Breeders of straight Egyptian and Egyptian-related Arabians, Rifat Arabians in Australia is the sponsor of this year’s WAHO Live! Abu Dhabi 2025 coverage. Founded by Hasan Rifat and Nicole Shelley, this small breeding farm has enjoyed much success in recent years. With their homebred horses garnering top awards, we find out more about Rifat Arabians.
Located in Victoria, Rifat Arabians was born from Hasan’s passion for the Arabian breed. Growing up with a love for Asfour (Malik x Hanan by Alaa el Din), Hasan dreamed of, one day, owning Arabian horses, Egyptian Arabians in particular. Now, some forty years on, Hasan has bred many successful Arabian horses, with multiple Australian National Championship titles to his name, and he is showing no signs of slowing down.
While Hasan’s story with the Arabian horses may have begun many years ago, it is more recently that Rifat Arabians has been on the global stage. He leased The Source CC (Salaa el Dine x Mouna by Malik) and then purchased MB Mayal (El Halimaar x Imperial Maysama by Imperial Madheen) – and it all went from there. In 2008, Hasan bred Ashour al Hasan, sired by Asfour and out of Sukkhara (Akid Geshan x Shaghira by Sir Ibn Moniet) with Rick Cummins, and it is this grey straight Egyptian stallion who is at the heart of Rifat Arabians’ success now, through his daughter Serene al Hasan (ex Alianna Serene by PVA Sonbali out of Princess Ali). While Ashour al Hasan, who was named Australian National Champion Colt in 2010, has since been sold to a new home, it is Serene al Hasan and her daughters who are making the horses bred at Rifat Arabians known around the world.
Alianna Serene, who has two lines to Ruminaja Ali (Shaikh al Badi x Bint Magidaa by Khofo), had seven foals, but it is Serene al Hasan, foaled in 2014, who has grown to become a significant broodmare for the stud. However, as so many breeders know, the path of foaling doesn’t always run smoothly and just hours after Serene al Hasan’s birth, she required emergency surgery. With the determination of Hasan and Nicole not to let their new foal slip away, Serene al Hasan made a full recovery and has grown into a beautiful mare who echoes the many qualities of her pedigree.
“I love this mare,” says Hasan. “Serene is elegant and has a powerful presence that enchants you. She is a strong, athletic mare, yet incredibly feminine. With each foal, Serene moves the Rifat Arabians breeding programme to the next level.”
Serene al Hasan gave Rifat Arabians the next step in their programme when she foaled the 2020 colt, Maheer by the US import Ulysium (JA Urbino x Marc of Ali CBA by QR Marc). “Maheer showed us how wonderful the Egyptian cross can be,” explains Hasan. “He was named Reserve Australian Champion Yearling Colt, and in 2023/2024, his first foal crop was born. From the very beginning, the quality of Maheer’s foals captivated us.
“With Serene, we made the decision to enhance her straight Egyptian bloodlines and blend them with modern international sires whom we liked and respected. Maheer was this first step for us, and we were thrilled with the result.”
Seeing how potent an outcross could be, Hasan and Nicole bred Serene al Hasan to El Tino (DA Valentino x Imprimista CF by Bey Imprimis) for the 2022 filly Mouna al Hasan. The following year, Serene al Hasan produced another filly, Maisa al Hasan sired by Magic Magnifique (True Colours x Magic Mon Amour by Windsprees Mirage). The stage was set.
From just three foals, Serene al Hasan has proved herself to be a true dam of significance. Each has won National titles, with the highlight for Hasan and Nicole coming at this year’s Australasian Arabian Breeders’ Coalition (AABC) International Championships. Both Mouna al Hasan and Maisa al Hasan competed, with both fillies scoring the highest in their age groups.
Mouna al Hasan was named Gold Junior Female Champion in both the Emirates Arabian Horse Global Cup and the AABC International Championships, while Maisa al Hasan was named Bronze in both sections. For a farm that only breeds one, maybe two, foals every other year, this was a huge achievement.
Maisa al Hasan has since been sold to the United States, where she will join Ted Carson at Allgood in Alabama. “Sometimes, you have to let the good ones go,” says Hasan. “We love Maisa. She’s a wonderful filly, but we are proud that she is taking our name to the United States, and we wish her new owners much happiness and success with her.”
Mouna al Hasan, meanwhile, went on to be named 2025 East Coast Champion Filly and she is very much the future of Hasan and Nicole’s breeding programme. She will join her incredible dam, Serena al Hasan, in being the next step for Rifat Arabians.
While Rifat Arabians has enjoyed success in the Australian show-rings, this year’s AABC International Championships and Emirates Arabian Horse Global Cup were a truly defining moment for the couple. “From those days when I used to look at photographs of Asfour in magazines to that night in Willinga seems like a magical journey,” smiles Hasan. “Like to so many of us around the world, I fell in love with the Arabian horse, and I dared to follow my dreams. From The Source CC and MB Mayal onwards, I have seen my breeding vision grow and evolve to the point that there is now a filly, bred by ourselves, in the United States. We are just small breeders, and this past year truly has felt like a dream come true.”
As autumn arrives in Australia, Hasan and Nicole can spend winter dreaming of the next step in their breeding programme. And with Serene al Hasan very much at the heart of Rifat Arabians, the best may be yet to come.
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Additional reporting by Peita Brown
