The interview was conducted by: Said Charbash
In middle school, I was the only one who could ride the untamed Nazlet El-Samman stables
I started raising horses after visiting Sheikh Khalid bin Laden’s farm in Farsteen.. Now I own 60 horses.
Foreign and Arab arbitration is one of the most severe crises for the Arabian horse.
The chaos of horse festivals must be eliminated, the order is legalized and the horses are registered electronically to prevent tampering.
I dream of establishing an integrated horse club.
I demand that there be a Ministry of Horses in Egypt.
As soon as you are his guest, pictures of horses meet you in every place and in every corner.. For him they are like his sons.. Whoever honors her honors him, and whoever touches her dignity angers him.. In Egypt he grew up with purebred Arabian horses, and he kept the fragrant memories of her. And because the lover is jealous; You find he has a strong enthusiasm to eliminate what disturbs her.
We met the Ambassador, Ayman Bassiouni, the UN Ambassador, the lover, the educator and the valiant jockey.. Riders of wild horses since childhood; To allow us a space of his time and heart, to introduce us to his soft memories, and to provide us with his accumulated experiences… in breeding purebred Egyptian Arabian horses, and his assessment of the current situation, and his vision for the future… and to the text of the dialogue..
: Your Excellency, we welcome your Excellency in your dialogue with Al Khail website, which is a new experience in both Arabic and English; To transmit our culture locally and internationally; To preserve and archive the history of horses.
: Hello.
: First we would like to let us know what your childhood and early upbringing was like.
: I grew up in Cairo, and started my studies at Victoria College in Maadi.
: Was your excellency’s father residing in Egypt?
: No.. I was studying in Maadi, and I went on vacation to an Egyptian family in Sakakini. And when the 1967 war broke out, my father took me out of school, and I returned to Saudi Arabia, and after that he would send me to London every year to learn a language, and after I got a university degree, I worked in commerce. I am a businessman, and at the same time in the diplomatic corps, I am currently holding the position of Ambassador for Peace at the United Nations.
: We would like to know from your Excellency when your hobby of horse breeding appeared?
: Since I was young and I am fond of horses.. I used to ride it when I was in middle school in Egypt, so I was the only one who could ride untamed horses in the Nazlet Al-Samman stables, and they are wild horses that do not allow anyone to ride their backs. I remember a horse named Whiskey, with which I used to go up the mountain, and this horse to ride I must take it over steep slopes; To put a strain on him, so that I could ride on his back, and my hand was sore from the horse.
Tell me the memories of the first horse you bought.
: The first horse that I bought was in the first year of high school, and it was a purebred black Arabian mare of black color, a masterpiece. I put it in a stable at Nazlet al-Saman, and I was very happy with it, and on my cousin’s birthday, I took the horse to the estate where she resides, and gave it to her as a gift, but I was shocked When I went to her after 3 months, and found them tying her to a card, I was very sad, and I said angrily to my cousin: A purebred mare that you tie to a card?!!
: This situation is sure to have transformed your life.
As much as this situation burned my blood, as much as it made me realize the extent of my love for horses, and realize that love is not enough, but it must be translated into the reality of my work, which is to preserve and protect the horse from any insult or behavior that does not preserve his position and dignity. This is the difference between a horse lover and a merchant.
Your love for him is evident from the pictures I see around me.
: Even in my home in Saudi Arabia I put pictures of horses everywhere.
How or when did the shift from hobby to raising horses happen?
: The beginning was from my son, who asked me to visit Bin Laden’s farm, and said to me: He has a wonderful group of horses, so I went to him, and I liked the horses very much, so I started with two horses, I bought them, and left them as shelter at Rabab’s farm.
Sheikh Khalid bin Laden is one of the best thoroughbred horse breeders.
Khaled is a beautiful person with a long experience in raising horses, very high morals and a friendly friend. The important thing is that I left the two horses with him, until I had 12, so I bought a farm and built stables in it, until the number of horses I have now reached 60 heads, by the grace of God.
: This is expensive.
Horse rearing is a tiring and expensive hobby, but it is a love, because I feel like horses are my children.
: What is the most important advice you have been given to your excellency in the field of horses, and you have worked to implement it?
: At the beginning of my horse breeding, I was not content to release my horses to anyone, but Sheikh Khaled said to me: In order to show your horses, you must release them, and have sons everywhere. , choose the best production and keep it, and sell the rest; So that your breeding program is kept to the highest level, and you don’t need new shelters for the horses, I started working with this advice, and it was an important piece of advice.
: What is the secret of your love for the Egyptian horse?
: Because Egypt has preserved the authenticity of the Arabian horse for many years. The origin of the Egyptian Arabian horse is from Saudi Arabia.. A time when the Pashas came to the Arabian Peninsula with gold; To buy horses, bring them to Egypt, raise them and take care of them, and they offer us something wonderful, which is the station of Al-Zahraa, which played a great role in the whole world, and the whole world comes to Egypt; For this station, America, Brazil, Britain and Australia, everyone comes to take horses from Egypt. The Egyptian Arabian horse is one of the most beautiful horses. When you put a bullish next to him, the bullish may look a little better in the body and a little sweeter in the details, but it feels like a woman who does plastic surgery, but it does not fill the eye; So I used to get annoyed when I found the Bolshes participating in festivals, and competing with the purebred Egyptian Arabian horse. But after they began to prevent the entry of the Polish with the authentic Egyptian, I was relieved… the competition became better. As for the Polish horses, they held their own championships, apart from the Egyptian Arabian horse.
: Tell me about the role of your Excellency’s farm Al-Bassiouni that you play or will play in the coming period to benefit the horse?
