sola importante differenza che quella volta, a Parigiera stato dichiarato Campione del Mondo. Per i Fried-mann, Al Lahab è un cavallo che capita una voltanella vita, uno che loro non considerano solo un ec-cellente stallone da riproduzione o un cavallo dashow fuoriclasse, nonostante tutta la notevole discen-denza ed i titoli prestigiosi che può vantare. Quandogli si chiede cosa Al Lahab vuol dire per loro, i Fried-mann amano citare Carl Raswan: “Non si possiedemai un cavallo, ti viene solo dato in affidamento.”Così questo stallone grigio è trattato come un gioielloraro e prezioso, un cavallo che ha un posto specialenella vita della famiglia Fried-mann. È facile vedere che met-tono molta passione nel pren-dersi cura di lui.

horse. Part of his time he spends in his box stall, buta big part he spends grazing the pastures, meetingother horses there, and taking relaxed rides throughthe countryside with his groom.The farm is located in a somewhat unknown, butuncommonly scenic corner of the world: in thenorthern part of the Black Forest in Germany. In abeautiful valley about 20 km from Offenburg,Lunzenhof farm has been an active farm forhundreds of years. However, it was the currentmembers of the Friedmann family who decided todevote their farm to breeding pure Arabian horseswith Straight Egyptian bloodlines. Which is whatthey do very successfully, in this landscape of darkfir trees covering the slopes above lush greenvalleys. Taking rides here takes a horse that can keephis wits about him, for the tracks are challenging. Noproblem for Al Lahab, the Friedmanns say. He is notjust beautiful in appearance, but has an outstandingcharacter to his credit. True to his name (Al Lahabmeaning “the flame”), he can be the most spirited of

Il 2009 deve essere stato un anno molto speciale perInge e Hans-Jürgen Friedmann: è stato l'anno in cuiil loro pluri-campione di tanti show, provato neltempo e dal tempo, il loro grigio stallone egizianoAl Lahab, è riuscito a fare qualcosa che a pochiArabi, meno delle dita di una mano, è mai riuscitadi fare in un solo anno: ha vinto il titolo alla AllNations Cup in Aachen ed è tornato a casa daiCampionati del Mondo a Parigi con il titolo di RiservaCampione del Mondo.I suoi orgogliosi proprietari non avevano mai dubi-tato dell’abilità e del potenziale del loro stallone. Neavevano già avuto prova, perché nel 2006 Al Lahabaveva fatto esattamente lo stesso che nel 2009, con la

2009 must have been a very special year for Inge andHans-Jürgen Friedmann: it was the year when theirtime-proven multiple show champion, their greyEgyptian stallion Al Lahab, did what not even ahandful of Arabians have ever succeeded in doing ina single year: he won the All Nations Cup in Aachenand went home from the World Championships inParis as Reserve World Champion.His proud owners never doubted the abilities and thepotential of their stallion. They already had lots ofproof of that, for in 2006, Al Lahab had done just thesame as in 2009, with the notable exception that atthat time, he was declared World Champion in Paris.For the Friedmanns, Al Lahab is a once in a lifetimehorse, one they don’t just consider an excellentbreeding stallion or an outstanding show horse,despite all the notable offspring and prestigioustitles he can look back on. When asked what AlLahab means for them, the Friedmanns like to quoteCarl Raswan: “You never own a horse, it is entrustedto you.” So this grey stallion is treated as a rare andprecious jewel, a horse that has a special place in theFriedmann family’s life. It’s easy to see that they puta lot of heart into their taking care of him.

