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

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.

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Oran by Arlene Magid

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.

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