On a breeding farm such as ours it is difficult to name one mare the best producing mare. In years past we have always profiled our foundation mare *Estopa. She is the pillar for every horse that we have bred in the past forty years and it makes sense to write about her year after year. We thought, however, that this year we would honor *Estopa’s granddaughter, Om El Benedict (*Sanadik El Shaklan x Om El Beneera, out of*Estopa) in these pages. Benedict was born in 1996 and gave us nine beautiful foals before passing on in 2009.

Two of Om El Benedict’s children, Om El Bahreyn (by Balih El Jamaal) and Om El Belusena Dream (by Dreamcatcher SMF) have won championships in England for owner AV Arabians. Om El Bernini Dream (by Dreamcatcher SMF) is owned by Shannon Constanti and is an accomplished endurance horse. He won National Champion Best Condition in Tulsa in 2009 and was top 20 in the grueling 100 mile Tevis Cup the same year. Om El Bendela Dakar (Dakar El Jamaal x Om El Benedict) has been a wonderful broodmare for us. She has beautiful foals by several of our stallions.

Two of Om El Benedict’s foals by Om El Shahmaan are Om El Bernadette and Om El Beshaan. Bernadette was the first World Cup Junior Champion filly and has had success at shows throughout the Middle East and Europe. She is owned by Al Khaledia of Saudi Arabia. Om El Beshaan was World Cup Champion 4‐5 year old stallion in 2009. He is proudly owned by Mr. Linjawi of Saudi Arabia. We have a two year old filly from this combination “hidden” in our pastures at Om El Arab. Her name is Om El Benecia and she was Benedict’s last foal.

We are thrilled with another Benedict daughter, Om El Beladeena (by *Al Lahab) who at her first show, the 2010 World Cup was named Champion 4‐5 year old mare and placed fourth in the Senior Mare Championship. Interestingly, Beladeena had two foals via embryo transfer last year. A beautiful filly by Om El Shahmaan we call Om El Belarosa and a stunning colt by El Nabila B, named Ballentine, owned by EQ Solutions and Marketing LLC.

Om El Benedict’s contribution to the future of the Arabian breed will surely be seen in the foals that her three year old son Om El Bellissimo will sire in Poland where he is currently on lease for the 2010 and 2011 breeding seasons. He is the first Om El Arab stallion to physically stand at stud in Poland. We are very excited to see the foals in the years to come and to see the name Om El Benedict in many Polish pedigrees. We believe that Om El Bellssimo will make his mommy proud.

It is with sadness that we write about this great mare that departed this earth too soon. By writing down Benedict’s accomplishments and sharing them with you in this profile we can honor her and hope that she will never be forgotten.

Contact us for more information on this horse or any of the Om El Arab bred stallions and mares.