Imamzada

photo: archive

The bay stallion Imamzada was foaled in 1891 and standing 15.2 hands. Bred at the Pudlicote Stud of Miss Etheldred Dillon in England, Imamzada was the product of carefully selected bloodlines deeply rooted in desert tradition. He was used as a hunter horse and known for producing excellent hunter horses.
Imamzada’s sire was Imam who was sired by El Emir, a bay desert bred stallion, imported to England 1880 by Miss Dillon who cherished him dearly. His dam was the grey mare Ishtar born on 1871 whose pedigree has been lost through her frequent changes of ownership.
Imamzada's dam, Kesia II, was a bay mare foaled in 1876, bred by Gomassa Sebaa tribe in Arabia. She was the daughter of Seglawi El Abd and the only purebred foal ouf of Kesia. Notably, Kesia II was imported in utero to England, marking her as one of the earliest desert-bred mares to influence British Arabian breeding. Kesia II was owned by Major R.D. Upton, a respected authority on desert Arabians, and tragically met her end when killed by lightning. Kesia II produced six foals. Among them was Shabaka, a chestnut mare, by Mameluke. Shabaka was dam of Segario who had a limited number of foals but was sire of the grey mare Guemura whose family is still vital today. Imamzada was Kesia II's only son, giving him particular significance as a preserver of her rare genetic contribution.
In 1905, at age nine, Imamzada was imported to the United States by Spencer Borden of Fall River, Massachusetts. Borden, a prominent figure in early American Arabian horse breeding.
Though not widely used, Imamzada sired nine foals during his lifetime—two colts and seven fillies. His most influential offspring was the bay mare Rosa Rugosa. Out of Rose of Sharon, one of Crabbet’s key mares, Rosa Rugosa carried forward the legacy of two influential dam lines. She became the dam of Sidi.
Imamzada died in 1920, leaving behind a small but meaningful legacy through his daughter Rosa Rugosa.