Fa Carolina Moon...in memoriam

Fa Carolina Moon (Halim el Mansour x Fa Bukra)

Some of the most beautiful horses bred by Marilyn include "Moon" in their names; a designation Marilyn uses within her naming convention, to acknowledge the presence of Bukra in the pedigree, along with the influence of RDM Maar Hala, a grand-daughter of Maar-Ree. FA Carolina Moon, a 2000 bay mare, was a Halim el Mansour daughter.  Bred by Rancho Bulakenyo, Halim El Mansour, up until April 12, 2007, was one of the last living sons of the legendary *Ansata Ibn Halima and a full brother to El Halimaar. Jody Cruz, in an interview with Honi Roberts said of RDM Maar Hala, "What many don't realize is that her first five foals were all colts-not what new breeders would normally hope for but what colts they were!"  Halim El Mansour will forever remind me of the lesson I learned in quantifying the greatness of a horse. In Halim El Mansour's case, he was an *Ansata Ibn Halima son but as great as being a son of this stallion was, that is not what made Halim El Mansour great. The greatness of this particular horse, was measured by the quality of the offspring which he consistently sired. Carolina Moon was proof of his excellence as a sire. Marilyn  said of Carolina Moon, "She is a Halim El Mansour look alike, no doubt. Lovely mare with a very sweet disposition much like her Dad."

Fa Carolina Moon (Halim el Mansour x Fa Bukra)

Fa Carolina Moon's dam was FA Bukra (Fa Asar x SF Khala Zahra), a mare also bred by Marilyn, who matured into an important foundation mare for her program. Fa Asar was an Ibn Fa-Serr son, out of the straight Babson Egyptian mare, Serasabba (Fabah x Serrasab). While SF Khala Zahra, his half-sister in blood, is a daughter of Ansata el Sherif and out of Sabrah (a full sister to Serasabba), what I like most about Carolina Moon's pedigree are the four lines to the mare Farida, who is found in the pedigrees of the most influential horses to ever leave Egypt.

Fa Carolina Moon (Halim el Mansour x Fa Bukra)

The Farida horses are close-coupled, deep through the heart girth, with well-sprung rib cages, supporting a strong, smooth and level top line,  bigger hips, with generous and round, voluptuous hindquarters. Carolina Moon was wider and well-muscled, when viewed from behind. Carolina Moon's hocks were so elastic, she was able to reach far under herself, generating a lot of ground-covering power.

Her strong body also helped her, in  transitioning to the breeding herd. An easier mare to settle, she was an easy mare to manage and foal out, as well as a terrific mother to her new foal. Up until last year, she consistently produced colts. Bred to her paternal brother, WK HalimElShakhir, she produced Fa Halim El Nasr in 2007. She was also bred to Shaheen Al Waab, producing her best colt yet in 2015, Fa Amir Ibn Shaheen. A very refined bay colt, he took the strong conformational attributes of his dam, while possessing the refinement of his sire. Carolina Moon was bred to the exciting black stallion, Fa Ali Bey (Justynn x Fa Angelita Rose), producing a beautiful black filly, who was named Fa Bint Carolina Moon. Although black in color, she is very much like her mother, strong of body with the trademark powerful hind end, voluptuous and well muscled, driving her body forward with the same brilliant movement. Marilyn says of Carolina Moon's filly, "Ali Bey gave her a prettier head and even bigger eyes and tail carriage.  His signature trait he is passing on to all of his babies is the flag tail carriage." And perhaps, this is where we find some consolation, as no finer tribute can be given to a cherished and beloved mare like Carolina Moon than through the life that will be lived by her daughter, as she matures into an equally important broodmare for Marilyn's program, just as her mother once was.