Tag: English

Ben Rabba: An Exceptional Influence on the British Arabian

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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.

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Ben Rabba, photo provided by Jewell Cantrell.

Cantrell Arabs and the ‘Ben Rabba Collection’

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By Pamela Biery. Many years ago, between appointments and errands, I went by Cantrell Arabians hoping to see the latest foal crop. Standing by the fence with Jewell Cantrell chatting about this and that, I suddenly felt a chill. We were surveying some fifteen to twenty Ben Rabba daughters, granddaughters and old-line Crabbet mares. I looked again at the pasture dotted with exquisite mares and back to Jewell, shaking my head. I was astounded not only by the beauty of the scene, but by the potential impact of the ‘Ben Rabba Collection’ on Crabbet breeding.

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