Silver Aura from Anne Brown of Gadebrook Stud

Two Pages of Anecdotes from Ben Rabba Fans Near and Far

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.

Continue Reading

Ben Rabba: An Exceptional Influence on the British Arabian

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.

Continue Reading

Ben Rabba 1964-1990

By Jewell Cantrell. August 6, 1990, was perhaps the saddest day of my life; it was the day I had to have my dear old friend of many years put to rest forever. BEN RABBA, who lived to be 26 years old, was a charismatic stallion who became a legend in his own time. He was the most magnificent, arrogant, loving and gentle horse I have ever had the privilege of knowing. He touched the lives of many people and everyone who ever came in contact with this great horse was absolutely captivated by him and loved him. BEN RABBA was responsible for many people becoming involved with Arabians.

Continue Reading

Coed-y-foel Arabians, Wales – UK Summer 2000 Stud Tour

By Georgia Cheer. Diana Whittome does not breed pure Crabbet; instead her lines are predominantly Crabbet/Old English, with a dash of Polish, Egyptian or Russian. Her emphasis is to breed performance horses and she has done this exceedingly well. Diana is also a show judge, plus she holds several committee positions on the Arab Horse Society council. She writes articles for the AHS News and other publications and is delightfully entertaining and extremely knowledgeable on pedigrees.

Continue Reading

UK Summer 2000 Stud Tour

By Georgia Cheer. The Farms that I visited on the summer tour were: Imperial Arabian Stud (Wiltshire), Klinta Arabians (Ireland), Star Arabian Stud (Lincolnshire), Al Waha Arabians (Surrey), Blue Moon Arabians (Surrey), Milla Lauquen Stud (Norfolk), Highfield Stud (Wales), Coed-y-Foel Arabian Stud (Wales), and Templars Stud (Lancashire). Combe Farm (Devon, Aug. 5, 2001). I will present a sample preview of what I will see at each farm below.

Continue Reading

Comparison Photos of Ben Rabba Horses From the 1990 British National Show

By Georgia Cheer. Pictured left is the Israeli National Champion mare ABBAH by Ben Rabba out of Azeme Bint Gleam. Pictured on right is 1990 Junior British National Champion Mare AUREME by Aurelian (by Ben Rabba) out of the same dam, Azeme Bint Gleam. Do you notice the similarities? I took Abbah’s photo in 1994 in Virginia where she lives with owner Debra Cashvan. I think then she was about age 12.

Continue Reading

1997 Idaho Arabian Breeders Country Classic Show

By Karen Paolo. Our recent move to Eastern Oregon, so far East in fact we are almost in Idaho, has given us a whole new world of horses to explore. We decided to venture to Caldwell, ID, and watch the Country Classic Show put on by the Idaho Arabian Breeders Association (IABA) on September 6 & 7, 1997. We arrived in time for the last of the IABA Halter Futurity classes. The three year old fillies were assembled outside waiting their turn to enter the arena when a very nice chestnut filly caught my eye and impressed me as the type of horse I like.

Continue Reading

Pilgrimage to Crabbet Park – 2002 Crabbet Convention

By Tiffani McCarthy. Like a modern-day Canterbury Tales, the devoted pilgrims flowed to Crabbet Park in Sussex for the opening of the Crabbet Convention. The only problem was that Crabbet Park is now less Canterbury Cathedral and more Bodiam Castle, just a shell of its former glory and purpose. This did not deter the delegates, however. This was the ancestral home of their beloved horses. For a few moments all of the memories from countless books and film clips and for a lucky few actual time spent at the stud came together through the magic grout of the imagination.

Continue Reading
Mariam 181

The W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Ranch – Part 12: The New Arabians of 1930

By Carol Woodbridge Mulder. The W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Ranch manager, Herbert H. Reese, was not only an astute and well educated horseman, manager, businessman, and gifted horse breeder, but was also a born horse trader. In 1930 there were so few Arabians in the United States – less than 800 living animals – that, despite the depression, buyers were to be found for most of the few Arabs which were available for sale.

Continue Reading