ABOUT 15 minutes' drive from Cairo International Airport, the droning sound of planes is deadened by the synchronised trotting, galloping and cantering of more than 350 pure-bred stallions and mares at el-Zahraa Arabian Horse Farm. This stud is famous, nationally and internationally, for the grace and elegance of its Arabian horses. The first Arabian horses arrived in Egypt during the reign of Mohamed Ali Pasha in the early 19th century. Impressed by the stories he was told about the animals' beauty, charm and elegance, decided to import a number of pure Arabian horses bred in the Arabian Peninsula. The royal family, led by Khedive Abbas Helmi II, Prince Ahmed Kamal, Prince Mohamed Ali Tawfeeq and Prince Kamal Eddin Hussein, were very impressed by these horses and they asked the Royal Agriculture and Animal Society in Cairo to take responsibility for their four-legged friends. In 1928, the royal society bought 60 acres of land on the eastern side of Ain Shams district in northern Cairo, giving their Arabian horses a vast area to gallop around. When the Monarchy was overthrown in 1952, its land, palaces, jewellery, paintings and other valuables were all confiscated, as well as the beautiful Arabian horses belonging to the bourgeoisie. These horses joined the former royal family's horses in el-Zahraa. Over the years, the stud has become more and more popular, with the owners holding an annual competition for these graceful animals. Foreign judges, well versed in the history of Arabian horses, adjudicate the competition, in order to boost its credibility. The owners of these animals have invested wisely. One Arabian mare recently fetched LE250,000 (around $45,000) at an auction at the stud farm. Stallions can fetch LE55,000 ($10,000) or more. Meanwhile, Egyptian horses are also very popular. Ahmed Hamza, the board chairman of the Egyptian Agricultural Authority, estimates that there are around 6,000 privately owned farms for pure-bred Egyptian horses in Egypt. He told Al-Alam Al-Youm newspaper that the owners of these farms are members of the Arab International Organisation of Horses. Hamza said that the Government must do more to safeguard the Egyptian horses, warning that 400 horse farms across the country are suffering from an acute shortage of vets and jockeys. “We also need foreign jockeys and trainers,” the board chairman stressed. The hospitals for these animals need better equipment and facilities too.
