Switzerland

Member Report from Switzerland

REPORT MADE AT THE 2022 WAHO CONFERENCE

Your Royal Highness, Mr. President, members of the Executive Committee, delegates, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Natalie Joerin, I am the studbook registrar of the Swiss Arab Horse Society / SZAP. In the name of the Swiss Breeding Society, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to our hosts for their warm welcome and organising this conference in this beautiful country.

Since the last WAHO Conference, the SZAP registered about 20 foals a year but unfortunately this year, we had a break down to only 11 foals. We expect to recover to 20 foals again next year. Nevertheless, the numbers are crushing when thinking back to the 90’s where we had over 150 foals. There are about 2,500 Arabian horses living in Switzerland, many are purchased abroad in neighbouring countries and are unfortunately never reregistered in the Swiss Studbook. So currently we have 220 potential broodmares, 62 young stock and only 10 active breeding stallions registered.

Artificial insemination is growing in popularity and even if the Swiss Studbook allows one embryo transfer a year, this option has never been used. The Swiss stallions often only offer natural covering due to the high costs for producing fresh or frozen semen and the fact that Swiss Arabian stallions aren’t well known abroad.

The Arabian is well liked as a family horse in all sorts of disciplines and also is very popular for endurance riding. Covid 19 gave a blow to a lot of events in the past 3 years. This year the shows have picked up again and we hope to continue to promote the Arabian horse at different fayres and national events again.

We have a private group promoting dressage riding with Arabian horses. They have organised in the past two years 4 events a year and the popularity is continuously growing. After 2 years without a National Show in 2019 and 2020, that is held in a form of a “Breeding Show”, we had one in 2021 and this year. To encourage the few breeders to show their young and breeding stock at the National Show, we have included the entry fee for our shows in the fee of the registration papers. This is not only to encourage the owners and breeders to show their horses, but our Agricultural Department wants us to collect data of the Arabian Horses in Switzerland. We hope to see more young horses in future.

We announce every year a WAHO Trophy winner and hand over the prize at our AGM. The Trophy winner in 2020 was a lovely 19-year-old bay mare Ahira Bint Narym (Narym x Asari Bint Grand). She is a wonderful ambassador for the dressage ridden Arabian. The 2021 WAHO Trophy went to the gorgeous 4-year-old Bo.A.S. Emeraya (Emerald J x Bo.A.S. Naganya). She is a great representative of Swiss Breeding at International Shows.

The last published Studbook was Volume 11 covering the period 2013 to 2019, published in 2020. Since 2021 we have had a very informative online Studbook created by Bruno Furrer, who is also involved with Shagya horses. The online Studbook is open to everybody and we invite all people interested to take a look. There is a lot of information found on the horses including sire line and dam line of the horse, place of birth, any known achievements and more.

REPORT MADE AT THE 2019 WAHO CONFERENCE:

Didier Thievent, Switzerland: Mr President, Members of the Executive Committee, Delegates, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Didier Thiévent, I am a past Registrar and the Delegate of the Swiss Arab Horse Society for this Conference.

The Swiss Breeding Society for Arabian Horses has experienced two very difficult years. The new elected President Renata Schibler found in 2017 a Society with serious financial problems and a rapidly declining membership. 2017 ended with an internal power struggle that resulted in the deselection of the board members. At the AGM in 2018, a new committee was elected, and Renata Schibler was confirmed as President. Fortunately, the strong decline of members could be stopped, and the committee is working hard to get people to join the Society again. They organize courses for Arabian horse owners and encourage potential breeders to pick up their breeding programmes again.

Like other countries, Switzerland has experienced a strong decline of Arabian foal births in the past 10 years. At present, there are over 2,500 living Arabian horses registered. The number of Arabian foals born in the past 3 years has settled at around 20 to 30 foals per year. Compared to 10 years ago, that is a decline of 60%. There are different reasons for this stagnation at a very low level that have been outlined on previous Conferences. 10 or 20 years ago there were a handful of breeders with a fair amount of foals each year. These breeders have either moved their studs abroad or have stopped their breeding programmes due to age and lacking successors. The current Swiss breeders each have one to three foals a year, but not on a regular basis. They further often report that it can be very difficult to sell offspring.

In Switzerland the Arabian horse is very popular for endurance and for people without great sport ambitions but who want to do a lot of different activities on a novice level. These people cherish the versatility of the Arabian horse. There were 9 endurance events in 2018, organized by an independent Federation. In 2017 the National show had to be cancelled due to insufficient entries, only dressage, western and gymkhana classes were held. Last year, the Society organized a small show for breeders, as well as dressage competitions and a gymkhana contest. There is a group of Swiss western Arabian riders that promote and support western Arabian horses. There is a very small number of Arabians that do showing, racing, show-jumping, driving, but their numbers are marginal compared to endurance. We also have a yearly ranking for registered Arabians in these sport categories and the best horses under saddle and at shows are honoured with rosettes and prizes. This is to motivate our breeders and owners to show their Arabians under saddle and illustrate their achievements to the group of Arabian horse people.

