Arabian Horse History - The Crabbet Influence
CRABBET ARABIANS Crabbet Arabian horses are those originating from the Crabbet Park Stud, which was founded by Lord Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt in England in 1878.
After 93 years of operation and the production of many legendary horses that became the foundation of other great studs worldwide, the Crabbet Park Stud was dissolved and the last of the horses were sold off in 1972 when a roadway was planned that divided the park.
CRABBET'S BEGINNINGS Anne Noel, granddaughter of the poet Lord Byron, fell in love with horses at an early age and was an accomplished equestrienne.
Her husband, the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, had knowledge of middle-eastern politics.
During a trip to the Middle East, Lady Anne Blunt decided to embark on a lifelong quest to save the Arabian horse, whose population amongst the Bedouin tribes was dwindling for a variety of reasons, including modern warfare techniques.
Lady Blunt's goal was to preserve the pure bloodlines of the desert horse, as the Bedouin had done for centuries.
She was fluent in Arabic and an excellent judge of horseflesh.
She and her husband ventured deep into the Nejd desert, seeking the Bedouin tribes' prized horses.
In 1878, the Blunts returned to England with fine Arabian horses with which to begin their breeding program.
THE CRABBET QUEST FOR PURITY The Bedouins had a profound influence on Lady Blunt's philosophy of horse breeding.
She was an avid student of their practices, and adopted their obsession of tracking the background of each horse and only perpetuating those of incontestable purity.
Like the Bedouins, she believed that a horse of "asil" (pure) type would embody physical characteristics that spoke eloquently of its ancestry.
SHEYKH OBEYD STUD OF EGYPT In 1890, the Blunts bought a 37-acre park near Cairo and founded the Sheykh Obeyd stud.
It was stocked with what remained of the famous Egyptian breeding program of Ali Pasha Sherif.
Lady Blunt moved there permanently in 1906, and died there in 1917.
MESSAOUD In 1891, the Blunts imported Messaoud from the Ali Pasha Sherif stud.
Messaoud embodied all the traits the Blunts sought in a purebred Arabian horse.
He was strong-boned, of excellent conformation and was a handsome chestnut color, with four white stockings.
Messaoud became one of the most influential Arabian stallions worldwide.
His name is present in thousands of pedigrees.
His most famous son was Astraled, who was foaled in 1900.
Another son, Seyal, sired Berk, the stallion whose get were known for their exquisite action.
Messaoud was sold to the Russians in 1903 and died during the Russian Revolution.
LADY WENTWORTH OF CRABBET PARK After some legal wrangling, the Blunt's daughter, Lady Wentworth, became the owner of the Crabbet Park stud.
She bought back many of the horses that her father had sold, although those that had been shipped off to America could not be reclaimed.
The decade from 1920 to 1930 was a period of expansion and experimentation at Crabbet Park.
Lady Wenthworth had a broad genetic base with which to work.
Buying back Crabbet Arabian horses enabled her to revive family lines that had died out at the stud.
In her journals, Lady Anne Blunt mentioned the first Arabian horse her daughter ever rode, a grey mare named Basilisk, when Judith was six years old.
At the stud, the Blunts selected against grey horses because a significant customer base for Crabbet Park Arabians was government orders for military remounts.
Grey horses left visible hair on dark uniforms, as well as being blatant targets on the battlefield.
By contrast, Lady Wentworth exhibited a lifelong preference for grey horses.
She was not fond of the bay coloration, and selected against it.
Although her parents parted with horses they later regretted selling, Lady Wentworth developed a keen ability to recognize the future value of a young horse from her experience of watching foals mature into horses at Crabbet Park.
SKOWRONEK Skowronek was a grey Arabian stallion born at the Antoniny Stud in Poland in 1909.
As a young horse, he was sold to an English sculptor who used him as the model for a number of bronzes.
He passed through several more hands before being spotted by Lady Wentworth.
She realized his true worth at once and bought him through an intermediary, to prevent her competition from also realizing the horse's value.
He became one of the most important stallions in Crabbet Park history, and Lady Wentworth would not part with him for any price.
He died in 1930 at the ripe old age of 22.
His loving owner donated his skeleton to London's British Museum.
Under Lady Wentworth's management, very few Crabbet Park horses lacked Skowronek in their pedigrees.
CRABBET PARK INFLUENCE Approximately 90% of Arabian horses alive today have bloodlines that trace back to Crabbet horses, particularly Mesaoud and Skowronek.
Crabbet Park Arabians were exported all over the world.
Even the Egyptian Agricultural Organization has a large percentage of Crabbet horses originally purchased from the Sheykh Obeyd stud.
When Lady Wentworth died, the Crabbet Park stud went to Cecil Covey, the son of her stud manager.
Under Covey's management, Crabbet Park stallions were available at public stud, spreading their influence even farther.
Some modern breeders are intent on preserving the straight Crabbet bloodlines, with Australia boasting the highest percentage of pure Crabbet Arabian breeding operations.
A smaller group of breeders maintain preservation bloodlines that are strictly traced to the horses bred or imported by Lord and Lady Blunt.
WHAT DEFINES A CRABBET HORSE? In technical terms, a Crabbet Arabian is a horse that traces in all lines of its pedigree to Arabians owned or bred by the Crabbet Park Stud, whether under the management of Lady and Lord Blunt, Lady Wentworth, or Cecil Covey.
Crabbet Arabian bloodlines show off their virtues especially well in saddle competition and in endurance riding.
The Tevis Cup in the United States and the Quilty Hundred Mile Endurance Ride in Australia are dominated by Crabbet Arabians.
They excel at the highest levels of performance competition due to their strong bones, excellent conformation, graceful movement, good temperament and outstanding performance ability, which are the recognized virtues of Crabbet Arabian horses.
