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THE STORY OF AL RAYYAN
A visit to Egypt and Beyond
Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bin Khaled Bin Hamad Al Thani, the original founder of Al Rayyan, had a great love for Arabian horses since childhood. So he decided to start his own breeding program at young age. But for breeding Arabian horses you need mares and stallions. Qatar at the time did not have many Arabian horses left, a few dozen of the local breeds whom didn’t look quite as fashionable as the great horses from Egypt.
So he travelled on multiple trips of discovery to Egypt where he bought several horses from different breeders and had them shipped to Qatar. On one of his visits in Egypt he heard about a breeder in Germany named Dr. Hans Nagel, so soon a visit was arranged. The horses from Dr. Nagel's breeding seemed still superior and so he bought several, all shipped to Doha where his stud farm, Al Rayyan, named after its' location, started to grow.
During this trip in Germany Sheikh Abdul Aziz noted that several of the mares, and even the young colt he liked, were all sired by one particular stallion … His name. Ansata Halim Shah. After inquiring about this stallion he learned that this stallion was bred and owned by a farm in Mena, Arkansas at Ansata Arabian Stud. The stallion only had been on a short lease to Dr. Nagel but the stamp he left behind was impressive. So a much further journey was in order.
Judi Forbis and Sheik Abdul Aziz
Before travelling on this long undertaking to USA, Sheikh Abdul Aziz gathered as much information as he could about Ansata Arabian Stud, but also, in particular about Ansata Halim Shah. When the moment came and he saw the horse, something clicked within him, he knew this was what he was looking for, close to the ideal he was after. He became good friends with the owners Judith and Don Forbis and soon horses where bought and send all the way back to Rayyan. Amongst them many Ansata Halim Shah daughters.
For almost two decades Sheikh Abdul Aziz kept traveling in search of special horses to ad to his growing breeding program Al Rayyan. Always carrying in his briefcase, photos of his favourite horses, mostly of Ansata Halim Shah and his daughters.
Over the decades a total of one hundred and thirty seven horses were purchased and imported for his breeding program. Many were resold as the program continued to grow and more and more focus was spent on certain lines and pedigrees. With his own breeding results improving, the Al Rayyan bred horses started to get their own defined look. Over the years he owned the farm, he bred well over 300 horses.
HH The Father Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani.
When in 2012 HH The Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bought the collection he not only got the finest of the finest, but also a good twenty five years of hard work, travel, study, plus the trial and error of perfecting a breeding program. He bought one of the most successful breeding farms for Arabian horses in the world of its' time. As a great lover of Arabian horses he felt that it was his duty to make sure the program was secured for future generations. Now more than decade has past and the takeover of such an endeavour was not easy, but the ambition and belief is there to bring this program back to life in its' former glory over the coming years.
RN FARIDA 1995 - 2024
Under the directorship of Director Mr. Khalifa Bin Mohamed Al Attiyah the path is paved for Al Rayyan and its horses towards a brighter future.
For now, enjoy our Al Rayyan horses and please be welcome to follow and support the process of a newly built Al Rayyan stables in a different location and facility, but still based on the established, original family lines.
Al Rayyan mare in the desert of Qatar.