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_PREFACE

The pure-blooded Arabian horse is a wonder of creation. No other animal has the ability to impress us to the same extent with its power, charming grace, beauty and nature. The floating elegance of these horses, their unreachable spirit, their independence and sensitivity offer the appreciative rider the greatest fulfilment, and for every lay person they radiate a wonderful beauty in this loveless modern world. Dr. Bertold Schirg The impressive report of the experiences of Dr. Norbert Zalis and the song of praise for the Arabian horse by Dr. Bertold Schirg precede this introduction. They both demonstrate a fact - the Asil Arabian is the pride of creation, the peak of nature. Man has acted here as the perfecter of nature" (Hans Conradin). The Asil Club aims to carefully preserve this valued cultural asset. A piece of world cultural heritage is threatened with extinction through the mixing with other non-Asil Arabian bloodlines. Today the Asil Club can look back on 25 years of successful activity. We can say with satisfaction that we have succeeded in sharpening the awareness world-wide that an Asil mare should only be covered by an Asil stallion. In this way the international mixing of blood lines has largely been stopped. Regardless of its promotion of Asil blood lines, it is due to the Asil Club that every horse lover now has the opportunity to buy an Asil Arabian at a reasonable price. In past times, in Europe, this was only possible for privileged people. In those days the situation was as Wolfgang Schraps described in GEO with the following words: "[There was] No household of kings or princes that was not soon very keen on the Arabian, and this not only because of its high performance, but also because of the almost ethereal beauty found in the Bedouin horses." As early as 1974 a small group of passionate breeders in Europe had clubbed together to work for the preservation of the small numbers of "pure blood Arabians" as they were called at the time. The first Squad of the Twelve -Elke Behrens, Carl-Heinz Dömken, Eberhard Franck-Zügel, Dr. Wolfgang Hirsch, Professor Jean Kayser, Dr.F. Bonno Klynstra, Barb Müller, Dr. W. Georg Olms, Dr. Otto Saenger, Erika Schiele, Professor Klaus Simons and Dipl.-Ing. Georg Thierer - founded the Asil Club and chose the Arabic word "asil" as a clear description of the authentic pure blooded Arabian, the Arabian that proved to be without any foreign blood. Within a short period of time, the support of well known breeders and hippologists could be won. Plans for the publication of a documentation of the Asil Club soon took shape. In 1977 Volume I was published, with the title ASIL ARABIANS, THE NOBLE ARABIAN HORSES, Volume II came out in 1980, Volume III in 1985 (also with Arabic text), and Volume IV in 1993. Volume IV, the English-German documentation, has been an essential instrument with which the Asil Club works, and has worked, for the Asil Arabian. This volume is the fifth of this work, with the most important sections also in Arabic. The fact that the documentation is now published in Italian* and that a French translation for Volume V is planned demonstrates how the importance of our activities increases. Now the Equestrian Federation, Qatar are planning an Asil Arabian Studbook and the founding of a Qatar Asil Club. In addition to the annual members meeting, with a visit to a stud, lectures etc., the ASIL CUP INTERNATIONAL has proved to be an outstanding public event. In 2000, the cup will be held on the occasion of WORLD EXPO 2000 in the Royal Gardens of Herrenhausen, under the patronage of H.H. the President of the U.A.E and once again awarded the prize H.H. Sheikh Zayed Cup. The ASIL CUP INTERNATIONAL has become known to international show judges as one of the best shows world-wide. Celebrities, such as the Arab Astronaut Prinz Sultan bin Salman, Riyadh, and the premiers Dr. Lothar Späth and Erwin Teufel, agreed to partonize the show. The current volume, in comparison to earlier editions, has a new structure. Thereby, certain elements of importance in relation to the Arabian horse and its breeders could be included. Prelude of the volume is the chapter Believe it or not! , in which particularly impressive reports and anecdotes are presented in support of the Asil Arabian horse. The section which follows, entitled qualities, contains essays relating to performance. The articles Arab Horse Racing: Short Distances, Long-distance rides and The Arabian Vision by Carole Francis are particularly worth pointing out, as are The Bedouins - Knights of the desert and Original arabians: The elite of Asil Arabians in the Regions of Origin from the section Environment. These chapters are strongly recommended to the reader - one cannot grasp the true value of Bedouin Asil breeding without first knowing about their traditions and ideas of honour. Similarly, one cannot wish to protect the high value of the Asil Arabians of their land of origin, the original Arabians, the desert bred horses, thereby finally reinstating a source for international Arabian breeding, if through lack of knowledge purebred Arabians are imported into the Arab countries which, although accepted by the WAHO, are not asil because of their foreign bloodlines. Supplementary to the important contribution about the Saluki by Priscilla Balles, we include this time important articles about the dromedary by Dr. habil. Ulrich Wernery and about the falcon by Chief Master Falconer Horst Niesters. Please note the excellent article The Arabian Horse in Art by Dr. Dr. habil. Karin Thieme in the chapter Images and Impacts. It is followed by the section about Asil breeding with an abridged version of the magnificent article by Professor Dr. Dr. Frederik Bakels. The second part is featuring a stud book with selected Asil Arabians with an impressive overall view of the international breeders of Asil Arabians. The third part is dedicated to the Asil Club, with its Aims and Definition and the article Why we founded the Asil Club. Special attention