Bint Maisa El Shaghira

*Bint Maisa El Saghira++ (Nazeer x Maisa) 1958 Bay Mare
 

1958 was a defining year for Nazeer. In that single season, Nazeer sired a constellation of horses who would shape modern Egyptian breeding: *Ansata Ibn Halima++, *Bint Mona, Kaisoon, Aswan, *Ramses Fayek, *Ansata Bint Mabrouka . . .
 

Among them was a bright bay filly who would travel far, endure more, and ultimately influence more than anyone could have imagined: *Bint Maisa El Saghira++.
 

Bringing her to the United States was no simple matter. She was imported twice, first in 1961 and again in 1962. In those days, imports crossed the Atlantic by ship, three long weeks at sea. Storms were common. Seas were rough enough that attendants sometimes could not reach the decks to feed or water the horses for days.
 

Even after surviving that journey, her trials were not over. In Egypt she had been inoculated against African horse sickness. In New York quarantine she tested positive. The Marshalls faced a stark decision: destroy her or bear the expense of sending her back to Egypt and starting over.
 

They chose to try again. Back she went. And back she came. That decision changed the course of Egyptian breeding in America.
 

Tall, athletic, correct, and unmistakably charismatic, *Bint Maisa El Saghira++ carried herself with the kind of presence that stops a ring. Under the McNairs’ careful campaign, and often shown alongside *Ansata Ibn Halima, she became one of the defining Egyptian show mares of the 1960s. Coast to coast, she proved that Egyptian horses were not simply beautiful, they were competitive.
 

In just two seasons she earned:

• 1964 U.S. National Top Ten Park
• 1965 U.S. National Top Ten Mare
• 1965 U.S. National Top Ten English Pleasure
 

Notably, in that formidable 1964 park class, *Bask++ also stood among the Top Ten. It was an era of giants, and she belonged there.
 

She went on to earn the Legion of Merit, the highest recognition of sustained showring excellence at the time.
 

Rhita McNair later wrote: “Her tail carriage, presence, stamina and heart won her national top honors in halter, English pleasure, and park, with many blues in costume and side saddle. She soon earned her Legion of Merit. The breeding program at Gleannloch was vastly influenced by this great mare.”
 

And influence is the right word. At Gleannloch, *Bint Maisa El Saghira++ produced nine foals:
Mashalla (x *Moftakhar) 1963 grey mare
Dahmah Shahwaniah (x *Ansata Ibn Halima++) 1966 bay mare
Dahma Il Ashekwar (x *Fahidd) 1967 chestnut mare
Amaal (x *Morafic) 1968 grey stallion
Shaikh Al Badi (x *Morafic) 1969 grey stallion
Radia (x *Morafic) 1970 bay mare
Rihana (x *Morafic) 1971 grey mare
Nefairtiti (x *Morafic) 1972 grey mare
Shamruk++ (x *Ibn Hafiza) 1973 bay stallion
 

Among them were three sons whose impact still echoes: Amaal, Shaikh Al Badi, and Shamruk++. Together they established sire lines that reshaped the American Straight Egyptian landscape.
 

Shaikh Al Badi alone sired 693 foals and launched a generational chain of U.S. National Futurity winners. Through Ruminaja Ali and his son Ali Jamaal, *Bint Maisa El Saghira++’s legacy flowed forward in Arabian breeding around the world.
 

From one mare came hundreds, and a movement: Sixteen of her direct grandsons and granddaughters earned 22 National wins, including four Championships and three Reserves. Today her descendants number in the thousands. The numbers tell part of the story. People who knew her tell the rest.
 

Judith Forbis remembered seeing her as a young filly in Egypt: “She was among the best of the Nazeer daughters, quite tall and an elegant individual… She had a definite finesse about her and a quiet self-assurance. Little did we realize that she and *Ansata Ibn Halima would be the two horses that brought the Straight Egyptian into focus in the American show ring.”
 

*Bint Maisa El Saghira++ passed in 1973 at age 15, just four months after foaling Shamruk++, her final gift. Those who stood beside her remember something beyond statistics or titles. Tom McNair described her simply as a “mare with a tremendous heart.”

 *Gamilaa (*Morafic x *Bint Hanaa by El Sareei) 1964 Grey Mare

The 1960s marked an Arabian Renaissance in America, a once-in-a-generation moment when vision, courage, and the search for the world’s best reshaped the breed forever. Gleannloch and Ansata stood at the center of that movement, bringing Egyptian bloodstock to the U.S. that would define Straight Egyptian breeding for decades to come.

