The Shaarawi Arabian Stud

Introduction It is a rare thing to combine one's job with one's passion. In our case, Arabian horses keep fuelling the quest for discovering people and personalities in the universe of the breeding sector.
In this vein, on one of my many trips to Egypt to meet renowned breeders of the breed, I was able to get to know the one who became a real friend, Ali Shaarawi. A man most truly a gentleman, very secretive about his private life. He is generous and highly knowledgeable of the world breeding sector.
His discovery of the Arabian Horse world dates back to 1971 when he practiced riding as a young boy, and since then, horses and, of course, Arabians have always been his lifetime passion.

When I asked him questions about his professional path in the industry, Ali Sharaawi answered that his passion got more anchored in his mind after volunteering as a breeding Consultant for the National Stud Al Zahraa. So he made up his mind and started being seriously involved in the breeding. In 1987, he built the Shaarawi Arabian Stud with horses exclusively bought from El Zahraa, with the vision of preserving the families and bloodlines of Straight Egyptian Horses. The reflection of the magnificent paintings and photographs of the treasured ancestors of today's horses.

He became an Executive Committee Member of the World Arabian Horse Organization (WAHO) in 1983 and an International judge in 1985. Due to his outstanding personality, he is often judging in specific panels of judges in which he makes his decisions with parsimony and rationally. Let alone the many competitions reserved for Straight Egyptian horses, of which he is the current most respected connoisseur in the world.

After his post as a breeding Consultant at the National Stud El Zahraa since 2009, Ali Sharaawi carried on the same activities at the Egyptian Agricultural Organization (EAO)that lasted until 2015. His careful and meticulous evaluations suggested selecting correct horses of both sexes with solid functional bodies, good legs, well balanced, and above all, true to their natural type. 

Ali Sharaawi runs his own breeding business with his charming wife Yasmine, a daughter of Princess Férial. The latter was the daughter of King Faroukh and Queen Farida of Egypt. Their ultimate goal is to preserve the values inscribed into contemporary life, with horses that meet the breed's standards and the qualities of rusticity, personality, and original type. A great philosophy that they successfully apply to breed.

It is incredible to find in our time a breeding herd that preserves so many *strains, in fidelity to the history of Arabian horses descending from the most illustrious Bedouin tribes that responded as closely as possible to faith mixed with traditions. At Shaarawi Arabian Stud, you can find: DAMLINES: *Obeyan - Shahinah Asiil 2003 by Thee Ever After & Ashiahs Kahlaara *Kuhaylan Krush - Baraka Shaarawi 2007 by Jabbar el Halima *Dahman Shahwan - Amirah Moon MH 2006 by Haliluyah MH & Moon Storm *Kuhaylan Jellabi - Mumtaz Ree 1990 by Farazdac & MFA bint Maaree *Saklawi Jeddran - Mansoura 2015 by Rabat el Tarek & Guna EAO SIRELINES: *Kuhaylan Jellabi – Shamsun Shaarawi 2006 by Jabbar el Halimaar & Mumtaz I *Kuhaylan Jellabi – 2006 Shamshun Shaarawi by Jabbar el Halimaar x Mumtaz Ree *Kuhaylan Krush – Na'el Shaarawi 2016 by Rabat el Tarek & Sukkara Shaarawi *Obeyan - Horus el Fouad 2009 by Bouznika & Shahinah Asiil *Saklawi Jeddran - Turath 2003 by Ragel & Tohama Today, the Sharaawi Arabian Stud sprawls over Abu Ghaleb, on the Desert Road from Cairo to Alexandria, a region far from the busy capital center.
The beautiful facilities denote a traditional architectural taste, inserted in the exotic landscaping of the grounds with palm trees and buildings. Majestic natural stones can guarantee the best comfort for exceptional horses in a calm conducive to healthy development.





 A SHORT INTERVIEW WITH ALI SHARAAWI
 Benefiting from his friendship, I have asked Ali Sharaawi to talk about his vision of the purebred Arabian Horse. He provided me with some exclusive impressions that I have reported below. Many thanks for this interview that he hardly ever grants anyone. Modernization of the Arabian horse
Talking about the type of horses today, we have to remember that the horse's look is usually the result of two things, the selection and the environment (feeding, weather, etc.) 
However, we should bear in mind that Arabian horses don't come in only one type, but in different ones. We could see it from history, artifacts, or pictures that Kings used to ride horses that look a lot like the horses we show now. And the generals of the army rode horses who were more sound, more muscles, with a different structure to fit the army's needs and the battlefield.
That's why we can see the horses of today's show were the horses of the kings or the parades. We also have the Arabian horses for endurance, races that look like the horses used in the army.
We should not forget that each type has its beauty and its purpose, nowadays what we see in the show rings is above all the first type, the King's type, alongside what has added to it by the environment and the way of feeding, grazing and rich food they are eating (vs. desertic environment).
 How to Judge today's Arabian horses
Moreover, I always say that when it comes down to breeding, we all like a long neck, but when this is long enough, we should stop before it becomes a giraffe's. We have to be very careful with our breeding. We, the judges, should not go too far away towards extremes when we evaluate these horses. 
Nowadays we can accept a bigger size, for instance, 1.50 m but not to the extreme of 1.60 m as it used to be around 1.45 m in the old days, in that sense, we carry a great responsibility not to fall into the trap of the fashionable extreme. We should try to guide people in the direction of the original characteristics of the desert horse.

 Exchange of Stallions between countries
 I think it is profitable to breed the exchange of stallions between countries because it gives the chance to nourish the genetic pool with new blood. 
It would happen in the Bedouin communities, who used to breed their horses within the tribe until there was a raid or when there is a battle after which the addition of other horses from different tribes, for which they did inbreeding and line-breeding for few generations. Then, they had the privilege of having a new cross depending on the harsh life in the desert (battles, raids, etc.)
 Breeders often go after champions that will make all horses in the world son or daughter of X champion. After 2-3 generations, the trend will make their genetic pool even smaller, and it might be dangerous for the breed. So, yes. I don't mind the exchange of genitors but wisely.

Tradition in Egypt
In Egypt, we are so proud of our horses and appreciate their value. We know the influence they had on the rest of the Arabian horses in the world. In the '60s and '70s, many stallions left Egypt and have been top stallions in the world. For example, Aswan in Russia, Ghazal in Germany, Shaker in Spain, Morafic in the USA, Ibn Galal in Hungary, etc. These stallions have influenced the type of the Arab horse into what we can see nowadays. Knowing this, we try to protect our genetic pools of Egyptian horses keeping in mind that it is always good to use them as a cross of Arabian horses worldwide. The responsibility we have is to try to breed them correctly to stay up to the standard of protecting such a precious horse.
 THE END