Ibrahim (stallion)

Ibrahim (April 18, 1952 – 1973) was a bay half-bred stallion, theoretically Anglo-Norman, but registered as Selle Français. Particularly prolific, his descendants excelled at the highest level in show jumping. Ibrahim became famous after his death.

Ibrahim was born at René Haize's stud farm on April 18, 1952.^[1] He was bought for 500 francs by horse dealer Alfred Lefevre at a local fair.^[1] In 1956, this young horse became champion of his age class.^[1] He was sold to the National Stud of Saint-Lô, becoming a public stallion from 1956 to 1973 at the Sartilly breeding station near St-Lô.^[1][2] He had little success at first, as the stallions chosen by this public stud were not tested for their sporting performance.^[2]

Ibrahim remained relatively unknown during his lifetime.^[3]

Ibrahim measured 1.64 m,^[4] had a bay coat,^[2] and had one-quarter Thoroughbred blood.^[5] Breeder Germain Levallois described him as "very square", with a back "like a table".^[2] He also mentioned the elegance of his head, "very wide between the two eyes", and his gait "sparkling with intelligence".^[2]

Ibrahim had 315 registered foals.^[4] He became one of the most used stallions in the 1960s and 1970s. His success as a breeder was late, as Ibrahim mostly covered Norman draft mares during his early years at the stud.^[1] In 1957, he sired the mare Norvale, who became a broodmare for a few years before competing internationally in show jumping with Jean-Michael Gaud.^[1] Other descendants of Ibrahim, such as Petit Prince C and Quo Vadis, achieved success.^[1] However, it was not until Tango C had a successful show jumping career that Ibrahim became a highly sought-after stallion.^[1] While he only bred a few times a year until 1966, he now covered an average of 25 mares per year, with a record of 54 mares in 1969.^[1] According to breeder Germain Levallois, it was not uncommon for the first 15 prize-winning foals in breeding competitions at that time to all be sons and daughters of Ibrahim.^[2] Almé Z, the father of Jalisco B, is his most famous son.^[2]

The quality of his offspring was particularly noted during the grand week at Fontainebleau in 1970, where Alcazar D, Aurore C, Azimut, Arteban, and Almé all dominated other competitors in the final, while the five-year-old mare Val de Loire B won the competition in her age class. A successful cross was Ibrahim with the daughters of Ultimate, a Thoroughbred. Ibrahim still has a great influence on the current breeding of sport horses.