Ten years ago, a voluntary stallion categorization was introduced that serves as an information and guidance tool to help our breeders compare the stallions. The stallions are judged on the criteria of conformation and movement, health, performance under saddle and the quality of the offspring. The stallions are categorized in each criteria with A for outstanding, B for good and C for limited performance. Nearly all active Swiss breeding stallions have participated and have been categorized at least in one of the above-mentioned criteria.

The SZAP announces every year a WAHO Trophy winner and hands over the prize at the AGM. The Trophy winner in 2017 was the 20 year old bay mare Sha Mara, an exceptionally versatile and successful Arabian mare in dressage as well as western riding classes. In 2017 she won the Swiss National Championship title in showmanship at halter. The WAHO Trophy winner 2018 is the chestnut champion filly and best in show winner ,“H” Goghleine by Van Gogh AM out of Galila, bred and owned by Emanuela Lucini.

In 2019 we are planning different seminars on veterinary aspects of breeding, on show training, and riding as well as our annual event with show and riding classes. Our current published stud book covers the years 2009 to 2012. The next volume covering the years 2013 to 2016 is in preparation and will be published in .pdf format this year. In the long term the SZAP would like to publish an online pedigree database. Thank you very much for your attention.

REPORT AT 2017 WAHO CONFERENCE:

Hans-Juergen Gottet, Switzerland: Your Royal Highness, Excellencies, Chairman of WAHO, Executive Committee of WAHO, all Delegates, ladies and gentlemen. Switzerland would like to thank the Kingdom of Bahrain and all of the persons in charge of organisation for this unique WAHO Conference.

My name is Hans-Juergen Gottet, I am a member of the Executive Committee of the Swiss Arab Horse Society and I would like to present to you the report of our Society for the WAHO Conference General Assembly in Manama, Bahrain.

At present there are about 2,580 living Arabian horses registered in the Swiss Stud Book. Since 2014, the number of foals has decreased by 30%, a similar decline has been observed with all other horse breeds in Switzerland. The demand for horses seems to have subsided, partly for economic reasons. Over the last three years the number of imported horses has increased ,mainly due to the reduced fees for the import registration.

Our Society organises one show with halter classes, and a yearly sports event. At the sports event there are classes in English dressage, Western riding and horse agility. Some of our Arabians compete successfully against warmbloods in dressage. The number of races has increased over the last three years. This year 3 races have taken place on the frozen lake of the famous town of St. Moritz. Endurance is a popular sport in Switzerland, every year there are several rides, ranging from 30 kilometres up to 120 kilometres run by the Swiss Endurance Society. We are trying to promote the Arabian horse in the media and at all-breed horse events.

The WAHO trophy is awarded at the General Assembly of the Society and the winner is presented in the Society’s own magazine and on the website. The Society publishes information about the breed in our magazine and on our website. Furthermore we organised a seminar in breeding. We have every foal tested for SCID and CA, unless both parents are proved as non-carriers. Our current published stud book covers the years 2009 to 2012. The next volume covering the years 2013 to 2016 is just now in preparation and will be published in PDF format in the year 2018. Thank you very much for your attention.

REPORT AT 2014 WAHO CONFERENCE:

Hans-Juergen Gottet, Switzerland: My name is Hans-Juergen Gottet from Switzerland. Mr. President, members of the Executive Committee, fellow delegates and guests, ladies and gentlemen. I am glad to report to you on behalf of the Swiss Arab Horse Society, but before I start I would like to thank our hosts the Qatar Racing & Equestrian Club for their perfect organization of this great conference and for their hospitality and generosity.

At present there are about 2,550 living horses registered in the Swiss studbook. Since 2011, the number of foals has decreased by 29%. A similar decline has been observed with all horse breeds in Switzerland. The demand for horses seems to have subsided, partly for economic reasons. The number of imports and exports of Arabian horses did not change over the last three years.

Our Society organizes one show with halter classes and a riding class, and a yearly sports event. At the sports event there are classes in English dressage, western riding, and horse agility. The number of races has increased over the last three years, and a famous yearly race on a frozen lake in St. Moritz has been established. Endurance is a popular sport in Switzerland. Every year there are several rides ranging from 30 km up to 120 km run by the Swiss Endurance Society. The percentage of Arabians taking part in official competitions of all kinds is estimated at about 5%.

We are trying to promote the Arabian horse in the media and at all-breed horse events. This year we presented registered Arabian horses used in dressage, driving, western riding, endurance, and horse agility to the general public in a big show. The WAHO Trophy is awarded at the General Assembly of the Society, and the winner is presented in our own magazine. It is difficult to know whether this award is attracting new people into our Society. The Society publishes information about the breed in our own magazine, and on our website. The results of halter and sports classes are also presented in the most popular weekly horse magazine of Switzerland. Furthermore, we are planning seminars on breeding, and training courses, in the next year.

We have every foal tested for SCID and CA. The Society has decided to make these tests compulsory. The import of horses to Switzerland is subject to a quota of 3,822 horses, all kinds of horses, per year. The owner has to pay a fee of 3,834.00 Swiss Francs to the government for every horse imported if the quota is exceeded.

Our current public studbook comprises the years 2004 to 2008. The next volume is in preparation, and will be published in pdf format approximately at the end of 2014. I would like to thank you for your attention.

