From
our Arieana Notebook: The striking dark liver chestnut stallion Ibn
Rabdan was considered the most important sire of his day in Egypt.
He was a stallion of commanding presence, standing 15.1 Hands
with a long, supple neck and almost perfect conformation.
Considered
by many as the Egyptian Arabian of the 20th Century, Carl Raswan described
Ibn Rabdan as a "world champion type" and "the
most beautiful stallion of his time." Dr. Zaher was quoted
as saying: "He was not a photogenic horse and few pictures
did him justice, particularly in his old age, but he had that 'great
finesse'." Others were noted as saying: "[a sire]
unique in the annals of Arabian horse history,"
"famous as an all-around good Arabian," "the best
product ever [of the program at Bahteem]," "almost
perfect," and "the most influential sire of his
time."
Ibn
Rabdan raced for two years in Egypt,
1920 and 1921, retiring from
the track with a record for his 16 starts of 5 wins and 2 places.
Used
extensively in the stud of the Royal Agricultural Society by
both Prince Mohammed Ali and Prince Kemal el Dine Hussein, the
name of Ibn Rabdan appears more frequently in the pedigrees of winning race horses
bred by the E.A.O. than any other stallion. His son *Fadl and
daughter *Maaroufa, full
brother and sister out of Mahroussa,
helped to establish an Egyptian dynasty at the farm of Henry B.
Babson in America. This sireline also
got the illustrious paternal half-brother to Ibn Rabdan
named *Nasr (photo) (Rabdan El Azrak x Bint Yamama) who was the premier sire for Prince Mohammed Ali and
also a successful race horse in Egypt before his importation to the
United States by William Robinson Brown for his Maynesboro Stud,
Berlin, New Hampshire.
Ibn
Rabdan died in Egypt at age 27 in 1944.
Bibliography:
Forbis, Donald
and Judith. "The Arabian Horses of Egypt". Arabian Horse World May 1962. Springville,
New York. pp. 36-37.
"Looking Back 1917". Arabians
April 1985. Campbell Co. Inc., Lake Orion, Michigan. p.120
"Heritage
Horse: Ibn Rabdan". Arabian Horse World Quarterly
Summer 2002. Cambria, California. p. 88
Additional photos and information on Ibn Rabdan can be found in The Royal
Arabians of Egypt and The Stud of Henry B. Babson by Judith Forbis and
Walter Schimanski. Thoth Publishers, Waco, Texas 76710. 1976.
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