Al Ghanayim Stud

It is well past midnight when I leave Kuwait International Airport. I can see the lights of the city briefly before turning south towards the Saudi border. Soon there is nothing but the darkness of the desert, occasionally interrupted by headlights heading the other direction. My driver Ahmad slows at a sign for Al Wafra and we turn off the main highway. It is an area populated by family farms, and it’s becoming a favored escape from city life in the winter and a place to spend some time outdoors. Soon the sand-colored walls of Al Ghanayim Stud come into view. It is my second time to visit this 11-hectare equine paradise, and I am very pleased to return. My first visit was a couple years ago, and I was not sure what to expect. Shawn Crews of Shawn Crews International wanted me to meet Ayad Al-Thuwainy. Shawn and I come from different backgrounds in horses, Shawn grew up with Straight Egyptians and I had worked for the Polish State Studs, but we share a passion for great Arabians, regardless of the strain. I first came at her request, and found in this corner of Kuwait a man whose vision for the Arabian horse needed to be shared. I am even more excited to return a few years later and see the progress of his vision, and enjoy the tranquility in the mare paddocks during an evening stroll. Here at the farm, the stallions are ridden daily, because Ayad understands the utility of these animals. As someone who grew up exercising my family’s Arabians on the track, it resonates with me. And then there are the foals: balanced, correct, beautiful, and… black. Ayad’s Al Ghanayim Stud is unique in the world, and is poised to challenge some long held preconceptions in the Arabian breed.

During Ayad Al-Thuwainy’s youth, Black Beauty and