REPORT AT 2011 WAHO CONFERENCE:

Mr. Didier Thiévent, Switzerland: Mr President, members of the Executive Committee, delegates, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Didier Thiévent, I am the Registrar and the Delegate of the Swiss Arab Horse Society for this Conference.

Our Society has about 450 members, we have a computerized Database for registered Arabians and we actually have about 2,500 living registered purebred Arabians in our country. The number of our foal registrations, imports and exports in 2010 are more or less the same as over the last 3 years.

The principal official activities for purebred Arabians in Switzerland are endurance riding, dressage, show jumping and cross-country, western riding, racing, driving and showing. These activities are mostly run by an independent body or federation, but our Society organises an annual one-day sport event and in 2011 we had 120 entries. We also have a yearly ranking for registered Arabians in these categories and the best horses under saddle and at shows are honoured with rosettes and prize money. This is to motivate our breeders and owners to show their Arabians under saddle in public. The percentage of registered Arabians in our country which take part in these different activities is about 5-6%. But the overall percentage of ridden purebred Arabians between 3 and 20 years old is at approximately 80-90%. Since 2006 we have developed an Elite Broodmare and Stallion scheme, not only to acknowledge and honour Arabian mares and stallions of particular significance but also to provide as much information as possible for the breeders and to help them with their breeding decisions. Since 2007 we have a stallion categorization on a voluntary basis. The categorization of the breeding stallions serves as an information instrument, which gives our breeders transparent and comparable information. The stallions are judged on the criteria of conformation and movement, health, performance under saddle and the quality of the offspring. The stallions are categorized in each criteria with A for outstanding, B for good and C for limited performance. Till today 65% of the active breeding stallions have participated.

Testing on genetic disorders: In 2001 our members decided democratically to test all breeding horses on SCID as a mandatory rule. We have no restrictions on SCID carriers but all foals are SCID-typed if both parents are not tested SCID-clear. Since we began to test on SCID this genetic disorder has been eliminated in our population by more than 99%. At the Annual General Meeting in 2010 our members decided that all breeding stallions have to be tested for Cerebellar Abiotrophy beginning 1st January 2011. All new born foals are tested since the foal season 2010. All broodmares are highly recommended to be tested before breeding. We have no restrictions on CA carriers but our policy is “Test before you breed”. This system of CA-testing is highly supported by our members and after one year approximately 50% of the active broodmares have been tested voluntarily. Out of about 300 tests we found 18% carriers and 1% affected horses.

We have a performance test in endurance, flat racing, dressage, jumping and western disciplines, but only a few horses took part. Our society participates at a few national horse events with a stand and brings horses to be shown either at halter or under saddle. The effects of these public relations are not clearly noticeable but we keep on. Our yearly ranking in sport events motivates our members to show their Arabians under saddle in public and supports the marketing of our horses. Since the WAHO Trophy was created, it has mostly been awarded to all-round sport horses but to some exceptional breeding horses too. This award is much appreciated by our existing members but it seems, unfortunately, not to bring new people into the breed. We bring various informations about breeding, riding and welfare to our members in our own magazine and our website. The general public is informed from time to time about the use of the purebred Arabian horse and their success in the biggest weekly general horse publication in Switzerland. Our current stud book is volume 9 covering the years 2004 to 2008. The PDF-file is available on the website of our Society. The next stud book is planned for 2013 as a PDF-document too but, with a little luck, we will have an online pedigree database a little earlier.

Last but not least I would like to express my thanks to our hosts and all the organizing people for their excellent work and great hospitality. Thank you very much for your attention.

REPORT MADE AT 2009 WAHO CONFERENCE:

My name is Didier Thiévent, I am the Registrar and the Delegate of the Swiss Arab Horse Society for this Conference. And this is our report.

Our Society has about 500 members, we have a computerized Database for registered Arabians and we actually have 2,504 living horses registered in our country. Volume 9 of our stud books is in preparation, covering the years 2004 to 2007. I hope it will be published towards the end of the summer. Approximately 200 mares and 30 stallions are used for breeding.

We registered 70 foals in 2007 and 77 foals in 2008. The foal registrations dropped by 45% during the past 15 years, comparing to the year 1992 when the maximum number of foals we ever registered in our Society totalled 135. This reflects the difficult market situation in Switzerland, especially in the last 10 years resulting from the upcoming breeds of western horses and other special breeds for recreational use. Certainly also the way that the halter show scene seems to be becoming even more and more crazy may be having a greater negative impact in putting people off breeding Arabians in our country. But the Swiss Arab Horse Society is actually reinforcing her efforts to promote the ridden Arab horse in the market.

We have been using DNA-typing since 1993 for all breeding horses and the foals are parent verified at registration. Since 2001 we ask for all breeding horses to be SCID tested. We have no restrictions on SCID carriers but all foals are SCID-tested unless both parents are already tested SCID-clear. Till today our foals are not microchipped at registration. A new federal law will probably force us to do this in the near future. As we have a small Purebred Arab horse population, we only had 16 imports in 2007, and 10 exports, most of them from and to European countries.

