El Gato Arabian Horse Photo Gallery & Biography

Sired by Ferseyn (*Raseyn x *Ferda)
Out of El Sikada (Sikin x El Aladon)
AHR #9075
04/20/1954 Dark Bay Arabian, Deceased 01/13/1977
Historical Stallion
Bred by Reggie Crawley of Mountain Center & Costa Mesa, California. He was owned by James F. Lewis Jr. of Lewisfield Arabians, then Marianne Hannah, Ribbonwood Ranch, and finally Ted or Annette Strangman.
100% Crabbet, 100% Kellogg, CMK
Tail Male: Ibrahim/Heijer - Tail Female: Dajania

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Markings

Star and small snip. Right hind pastern. Left hind sock.

🐎 Biography

In the world of mid-century Arabian breeding, certain horses possess a genetic magnetism that can't be ignored. The dark bay stallion El Gato (Ferseyn x El Sikada) was precisely that; a Straight Crabbet stallion who was truly ahead of his time.

Foaled in 1954 and bred by California’s Reggie Crawley, El Gato combined an elite show ring presence with a pedigree that impresses to this day.

El Gato’s pedigree is deeply rooted in early to mid-century American and Crabbet-influenced bloodlines, featuring key foundational horses that shaped the modern domestic Arabian landscape.

Sire: Ferseyn AHR #1381, a legendary gray stallion foaled in 1937. Ferseyn was one of the most significant sires of his era, known for passing on extreme athletic versatility, beautiful structure, and excellent dispositions.
Dam: El Sikada AHR #2340, a bay mare foaled in 1942, who brought robust, classic domestic lines to the pairing.

The W.K. Kellogg Master Blueprint

While Reggie Crawley bred El Gato, the genetic engine behind him belongs entirely to the visionary work of W.K. Kellogg. Kellogg bred El Gato's legendary sire, Ferseyn (*Raseyn x *Ferda), as well as both sides of his dam’s pedigree.

Physically, El Gato was a dead ringer for his maternal grandsire, Sikin, inheriting his deep bay color, classic type, and refined substance. His pedigree relied on a highly unique, dense line-breeding strategy:

*Ferda: Line-bred heavily to the prolific Kellogg import *Ferda through three up-close avenues: her sons Ferseyn and *Ferdin, as well as her daughter *Farasin.
3x Skowronek: Blessed with three close-up crosses to Skowronek via *Raseyn, *Rossana, and *Incoronata.

A Performance Career To Envy

El Gato proved his structural correctness early as a halter champion in California under the Crawley family, Laurie Reed, and Charles Doner. However, his performance career skyrocketed in 1963 when he was sold to Jim Lewis of Lewisfield Arabians in Virginia.

Moving seamlessly across disciplines, El Gato became a versatile titan in Halter, English Pleasure, Combination, and Park classes.

A Legacy In One Son

Though El Gato achieved coast-to-coast fame in the arena, his greatest contribution to the Arabian breed dropped in his very first California foal crop in 1961: a grey colt named El Magato (x Marharetta by Ferseyn, this mare was notably El Gato's most famous and successful 'nick').

More about El Magato later.