By Jim Robbins
Three great old black & white photos of El Hilal (*Ansata Ibn Halima++ x Bint Nefisaa by Nazeer), taken by Sally Stokke in 1971 when he was 5 years old and standing at their farm in Enumclaw, WA. Bred by the Marshall’s at Gleannloch Farm, he was purchased by Sheila Varian at 11 months of age as a potential out-cross sire for her Polish and Polish/CMK mares. He covered two mares at Varian’s as a 2 year old, one being Mignonette the full sister to Bay El Bey++, and was sold as a coming three year old to Bob Thorndike in Washington state. Sheila purchased El Hilal to bring type, beauty and more athletic ability (via his multi-Top Ten Park Horse sire, Ansata Ibn Halima++) to Varian’s during the “Egyptian Invasion” of the 1960’s but alas he did not mature to what her vision was for her program. Fortunately for Bob Thorndike, Howard and Sally Stokke and especially Ron and Joyce Palelek and Arabian breeders throughout the Pacific Northwest and Canada, he soon found his niche as both a legendary sire and show horse.
As a horse show team, Ron Palelek and El Hilal were always the pair to beat. With Ron at the lead, El Hilal went US and Canadian Top Ten Stallion and won numerous championships at halter. But, his real value was as a breeding stallion and siring future champions, in both halter and performance. El Hilal’s value to the straight Egyptian breeding pool was significant, as he was straight Egyptian, Al Khamsa and Sheykh Obeyd Foundation “pure.” However, just my own personal opinion, his cross’s on the mares of Serafix, Silver Drift, Abu Farwa, Draper and old CMK breeding produced spectacular results.
My favorites would have to include Gerry Canda’s RDM Moon Gypsy+ (x Drifronna by Snow Drift), 1981 Canadian Reserve National Champion Mare and 1979 US Top Ten and Kent and Audrey Herron’s Ebony Moon (x Esperanzo Mara by Esperanzo), 1977 Canadian Reserve National Champion Mare and 1979 US Reserve National Champion Mare. John Rogers great old National Champion Chloette++ (*Serafix x Chloeyn by Raseyn) produced 3 gorgeous El Hilal daughters; Ellegant, a Vantage Point breeding and show mare for many years and the US and Canadian Top Ten Mares Bint Chloette and Lalette, the later owned for nearly all her life by Roger and Linda Lervick. His best known non straight sons included El Sedan+ (x Saudinna by Saudraff), El Baraka++ (x Takara Rifdona by Takara Rifha++), Syringa Fadhilal (x Canela by Fadheilan), an important stallion in Canada as was NV Collector (x Leesa by Silver Drift) and Pad-O-Mac Hilan (x Gahzet by Ibn Valaddi). Accomplice+ (x Bay Lady by Fadjur), VP Prestige (x AEH Islama by Son of Islam), Eagle El Hilal (x Easter Music by *Ramses Fayek), ROL Raven (x Amandi by KH Jordgee Boy) and Sur-Rad Supreme (x Jubidal by Jubilo) round out just a partial list of El Hilals Egyptian related sons. The ER daughters were phenomenal show and breeding mares as well, with a list too extensive to get into today, but I wanted to add one that I always thought was special, China Moon (x Butterfly by Nadirs Sedjur). She was out of a Carleton Cummings bred mare, bringing in decades of PNW breeding, and was owned, promoted, bred on to greatness and loved by Doug Dahmen, a local guy as well who truly took this branch of El Hilal’s breeding to greatness. World wide.
The straight Egyptian foals of El Hilal were of a slightly different flavor then the out crosses but no less important. My favorite SE cross were with the mares Nafairtiti (*Morafic x Bint Maisa El Saghira++ by Nazeer), a stunning full sister to Shaikh Al Badi, and the Babson mare Maar-Ree (Fasaab x Maarou by Fay-El-Dine) and her daughter, Maar-Jumana (by Disaan). Nafairtiti was purchased by John and Joyce Hurd of Washington as a youngster and produced 7 foals by El Hilal, including the colts Moon Sonn and Moon Sheine who went to Canada and bred on well there and the daughters Moon Mystique, Kachina Moon and the Brazilian export, Naderah. Maar-Ree is the dam of the El Hilal daughters RDM Maar Halima and MFA Bint Maarree. Maar-Jumana, her daughter, was a foundation mare for the Cruz families Rancho Bulakenyo program and left 4 important SE breeding sons; El Halimaar and Halim El Mansour (by Ansata Ibn Halima++), ET Crown Prince (by The Egyptian Prince) and Prince Ibn Shaikh (by Shaikh Al Badi) as well as an Al Metrabbi++ daughter, Maartrabbi, who was exported to England and Bint Maar Hala (by Shaikh Al Badi). Other notable SE sons of El Hilal include VK Crusader (x AH Athena by Moniet El Sharaf) and Mohummed Sadden (x Akid Fa Mona by The Egyptian Prince), both bred by Charles and Judy Jones and VP Regal Heir (x Bint Sammara by Mohssen) owned his last years by Kara Crowell. The most international of El Hilal’s offspring, was the beautiful stallion Hansan (x Hamamaa by Ibn Antar), bred by Ron Wright, the father of my friend Keri Wright, and exported to Australia as a 2 year old where he left 84 get and over 500 grand-get cementing El Hilal’s influence in our breed world wide.
Undoubtedly El Hilal's most prolific son, SE or otherwise, was Imperial Al Kamar. Bred at Imperial Stud by Barbara Griffith, he was out of a Hossny daughter out of US National Champion Mare, Serenity Sonbolah (Sameh x Bint Om El Saad by Nazeer) and is her legacy to the breed. He sired 198 foals in his lifetime, most at Imperial and in his later years with his last owner, Jody Cruz. Not only was Imperial Al Kamar gorgeous and correct, but also one of the best moving of all the El Hilal get courtesy of the line-breeding to Ansata Ibn Halima and the addition of the Sameh blood.
With over 50 National Champions, most in halter a few in performance, and over 60 Top Tens, a few more in performance then halter, El Hilal breeds on today in many, many breeding programs. His name is synonymous with both the Palalek family and their Vantage Point Farm and with Arabian breeding in the Pacific Northwest. I hope you enjoyed a few “looks” of him by Sally Stokkee (of The Egyptian Prince and Abenhetep fame) before he became the El Hilal, the legendary show horse and sire.
Jim Robbins for We Love Arabian horses.
Visit https://welovearabianhorses.com to learn more about our amazing program!
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