Our mares are mostly covered by natural service, but Artificial Insemination via fresh, chilled, or frozen semen, both domestic and imported, is allowed. We allow post-mortem use of frozen semen with no time limit. We allow the export of semen. Embryo Transfer is permitted only if the receiving mare is a purebred Arabian and must be granted by the Executive Committee of the Society. In the year 2008 only one stud was interested in Embryo Transfer but no foal was actually produced by Embryo Transfer. Till today multiple foal registration by Embryo Transfer is permitted, but will probably change at this year’s general meeting and in the future only one foal per calendar year will be registered.

We issue a Registration Certificate and since 1996 also a Passport. Our passport is recognized by the F.E.I, but must be confirmed by the Swiss Equestrian Federation before. Until today we do not issue UELN numbers.

Since 2006 we developed an Elite Broodmare and Stallion scheme, not only to acknowledge and honour Arabian mares and stallions of particular significance but also to provide as much information as possible for the breeders and to help them with their breeding decisions. Since 2007 we have a stallion categorization on a voluntary basis. The categorization of the breeding stallions serves as an information instrument, which gives our breeders transparent and comparable information to help them with their breeding decisions. The stallions are judged for the criteria, conformation and movement, health, performance under saddle and the quality of the offspring. The stallions are categorized in each criteria with A, B or C, A stands for outstanding, B for good and C for insufficient. Until today 30 stallions have participated.

For 16 years now our society has organized an annual National Stock Show for Purebred Arabian horses. At this show we try to judge the horses in a more detailed and breeding oriented way than at the ‘normal shows’. The horses are not only shown at hand but also free and we use 11 criteria. The judges make comments on the evaluation sheet for the different criteria with particularly high or low scores. So the owner of the horse has much better information about the qualities of his horse. Also, every 3 or 4 years we also organize a National Championship under ECAHO rules.

Arabian races are held normally 4 times a year and there are 12 Endurance Events per year with about 30 registered purebred Arabians participating at medium and high level. The Swiss Team finished in third and fourth place in the Junior European Championships in 2007 and 2008. We have had a performance test in endurance and in flat racing for many years, but unfortunately only a few horses have taken part so far. The principal activities for purebred Arabians in Switzerland are breeding, endurance riding, dressage, show jumping and cross-country, western riding, racing, driving, showing and of course, pleasure riding. We also have a yearly ranking for registered Arabians in these categories and the best horses under saddle are honoured with rosettes and prize money. This is to motivate our breeders and owners to show their Arabians under saddle in public. At a few national horse events we participate with a trade-stand and bring horses to be shown either at halter or under saddle. The effects of these public relations are not yet clearly noticeable but we keep on trying.

Since our society promotes an all-round Arabian horse, the WAHO Trophy has been awarded in 2006 to the 20 year old stallion Jeridan out of Egyptian and English bloodlines, and in 2007 to the also 20 year old Amal Ibn El Sharai out of Spanish, Egyptian and English bloodlines, both for their exceptional achievements in dressage, show jumping and cross-country. In 2008 the WAHO Trophy was given to the 2 year old filly Eysha El Azrak out of Polish and Egyptian bloodlines based on her exceptional results in shows. All in all we can state that, despite the actually lower number of registered foals per year, we have a stable population of Purebred Arabians in Switzerland. The enthusiasm for the beauty and the gentle nature of the Arab horse is still large and the society will do all it can to promote our breed to the public. For that reason also the WAHO Trophy is very highly esteemed. Thank you to all the people who made this award possible.

PREVIOUS REPORTS:

The Current stud book is Volume 8, covering the period 2000-2003. The Swiss Arab Society has about 550 members and there are approximately 2000 horses registered. There are generally an average of 100 breeding mares and 30 breeding stallions. In 2006, the number of foals registered was 87. In 2006 there were 11 exports and 10 imports. We have used DNA for a number of years, and since 1993 we have required parent verification, previously by blood-types. Artificial Insemination is allowed, also transported semen. We only allow Embryo Transfer with special permission. We have issued and used passports since 1996. Artificial insemination and transported semen are allowed, also embryo transfer.

There are several ridden programmes supported by the Society, there is a dressage trophy, a western trophy and a long distance trophy. Riding in Switzerland is a bigger market than showing. There is one Arabian show per year, there are also 5 race meetings and 10 endurance rides.

In 2007, Switzerland registered 66 foals, and recorded 10 exports and 7 imports.

Trophy Winners

RUBINA X – 2019 WAHO Trophy Winner – Switzerland

RUBINA X, Black Mare, 2001 (Shaolin / Vesuvia)
Breeder: Reto Hellrigl, Aua Naira Arabians, Owner: Annina Rohner-Cotti
Strain: Hadbah Enzahieh (Elsissa I, 1870)

The 2019 WAHO Trophy for Switzerland has been awarded to the exceptional mare Rubina X, in recognition of her stellar endurance career. Her pedigree is an interesting blend of mainly Straight Egyptian, with a touch of Polish and some old Babolna and German bloodlines.