KING OF THE FARMOf course, Al Lahab is not just another horse out ofthe herd of stallions, mares, and offspring that callLunzenhof stud farm their home. A horse of hisreputation cannot be anything else but theunchallenged king of the farm. Lunzenhof stud iswhere he holds court, so to say, meeting the maresbrought to him and keeping an eye out for hisoffspring growing up on the pastures around. Butthe stud is also where he lives, being allowed to bejust a horse and to lead a kind of life suitable for a

AL LAHABL’orgoglio della / The Pride of the

FRIEDMANN FAMILY STUDby Monika Savier & Bettina Borst

Al Lahab

Jedran Ibn Sudan strain, of a son of Laheeb out ofThe Vision HG, a mare who has The Minstril twotimes in her pedigree, but as any breeder knows, ittakes some doing to see the potential, and even moreeffort and dedication to fully unfold that potential.

A TEXTBOOK SHOW CAREERThe Friedmanns gave their young charge all theheadstart they could. Even as a yearling, Al Lahabachieved the title of Reserve Champion Colt at theAll Nations Cup, which is one of the mostprestigious shows in Europe. As a two-year-old, hewon the right to call himself European Champion. He then spent some time in the US where, in 2006at the age of seven, he met his sire Laheeb on theoccasion of the Egyptian Event in Lexington,Kentucky – one of the most prestigious shows inthe US. That was a sight to remember, theFriedmanns recall: the two outstanding stallions,father and son, together in the show ring. Al Lahab

horses when displaying himself is asked for, but atthe same time, he is a sweet-natured horse whotakes tender care of two-year-old Virginia - who isnot a filly, but a child who will stroke and groom herspirited stallion friend, and ride him around theyard. It is touching to see how the horse pays carefulattention to the child, lowering his head down to herlevel and monitoring her every move. Some horsesobviously have a big heart and are particularlysensitive and trusting towards people – anybodywho sees Al Lahab with his girlfriend cannot butknow that he is one of those very special horses.It’s easy to understand, then, how much the stallionmeans to Inge Friedmann and her husband. Ofcourse, they are proud of him and his achievements.But there is also a lot of gratitude in the mix, and ofawareness of the great responsibility they took upfor this unique horse. When they bought him as acolt, he had been imported from Israel. Quite a bitmight be expected of a horse out of the Saklawi

AL LAHAB

Al Lahab Campione Mondiale, Parigi 2006Al Lahab

left this Kentucky show ring as Supreme Cham-pion, living up to the great name of his sire.2006 was to be Al Lahab’s most successful showyear, for in July, he was brought back to Germanyand took residence in the training stable of notedhandler Frank Spönle. After just a few weeks, hecompeted in the Elran Cup in Borgloon andreturned as Senior Champion Stallion. Only aweek later, the white horse outclassed allcompetitors at Towerlands in the UK, winninghimself the title of Senior Champion Stallion justas he had in Borgloon. At the end of September, hewas all ready to face one of the most hard-to-winshows in Europe, the All Nations Cup in Aachen.At that time, the Friedmanns had long known theamount of grace and type their horse was able todisplay, and he let the judges know as well. Hewon his class with an incredible score and leftAachen as brilliant Champion Stallion of the AllNations Cup. So who should have kept him from one moresuccess now, from reaching the top by competing

AL LAHAB

AL LAHAB1999

Familie Saklawi Jedran Ibn Sudan

1996Arabian

1994Arabian

1982 Arabian

1977 Arabian

1989 Arabian

1990 Arabian

ANSATA IMPERIALIMPERIAL IMDAL

LAHEEB

THE VISION HG

AK LATIFA

BELLE STAAR

THEE DESPERADO

DALIA

IBN MONIET EL NEFOUS

SIRALIMA

THE MINSTRIL

AK AMIRI ASMAAR

THE MINSTRIL

ALIA-AENOR

F Amaya (Rayyan Albabeia x F Aziza by Al Lahab)

