Hanstead Stud Archives

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 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.

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.

Three Great Crabbet Sires: Serafix, Silver Vanity and *Raffles

April 13, 2019May 3, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

By Georgia Cheer. Have you ever wondered what is so special about the Crabbet Arabian? Could it be their wonderful dispositions, their tractable minds or tremendous athletic ability, their prepotence for passing these characteristics through several generations, or that they excel in everything they are put to? Well, you could say that about nearly all Arabians, but here in the United States, Crabbet Arabians were some of the earliest and largest imports to our country, going back to 1893 when the bay stallion *Bedr 239 (Azrek x Bozra) was imported by W.H. Forbes. Altogether, about 145 Crabbet Arabians were brought to the U.S. from the years 1893 to 1976. So, what was the origination of the Crabbet Arabian?

Azrek GSB 70 (A Saqlawi Jidran DB). Grey stallion purchased in the desert in the spring of 1887 and imported to England in 1888.

Queen of Sheba and Azrek

March 19, 2019March 19, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

By Alexia Ross. The word ‘Crabbet’ conjures visions of the gaudy, flaxen chestnuts preferred by Lady Wentworth but the Blunt legacy also came in other shades and types. The elegant bays and browns descended from Queen of Sheba and Azrek were one inheritance whose survival owes much to breeders outside Crabbet Park.

A Resume of the Influence of Crabbet on South African Horse Breeding

February 9, 2019March 13, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

By Rosemary Archer. There were no horses in South Africa until the second half of the 17th century when some were brought in from Java. Two or three hundred years previously, Arab traders had taken horses to Java and it was the descendants of these which were the first to be imported into South Africa. During the two centuries following the arrival of these ‘Java’ horses, others came from Persia and then from South America, the latter being descended from Arabians and Barbs.

The Most Beautiful Little Horse

February 3, 2019February 6, 2019 AngelaLeave a Comment

By Alexia Ross. “That is the most beautiful little horse I have ever seen.” This was the comment of Sir Alfred Munnings on seeing Naseel at Roehampton. A legend in his own time, Naseel was one of the few examples of close double breeding to Skowronek to remain in the British Isles. Yet, circumstances conspired to make his descendants today more conspicuous for quality than quantity.