Finish of Swiss Endurance Championship 2015 (120 Km); Silver Medal for Rubina X
(photo Y. Wernig)

Citation by the owner, Annina Rohner-Cotti:

“Born in the Swiss mountain wilderness, close to the Swiss National Park on May 2001, my husband and I noticed this splendid black filly with the small, heart-shaped white sign on her forehead in summer 2003. We were not looking for a sports or show horse, just simply for a black mare with good conformation that would be nice to look at together with our beautiful white gelding Hanaya Ibn Imdal. Rubina (Shaolin/Vesuvia) was bred by Reto Hellrigl, Aua Naira Arabians.

At the age of 3 years, Rubina moved in with us and we started to train her according to the methods of natural horsemanship by Pat Parelli. Rubina was very people oriented and it was always a lot of fun to play with her “at liberty”, without a halter or a rope and soon she won several competitions in “Horse Agility”. Rubina is extremely sensitive, extroverted and has a really active character. As soon as she had a rider on her back and was allowed to run a bit faster or to jump over an obstacle, it was difficult to handle her temperament. So we (our daughter Lea Rohner and I, Annina Rohner-Cotti) had to be very careful not to overstrain this mare with her extremely strong will to perform. In 2005 we started with short endurance competitions and realised that Rubina was really good at this!

Over several years we slowly increased the distance of the endurance-competitions, so called EVG, from 30 to 90 kilometres and only after she filled her 10 years, I dared to participate in my and Rubinas first endurance-race, the “national endurance contest” CEN* in Fehraltorf. We won this race with an average speed of 18.01 km/h. In 2012, at the age of 11 years, Lea participated successfully in her and Rubina’s first international endurance competition CEI* in Germany. In the following years Lea and Rubina successfully finished several CEI** races (CEI** means races from 120 to 139 km whereas CEI* are from 80 to 119 km).

Rubina took part five times in the Swiss Endurance Championships and went home with a medal every time: 2011, 2012 and 2013. Rubina won the bronze medal in the category youth with Lea Rohner, and in 2015 she won the silver medal in the category elite with Annina Rohner. In 2016 Rubina won the silver medal in the category elite again, this time with Lea, who by that time had to compete in the adult category.

Rubina X in a Horse Agility class showing her great relationship with Lea Rohner.

In her whole career as an endurance sports horse Rubina successfully achieved 2,500 kilometres in endurance competitions and only once she did drop out of a competition. The maximal average speed she reached in a race was at 18.81 km/h. Besides her medals she also won a “best condition” prize in a CEN* race in 2012.

Rubina also participated in several show jumping competitions and fulfilled the admission requirements for eventing competitions. Rubina had to stop with competitive racing due to an injury in 2017. We remain thankful for all the extraordinary and sometimes emotional experiences we went through together.”

“H” GOGHLEINE – 2018 WAHO Trophy Winner – Switzerland

“H” GOGHLEINE, Chestnut mare, 2016 (Van Gogh AM / Galila)
Owner/Breeder: Emanuela Lucini, Harem Stud
Strain: Kehaileh Rodanieh (Rodania, 1869)

The Swiss Arabian Horse Society is pleased to announce they have awarded their 2018 WAHO Trophy. The citation about the winner is provided by the owner/breeder:

Photo: Becca P. Pictures

Born on a starlight spring night in 2016 and out of my favorite Egyptian mare Galila, it was love at first sight when I saw this beautiful chestnut filly! “H” GOGHLEINE is a daughter of the famous stallion, Van Gogh AM. Her dam, Galila, is one of the most beautiful black straight Egyptian mares worldwide.
This young mare – we call her “Goghli” – has a very gentle and people orientated character together with a correct body and good legs. At her first show, the Swiss National Championships in Dielsdorf in September 2018, “H” GOGHLEINE won a gold medal and was nominated Best Junior Mare as well as Best In Show.
Winning the WAHO Trophy 2018 with this beautiful filly has been a tremendous acknowledgement for my breeding programme.
I hope this promising mare will develop into an important breeding mare for the Harem stud, which is located in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland.

BAJKAL – 2016 WAHO Trophy Winner – Switzerland

BAJKAL Chestnut stallion, 1996 (Balaton / Rishah)
Breeder & Owners: Didier & Ivana Thiévent
Strain: Hamdani Simri (Selma).

Citation from his owners: It is an honour and pleasure to accept the WAHO Trophy 2016 for our stallion Bajkal and we thank the Board of Directors of the Swiss Arabian Horse Society for awarding him this prestigious Trophy.

Bajkal is one of the last few splendid sons by the “horse of the century” Balaton, out of the top Swiss Elite mare Rishah (Rihan/Jezabel), foundation mare of our small stud and full sister to WAHO Trophy winner 2006, Jeridan. Rishah has become especially known through her several successful progeny in endurance, western competitions and dressage as well as at shows.

WAHO Trophy Winner BAJKAL with his breeder & owner Didier Thievent

Bajkal is performance tested, multiple gold premium stallion, and stallion licensed with the highest marks. He competed successfully in endurance and in western events up to level LK1 and his offspring achieved several gold premium awards and champion titles and are also doing very well under saddle. In 2016 he reached, as the first and so far only stallion in Switzerland, all requirements for the breeding stallion categorization in all 4 assessment criteria with the excellent scores: B/A/B/B for exterior, health, sport performance and progeny.

