2007 PERFORMANCE AWARD

Shy Gayfeen++++//

The Insti­tute for the Desert Arabian Horse has announced the top ten winners in its Drinkers of the Wind Perfor­mance Award Program for 2007. “We are pleased that these top ten horses come from throughout the US and Canada and compete in a wide variety of perfor­mance disci­plines, demon­strating the versa­tility of the Desert Arabian Horse,” said Kent Mayfield, Chairman of the Insti­tute for the Desert Arabian Horse. “These horses are not only noble in type but also repre­sent an effec­tive combi­na­tion of char­acter, strength, and enthu­si­astic will­ing­ness to perform.”

Owner Cori Wilson on Shy Gayfeen++++//. Photo: Rick Osteen

High point horse Shy Gayfeen++++// (Safeen x Gayleen RCA) competed in Hunter Plea­sure in Regions 3, 6, and 17. Among his top finishes were Hunter Plea­sure Cham­pi­onship in Region 6, Reserve Hunter Plea­sure AT Cham­pi­onship in Region 17, and top 10 Hunter Plea­sure AATR 18–39 at the Cana­dian Nationals. Shy Gayfeen++++// is a 1998 bay stal­lion, bred in Canada and owned by Cori Wilson. The perpetual trophy awarded to the top horse comes from the estate of Walter Schi­manski. Cori will also receive a cash prize donated by Hansi Heck-​​Melnyk, long-​​time owner of Serenity Farms and a strong advo­cate for demon­strating the perfor­mance abil­i­ties of the Desert Arabian horse.

Other top ten awardees (in alpha­bet­ical order):

• BW Fadl Tali (Faydin x Bint Fadl Starr)
• Crucian (Athanor x Percep­tion GCA)
• DB Dahman (DB Shahhat x DB Jasidah)
• Ibn Bilal Halima (Bilal x Kastahna)
• Khehanad Adhem+ (Khe Adhm x Sahanade)
• Mah Sabbah Bedu (Ibn Sabbah Bedu+/ x Bint Roulett)
• RB Cava­lier (Arabi Fadh Onyx x BA Cerulean Ebony)
• Sigar (Safeen x MB Ballur)
• Susar El Khamor (Masada El Rabdan x Om Khamsa).

Drinkers Of The Wind Perpetual Trophy from the estate of Walter Schimanski.

Four of the top 10 excelled in dres­sage. In his first full show season, Khehanad Adhem+, 1999 black stal­lion, showed in both open and AHA classes in Region 14. He was Reserve Cham­pion Training Level AT for Region 14 and received his Legion of Honor from AHA. He gained a number of USEF awards, including USEF Horse of the Year Cham­pion: Region 14 Amateur First Level and was ranked 7^th in the Nation in Amateur Training Level Dres­sage. Khehanad Adhem+ is owned by Lance Bowman. Another first-​​year competitor, BW Fadl Tali, 2000 black stal­lion, showed at Training Level in open classes, finishing first at several Potomac Valley Dres­sage Asso­ci­a­tion shows that benefit local char­i­ties. BW Fadl Tali is owned by Megan Detweiler, who followed Tali’s progress from over­seas while serving in the U.S. Army in Iraq and Kuwait. Susar El Khamor, 1996 bay stal­lion, topped his year taking first in A/​HA/​AA Second Level at the Texas State Fair, with other points at compe­ti­tions in Region 9. He is owned by Susan Mayo and Cyann Looney. Mah Sabbah Bedu, 2001 bay stal­lion, took firsts and seconds at First Level in open and AHA shows, including the Texas State Fair, the Mayfest Chal­lenge, and Cowtown Classic. He is owned by Dr. Keith Kosel and Susan Mayo.

Two geld­ings were top endurance horses. Crucian, 1995 chestnut, finished top 5 in the Region 13 cham­pi­onships, completing seven 50-​​mile and two 55-​​mile rides. He placed first in the Hopkins Creek Ride and third in the FEI-​​CEI *** Fun In The Sun Pioneer 55-​​mile ride. He ranked 5^th in the AERC Midwest Region Heavy­weight Divi­sion. Crucian is owned by Michele Dake. DB Dahman, 2000 chestnut, had points in both endurance and hunter plea­sure. He completed six AERC-​​sanctioned 50-​​mile rides and finished with one first, two 2nds, two 3rds, and four best condi­tion awards. He ranked second in Best Condi­tion for AERC Midwest Region. He is owned by Paula Kaigh.

