07/12/2021
He still is beautiful !
ESPERANZA's STALLION OF SIGNIFICANCE: MAZKARADE
(repost of article by Nancy Guthrie Pierce)
A striking 2002 dark bay stallion bred by well-known horseman, breeder, and international judge, Doug Dahmen, MAZKARADE is the product of a mating between the national champion Ali Jamaal son, *Dakar El Jamaal, and one of Ali Jamaal's most successful and celebrated daughters, Majalis.
As might be expected from a young stallion with such an illustrious lineage, MAZKARADE created quite a buzz in the industry when he first appeared on the scene. He was smooth bodied and elegant with a lovely neck and throatlatch, beautiful tail carriage - and plenty of charisma.
"He was, quite simply, the best horse I ever bred," Doug remembers.
According to Dahmen, the first time Mazkarade was shown at U.S. Nationals, he was considered the horse to beat. Unfortunately. The young stallion wasn't quite himself following an extended illness, and though he was still good enough to earn top ten honors in a class of 21 young stallions, the crown of expectation was tarnished a bit, and his owners brought him home more than a little disappointed. Doug Dahmen vowed never to show him again unless he was 100% ready.
Scottsdale 2006 rolled around, and Dahmen still wasn't sure MAZKARADE was ready to enter the show ring again. A fortuitous visit to the farm from a good friend convinced him otherwise, and after paying a large post entry fee and acquiring the services of handler Steve Heathcott, MAZKARADE was sent to Scottsdale to prove that he was still "a contender".
As Doug recalls, "I kept telling Steve that he needed to start schooling MAZKARADE to get him ready for his class the next day. He hadn't even seen the horse since he showed him at Nationals several months earlier, and I felt we had a lot on the line here. I was concerned."
Steve told Dahmen not to worry, he would work with the horse in a few hours. A few hours went by, and Steve still hadn't schooled MAZKARADE. He just kept telling Doug not to worry. But Doug WAS worried. He made one last trip to the barn that evening to impress upon Heathcott the importance of reacquainting himself with the young stallion. Heathcott was nowhere to be found.
"Where's Steve? " Doug asked someone at the barn, only to be told that Steve Heathcott had left the showgrounds for the night, after standing MAZKARADE up three times. That was it.
Evidently, Heathcott knew what he was doing because the next day, MAZKARADE entered the ring at Scottdale ready to rumble, and in a very exciting class full of stallions like WN Star of Antigua, ROL Intencyty, *Rahere, WH Araby, and Ames Charisma, MAZKARADE showed beautifully for Steve, and together they took top honors in the class! Fortunately, we have amateur footage of that exciting class!
MAZKARADE went on to earn U.S. Top Ten honors two more times after that Scottsdale victory, but the stars never again lined up in a way that allowed him to surpass his Scottsdale show ring glory.
In an Arabian horse world in which many owners and breeders have been in the business for less than ten years, at age 16, MAZKARADE might seem to have slid quietly from obscurity right into the shadow of Esperanza's up-and-coming young AHBA Qatar son, ALKEYNOS EA, who is, in fact, also the son of MAZKARADE's full sister, Maisa El Dakar. It hasn't helped Mazkarade's cause that his oldest paternal brother is the World and National Champion stallion, *Dakharo. Though MAZKARADE is an accomplished stallion himself - earning considerable success in very limited showing - and an even more accomplished sire, he is one among quite a few accomplished, well-known, and in some cases, more highly promoted show horses of similar quality in his family.
His dam, Majalis, herself, has produced 8 champion foals, including 6-time national champion hunter horse, Riverr Dance+/ (by CWP Chances Are), the multi-regional and class A western pleasure champion (with 3 national top tens in halter as well), Psydron El Jamaal Z+++// (by Psymadre), and the full siblings Badiaa Al Shahania (U.S. National Champion) and Rehan Al Shahania (U.S. National Reserve Champion stallion), and Maarjan (5-time Ecuador National Champion stallion), all three by Marwan Al Shaqab, among MAZKARADE's maternal siblings.
It is a very good family.
A studied look at MAZKARADE himself reveals a genetic powerhouse of a stallion who has been quietly fulfilling the promise of his most impressive pedigree - and who has been contributing far more than most Arabian horse enthusiasts realize to his foals.
Again, Doug Dahmen sums it up well, "Along with his high degree of type and quality, MAZKARADE has a superb length and shape of neck and a great topline. He passes on these characteristics to his offspring."
The sire of only 105 foals to date (61 fillies, 29 c**ts, and 15 geldings), Mazkarade has sired two national champions with three national championships between them. Like many of MAZKARADE's champions, these two earned their major titles in performance arenas.
The 2010 bay MAZKARADE daughter, Scarlett Jamaal BFS (x Juliana El Jamaal BF by Jullyen El Jamaal) was 2015 Sport Horse National Champion Green Working Hunter and 2015 Sport Horse National Champion Hunter Hack Junior Horse.
In 2018, a 2010 bay MAZKARADE son, the gelding VP Altair Safar (x Miss Sly Shai by *Simeon Shai+) was named Canadian National Champion Hunter Pleasure JOTR 13 & Under. VP Altair Safar also earned 2 Canadian National Reserve Championships and a Top Ten in Hunter Pleasure in 2017 and 2018, all with a junior rider and before that, he was Region 5 Reserve Champion ABS Sweepstakes Yearling C**t.
