Alkaisar Arabian Stud is located in the south of Uruguay. Owned by Mohammad Hijazi, who is originally from Jordan but has been living in Uruguay for over 10 years, the farm is a peaceful heaven for Arabian horses.
Throughout his life, Mohammad has dreamed of owning his own farm just for his horses. “I have other farms in Uruguay for the cattle, but I always had this idea of having my house with my horses all together somewhere beautiful,” he explains. “One day, I found a piece of land on the border of Laguna del Sauce, a big lake that is close to one of the country’s most popular beaches but far enough away so that it is nice and quiet. As soon as I saw the farm, I knew that was it. I love details and the quality, things that are one of a kind, and everything we did at the farm is like this. The horses are the perfect complement to this beauty.”
The goal at the farm is to breed horses that exude quality, something that would be impossible to achieve without a good pool of mares that are consistent in certain characteristics. “They not only need to have the genotype, but the phenotype as well,” says Mohammed. “To ensure this, we searched for the best dam lines in South America and are now looking to expand our search and incorporate other lines from Europe. We do have a thing for extreme shoulders, elegant necks, and big eyes – this is the look I am going for.”
RFI Unique. Alessio Azzali photo
Central to this group of horses is the stallion RFI Unique. Sired by AF Maden (FA el Shawan x AF Odessa) and out of RFI Ultraa Almaktub (RFI Maktub x Seduction HBV), Unique is truly at the heart of Alkaisar Arabian Stud. Mohammad says: “Unique is unique… His description is in his name. I saw him for the first time at the Interestadual Show in Brazil, which was a big coincidence. I was there to see one of my fillies, and suddenly Unique came along and blew my mind.
“There was no turning back for me. I knew that he was the horse I needed for the farm for many reasons, and everything in the whole story seemed to fall into place as though it was meant to be.”
RFI Unique. Alessio Azzali photo
While 2020 may have been a difficult year the world over, Mohammad is proud to say that he has bred his first homebred fillies. “Two of them are sired by Dominic M (Da Vinci FM x Rosa la Valentina),” he says. “The first of these is ALK Luna al Kaisar (ex IA It’s Me), a really nice grey filly with an outstanding neck and body. She is out of the only WH Justice (Magnum Psyche x Vona Sher-Renea) daughter in Uruguay. The second filly is ALK Noora al Kaisar, our little bay diva and full sister to multiple-champion stallion Preludio OSB, both being out of the amazing proven mare Partyssima OSB (Sir Fames HBV x Party el Jamaal).
““We also had a dream to breed to Marwan al Shaqab (Gazal al Shaqab x Little Liza Fame) and we chose Pure Seduction VCM (HK Keav Power x Hafati Isadora) for the chore, a beautiful champion mare from Brazil and an amazing producer. She produced ALK Lala al Kaisar, also breeding for us this season. Lala inherited her mother’s tremendous body and structure, so we have big expectations for her future offspring.”
ALK Noora Al Kaisar
Mohammad continues, saying that they have bred to amazing stallions, trying to find the best match. “We had the blessing of having access to a horse such as AJ Radman (AJ Mardan x AJ Rahifa), who we used a lot and produced beautiful foals, as well as Emerald J (QR Marc x Emandoria), Dominic M, Excalibur EA (Shanghai EA x Essence of Marwan EA), JJ Aphar (Faraa al Shaqab x JJ Afartiti), Quasim CRH (RFI Maktub x Maxine CRH), and AF Maden.
“Now we are in this new and exciting adventure called the RFI Unique Partnership, and we trust this horse to translate some of the magic that he shows in the ring to his breeding. I had hoped that he would go to Paris and captivate everyone as he usually does. He is such a gentle soul but so powerful in the show-ring. He really embodies everything I love about the Arabian horse. I believe in him as a stallion very much – he has wonderful pedigree that is a breeder’s dream. I am certain he will not disappoint those who are willing to trust their mares to him.”
RFI Unique. Alessio Azzali photo
Mohammad pauses before adding: “We think the success will come from not only following our own path, but always learning from older wiser breeders. Most importantly, I have a lot of trust in our mares and we know they won’t disappoint.”
This feature first appeared in The Arabian Breeders’ Magazine Collectors’ Edition 2020
