Mozn Albidayer: Her Beauty Rains Down
Words by Samantha Mattocks
Photography unless stated by Stuart Vesty www.vesty.com
There have been few horses in the world such as Mozn Albidayer – ones that, in spite of their tender age, have an eternal quality to them, and have charmed all who have seen them. At just three years old, this incredible filly has captivated the world, earning titles on three continents, and at every show, more people fall in love with her. With her effortless elegance, extraordinary beauty, and natural flair, is it any wonder that this is the horse that everyone is talking about as the Paris World Championships come around once more?
I remember the first moment I saw Mozn Albidayer, bred and owned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Saud Al Qasimi, founder of the famed Albidayer Stud located in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The occasion was the 2015 Dubai International Arabian Horse Championships, and ‘Mozn’ entered her yearling filly class. This was only her second show, her first being the Ajman International Show in January that year where, she had won her class and gone on to take the Gold Yearling Female Championship. The Dubai Show is notoriously competitive, and yet this young, elegant filly took it all in her stride to not only win her class, but take her second Gold title. The stage was set, and this was a filly that had a vibrant future ahead of her. A Silver at the All Nations’ Cup in Aachen followed, along with Gold for the People’s Choice, and a Bronze at the World Championships in Paris completed her yearling year.
The Championship titles continued to come for Mozn as a two-year old, with a Gold in Las Vegas at the Arabian Breeders’ World Cup before being named US National Champion Junior Female. Mozn then returned to the show-rings of Paris to claim a second World Championship title, this time that of Silver Junior Female.
As a three-year old, Mozn has been shown twice in two of the most highly competitive shows in Europe and has been named Gold Junior Female both times. The first of these was in Menton at the Mediterranean and Arab Countries Arabian Horse Championships, with the second following in September in Aachen at the All Nations Cup, where she was once again named People’s Choice Gold Champion.
Now, the Paris World Championships beckon once more, and Mozn Albidayer is set to dance her way to the City of Lights, where she will be shown by Tom Schoukens. There are many hoping that she will leave with the title that she so deserves, that of Gold Junior Female World Champion; and in doing so, she would become Albidayer Stud’s first homebred Gold Champion at this title show.
There is no doubt that the story of Mozn Albidayer is already a remarkable one. She has won comprehensively at every show she has been to, and while there are many great examples of Arabian horses that shine at every show in their own area, Mozn Albidayer has done so on a truly global scale. By the time she turned three, she had won titles on three continents. Every time she shows, Mozn shows herself to be an extraordinary package – she has beauty, type, charisma, elegance, great movement, good limbs, and is so undeniably feminine.
I named her The Arabian Magazine Horse of the Year in 2015, when she was still a yearling, as this filly had been at the forefront of my mine all year, ever since I first saw her in Dubai. For me, that is the mark of a great horse, and to be in one so young… Well, that is truly remarkable. Mozn Albidayer captivated from her yearling year. Her name – Mozn, pronounced Mü-z-n – is Arabic for a white, rain-bearing cloud and just as you can find beauty in rain, all who see Mozn agree that her beauty rains down all around, especially when she dances into and around the show-ring.
All in all, it is little wonder that Mozn Albidayer is so exceptional and well regarded. Her pedigree contains very different lines to those seen everywhere these days. And there is also a longevity and grace to her pedigree; Mozn goes back to the 1950s in just five generations through her tail female line, and it is this classical old look that has mixed so well with more modern breeding to create a truly individual – and incredibly beautiful – Arabian horse. Indeed. Her beauty seems to grow year on year, and you just know that, as a mare, she will be beyond breath-taking.
Mozn Albidayer is a rare breed these days – a true oil painting come to life, with this ‘other worldly’ quality to her that is scarcely seen in these more generic modern times. I know that I won’t be alone when I cheer for Mozn Albidayer in Paris; and at every step of her journey through life. She truly is a once in a generation horse, and we are lucky enough to be watching her, in the here and now, with our own eyes.