their farm to preserve the vitality, the beauty andintelligence, the spirit and nobility of the StraightEgyptian, Arabian horse they find so magnificent.In the spring of 2007, after a deserved break, theFriedmanns shipped Al Lahab to the Middle Eastto participate in the famous Dubai InternationalShow, once again trained and handled by FrankSpönle. He was an old show hand by then whoexpertly displayed his qualities and won the titleof Supreme Champion Stallion. He was alsoawarded with the Dubai Gold Cup, a prizehonouring the most successful European stallionat all important European shows. When the Friedmanns decided, in 2009, to show AlLahab to the world once more, giving tangible

in the World Championships in Paris? When thestallion entered the show ring there, theFriedmanns recall, he acted just as if he knew whatwas at stake. Majestically, with incredible presenceand elegance, he captured everybody’s hearts,thrilling spectators and judges with the show heput on. Never before had any horse gotten asmany 20s at one time – the judges allotted no lessthan 11 of them, for type, head and neck, andmovements. Every breeders great dream came truefor the Friedmanns that time in Paris: Al Lahabbecame World Champion 2006, he had reached thetop, he was Best in the World. These wereunforgettable, moving moments for the couplefrom the German hinterland who had built up

F Tayyar (Al Lahab x F. Tahani by F. Shamaal)Gold Champion Arabequus (Intern. B Show, Spain)

F Tasnim (Al Lahab x F. Thani by F. Shamaal) Bronze Champion at Arabequus (Intern. B Show, Spain)

Al Lahab Junior Champion 2001 European Egyptian Event, Baden Baden

AL LAHAB

breeders such as the Friedmanns is his ability to passhis type on to his offspring. At Lunzenhof stud, everyfoaling is an eagerly expected event. For the breeders,it’s highly satisfactory to discover, in each of AlLahab’s foals, the defining and distinctive features oftheir beloved stallion. When the beauty of the horsesthey breed brings joy to others, that’s when theFriedmanns feel gratitude and joy themselves.Quite some of Al Lahab’s offspring are highlysuccessful in the show ring. There is Mahala, forexample, who has won the European EgyptianEvent in 2008 and was Best Mare at the InternationalShow in El Zahraa in 2009. There are Al Milan andEl Sid, both of whom won Gold Medals asInternational Champions at International StallionLicensing Shows. There are several Al Lahabdescendants of UJW Arabians breeding, prominentamong them Pyramid Laneya and Pyramid Layan,who have won laurels as International Champions.There is a highly successful Al Lahab son showingin the US, there is DF Halifa making herself knownin Dubai, and a multiple champion stabled in AlKhaledia stables in Saudi Arabia. Mila Kamis hasbeen showing Pyramid Lahara to great success. Notthe least of many others with notable titles undertheir belts are the youngest champions so far, F.Tasnim and F. Tayyar. So around the globe, Al Lahaboffspring are a rather sure formula for success.Al Lahab himself has been titled Elite Stallion by theGerman Arabian Breeders Association VZAP, aspecial honour which means he has produced morethan a hundred notable offspring.

For the Friedmann family, winning show laurels isnot their reason for attending shows. They areconvinced, they say, that breeding must alwaysmeet high standards and carries a lot ofresponsibility. Which means that only the beststallions are good enough for anybody’s mares –and shows are the places where the best stallionsare selected. That’s why they show their horses atinternationally renowned shows. That and theenthusiastic joy of seeing their good horses win…

proof of his reputation of being among the bestEgyptians in the world, the stallion knew what todo. Once more he unleashed his power andcharisma in Menton, France, leaving as SeniorChampion Stallion. This success paved his way tothe All Nations Cup later in the year, where heachieved what no other Arabian had achievedbefore: he won the Championships once more. Itmight have been too rich to expect him to win theWorld Championships in Paris as well, as he haddone in 2006 – he made Reserve World Championwith a stunning performance.

... CARRYING ONAs a show horse, Al Lahab doesn’t need to proveanything anymore. What is important to dedicated

El Palacio VO Senior stallion (Al Lahab x Eldorada) KSA. Winner of the 14th International Championship El Zahraa, Cairo the 18th. November 2012

AL LAHAB