Bright Shadow Archives

RAS Bint Vanity (Silver Vanity x Blue Sal) 1977 grey mare owned by Rhodes Arabian Stud.

Long Live Crabbet: A Tour of Straight Crabbets in the American North East

September 18, 2019September 18, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

By Alexia Ross. The good news is that there are a small number of breeders in America who are still trying to preserve a resource of Straight Crabbet Arabians and are doing so with some very nice horses. Standards vary, as in any bloodline group, with some plain heads and rough couplings in evidence but good temperament and athleticism is pretty standard with more than enough exotic heads and smooth bodies to offer a positive future. On the whole, limbs, length of shoulder and movement are better than the norm that is accepted in the show ring these days with long ground covering strides on offer instead of the stylized, but not particularly functional, high knee action which is becoming fashionable now in Europe.

Joe and Sue Norman with Kasadi foals (l) Gavin (R) Marceline

Centenary of the Harwood Stud

September 13, 2019September 14, 2019 Angela1 Comment

By Rosemary Archer. Harwood has the distinction of being the oldest Arabian stud in Britain. It was founded in 1896 when Colonel F. Lyon of Horsham, Sussex, bought the four year-old mare Howa at the 8th Crabbet Sale. Howa was a great-granddaughter of the Blunt’s well-known mare Hagar, which they bought in Arabia and rode on their desert journeys, and her sire was Azrek, one of the Blunt’s finest imports.

Risslina (Rafeef x Rissla) 1926 chestnut mare. Photo from the Crabbet Arabians by Cecil Covey.

Margaret Murray and the Painswick Lodge Stud: Part 1, 1932-1967

August 25, 2019 Angela1 Comment

By Emma Bennett. Perhaps the inspiration to own and breed Arabs came from Margaret Murray seeing her mother drive a pair of South African Arabs in a phaeton, for in 1932 she bought a grey two-year-old colt from Mr. T.C. Armitage’s stud at Taunton in Somerset. This colt was Sahban, by *Aldebar 1864 (bred by the Prince of Wales) out of the Crabbet mare, Seriya (Skowronek x Somra). Sahban was the start of a long friendship between Margaret Murray and Tom Armitage who was president of the Arab Horse Society three times. Sabhan was used mainly on pony and Thoroughbred mares and only sired a few purebred foals as at that time Arabs were used mainly to improve other types of horses.

*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.

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.

Oran by Arlene Magid

April 30, 2019May 2, 2019 Angela1 Comment

By Arlene Magid. The worldwide influence of Oran cannot be overestimated. Champions and national winners trace to him in the United States, Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. He was noted for his strong back, size, outstanding presence, and for siring foals with extremely elegant forehands and excellent motion. For Crabbet breeders worldwide (as he did for Lady Wentworth), Oran represents an outcross line for Skowronek breeding.

Templars Stud, Lancashire – UK Summer 2000 Stud Tour

April 11, 2019April 11, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

By Georgia Cheer. Regrettably, I was unable to view Rachelle Newnham and Keith Barnes horses at Templars Stud as a foal had been ill and it was feared that I might possibly tread a germ onto another farm so it was decided for me not to visit. However, Rachelle had sent me this list of horses as of last summer 2000 and pedigrees which I have posted on the site.

Imperial Arabians, Wiltshire – UK Summer 2000 Stud Tour

April 6, 2019April 7, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

By Georgia Cheer. My experience as a guest of Barbara and Geoffrey Plaister was wonderful. Their hospitality and sincere love of their animals shows in every square foot in their home and in our discussions. I found myself wandering into the mare fields on my own just as one might find themselves sneaking another helping of a favorite dessert – the pleasure of these Crabbet mares was just that appetizing. When you have a chance to visit England you must schedule Imperial Arabian Stud as a must see.

UK Summer 2000 Stud Tour

April 6, 2019April 11, 2019 Angela2 Comments

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.

Pilgrimage to Crabbet Park – 2002 Crabbet Convention

March 24, 2019March 24, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

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.