1968 was one of those lightning-strike years.

Gleannloch and Ansata were in Egypt selecting horses that would become cornerstones of their respective programs. For Gleannloch came eight outstanding horses, including *Faleh++, *Nihal++ and *Soufian. For Ansata, *Ansata Hadeeba. At the same time, they were selecting on behalf of others. The McNairs chose mares for Hansi Heck’s Serenity Farms, including the legendary *Serenity Sonbolah. Judith Forbis selected five horses for the Huebners of Texas, choosing *Sakr+++, *Deenaa, *Habeeba, *Bint Hanaa, and a young *Morafic daughter who would leave a significant mark: *Gamilaa.

Once the Huebner imports arrived in Texas, Gleannloch quickly acquired all of them. Their impact on the Gleannloch program was immediate, especially through *Sakr+++, *Deenaa, *Bint Hanaa, and *Gamilaa.

As a broodmare, *Gamilaa proved she was special. Over her lifetime she produced 13 foals and earned her place in history as the dam of one of only four Straight Egyptian stallions to achieve the Legion of Supreme Merit: Gamal Al Arab+++.

By *Ibn Hafiza and out of *Gamilaa, Gamal Al Arab+++ became the living proof of Gleannloch’s belief in the *Ibn Hafiza x *Morafic daughter cross. Gamal Al Arab+++ would go on to earn five national titles in halter and performance, becoming *Ibn Hafiza’s most accomplished son and one of the most celebrated show stallions of his era.

*Gamilaa’s influence did not stop there.

When bred to the *Morafic son *Ibn Moniet El Nefous (*Morafic x Moniet El Nefous), she produced AK Bint Gamilaa. That daughter carried *Gamilaa’s legacy beyond American borders to Africa through her breeding to another *Morafic son out of a Huebner import, Ahir (*Morafic x *Deenaa).

The Marshalls and the McNairs recognized the power of the *Morafic x *Bint Hanaa nick and returned to it twice more. The result was the bay stallion Sayeed and *Gamilaa’s only full sister, *Bint Bint Hanaa+. A standout in her own right, *Bint Bint Hanaa+ became one of *Morafic’s most successful daughters in the show ring, culminating in her title as 1975 U.S. National Reserve Champion Mare.

*Gamilaa was a valuable addition to Gleannloch, and that brought her lasting international influence in Egyptian breeding programs.

Few mares embody the strength and continuity of the Gleannloch program like *Magidaa.

By the legendary Nazeer son Alaa El Din, one of the Egyptian Agricultural Organization’s most influential sires, *Magidaa represents a direct line of heritage that helped define Gleannloch’s success. Over time, Gleannloch imported a remarkable group of Alaa El Din offspring, including *Thabit, *Nashwan, *Soufian, *Faleh++, *Shia++, *Omnia, and *Magidaa, each contributing to the program’s legacy.

Imported in 1960 as a four-year-old, *Magidaa went on to produce 13 foals, five of them for Gleannloch:

• Bint Magidaa (by *Khofo++)
• Nabiel+/ (by *Sakr+++)
• Shafeekah (by *Morafic)
• Sugaa++/ (by *Sakr+++)
• Magda (by *Morafic)

Her impact is best measured through them:

Nabiel+/ sired an astonishing 699 foals, became a standout sire and a winning show horse, earning:

• 1974 U.S. National Champion Futurity Stallion
• 1975 U.S. National Top Ten Stallion (Breeding)
• 1976 U.S. National Top Ten Stallion

Shafeekah (*Morafic x *Magidaa) captured the title of:

• 1975 U.S. National Champion Futurity Mare

Sugaa++/ added versatility and performance excellence with:

• 1978 Canadian Top Ten English Pleasure
• 1978 Canadian Top Ten Pleasure Driving
• 1980 Canadian Top Ten English Pleasure

Bint Magidaa continued to expand *Magidaa’s legacy. She produced 17 offspring, including national winners such as:

• Ruminja Ali (x Shaikh Al Badi)

- 1979 U.S. National Champion Futurity Stallion

- 1983 U.S. National Reserve Champion Stallion

- 1980 U.S. National Top Ten Stallion

• Alidaar (x Shaikh Al Badi)

- U.S. and Canadian Top Ten Futurity Stallion

• Thee Infidel (x Thee Desperado+)

- 2000 U.S. National Top Ten Stallion

- U.S. National Top Ten Futurity Stallion

*Magidaa was a cornerstone mare whose influence carried forward through generations of champions, shaping the show ring and Egyptian Arabian pedigrees for decades.