should be paid to the section Asil Arabians - Diamonds without Inclusions - Are Purebred Arabians Asil? Here we deal with the attempts of the WAHO to justify their break with the original definition of the purebred Arabian. The definition of all of their united breeder's societies is the following: "Purebred Arabians are horses which prove to exclusively descend from original Arabians." In the light of these attempts, a quotation from Goethe might be given here: "Shrewdness does not the least fail the brilliant when they are in the wrong". The arguments used by the WAHO, also in their article Is purity the issue?" published on the internet, cannot prevail. In our article we disprove these arguments completely and convincingly. To say it with E. v. Salomon's words: our relationship with the WAHO and the national breeders societies has never been a chilly one. If the evaluation by the Asil Club of all Arabian breeding has not always been clear enough, it could be because it is extremely difficult to give more praise to the purebred Arabian than has already been given by numerous authors and those responsible within the organisations mentioned above. A list of the honorary members of the club and the committee is followed by one of Promotive Members with their diverse and important personalities. The next section deals with the Activities of the Asil Club. The chapter included there, From war-horse to show-horse to no horse? , emphasizes once again the main concern of Arabian breeding - performance, the promotion of the Arabian through competing under the saddle and in front of the wagon. The success that the Asil Arabian is capable of is impressively displayed in the chapter Performance Records. Since the audience at national and international events is often only confronted with show horses, the chapter Successes of selected Asil Arabian at the Asil Cup International and other Arabian Horse Shows demonstrates how the Asil Arabian can also convince on such occasions. The success of the Asil Arabians at shows is even more significant considering the fact that they represent barely 2 % of the 600,000 purebred Arabians. The volume concludes with the Arabic section in which Mazen Amawi offers an excellent translation of the most important chapters. We have to thank the well known hippologists, biologists, animal breeding researchers, ethnologists, arabists, admireres of Arabia, and, not least, the breeders and descendants of the Bedouin of the Arabia Deserta. We are proud, and very pleased, to be able to count among our members many world ranking studs, among them the Royal Stables of H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan al Nahyan, Abu Dhabi, those of Emirs H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Eissa al Khalifa, Bahrain, of H.H. Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa al Thani, Qatar, H.M. Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Taymour, Oman, and of Crown-prince H.R.H. Prince Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Arabia, H.H. Sheikh Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed, Abu Dhabi, and also the well known national studs of El Zahraa, Egypt; Bábolna, Hungary; Kladrup, Czech Republic; Marbach, Germany; Dhirab, Saudi Arabia; Topolçianki, Slovakia; The Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club and the Pure Arabian Horse Center, Kuwait. Moreover, we would like to thank the following persons for their support of our activities, especially of the ASIL CUP INTERNATIONAL: the President of the United Arab Emirates, H.H. Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan; the Minister for Information and Culture, H.H. Abdullah Bin Zayed; H.E. Sheikh Abdulaziz Bin Khalid Al Thani, Qatar; H.E. Brigadier Abdullah Al Abri, Oman; H.H. Sheikha Lulua Al Sabah, Egypt and Britain; H.H. Sultan Bin Khalifa Bin Zayed, President of the U.A.E. Equestrian Federation, Abu Dhabi; H.H. Prince Turki F. M. Al Saud, Riyadh; and H.R.H. Prince Sultan Bin Salman, Riyadh. Many thanks to the Asil Club members who were involved in the creation of this documentation. Gratitude for their moral and financial support is due to: Brigadier Professor Kurt Albrecht, Viena; Professor Dr. Dr. Frederik Bakels, Carole M. Francis, H. E. Abbas, F. Al Ghazzawy, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Chief Master Falconer Horst Niesters, Professor Dr. Gert Preiser, Dr. Otto Saenger, Dr. Bertold Schirg, Dr. Dr. habil. Karin Thieme, Dipl.-Ing. Georg Thierer, Dr. habil. Ulrich Wernery, and Colonel E. B. Wilson. Professor Dr. Hans Conradin, of Zurich, recently wrote to us: "Closely linked with the friendship between man and horse is the idea that man influences nature in an appreciative and humane way. The continued improvement in breeding these horses - in which I have been comprehensively instructed by the publications of the Asil Club - means that nature, out of her own resources, is refined by man. Man functions to perfect nature. What is even more striking, however, is the atmosphere. I mean the mutual support between the peoples, in this case people from the Western and the Arab world. The mutual human development continues through understanding and awareness between people of diverse backgrounds, races and cultures - and this without neglecting their own origins. Thus the activities of the Asil Club serve towards world peace and the freedom of humanity." As it is said in one of the most beautiful works of world literature, the "Tales of 1001 Nights", "Live up to the expectations of the one who thinks well of you". We shall try to fulfil this task that has been given to us. We shall prove ourselves true adherents to the asil traditions who know that their fortune should be treasured, their treasures be valued and their values be safeguarded. Dr. W. Georg Olms Chairman

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(c)2002 Asil Club e.V. - Hagentorwall 7 - 31134 Hildesheim - Germany Textsource: Asil Arabians V - The noble arabian horses (Olms Verlag 2000) Textquelle: Asil Araber V - Arabiens edle Pferde (Olms Verlag 2000)