Photo: A. Furby
The twenty-three-year-old imported Part-Shagya-Arabian stallion *Gazin impressed everybody at the Vermont inspection with his presence and great jumping aptitude.

Photo: Frankie Frazzini

The six-year-old *Hadban USA was imported from Austria and is the only representative of the “Hadban” sire line in America.

Photo: Frankie Frazzini

Nikolas Royale AF, a three-year-old stallion, was the highest scoring stallion on this year’s tour, and scored a “9” for his type.

The North American Shagya-Arabian Society, NASS, recently concluded its eighth Inspection Tour for the evaluation of breeding stock. NASS, which is a member of the “ISG”, the international “umbrella” society which regulates the breeding of Purebred Shagya-Arabians around the world, began conducting breeding approval inspections in accordance with international breeding rules twenty years ago, in 1989.

On this NASS 2009 Inspection Tour that took place this past September, our invited judge was none other than the President of the ISG, Mr. Ahmed Al Samarraie, who is a native of Germany. It was Mr. Al Samarraie’s first visit to the United States, and it gave him a chance to get short glimpses of some of the great geographical variety we have in our country, as well as to see some beautiful Shagyas. Mr. Al Samarraie and American judges traveled to Indiana, Vermont, Florida, Texas, Montana and California – and all within a one-week period!

A total of 25 horses were inspected, including five stallions, two of them imported – the lovely twenty-three-year-old *Gazin from Germany and the six-year-old *Hadban USA from Austria. In addition to being shown in hand, standing and on the triangle at walk and trot, sport horse show style, each stallion also was free longed and navigated a jump chute consisting of a crossbar, a horizontal and an oxer. The oxer is gradually raised up to a maximum of 42 inches with a 32-inch spread. All the stallions that were presented (except for one who was excused from jumping due to an injury) impressed the judges with their excellent jumping ability and willingness to jump. These qualities can be attributed to the genetic heritage of the Shagya-Arabian breed – a breed developed by the Austro-Hungarian monarchy since the late 1700s. Shagyas were bred to be elite cavalry horses that could carry their riders through all types of terrain and under varying and often harsh conditions.

The Shagya-Arabian mares, as well, were historically performance tested in both riding and driving and also were selected for longevity, fertility, tractable dispositions and easy keeping qualities. On this tour fourteen mares were approved into the breed. Mares are shown in hand and at liberty and free jumping is optional. The mares as well as the stallions also have official measurements taken of their wither height, cannon bone, and girth circumference.

Each presented horse is given marks on a scale of 1-10 for: type, head, neck, body, legs, walk, trot, and canter. Additionally, a paragraph-long description is made by the judges who describe the horse’s type, conformation, movement, and jumping aptitude. This paragraph becomes an official description of the horse on that particular day, and is published along with an inspection photo and the measurements and marks for each horse in the NASS Newsletter. By this method, people who are interested in particular individual horses (such as a breeder who is shopping for a stallion to use with his or her mare) can study and compare the results for various individuals. Also, over the years, as inspection data accumulates, the breed society acquires more knowledge about the relative merits of the different individual breeding animals, as well as of different bloodlines. One can, for example, compare the offspring of individual stallions or mares using a relatively standardized system which does not vary significantly from one inspection to the next. The inspection process is therefore a tool whereby breed standards can be maintained and even raised over the generations.

Purebred Arabians were also eligible for breeding inspection approval beginning with this inspection tour.

The North American Shagya-Arabian Society is committed to the utilization of the inspection process as an important ingredient in the further perpetuation of the genetic heritage of this special breed which is proving itself to be an ideal family and competition horse for many disciplines.

For more information about Shagya-Arabians visit the NASS website at: www.shagya.net.