2016 WAHO Trophy Winner BAJKAL for Switzerland

At the age of 21 years and despite his sports performance over many years up to the age of 18, his conformation is still excellent, with perfect health and outstanding constitution. He always shows a beautiful type and captivates everybody with his charming and lovely character. As a successful athlete and breeding stallion, he can be considered as an outstanding ambassador of his breed and demonstrates in a most ideal way the famous versatility of the purebred Arabian horse.

KASSANDRA – 2012 WAHO Trophy Winner – Switzerland

KASSANDRA, Chestnut mare, *1999 (Naizamar x Louma Kate) Breeder: Reto Hellrigl. Owner: Patricia Schilliger. Strain: Shuweymah Sabbah (Cherifa, 1869)

Written by the proud owner: Patricia Schilliger
In summer of 1999 on a holiday trip to Santa Maria (Grisons) it was the first time that I saw this 3-months old foal. This fearless and cheeky fox-coloured foal really soon had captured my heart. Three months later my mother could probably not bear my moaning any longer and we brought Kassandra to our Home. If I had at this time already known that I wanted to compete in endurance sports, I would have bought another horse, because Kasi is not out of a performance breed. Luckily I did not search for such a horse at this time and had a lucky strike with that exceptional Mare.

In 2006 we gained our first experiences on two short distance endurance rides of 30 kilometers. In the following year, Kassandra had a brilliant performance. We started in five endurance races between 45 and 90 kilometers of which she won three of them and took third place the other two times. With her really low pulse, she ran mostly to the top places in Switzerland.

Kassandra was really pleased to run, so we dared to compete on our first foreign endurance ride. It did not all work fine from the beginning. Kassandra and I had to learn very much and gain a lot of experience. But then, the efforts paid off!

At the international endurance ride CEI* in Limmatal over 85 kilometers and at the CEI** in Germany over 120 kilometers Kassandra won the best condition prize for her good condition after the race. Several rides over 120 kilometers followed with international competitors in France, Italy and Germany. Kassandra became a well and routine athlete and was really cute and engaged.

Click to Enlarge - Kassandra and Patricia Schilliger

Photo: Kassandra and Patricia Schilliger

In June last year, we took our chances for the first ride over 160 kilometers in France. This race was a selection ride to world championship for diverse countries and it had therefore some superior horses in the field. Already on the first loop we found a group of three French riders with which Kassandra felt very comfortable. Kasi is a strong minded fighter and ran her first 160 kilometers without any problems. We finished this race on the 10th place and with an average speed of 17.825 km/h. At the final vet control, the veterinarian congratulated us and said Kasi was looking great. I was so proud of my speedy little mouse. She had run her first 160 kilometer race at a very good speed and still looked that great!

With the performance in that race, we were qualified for the world championship in Euston Park (GB) for Switzerland. On the world championship we had really good experiences that were not to compare easily with other rides. It was not so common for us to start with 146 competitors in a mass start. But Kassandra was just great. After each vetgate, she started every loop joyfully, and with an average speed of 18.96 km/h and the finishing place as 28th rider, she was the fastest horse from Switzerland. With that performance she became the record holder of Swiss speed in 160 kilometer races.

This is the story about a small Arabian foal which no one ever imagined would turn out this way. And the story is not finished yet…

NIL NIKINIKEE – 2011 WAHO Trophy Winner – Switzerland

NIL NIKINIKEE, Chestnut filly, *2009 (QR Marc / Nil Nana).
Breeder and owner: The Aesbacher Family, Nile Arabians.
Strain: Kehaileh Rodanieh (Rodania, 1869)

At the 2011 Swiss National Stock Show the 2-year old QR Marc daughter Nil Nikinikee bred and owned by Nile Arabians of the Aeschbacher family was titled “Best in Show” and “Best bred Mare in Switzerland”. With the highest score of all Swiss bred horses (except foals), Nil Nikinikee won the WAHO Trophy 2011.

Already as a yearling the unbeaten filly Nil Nikinikee was honored “Best in Show”, “Best bred Mare in Switzerland” and got the highest score of all horses at the Swiss National Stock Show in 2010. Nil Nikinikee is representing the famous N-Line of Nile Arabians in its 5th generation. Her first dam, Nil Nana, 2003 by Extreme is unbeaten in the show ring and won the Swiss National Junior Championships in 2004. Her second dam, the Swiss Elite Mare Nil Nouza, 1994 by Gips was honored two times “Best in Show” and won the WAHO Trophy in 2005. Her third dam Nil Nubia, 1990 by Versal and her fourth dam Nil Najada, 1985 by Ansata Halim Shah are both Swiss Elite Mares, International Champions and producer of Champions.

Also outside of the show ring the N-Line is represented with many winners in the endurance sport and in racing. In 2009 and 2010 Nil Ishan Ibn Al Sakbe, 2006 (Al Sakbe x Nil Incipit) was Champion Race Horse of Switzerland. Nil Khaznah, 1998 (Kubinec x Nil Nouza), won the Endurance Arabian World Wide Trophy in Germany 2010.