After 93 years of operation and the production of many legendary horses that became the foundation of other great studs worldwide, the Crabbet Park Stud was dissolved and the last of the horses were sold off in 1972 when a roadway was planned that divided the park.
CRABBET'S BEGINNINGS Anne Noel, granddaughter of the poet Lord Byron, fell in love with horses at an early age and was an accomplished equestrienne.
Her husband, the poet Wilfrid Scawen Blunt, had knowledge of middle-eastern politics.
During a trip to the Middle East, Lady Anne Blunt decided to embark on a lifelong quest to save the Arabian horse, whose population amongst the Bedouin tribes was dwindling for a variety of reasons, including modern warfare techniques.
Lady Blunt's goal was to preserve the pure bloodlines of the desert horse, as the Bedouin had done for centuries.
She was fluent in Arabic and an excellent judge of horseflesh.
She and her husband ventured deep into the Nejd desert, seeking the Bedouin tribes' prized horses.
In 1878, the Blunts returned to England with fine Arabian horses with which to begin their breeding program.
THE CRABBET QUEST FOR PURITY The Bedouins had a profound influence on Lady Blunt's philosophy of horse breeding.
She was an avid student of their practices, and adopted their obsession of tracking the background of each horse and only perpetuating those of incontestable purity.
Like the Bedouins, she believed that a horse of "asil" (pure) type would embody physical characteristics that spoke eloquently of its ancestry.
SHEYKH OBEYD STUD OF EGYPT In 1890, the Blunts bought a 37-acre park near Cairo and founded the Sheykh Obeyd stud.
It was stocked with what remained of the famous Egyptian breeding program of Ali Pasha Sherif.
Lady Blunt moved there permanently in 1906, and died there in 1917.
MESSAOUD In 1891, the Blunts imported Messaoud from the Ali Pasha Sherif stud.
Messaoud embodied all the traits the Blunts sought in a purebred Arabian horse.
He was strong-boned, of excellent conformation and was a handsome chestnut color, with four white stockings.
Messaoud became one of the most influential Arabian stallions worldwide.
His name is present in thousands of pedigrees.
His most famous son was Astraled, who was foaled in 1900.
Another son, Seyal, sired Berk, the stallion whose get were known for their exquisite action.
Messaoud was sold to the Russians in 1903 and died during the Russian Revolution.
LADY WENTWORTH OF CRABBET PARK After some legal wrangling, the Blunt's daughter, Lady Wentworth, became the owner of the Crabbet Park stud.
She bought back many of the horses that her father had sold, although those that had been shipped off to America could not be reclaimed.
The decade from 1920 to 1930 was a period of expansion and experimentation at Crabbet Park.
Lady Wenthworth had a broad genetic base with which to work.
Buying back Crabbet Arabian horses enabled her to revive family lines that had died out at the stud.
In her journals, Lady Anne Blunt mentioned the first Arabian horse her daughter ever rode, a grey mare named Basilisk, when Judith was six years old.
At the stud, the Blunts selected against grey horses because a significant customer base for Crabbet Park Arabians was government orders for military remounts.
Grey horses left visible hair on dark uniforms, as well as being blatant targets on the battlefield.
By contrast, Lady Wentworth exhibited a lifelong preference for grey horses.
She was not fond of the bay coloration, and selected against it.
Although her parents parted with horses they later regretted selling, Lady Wentworth developed a keen ability to recognize the future value of a young horse from her experience of watching foals mature into horses at Crabbet Park.
SKOWRONEK Skowronek was a grey Arabian stallion born at the Antoniny Stud in Poland in 1909.
As a young horse, he was sold to an English sculptor who used him as the model for a number of bronzes.
He passed through several more hands before being spotted by Lady Wentworth.
She realized his true worth at once and bought him through an intermediary, to prevent her competition from also realizing the horse's value.
He became one of the most important stallions in Crabbet Park history, and Lady Wentworth would not part with him for any price.
He died in 1930 at the ripe old age of 22.
His loving owner donated his skeleton to London's British Museum.
Under Lady Wentworth's management, very few Crabbet Park horses lacked Skowronek in their pedigrees.
CRABBET PARK INFLUENCE Approximately 90% of Arabian horses alive today have bloodlines that trace back to Crabbet horses, particularly Mesaoud and Skowronek.
Crabbet Park Arabians were exported all over the world.
Even the Egyptian Agricultural Organization has a large percentage of Crabbet horses originally purchased from the Sheykh Obeyd stud.
When Lady Wentworth died, the Crabbet Park stud went to Cecil Covey, the son of her stud manager.
Under Covey's management, Crabbet Park stallions were available at public stud, spreading their influence even farther.
Some modern breeders are intent on preserving the straight Crabbet bloodlines, with Australia boasting the highest percentage of pure Crabbet Arabian breeding operations.
A smaller group of breeders maintain preservation bloodlines that are strictly traced to the horses bred or imported by Lord and Lady Blunt.
WHAT DEFINES A CRABBET HORSE? In technical terms, a Crabbet Arabian is a horse that traces in all lines of its pedigree to Arabians owned or bred by the Crabbet Park Stud, whether under the management of Lady and Lord Blunt, Lady Wentworth, or Cecil Covey.
Crabbet Arabian bloodlines show off their virtues especially well in saddle competition and in endurance riding.
The Tevis Cup in the United States and the Quilty Hundred Mile Endurance Ride in Australia are dominated by Crabbet Arabians.
They excel at the highest levels of performance competition due to their strong bones, excellent conformation, graceful movement, good temperament and outstanding performance ability, which are the recognized virtues of Crabbet Arabian horses.
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