: I still deal with horses as a hobby and not as a trade, and out of my love for horses I participate in festivals, and this of course develops horses, and contributes to its spread. I participate in festivals in Egypt as much as I can, but I cannot participate in Saudi festivals; Because of the ban on horse travel from Egypt to Saudi Arabia.
: This is a vexing issue, and it must be resolved.
: Necessary.. The thing that surprised me is that you prevent the transfer of horses from Egypt to Saudi Arabia, so the breeders are forced to travel by horse to Jordan, for example, and take them to Dubai, then transport them to Saudi Arabia..Imagine the same horses, but with more costs, and this is a waste of time and money.
: How do you see the hobby from your point of view?
: Hobby has no limits. The more you go into it, the more you love it, until it becomes like an addiction, you can’t leave it. Sometimes I get up at two in the morning; To go to the farm, and enjoy my sight of the horses, and I keep watching them.. the top of the arcade, and it spreads with an unimaginable relaxation. Imagine as soon as you get to the farm, you hear the horses neighing with joy you’re coming.
Do you know you among the farm workers?
: Certainly.. a horse knows its owner from the middle of a thousand one. She knows that this is her owner, and calls him day and night. And the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, said: “The horses are tied with good intentions until the Day of Resurrection.” This is a hobby, a blessing and a beautiful thing. And in order to be blessed by the Messenger of God, may God’s prayers and peace be upon him, he called my horses the names of the Prophet’s horses, such as al-Saqab, sea, rosary, roses, etc. And, God willing, I intend to complete the rest.
: An Arabian horse when you buy it, do you buy it for its degree, or for balance?
Origin is very important, but the horse must be balanced and represent his testimony. But the strange thing in Egypt is that you find some of the most beautiful horses possible, so someone comes and says to you: No, this has God’s victory, no, this has Madhuri, this has tenderness. Guys, these are all purebred Arabian horses. The truth is that the most beautiful horses in the world and the world’s heroes are the grandchildren of Nasrallah, horses of great beauty, and they are not outside the purebred Arab, but they are just ideas that spread and affect the horse when you buy it, or produce horses that are beautiful, so they are afraid of it. As for me, these things do not differentiate with me.
: Did you buy the sons of Nasrallah and Madhuri, or did you settle for her love?
: Yes, I have horses from the sons of Nasrallah.. The day I decided to buy a mare from Madhuri, I found it had been sold. But I have one that goes back to the origins of Madhuri. I am now concentrating on calligraphy, the descriptive Abyan line.
As an ambassador, would you write down the breeding program for your horses?
: I entered the diplomatic field as the consul of the Netherlands in Saudi Arabia, then the ambassador for peace at the United Nations. I am also an advisor to the Chairman of the Ali Reda Group of Companies, which holds the number one commercial registry in the Kingdom, one of the largest commercial companies in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and I own some private properties, I have a company of ships, and we are the first to set up wedding halls.
: From your Excellency’s experience, what challenges do you encounter in the horse industry, or the horse hobby?
: The method of horse registration should change from paper to electronic registration; So we prevent any tampering. There are some things in which there should be more discipline, such as festivals. We find someone who we hear about for the first time, who has neither a registered nor a registered association, and who holds a horse festival..and this angers me; Because it’s a mess. Everything must be codified and officially recorded.
: What do you think of the project of Merabet Misr in the Administrative Capital?
: So far, as I hear, it will be a beautiful project, but the Marabet of Egypt will lose the Zahra station, its ancient history. I think that if the Zahra station had been developed, this would have been better than moving it to the administrative capital; Because most of the horse farms in the pyramid.
: What is your dream that you seek to achieve in the field of horses?
: I dream of founding a comprehensive equestrian and horse club, eliminating all the negativity that occurs in horses, downward festivals, unnecessary and unnecessary matters, and the bad way of judging.
Q: What are your most important comments on bad refereeing?
: In my opinion, when the horses come down to the parade ground, no one should know the owners of these horses; for the arbitration to be impartial; Because there are rulers who change the result for the sake of some horse owners, some rulers give the horse a fifth place, and when a certain person talks to him, he gives him the first place, and you, who deserves your horse the first place, falls out of the ranking.. This constitutes a frustration for the breeders “who are walking dogs” There must be discipline in this matter.
: As for the foreign judges who judge the Arabian horse competitions, how do you feel?
: The foreign rulers I consider them to be laughing at their beards, as is said in the proverbs. Why foreign rulers?! Do we not have Arab rulers? Why do they enter foreign rulers? I don’t see any merit in them, the idea is that how do we bring in rulers who don’t ride our horses to rule them!
From your happiness point of view, what is the only solution to develop the Arabian horse hobby?
Decisiveness and discipline, and that there should be an authority responsible for the smallest details. There must be an official responsible for horses in the entire Arab Republic of Egypt, a ministry specialized in horse affairs, so that things are not left like this. I heard about a person who collected 400 saiyans, established a horse association with them, entered festivals and earned money. And when you visit the headquarters of the association, you find an office in an apartment, where even the extras do not accept to sit. But from my point of view, a club like Saqqara Club should be established.
: I knew that you wanted to establish a horse club like the Saqqara Club.
For a while, I wanted to buy the Saqqara Club itself, equip it and finish it off, but I found five villas next to it, the way from the club side, and this made me hesitate.
: We end our meeting with your best memories.. horse trips in the old days.. the rise of the mountains and the pyramid.
: Once upon a time, we used to go out in a group, ride horses in the pyramid, start from Nazlat al-Samman, and go back and forth in Sahara City. I was at that time challenging the horse-politics of the stables, and the first of them, and the horses when returning were different in their running, in the return they were speeding; Because she wants to go back to the stable. Those were beautiful days, never to be forgotten.