Nil Nikinikee
Photo Credit : Franja Schmid

BAFRAN EL SHACHAD – 2010 WAHO Trophy Winner – Switzerland

BAFRAN EL SHACHAD (Bafran Ibn Libura), bay stallion, *1985 (Bafran El Sharai / Libura).
Breeder: Mrs Ursula Stucki. Owner: Mrs Steffi Bürgin.
Strain: Seglawi Mukhalladi (Merjane, 1866)

“Shachi”, as he is affectionately called by his owner Mrs Steffi Bürgin, needs no introduction in Switzerland. This 26 year-old stallion is well-known by the majority of the Arab horse community, and the Swiss Arab Horse Society is delighted to award him their 2010 WAHO Trophy and tell the rest of the world about this great old horse.

1991 he won the stallion performance test I for pure-bred Arabians in Frauenfeld. In the same year he also was successful in the stallion performance test II against warmbloods. Over the next 20 years, Shachi has taken part in about 450 sport events, among them 340 times in dressage, 62 times in western disciplines, 22 times in three-day eventing, 17 times in jumping, 8 times in endurance, 7 times in driving and to finish the list, once in a flat race. In most cases he competed with warmbloods and got top classifications! He was also successful in the Arabian show classes with two gold medals, and in 2002 he was honoured as the best Swiss-bred purebred Arabian with a mark of 9.7 out of 10 for his trot! A true all-rounder and a well-deserved winner of this prestigious award!

Bafran El Shahad. Photo credit Franja Schmid

VIZRAH – 2009 WAHO Trophy Winner – Switzerland

VIZRAH, Chestnut gelding, *1994 (Versal/Rishah).
Breeders: Didier and Ivana Thiévent. Owner: Mrs Elisabeth Stöcklin.
Strain: Hamdani Simri (Selma)

A truly outstanding example of a top versatile Arabian was elected as WAHO Trophy winner 2009 in Switzerland: A representative out of the successful stud of long time breeders Didier and Ivana Thiévent. Vizrah by Versal (Naftalin x Pernataya) out of the Elite mare Rishah (Rihan x Jezabel), born 1994, chestnut gelding, owned by Mrs Elisabeth Stöcklin, Switzerland.

Elisabeth Stöcklin presented the 2009 WAHO Trophy by Marianne Christen of SZAP

Performance:

Multiple winner endurance races (more than 2,500 of racing km)
Winner of the 2009 Swiss Endurance Trophy 2009
Winner of the yearly ranking list of Arabian sport horses of the SZAP in Endurance 2009
The only Arabian horse in Switzerland who passed the performance test in endurance 3 times
competing with excellent results also in dressage and show jumping.

Shows:

Class winner Junior Colts
National Junior Champion colts
Gold premium colt at the National Stock Show

EYSHA EL AZRAK – 2008 WAHO Trophy Winner – Switzerland

EYSHA EL AZRAK, bay mare, *2006 (Vivaldi Rach / Ephiffany J).
Breeder & owner: Regina Schärer and Rolf Raemy.
Strain: Not recorded (Family of Woloszka, ca. 1810)

Eysha El Azrak was born on 8 March 2006. As a daughter of the Polish/Egyptian bred Brazilian national and international champion stallion in Europe Vivaldi Rach (Armagnac x Vanity VF) and the Polish bred mare Ephiffany J (Ekstern x Elegantkah) from the Stud of Christine Jamar in Belgium, Eysha El Azrak has some remarkable successes in her short career. At only two years of age she had already been awarded a “Gold Medal” three times and won her class at the Swiss National Beständeschau for purebred arabians. In 2006 she was elected as “Best bred foal 2006 “and was made “Foal champion 2006”. Also in 2008 she won her class and again took the title as “Best bred foal of that year”.

Eysha El Azrak with her owners Regina Schärer and Rolf Raemy;
Photo: Franja Stump

At the Swiss national C-show in 2006 she was Champion in the filly class and at the international ECAHO-B-show in Boario Terme, Italy 2008 she reached the “Top five”. Last but not least she took 2nd place in the annual overall show ranking of the Swiss Arabian Horse Society in 2006.

With her gentle nature, beauty and elegance she is a wonderful ambassador of our Arabian breeding in Switzerland.

AMAL IBN EL SHARAI – 2007 WAHO Trophy Winner – Switzerland

AMAL IBN EL SHARAI, chestnut stallion, *1987, (Bafran El Sharai / Lesilva).
Breeder: Susanne Kessler. Owner: Franziska & André Hirschi.
Strain: Kehailan Ajuz (Jamila, 1927).

The Swiss Arabian Horse Society has the pleasure in announcing that they have awarded their 2007 WAHO Trophy.

For the WAHO Trophy 2007 two applications went from members of the Swiss Arab Horse Society to the SZAP Executive Committee. They had the possibility to vote for one of the two Bafran El Sharai sons, either Bafran El Shachad, 1985 (out of Libura) or Amal Ibn El Sharai, 1987 (out of Lesilva). Both are horses with a lot of successes in dressage and jumping competitions over many years.

