What is Bani Sham Arabians

DEFINITION: Bani Sham Arabian horses are descended entirely from the historic Davenport Desert Arabian Stud. The group consists of individuals descending from horses imported by Homer Davenport in 1906 to the U. S. from Syria Arabia, and, in some instances, in possible combination with pedigree elements from the Hamidie Society importation of 1893 to the U. S. from Arabia. The Bani Sham horses were written about, ridden, publicized, shown, raced, and bred to almost every other kind of Arabian that came to this country. They seemed to do fine regardless of what was asked of them. They had a unique capability as a bloodline: they endured Everything else that came to this country this is a breeding history of 85 years duration here in America now: a long, long time.

The Bani Sham horses has a special gift for many people who have had experience with various kinds of Arabians they will observe that Bani Sham are different; still requiring of horsemanship, but easier to handle, most of them exceptionally intelligent, These bloodlines have persisted since 1906, while retaining the essential factors of identity which they had from the beginning. This is so to point that, if we could have a conference with some of the old-time founding breeders of Arabians in America, they would still recognize what is call Bani Sham Arabians they are the same kind of horses today as there ancestor are today when they first came here from the desert: nice moderate-sized, athletic horses that are friendly and look like and are the real thing. they still show family characteristics that come from the old horses: *Haleb's balance, *Reshan's coat, *Abeyah's jibbah, *Hamrah's coupling, *Muson's vitality, a certain inner spark that may have come from *Wadduda, if it did not also come from all the others.

These are characteristics that the desert bred breeders today have prized enough to keep these bloodlines going. In all the generations of horses since 1906, there have no doubt been many times when desert breeders went to considerable trouble to maintain matings between Bani Sham horses, although it has nearly always been an easy option to instead do attractive out cross matings. Sometimes survival has been by a thin thread of devotion, but it has held and the horses are still with us as a blessing for the present, and as an example of continuity in the breeding of Bani Sham Arabian horses in America.