In addition to his national champion offspring, MAZKARADE foals have far earned a total of 4 national reserve championships, 9 national top tens, 16 regional championships, 5 reserve regional championships and many regional top 5's and class A wins - out of approximately 20 foals shown in this country. Many of MAZKARADE's winning offspring have earned titles in a variety of disciplines, including halter.
Time doesn't permit an assessment of show records for MAZKARADE's foals living overseas for this article, but we can guess that there may be even more champions. What is known is that is that almost a quarter of his 100 foals sired have been exported - 14 to the Middle East, 2 to Canada, 1 to France, 1 to Great Britain, and 1 to Brazil. Indeed, some very fine MAZKARADE offspring have ended up overseas. This author recalls a very beautiful dark bay yearling filly with big black eyes and a shaggy forelock winning her age group at the Arabian Breeders World Cup in Vegas back in 2008. She was the Mazkarade daughter, Conga O (x Chili Pepper V by Jullyen El Jamaal), and when I first set eyes on my own filly (a MAZKARADE granddaughter) ten years later, I was immediately reminded of the lovely Conga O. The looks is the same - even generations apart. Conga O created quite a stir at the Vegas show, and soon after her World Cup victory, Conga O overseas for what was reported to be a fairly large sum. Of note, Conga O and MAZKARADE's two-time national champion daughter, Scarlett Jamaal BFS, were 3/4 sisters, both by MAZKARADE and both out of Jullyen El Jamaal daughters.
MAZKARADE's first black daughter, MFA Marsala (x MFA Margaux by Sundance Kid V), was never shown, but the quality of her foals quickly drew the attention of breeders in the Middle East, with 7 of her 9 foals exported there before MFA Marsala, herself, was exported in 2015. Four of her foals have been black.
Other champion-producing MAZKARADE daughters include Addison Rose (x Padrovka by *Padron); Mazkara (x Wizteria Bey by BA Bey Elation) dam of 100% champion foals; her full sister Simsimiya , also dam of 100% champions - both fillies; Mizpah Evening Rose (x Ianna Rose by Palmares) - dam of 3 foals, 2 of which were regional champions, and the third was a 2-time regional top 5; and Hana El Dakar (x Hala El Dakar by *Dakar El Jamaal). We welcome owners of any champion-producing MAZKARADE daughters not mentioned to contact us to add more to that list!
And there are the champion siring MAZKARADE sons, Zazul+ (x Zafirah by Padrons Psyche), himself a multi-champion; and Misrahi M (x OFW Chelsea by RSD Dark Victory), a black stallion who was exported to France.
Esperanza Arabians is very fortunate to have retained some beautiful, athletic, champion and champion-producing MAZKARADE daughters for our own program. We have been able to see, firsthand, that not only have his children been wonderfully successful show horses in a variety of disciplines, they are now proving to be very good producers as well. It is very exciting to see the MAZKARADE grandget succeeding in the show ring - and they do have a look all their own. In our program, MAZKARADE has contributed athleticism, big, black eyes, long, shapely necks with fine throatlatches, charisma, and lots of sexy hair - very much an Ali Jamaal look! He also frequently contributes his rich, dark bay color - and even a black coat with some regularity.
Of Esperanza's MAZKARADE daughters, only two, Hana El Dakar (x Hala El Dakar by *Dakar El Jamaal) and the successful show mare, Simsimiya (x Wizteria Bey by BA Bey Elation), are old enough to have foals on the ground.
Hana El Dakar has produced three foals for us so far. Of her two foals shown, both greys by *JA Urbino (Alfabia Damascus), one is a regional top 5 filly, and the other is a 4-time regional champion, 2-time regional reserve champion, and Canadian National Top Ten Gelding. In 2018, Hana gave us a handsome bay c**t by U.S. National Futurity Champion, Exxalt.
Simsimiya has twice produced champion fillies by PA Gazsi (Gazal Al Shaqab x PA Memphis by Fame VF+), the first of which is a Arabian National Breeder Finals Champion, and the second of which is a Class A Junior Champion and a U.S. National Top Ten Yearling Filly.
Like many farms these days, Esperanza is reducing our numbers a bit in anticipation of the new foals about to be born in 2019, so we currently have a beautiful black MAZKARADE filly available, the lovely Bella Vita EA, herself a Region 2 Top 3 ABS Yearling Filly.
Aside from MAZKARADE's own respectable record in the show ring, apart from his more than respectable record as a sire of halter and performance champions, and in addition to the appreciation for his offspring, particularly his daughters, overseas, Mazkarade often contributes something else that many breeders consider very special. Though he, himself, is a dark bay, Mazkarade is a proven sire of foals with the black color. He cannot sire a chestnut foal, but he has sired 15 black offspring (almost 15% of his foals) - out of bay mares, out of grey mares, out of chestnut mares - only three of these fifteen black foals are out of black mares.
So, though perhaps not as well known or as highly promoted as some of his famous siblings, MAZKARADE has done well for himself with the opportunities presented to him. Most importantly, he has carved out a niche for himself as a sire of beautiful, athletic foals with big, black eyes, lovely necks, smooth bodies and show ring attitudes, and often the black color as a bonus. To those of you who may not have been familiar with MAZKARADE and his achievements as a show horse and sire - consider yourself educated! He stands at stud at Esperanza Arabians, LLC in Riverside, California, and he is a Silver Sire, Scottsdale Signature, Breeders Sweepstakes, and Arabian Breeder Finals Sweepstakes nominated sire. Lori Ricigliano photo. www.esperanzaarabians.com
