprise to see unanimous 20s on type and head & neck and an average of 18.5 on her body. With a total of 93.57% she left the rest of the class in the dust.

From the second class the best challenge to the crown of D Shihanah came from the strong moving Basmah Albidayer. Her movement obviously no surprise; from a pure Polish damline through Emigrant and Monogramm you may expect that unmistakenly flowing trot, something we are missing in many other mares these days. Great legs and a strong body complement this typey mare bred and owned by Albidayer Stud.

In the championship it was a close call between these two grey beauties, as far as my vote was concerned. Ultimately overall type prevailed in my decision to award the most points to the exquisite D Shihanah.

A clear winner in the mare Championship was the impressive D Shihanah, an FA El Rasheem daughter out of D Shahia from the solid Dubai Stud FT Shaella damline, a killer combination almost always guaranteeing extreme type and near perfect conformation.

YEARLING COLTS
This group of youngsters was a more homogenic bunch of quality. The top five total scores were within a 0.6 point bracket, of course a myriad of choices in the championship was to be expected. 

For me, the toughest choice was between my top two favorites in that championship. On the one hand the strong moving, long-lined and typey Sari Ajmal by EKS Farajj. A very complete sleek specimen with great show confidence at this young age. On the other hand the more compact, equally good moving and typey RFI Unique son LR Anselmo, owned by Al Wajba Stud from Qatar. Both very good yearlings but underscoring how different the Arabian horse can look, each in their own right. Sometimes a judge goes with his taste; mine leans a little more towards the elongated type of horse, and so my preference was decided. I was happy to see that the majority of the points for gold went to Sari Ajmal, bred and owned by Ajmal Stud from the KSA. Surprisingly after only about three years into their journey as a new stud, they already are able to win a gold medal with a homebred product. Quite an achievement!  Mabrouk!
 

JUNIOR COLTS
Two strong contenders emerged from the second junior colt class. D Shahhar by Excalibur EA out of D Shihanah (who already secured a gold medal in the Senior Mare championship earlier in the day), a Dubai Stud “medal-magnet” who performed extremely well, showing both exhilarating movement and high refinement versus Lehon, a double Marwan Al Shaqab powerhouse that came trotting in like a hungry lion for the win. These two were destined to battle for the World Champion title for Junior Colts as they were equally close in individual quality, so close in fact that the judges’ votes for gold were split exactly 50/50, with a personal vote from me for Lehon, whose superior masculine type and massive movement tipped my scale in his favor. 
 
It ultimately came down to the first tiebreaker when open championship points are equal, which means the counting of all championship points together. With five points in excess for D Shahhar, he claimed his victory for Dubai Stud UAE, for a mother and son Gold Medal doublette! 

The Junior Colt title went to D Shahhar by Excalibur EA and out of D Shihanah, who secured a gold medal in the Senior Mare Championship earlier in the day.

 SENIOR STALLIONS  
As in most of the other classes, two horses were realistically in contention of the World Championship title in this “clash of the titans” as well. EKS Farajj by the RFI Farid son Ibn Farid and out of EKS Bint Helwah by Laheeb, bred by Elkasun Arabians S.A. and recently purchased by Haras Royal de Bouznika from Morocco,versus Excalibur EA by Shanghai EA out of Essence of Marwan EA by Marwan Al Shaqab, bred by Equus Arabians of Spain and competing for Al Wajba Stud Qatar. Two acclaimed Junior World Champion Colts now competing for the title of Senior World Champion Stallion in 2023. Excalibur, who was beat to this title last year by his own son Alexxanderr, was back for his claim to fame. EKS Farajj pulled out all the stops and gave a very solid performance in his class. After scratching the highest and the lowest points of the judges for type and head and neck, all that remained was 20s. Excalibur EA is not always an easy horse to show, and the trainers know it. When it is not his day, he refuses to shine his brightest. But in this instant he showed well, managing to outscore his opponent in total points. Repeating this posture in the championship earned him nine out of 14 Gold Medal votes from the judges including mine. I’ve always liked this horse. Farajj will get his chance, I am sure, as he also is a very good horse.    

Excalibur EA (Shanghai EA x Essence of Marwan EA).

Bred by Equus Arabians of Spain, owned by Al Shaqran Stud, and and competing for Al Wajba Stud Qatar, was named World Champion Stallion. Olivia Strauch of Uruguay has a long history with Excalibur, as she explains. “I’ve been working for Sheikh Alqaqa bin Hamad al Thani at Al Wajba Stud since June 2023. His goal is to breed and show world-class Arabian horses and I’m here to help them build the project in a global way, with welfare as a priority.

“In 2012 Estancia Las Rosas purchased Excalibur EA when he was a yearling. Later we showed him to the European Triple Crown honors as we won Aachen, European and World Championships in Paris in 2014. “Some difficult circumstances obliged us to let him go a couple years later, but he was always, and will be always, the horse of my heart and my life. This horse made me change completely my vision of Arabian horses and of breeding.

“Destiny wanted us reunited and everything came together so that he could come to us in Qatar for one season including the possibility to show him for the World Championships in Doha. And so we did, and we won. My only wish is that this was his last show, his deserved retirement.

“Until April I will make sure he has a great life, spend time with him every day, enjoy him, and be a witness to how this stallion is changing the breed for the better."       

SPECIAL AWARDS
In addition to the regular classes there were, of course, some extra titles to be given away. The gorgeous Anood Al Nasser was crowned Platinum Mare 2023 and EKS Alihandro beat Sundown KA to the punch for the Platinum Stallion award. In general it’s a good thing that World Champions get their final “cherry on the show-cake” to never be seen again in the ring, giving the newcomers a fair chance at the titles.

An award that I personally do not understand is the one for “Best Head.” Caution should be the word when we keep specifically rewarding heads. The horse is not just the head. It would rather be better to reward “best type” as type encompasses the whole horse and hopefully that includes feminine and masculine type. 
A reward for highest points of the show is also not always realistic. Although judges try to give points as close to the fitting truth as possible, in the end the points are used to place the horses in the judges’ preferred order of quality. That is where sometimes the points are inflated or deflated to get the correct placing done.

Anood Al Nasser (Ashhal Al Rayyan x Aleysha Al Nasser), bred by Al Nasser Stud of Qatar, and owned by Akmal Stud, KSA, was crowned Platinum Mare.

EKS Alihandro (Marwan Al Shaqab x OFW Psylhouette), owned by Athbah Stud of KSA, was awarded the Platinum Stallion trophy.

CONGRATULATIONS
Taking on the challenge of organizing the World Arabian Horse Championship for the first time in another city and country than the traditional Paris, France is not for the faint of heart. I congratulate the Cultural Village Foundation “Katara” and itsorganizing and hosting committee for a job well done and I think I can say on behalf of all officials that it was an honor to be a part of this inaugural edition. Shukran wa Alf Mabrouk!