CoverStoryARIA RAKEEM:

By THERESA CARDAMONE

Aria Rakeem has been turning heads ever since he was born, his sensational pedigree and captivating charisma luring five dedicated breeders to band together as coowners before his show career even got off the ground. The Aria Rakeem Group consists of John and Debra Mitchell (CME Arabian Equities), Joe and Kim Orr (Rose City Arabians), Ruel and Virginia Gober (Dreamco Arabians), Stuart and Carol Nierenberg (Silver Box Southwest), and California breeder Rick Richetta. The group is co-managed by minority interest holders Jeff Sloan and Greg Knowles, the marketing manager at Royal Arabians, where Rakeem stands at stud.

When Knowles showed Rakeem to Joe and Kim Orr as a baby, they were both smitten and became the first partners to write a check to be included in his future. “Kim and I are layering our breeding program to eventually get all Rakeem fillies,” Joe explains. “They will not be for sale; they will be our foundation broodmares.” Each of the Rakeem Group owners are dedicated to sending their finest mares to him and see his show career as a pathway to his eventual legacy as a transformative breeding horse.

The tall bay son of FA El Rasheem and the exquisite international champion MD Hibat Allah stamped his passport into the top echelon of Arabian show horses with his unanimous victory as the 2023 Scottsdale Champion Senior Stallion. Moving as if his barely contained energy would explode at any second, Rakeem won the judges over with his near-perfect conformation and undeniable presence. The win was an endorsement of his previous unanimous victory as the 2022 Arabian National Breeder Finals Senior Champion Stallion.

Knowles, whose history with the Arabian horse is decades long, believes that Rakeem has the potential to make a significant contribution to the breed. “He brings things to the scenario that are missing in contemporary breeding,” states Knowles. “If he can emulate his mother and father, a pedigree that is absolute royalty, I think this horse has a shot at becoming a cornerstone breeding horse, and that’s the most exciting thing. He has long legs that are well-placed on his body, a beautiful hip, and a short, short back. He also has a great shoulder, a long and elegant high-placed neck, and big, beautiful, expressive black eyes. I don’t know of another breeding horse out there that is 15.3 with his characteristics and refinement. Both phenotypically and genotypically, he has the potential to produce a lot of horses with those highly desired qualities. It’s the look that everyone wants that isn’t available in the current market.”

Aria Rakeem will rest on his show laurels while he handles a full book of over 100 of the finest mares in the world. With breeding packages sold to South America, Europe, and the Middle East, Rakeem will spend the spring and summer serving mares in Scottsdale at Royal Arabians and the fall and winter being collected and frozen for the international market. “This horse has a great brain, is highly trainable, and is a pleasure to work with,” Knowles explains. “We want to keep it that way. He will not go back to the show ring until the U.S. Nationals in 2024. We don’t want to put him through the pressure of doing it all in one year. Winning at Scottsdale has created the energy that will bring the best mares and give him the shot that he needs to prove that he is what we believe he will be, a cornerstone of the Arabian breed.”