Historical Stallions Archives

Silver Aura from Anne Brown of Gadebrook Stud

Two Pages of Anecdotes from Ben Rabba Fans Near and Far

September 16, 2019September 16, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

I ended up with a beautiful bay colt with just enough chrome. When Ed came up to see him, his biggest concern was that I not give him a ‘wimpy’ name. When asked for suggestions, he came up with Bayrabba. It worked for me. Bayrabba is now 13 years old and has sired a dozen or so babies. He and his foals have that typical Ben Rabba look with a twinkle in their eyes. They’re consistently very kind and people-loving, but they all have enough mischief in them to keep from ever being boring. This is all in addition to being very correct, beautiful and athletic. While it is sad that Ed and Ben are gone, it is made less sad for me when I look out over the pastures and see what I have because of the both of them.

Ben Rabba: An Exceptional Influence on the British Arabian

September 15, 2019September 15, 2019 Angela2 Comments

By Alexia Ross. Ben Rabba’s visible debt to the Nasik son Rifnas appealed to many of the breeders of Crabbet lines at the time. It reintroduced a factor for extreme shoulder and front structure that was hard to find within the surviving Crabbet gene pool in the UK. Less obvious to the English eye was his debt to other early American influences, notably the Davenport importation. It is to this influence that Ben Rabba owed his good hindquarter and exceptionally well muscled loin, the latter a trait often overlooked by Arabian breeders for the show ring but essential to genuine athleticism in any horse of any breed.

Count Manilla

August 23, 2019August 25, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

Count Manilla was bred by Miss Gladys Yule of Hanstead House, whose mother, the late Lady Yule, had bred Count Manilla’s sire, Count Dorsaz. Count Dorsaz was by Rissalix from the mare Shamnar, whose sire Niziri was a full brother to Naseem. Shamnar’s dam was the famous Rasim mare Razina, who appears on the third line of Manilla’s pedigree as well. Manilla was by Algol from Nurschida.

*Count Dorsaz

August 20, 2019August 20, 2019 Angela2 Comments

The story of *COUNT DORSAZ and his descendants is one ideally suited to the writing of an entire book, rather than just an article. It is a tale of international success, as his descendants appear in pedigrees all over the world. His influence on the breed in America is a combination of chance circumstances: the exchange of breeding stock between the Crabbet and Hanstead studs, the sudden demise of Miss Gladys Yule shortly after the death of Lady Wentworth, and the foresight of the American breeder Bazy Tankersley in acquiring the cream of Crabbet and Hanstead horses, only available due to the high death duties on the estates of Lady Wentworth and Miss Yule.

Vanitys Count++ 66104

August 14, 2019August 14, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

Vanitys Count++ went on to win championships in halter, English pleasure and western pleasure, culminating in winning a Top Ten in Western Pleasure at the U.S. Nationals in 1976. That same year his son, Bey Vanity+++, owned by Don and Janet Amburgey of Germantown, Ohio, won his first of six U.S. Top Tens in Half-Arabian Western Pleasure. A month later Vanitys Count++ and Bey Vanity+++ received their Legion of Merit awards.

Distinctly Crabbet: Sirella and Hanif

August 11, 2019August 11, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

Shortly after he won the Supreme Male Championship at the Arab Show in 1962, *Silver Vanity 22555, was exported to America. It was a great los to England as much of the little stock he left behind was also exported. However, the year that *Silver Vanity left, a colt was born to Sirella who was to become an all-time favourite of breeders on both sides of the Atlantic – Hanif. Hanif was one of only two pure Crabbet stallions left by *Silver Vanity in the UK, the other being Rayyan out of Risseefa.

Irex – An Appreciation

June 4, 2019June 4, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

By Margaret Greely. Irex died on April 28th, 1955, aged 28, yet already he is a legend in the Arab world. An ‘Irex head’ has become a phrase to express perfection; to measure excellence; to sum up all that is meant by ‘classic beauty’. Irex was bred at Crabbet Park, sired by the magnificent Naseem out of that lovely mare Rissla, from whom he inherited his golden-chestnut color.

The Silver Drift Influence in Australia

May 4, 2019May 5, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

By Joan Flynn. After Lady Wentworth’s death in 1957, when the stud was being partly dispersed, Mrs. Mary Leitch of Sydney saw the young colt, SPINDRIFT, in a paddock there, fell in love with him, and bought him. Having retired from Arabian breeding and disposing of her entire stud to the Queensland Agricultural College, SPINDRIFT joined the New South Wales Department of Agriculture College for several seasons and in 1963 he went to the Queensland Agricultural College where he remained until his death of an apparent heart attack in 1978.

*Silver Drift: Sire Supreme

May 4, 2019May 5, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

By Arlene Magid. To many American breeders, *SILVER DRIFT is a familiar name to be found a few generations back in pedigrees today. Some may recognize him as the only full brother to *SERAFIX, or as a noted broodmare sire in his own right. There is a great deal more to be learned about this fascinating stallion who left his stamp on the horses of Europe, Australia, and North America.

Alla Amarward 1140 and H.H. Reese

May 4, 2019May 4, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

By Carol W. Mulder © 1986. In some circles, at various times, Alla Amarward has been considered a controversial horse who was owned by a controversial man, H.H. Reese. However, in his prime at the peak of his immense popularity there was nothing controversial about Alla Amarward, although his owner was controversial even then. Yet this man owned the three leading American Arabian sires of their time, and Alla Amarward was one of the three (the other two were Ferseyn 1381 and Abu Farwa 1960).