A TIME FOR GOOSEBUMPS

"Give me anything that moves my heart, that gives me goosebumps."-Jeremy Spencer

 My friend, Anne-Louise Toner of Al Atiq Arabians had mentioned this colt to me over the summer. Her new mare, Simeon Selena is in foal to him. It's not that I didn't believe her (that this colt was really special), I did, but how do you get past Asfour and hey, without a picture, how can you imagine what special really looks like?
I received the December issue of Arabian Horse World yesterday and tucked in between the *Norus son, Hadidi and the El Hilal son, VP Regal Heir, I "stumbled" upon....yes, you guessed it, Simeon Shifran! Wait...I have to catch my breath, right about now.

WOW!

I couldn't believe my eyes...Anne-Louise, you were so right!!! Simeon Shifran is unbelievably gorgeous.

I love how closely-coupled this colt is. That's the first thing I noticed. I can't take my eyes off of his most wonderfully-smooth, balanced, round, curvey, harmonious body...well, maybe I can peel them off for a second,  to admire the beautiful neck on this colt. Look at how gracefully-curved his neck is. He is lovely. The arch of his neck flows smoothly up, to where the neck meets the head, forming the sought-after angle that results in a very fine mitbah. His mitbah is so roomy, that a man's fist can fit comfortably there. His hindquarter is so round, plump and full with a nice, deep hip. His top line is smooth and strong. Longer forearms, shorter cannons, a forty-five degree angle to his pasterns. This is a well constructed horse. Nice big jowls, a very nice shape to his head which is shorter and wider, very broad between his big, lustrously-black eyes, smaller-sized ears, larger, elastic, fine nostrils. This colt is as close to perfect as you can want.

A friend emailed me yesterday with her wishes for a happy new year. Is 2011  off to a fantastic start for you? Meeting a colt like Simeon Shifran, even if only through a photograph, is such a positively encouraging experience and from where I stand at this moment, 2011 is already full with so much hope!!! The classic Arabian lives, even in a poor economy with double-digit unemployment, a dollar that doesn't go as far as it used to and soaring gasoline prices!! A colt like Simeon Shifran helps you to escape all the "bad news", all the worries and and anxieties of the day, even for only a moment. Such is the power of horses, such is the love of a horse. Such is the mesmerizing spell that beauty casts upon the world and the impact that Asfour continues to make in our community.

Always make time to celebrate the beauty that exists in the world,
Ralph

PS Jenni Ogden, who is brilliant with the camera, took this splendid picture of Simeon Shifran.