Chapter Nine
The Big Decision!
My whole family is always involved when big decisions are made. The proposal from Dr. Marsufi needed to be discussed earnestly. RA Inshallah (Inny) was owned by my grandpa, Mike Chapman. Inny was a gift from R’ Ammeri, Sheykh of the Ruala tribe. Mike also owned *Shahwan GASB, the sire of the two full siblings from Inny, my Dazshtan and Bint Shahwan. I was given the privilege of educating both. But I was Dazshtan’s special person. I would be with him until I was given another assignment. Bint would be placed into the capable hands of Rashad after she is delivered to the Wadi Sirhan. My job with Inny would be done then. I had taken on these assignments seriously. I had grown close to my partner. Knowing that Dazshtan was not mine had to be settled in my mind. There were many issues raised at the family meeting at the Szechuan Restaurant in Bend.
Before our arrival, I had a conversation with Mike on the phone. Doctor Marsufi approached him ten years before about a purchase of his mare Shahwanyssa, our half-sibling to Dazshtan by his stallion Shahwan. I knew he would relate to the main issue we faced with Dr. Marsufi. I asked him. “These horses are considered to be our children. How did you deal with such a situation.” Since Dazshtan was his colt, I needed to get a proper understanding of his desires. Our conversation consisted of expressions of deep love for our Arabian horses. Shahwanyssa had taken Mike through adventures in the middle east and provided him with many fine foals. Al Ahmann held a special place in his heart. Part of his mare’s progeny is there. Dazshtan was the first foal from Shahwan since his death. He had waited twenty-three years to fulfill his dream to continue the legacy of his soulmate Shahwan. After his death at twenty-two years of age, he thought it would be the end of Shahwan’s legacy. Fortunately, he thought to freeze his semen before his death. Dazshtan provided a renewed hope of carrying on Shahwan’s bloodline. The residual effect of his German Marbach pedigree is valuable. The harmful effects of the Western influences of politics, greed, and abuse were rapidly diminishing the bloodlines of foundation breeders. These abusive practices were destroying many of the traits that were inherent to the Arabian horse. A fine desirable temperament, the willingness to work with human beings with ease of trainability. The “Win at all costs” attitude was becoming prevalent in the Arabian horse industry. The practice of submission and intimidation resulted in family horses returning home from trainers wanting to savage the people that brought them into the world. Mike and I agree along with my family that those bad influences stopped at our doorstep.
Mike reminded me that his time spent at Al Ahmann with Shahwanyssa was worthwhile. He told me that it was an opportunity for him to spread the good word to that part of the world, to bring back the practices that created the desirable traits possessed by the Arabian horse. He believed that spreading his words around the world along with the precious bloodlines he was blessed with, gave the Arabian horse a chance to recover from the serious decline that had confronted the industry. This is your chance too Josie, to do the same. I came away from our meeting on the phone with confidence that his decision along with mine would be the right one.
Before my family left for the meeting place, I visited my two charges in the barn. Dazshtan especially was my focus. I knew he would sense my troubled mind. Mike always emphasized looking deep inside his soul through the gateway of his eyes. “There, when you listen, you will get his answer.” There is a deep connection Dazshtan and I had developed since our adventure in the snow. I wondered; just how deep does it go? Soul level? Were our loved ones including our animals with us in the Pre-existence as souls, before we came through the veil to this earth, where we spend a fraction of our existence compared to eternity?
Dazshtan is so sensitive. Both of my charges sensed my energy. Arabian horses are inherently this way from their eons of existence with the Bedouin horse breeding tribes. I visited Bint first. It is funny to me that she was always knowing. I attribute this to the fact that I had conveyed to her what her destiny would be ultimately. I did not exhibit anything unusual, except the fact that I would miss her. She is a comfort to me because of her stability. Dazshtan, on the other hand, knew what was going on. I did not even need to ask him. I felt he already knew the answer to my question beforehand; that is, as simple as that. He trusted me. I had an innate knowledge that we would always be together, and he did too. With renewed strength, I joined my family at the restaurant.
The restaurant was situated within walking distance from a fine motel. My siblings exited the car first, to run and greet their grandpa, and grandma, Mike, and Marcia who arrived after us. Walter and Margit, and Dr. Marsufi filed across the street and joined us in the big family-style meeting room inside the restaurant.
It was September. I was going on my twenty-first year that next spring. I was entering that room with all our guests and family with a resolve that I felt was beyond my years. Mike just nodded to me and gave me the floor. “I do not need to reiterate how precious the Arabian horse is to all of us. We are all gathered here to preserve to the best of our abilities, the bloodlines with which we are blessed. For the future of our breed and the posterity that will follow, I have prayed earnestly and received counsel from my elders. When Mike met you both, Walter, and Margit, in Fort Worth long ago, little did he know, the legacy you would leave with him through Shahwan, his sire Said and the Ruala tribe that you had been adopted into. His destiny would be drastically changed. I am humbled to be involved in that future.” I looked over to Mike and he smiled approvingly. I knew what my answer would be. “I accept your proposal, Dr. Marsufi. I am humbled by your trust in me to be a caretaker of your herd at Al Ahmann when you are traveling to Wadi Sirhan with Bint Shahwan. Dazshtan will add to the whole. Not only to your Stud but to the world.”
Mike pointed out that it reminded him of the time when he was negotiating a lease of Shahwan with Ewald Dickhut in Germany. “Her Dickhut entered the kitchen from his family room where he had been discussing the lease with his family. With his deep strong voice said, Shahwan will go to America. There were tears shed all around in that kitchen. Then, as with Shahwan coming to America, ”Dazshtan,” going to Al Ahmann, Shahwan’s Legacy will be expanded by being with you Dr. Marsufi.
I was excited that our whole family agreed. There were important things my siblings had to take over from me after my departure. Even with all their hobbies, they had become quite efficient with duties in the barn. Mom and dad decided to take on the quarantine duties for the export details since they were a certified quarantine facility. Walter decided to take time off to accompany me and my two charges on Dr. Marsufi’s airplane. Mike would travel to Cairo later to make plans for the journey to the Wadi Sirhan. Grandma Marcia had become proficient at maintaining the farm in Alfalfa along with the stall hands. This time, she would stay behind.
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