Many of the horses are also shown in Sport Horse. Khehanad Adhem+ with Lance Bowman.

Two top ten horses competed exclu­sively in Western Plea­sure classes: Canadian-​​bred Sigar, 1998 bay gelding and half brother to Shy Gayfeen++++//, showed in Western Plea­sure, including AO, AT, and AAO, in Regions 3 and 4, topping his compe­ti­tion year with top 4 in the Region 3 cham­pi­onships. He also was ranked 4^th in USEF Western Plea­sure Open and 11^th Western Plea­sure Adult Amateur. He is owned by Emily Vincent. RB Cava­lier, 1991 black stal­lion, showed in Western Plea­sure, AO, AT, and AAO classes in Region 9, taking Arabian Western Plea­sure AO Cham­pi­onship at the Cowtown Classic. He is owned by Morgan Millner.

One other top ten horse had points in multiple disci­plines. Ibn Bilal Halima, 2002 grey gelding, had points in both Western and English Plea­sure classes and in Trail. He was shown in open shows, including the Wisconsin State Fair and the Great Lakes Morab show. He is owned by Nancy Merkel.

The Drinkers of the Wind Perfor­mance Award compe­ti­tion is open to horses presumed to descend entirely from Bedouin-​​bred horses. All horses marked in the AHA Data­Source as being Pyramid Society Straight Egyptian and/​or Al Khamsa horses in North America are eligible to compete. These top ten horses repre­sent all historic blood­line groups of Desert Arabian heritage. Six are Straight Egyptian (Shy Gayfeen++++//, BW Fadl Tali, Ibn Bilal Halima, Mah Sabbah Bedu, Sigar, Susar El Khamor). One, Khehanad Adhem+, is Egyptian-​​sired, with Egyptian, Daven­port and other early imports in his dam-​​line. Crucian is of straight Daven­port breeding, DB Dahman is from the Blue Star tradi­tion of predom­i­nantly Saudi breeding, and RB Cava­lier blends Straight Egyptian-*Turfa– Saudi and other bloodlines.

Mystic UF with Aida Schreiber.

The Insti­tute also recog­nized top six among horses that competed in local, commu­nity, 4-​​H, and other shows in less-​​traditional events. SS Istari (1991 black gelding, Egyptian-*Turfa blood­lines) showed in open Dres­sage, Western Plea­sure, and Hunter classes. Mystic UF (1987 bay stal­lion, straight Daven­port) continued his climb in the ranks of mounted shooting horses; he is only the second Arabian to become a certi­fied Cham­pion Shooting Horse in a sport that is growing quickly. Susar El Khameen (2002 chestnut gelding, straight Egyptian) and Susar Jel Rabdan (1993 bay gelding, Egyptian-*Turfa) competed in English, Trail, Jumping, and Pattern classes; Gwaihir TOS (2000 grey stal­lion, Blue Star) continued to develop as an endurance horse; and Roshan NA (2003 grey gelding, Straight Egyptian) showed in Hunter Plea­sure. The Insti­tute recog­nizes these horses for the role they play in demon­strating the perfor­mance capa­bil­i­ties of the Desert Arabian Horse in local and unrated shows and as a way to reward owners for getting their horses out in front of the general public.

The Insti­tute for the Desert Arabian Horse is a non-​​profit, 501 (c)(3) public charity devoted to protecting and conserving the cultural legacy and genetic integrity of the Bedouin-​​bred Arabian horse through histor­ical and scien­tific research, educa­tion, stan­dard perfor­mance eval­u­a­tions, inter­na­tional collab­o­ra­tion and conser­va­tion projects.

For further infor­ma­tion about the Drinkers of the Wind award program, contact Susan Mayo. Participation is free.