He was not, by any account, the most elegant of horses. When we first saw him as a yearling 28 years ago, Harem Shamahsheik was all angles; a gangly body perched on four sturdy legs. He never quite outgrew that conformation; our running family joke over the years was that you could measure him with a T-square. In his prime he was unbeatable in egg-and-spoon classes, but that was the extent of his show ring domination. Using the conventional formulas that determine the value of a horse – blue ribbons accumulated, champions sired, race purses won - Sheik would not have accounted for much.  But if the real measure of the greatness of a horse is the degree to which they singularly alter the arc of someone’s life, he was without peer.

            It was through Sheik that we first met his extended family. In 1981, what we knew about Arabians had largely been distilled from equine coffee table books or The Black Stallion collection. Once in awhile we might see one during occasional attendance at all-breed local shows. But until we made the (in hindsight, rash) decision to purchase him, we had never really entertained the thought of owning an Arabian. Sheik taught us the true character of the breed, and perhaps most significantly, he introduced us to his grandfathers *Morafic and Nabiel, their predecessors and other progeny. They in turn carried us into the world of Egyptian Arabians and fueled our desire to eventually raise these beautiful animals ourselves. Almost three decades later, the other horses we’ve bred that now populate our pastures - as well as the lifetime friendships we’ve made with fellow Egyptian Arabian enthusiasts - owe their origins to Sheik.

            While we might believe that we raised Sheik, to a greater degree he raised us. We were only 20 years old when we acquired him, and he taught us the foundations of patience and trust that we try to apply with all of our horses today. Sheik had no professional training under saddle or in driving; he was never broke in the negative sense of the word. When he was three he permitted us to ride him, and he proved himself a capable western pleasure and trail horse for eighteen years thereafter. When carrying passengers became more physically difficult for him, we asked him to consider the harness. He more than obliged, finding his true calling late in life while touring remote corners of the country with cart in tow.  At the age of 25, Sheik delighted in delivering the judges to the ring for the Saturday night championship classes of the 25^th Egyptian Event. For the past five years he served as a goodwill ambassador, providing carriage rides at community and military events and representing the Arabian during holiday parades in Northern Virginia. Ultimately, he loved to work and basked in the attention he received. It would be difficult to find a more devoted friend and gifted teacher in any walk of life.  

            Sheik passed away peacefully on 1 May 09 at the age of 29 from an overdose of mischievously good living and a slight touch of old age. He will be dearly missed, and we are forever grateful that we were able to share his life for so long.