One of Bahrain’s most elite Arabian horses has added another notch to his prized heritage by winning multiple titles at a leading international equine show in Europe.
Naseem Al Rashediah, a striking stallion born in the Al Rashediah Farm, took the gold medal in the senior stallions category at the Straight Egyptian World Championship (SEWC 2020).
He trotted away with the best sire, highest points and the best in show male titles at the event staged in the Italian city of Milan on October 17 and 18.
“Naseem has always had a special place in my heart and being back here three years after he won the title as a junior has left me speechless,” Rashed Al Jasmi, the horse’s co-owner, said after the event, which attracts elite breeders from all over the world.
Naseem Al Rashediah previously picked up the gold accolade at SWEC in 2016 in the junior colts category.
The Straight Egyptian breed of horses is a selective breed of Arabian horses and must be able to trace an unbroken bloodline back to the Bedouin tribes in the Arabian deserts.
Only three per cent of Arabian horses, or around 6,000 globally, are recognised as Straight Egyptians.
The breed is known for its elegance and loyalty. The horses have been compared to the legacy of the Great Pyramids of Egypt by former Egyptian Minister of Agriculture Sayed Marei.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, royalty all across the Arab world bred pure Arabian horses, prizing Straight Egyptians above all else.
Naseem Al Rashediah is a descendant of Al Adeed Al Shaqab, the most famous Straight Egyptian stallion in the world and Nabaweyah Ezzain, who hails from the Kamla family of the Hadbah strain, particularly renowned for its beauty.
With a royal heritage behind him, Naseem has been prodigious in his own right, producing 15 prize-winning progeny.
His daughter Ayah Al Fala, owned by Ranak Altobaishi from Saudi Arabia, earned a gold medal in the yearling fillies’ championship at the SWEC 2020.
His son, Salam Akmal, bred and owned by Prince Abdulmajeed bin Sultan bin Abdulaziz Al Saud of Akmal Stud, KSA, also took home the gold in the yearling colts class.
The SWEC is a horse show, as opposed to a horse race. Show horses are graded based on balance, muscling, structure, breed, refinement, training and gait.
“Seeing him at this stage, a stallion and a sire to so many, I couldn’t be more proud,” Al Jasmi added. “We must take it to the basics to evolve the breed and continue this legacy.”
Al Jasmi and his father A. Rahman Al Jasmi have a lifelong passion and a family legacy for breeding horses.
As for their most recent stud, Naseem Al Rashediah will be off to the French capital of Paris from December 4 to 6 to compete at the Arabian Horse World Championship.
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