JANINA BLOG POST:
A GRIEF ACKNOWLEDGED - MY TRIBUTE TO OM EL SHAHMAAN

It has taken me a couple of months to be ready to write about Om El Shahmaan’s beautiful life and our special connection. His passing was unexpected and shocked me. It snuck up on me right after losing my mother, which I am learning to still cope with daily. I didn’t really know how to give Shahmaan his own grieving time, because grief is something that I feel daily, so I just lumped my grief for him in with my grief for my mom.

He has been gone 2 months and my mom 8 months today. It’s interesting how I subconsciously chose this evening to sit and reflect on both of them. I am in a cabin in the mountains on a ski vacation with my family. We are happily snowed in and can’t do much more than sit by the fire and think about life. When I quiet my mind, at least for now, the images and thoughts of my departed loved ones soon appear. It seems fitting to give tribute to my stallion tonight.

Om El Shahmaan was born in April 1999. He was long-legged with a beautiful body and a very refined face. We knew immediately that he was the heir apparent and would succeed his sire, *Sanadik El Shaklan. In 2003, he was U.S. Reserve National Champion Stallion AOTH (with me proudly at the lead), and then Top 10 in the Open Stallions that same year with Andy Sellman, placing 3rd behind Marwan Al Shaqab and Enzo. In 2004 he was U.S. National Champion AOTH with me. It was my most favorite horse show moment to date - me and my man with those difficult-to-obtain roses around his neck. I thought that I could never have a bad moment again in my life. If I did, I would just watch the video of our win and be right back to flying high!

Shahmaan taught me so much in so many ways. I learned how to train a saddle horse with him. My riding mentor is Joanne Fox and through a stroke of serious luck she offered to train me, Shahmaan and another young horse in 2003. Joanne came to the farm two days a week and would give me lessons on these two very green horses. She hardly ever rode them herself, but would tell me what to do, and with her guidance we got them ready to show in Hunter Pleasure at the Santa Barbara show. I hadn’t shown performance before and I chickened out at that show and had Joanne show Shahmaan while I showed the other horse. I grew more confident and Shahmaan and I showed at many different shows for several years. One of my most favorite classes was when Shahmaan and I were named Reserve Champion Junior Horse at the 2004 Pacific Slopes show, only to be beaten by Joanne.

Shahmaan was a very sensitive horse. I think it was one of the qualities that contributed to his exceptional personality. I’ve never known a stallion as gentle, sweet, kind, and loving as him. He had a little trick that was very endearing. He would hang his head over his stall and stick out his tongue to whomever was walking by. He loved his tongue to get tugged on and rubbed. I would hold on to it and then give him kisses. He could stand there for a long time like this. He has even passed this “trait” on to several sons – Om El Bellissimo and Om El Sanadeed being two of them.

I have lived in the apartment in the barn since 2000 and have only just recently moved into my mom’s house. Every time I would walk from my apartment into the barn, the first horse I would see was Shahmaan. He would greet me with his gorgeous black, liquid eyes and watch me until I walked over and gave him a scratch and not take his eyes off of me until I was out of sight. We had bond that is hard to describe but was apparent to all that knew us. He was the strawberry to my champagne, the apple to my pie, and the frosting for my cake.

I loved to lead him into the mare barn for visitors. He was imposing in size, 15’3 hands tall, and would whoop and holler and look quite intimidating in a beautiful stallion kind of way. Most people didn’t know that he was the easiest stallion to tease mares with. He was a gentleman through and through and would always make sure that I was safe and taken care of. I LOVED riding him. There was a zen-like quality to our time together in the saddle. Everything just fit right and felt right. We were just right together.

I’m so glad to have many beautiful Shahmaan daughters for the breeding program and one wonderful son. Om El Bellissimo was the heir apparent to Om El Shahmaan the moment that he was born. When I walk into the barn now, it is his beautiful face that I see in his sire’s stall. It has taken him a little while to fill the stall with his presence. And it has taken me a while to look at him there without sadness. It helps that he sticks out his tongue and beckons me to come over for a little cuddle and tug every now and then.

I am grateful for every moment that I got to spend with Om El Shahmaan, and I’m looking forward to watching his daughter, Om El Jaya, and three grandchildren (Om El Justadorable, Om El Benicio, and Om El Almira) compete at Scottsdale. He was my once-in-a-lifetime stallion.