Judith Forbis called *Ibn Rabdan perhaps the most Influential stallion in Egyptian history (Authentic Arabian Bloodstock, p. 311). Breeder Richard Pritzlaff, AERC Hall of Famer Crockett Dumas, and others have claimed the Pritzlaff / Rabanna blood produces the greatest athletes while others point to World Record setting Racehorses Balance and *Nasr as the greatest athletes. And countless people consider Straight Babsons the greatest all-around Arabians. For years I thought the Mansour Kuhaylan blood was the best. Recently I made a startling discovery: all of these “Greatest Horses” & bloodlines trace to one amazing stallion, Rabdan El Azrak. (Read “The Babson Grandsire: Rabdan El Azrak”.

Rabdan, born in 1897, can be found around the eighth to tenth generation of most Egyptian pedigrees, but his blood is usually diluted by hundreds of outcrosses. Luckily two preservation breeding programs in the U.S. (Henry Babson and Richard Pritzlaff), created virtual “time capsules” of Rabdan El Azrak blood.

Four of the six Babsons imported in 1932 had close links to Rabdan. *Fadl was a Rabdan grandson, *Maaroufa, and *Bint Bint Durra were Rabdan granddaughters, and *Bint Saada was his great-granddaughter. Because no new horses have been added to the Straight Babson gene pool, the percentage of Rabdan blood has remained more or less constant for 75 years! There are approximately 220 Straight Babsons alive today.

The Pritzlaff foundation horses *Bint Nefisa, Rabanna, *Rashad Ibn Nazeer, and *Bint El Bataa all had significant Rabdan blood. The Babson stallion Faarad, added to the Pritzlaff program in 1964, was 70 percent *Fadl, *Maaroufa, and *Bint Saada. * Bint Nefisa had six lines to Rabdan, with Balance, Shahloul, Mansour, and Farida close-up. Rabanna was a Rabdan great-granddaughter. *Rashad Ibn Nazeer and *Bint El Bataa were both line-bred to Mansour ( Rabdan grandson equivalent). The percentage of Rabdan blood in the Pritzlaff herd has remained constant for over 43 years. Less than 100 Straight Pritzlaff horses are alive today.

Selective Rabdan line-breeding with key Babson and Pritzlaff horses can recreate the power and essence of Rabdan that was so evident in his sons Ibn Rabdan and *Nasr. Two such examples are the stallions DE Nahed, & Soo Shahloul pictured & described herein. More such breeding at R.O.R Egyptian Arabians will ensure the “Return of Rabdan” & that “The Phoenix shall Fly again”.