60% of the votes were given for Amal Ibn El Sharai. Congratulation to his owners Fränzi and André Hirschi from Burgdorf. The Trophy presentation took place on the occasion of the SZAP Annual General Meeting 2008. In the picture: President of the Society Mr. Marc Gumy and owner Mrs. Franziska Hirschi.

The Swiss Arab Horse Society hope that this stallion, of Spanish, Egyptian and English bloodlines, with his big athletic ability will stay sound and continue to be active in the sport for some more years, helping to promote the Arabian breed to the public.

Amal Ibn El Sharai
Photo: Gudrun Waiditschka

President of SZAP, Mr. Marc Gumy and owner Mrs. Franziska Hirschi
Photo: Franja Stump.

JERIDAN – 2006 WAHO Trophy Winner – Switzerland

JERIDAN, Chestnut stallion, *1986 (Rihan / Jezabel).
Breeder: Hans und Hedy Hartmann-Schweizer. Owner: The Hossle-Hartmann.
Strain: Hamdani Simri (Selma).

The members of the Swiss Arab Horse Society were invited to choose their favourite horse for the WAHO trophy 2006 out of five candidates who were presented with their life performance in the Society’s periodical. The winner was the breeding stallion Jeridan. He was honoured on the occasion of the 2007 general meeting of the society in Avenches.

The chestnut stallion Jeridan was born in 1986. His sire is the Egyptian stallion Rihan (EAO) by Aseel out of Hakima and his dam is the mainly Crabbet-bred mare Jezabel CH by Shah Jehan GB out of Winged Hour GB. Jeridan’s grandsire, Shah Jehan, was bred by N. D. Hardcastle at Mill Farm, England, mainly out of Crabbet lines. He was born in 1971, and he had been a junior champion in England before he was imported to Switzerland as a four-year-old by Mr. Hans Hartmann, a founding member of the Swiss Arab Horse Society. Shah Jehan was the first purebred Arab to take part in a stallion licensing at the Swiss National Stud of warm-blooded horses in Avenches. He passed his type and performance to his 68 children. One of them was Jeridan’s dam which was used primarily for breeding.

Jeridan participated in the stallion licensing as a four-year-old where he was classified “A”. As a six-year-old he passed the performance test for breeding stallions in Frauenfeld consisting of free jumping, a cross-country event, an endurance ride of 40 km, and a test ride by a judge. Jeridan took part in official jumping competitions on RI- and RII-Levels and in three-day-events as well as in about 100 jumping and dressage competitions on a club-level. He was placed among the first three horses in jumping and/or three-day-eventing from 1995 to 1997 and in 2002/2003 by the Swiss Arab Horse Society. He won the derby of Trakehner horses in 1997 in Berne, the competition in Oberdorf 2002 and the Swiss National Championship of ridden Arabian Horses of our society in 2002 and 2003 in the category jumping as well as 2003 in dressage, just to mention only a few successful results.

Till today, Jeridan is the only stallion that has got the highest score “A” for body and movement, performance, and progeny from the Swiss Breeding Society for Anglo- and Partbred-Arabs (ZAM). The classification “A” means that the stallion is recommended as a top-class stallion with respect to all three criterions, and that he lies clearly above the average of the breed.

Jeridan’s offspring is always very correct in body and legs. He passes on his kind character and his abilities as a riding-horse. This is also true for progeny out of warm-blooded mares. Up today he has covered a big number of mares, and more than 62 healthy foals have been born. 16 of these are purebred Arabians and 46 are Partbreds. His children are also very successful in shows and ridden competitions such as jumping, dressage and endurance, and in driving. At the annual big show of the Swiss Breeding Society for Anglo- and Partbred-Arabs in the year 2000, six of his descendants reached an average score of 8.38. Scores of 8 points are usually only reached by 10% of the competing horses. In 2003, 2005 and 2006 he was the sire of the foal champion that was then qualified to participate in the Swiss National Allbreed-Championships competing against Warmbloods.

Jeridan is till today probably the purebred Arabian stallion in Switzerland with the highest performance combining breeding and riding.

NIL NOUZA – 2005 WAHO Trophy Winner – Switzerland

NIL NOUZA, Grey Mare, *1994 (Gips / Nil Nubia).
Breeder: Urs & Brigitte Aeschbacher-Kocher, Nile Arabian Stud; Owner: Urs Aeschbacher.
Strain: Kehaileh Rodania (Rodania 1869).

In 2005 Nil Nouza was the highest scored horse at the Swiss National Show in Berne and was nominated by the SZAP (Schweizerische Zuchtgenossenschaft für Arabische Pferde) as “The best bred Arabian horse in Switzerland”. This title was given to her twice before, in 1995 and 1999. In 2005, at the same show, Nil Nouza’s daughter Nil Nana by Extreme reached the highest score among the one to three year old horses.

The 11-year old Gips daughter Nil Nouza represents the fourth generation of “Nile Breeding” of the Nile Arabian Stud in Switzerland. Her great-grandmother, the straight Egyptian mare Naya (Kaisoon x Nana) was one of Nile Arabians’ foundation mares. Nil Nouza’s mother Nil Nubia (Versal x Nil Najada by Ansata Halim Shah) represents one of the early and successful products originating from breeding Straight Egyptian mares to Russian stallions in the late 1980s.