By Carol Woodbridge Mulder © originally published in the July August 1990 issue of The Crabbet Influence in Arabians Today.
Among the many horse farms located in the beautiful Santa Ynez Valley, Santa Barbara County, California, is one with a rather unusual breeding program of special interest.
Andrew G. Sharf, M.D., and his wife, Maureen, own the Sharf Ranch. In 1969 Dr. Sharf imported the first Arabian horse ever brought to America from Australia.
In 1970 he imported two more from Australia and one from New Zealand. Today the Sharf herd of about 30 Arabians contains many descendants of this stock.
Dr. Sharf, a vascular surgeon, always liked horses as a boy. While growing up, he spent his summers on farms with horses. Most of his youthful experience was with Quarter Horses and Appaloosas.
Mrs. Sharf also has loved horses from childhood. She bought her first horse at an auction before she was married and learned the hard way that the poor animals had problems and had been drugged for the sale. Her next attempt at owning horses was a half-Arabian.
The Sharfs bought their first purebred Arabian in 1967 from Bud and Louise Adams in New Mexico. This horse was the 1960 chestnut gelding Hasann 16824 (Hasarip 3025 x Tamaran 7098).
The Sharfs found Hasann so well suited to their requirements that they bought, that same year, two more Arabians from Mr. and Mrs. Adams: the 1967 grey colt Mrauder 40997 (Ibn Mraff 12295 x Meteza 8020) and the 1959 grey mare Musette 15010 (Mujahid 9083 x Alican 3466).
Soon after he was named a junior champion in 1967, the 1964 chestnut colt Elsinor Bodacious 27831 (*Muzulmanin 20465 x Alleyna 2612) was purchased from Charles Doner of California. In March 1990 when I visited the Sharf Ranch, Elsinor Bodacious, then aged 25, was the oldest of the four current Sharf stallions.
It was a special thrill for me to see this son of the great broodmare Alleyna whom I had known well when I was a young woman.
The Arabians the Sharfs owned by the end of 1967 were domiciled at the Tule Peak Ranch the Sharfs then owned. It consisted of some 1400 acres of high desert land in Riverside County, California.
There were spacious natural grass pastures and irrigated acreage where alfalfa was raised. Ben Zarate was the ranch manager and trainer.
Duties connected with Dr. Sharf's profession sometimes took him to other parts of the world. Kim Conley, a good friend, had told the Sharfs about the Crabbet blood carried by many Australasian Arabians so when Dr. Sharf was in Australia in 1968 he managed to make time to see some of these horses and bought one.
*Silver Moonlight 53652 was the first Arabian to come to North America from Australia. He arrived in the United States on March 21, 1969, more than two months before the second Australian import, *Ralvon Sundowner 61142, was brought over by Wayne Newton on June 10, 1969.
*Silver Moonlight was a grey foaled January 28, 1949. He was bred by Crabbet Stud in England where he was foaled. He was taken to Australia in 1951 by Mrs. A.D.D. MacLean for her Fenwick Stud in Victoria.
*Silver Moonlight's next Australian owner was Sir Clarence Legget, Oxford Stud, Queensland. Later he was owned by the Queensland Agricultural High School and College, Lawes, Queensland.
Between the years 1951 and 1961, *Silver Moonlight won all the Royal Shows in Victoria at Melbourne, in New South Wales at Sydney, and in Queensland at Brisbane.
*Silver Moonlight had a good reputation in Australia; he was successful and popular. He had begun his stud career in Australia soon after his arrival there at age 2 and he continued in stud service up to the time of his export to America.
During his 18 years in Australia, *Silver Moonlight got 75 purebred foals - 39 sons and 36 daughters.
*Silver Moonlight was 20 when he arrived in California. Dr. Sharf wanted to give his aged treasure the best possible chance at stud. The Sharfs had purchased the outstanding 1964 grey mare Myla 27945 (Farlowa 8545 x Gamyla 4261) and she was bred to *Silver Moonlight.
Dr. Sharf made an arrangement with Heritage Hills Arabians, Inc., Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, and eight of their fine mares produced 1970 foals by *Silver Moonlight. Four outside mares came to the horse.
*Silver Moonlight stood only one season in the United States because he tragically died early in the fall of 1969. He had been given a sulpha medication for a cold, but there was a drop in his white count and he died.
All of *Silver Moonlight's 13 American foals were born in 1970, the year after his death. There were 11 fillies and only two colts. *Silver Moonlight's total number of get, on both sides of the world, was 88 of which 47% were colts and 53% fillies.
*Silver Moonlight was superbly well bred. His sire, Indian Magic, considered the best of the latter day Crabbet sires. A grey, he combined his unusually large size of 15.2 ½ hands with beautiful classic Arabian type.
Indian Magic's 1972 death, at age 28, marked the final end of the illustrious breeding history of Crabbet Stud. *Silver Moonlight was one of seven Indian Magic sons to come to North America.
*Silver Moonlight's dam, Silver Fire, also grey, was one of the best Crabbet matrons of her era. *Silver Moonlight was one of only two of her sons to come to North America and Dr. Sharf brought the other one too.
Probably the most interesting feature of *Silver Moonlight's pedigree was his linebreeding to the great and beautiful Skowronek son Naseem. *Silver Moonlight was the product of a Naseem grandson put to a Naseem daughter.
Naseem, noted particularly for the excellence of his head and neck, attained world influence. He was not only a great sire in England, but also in Russia where he went in 1936.
After *Silver Moonlight's death, the Sharfs determined to try again. By means of correspondence they found *Silver Sparklee 67109 in New Zealand, he was called Silver Sparkle in New Zealand and his native England.
The extra 'e' was added to his name in the United States because the American Arabian stud books already had a different Silver Sparkle recorded. The Sharfs bought *Silver Sparklee by telephone, sight unseen, on the basis of photographs which had been sent to them.
They were particularly impressed with a picture showing a child riding him. They were also impressed with the beauty of his head and neck as shown in the pictures. *Silver Sparklee arrived in the United States by air - as had *Silver Moonlight in 1969 - on February 11, 1970. He was accompanied by *Ranald 67110.
*Silver Sparklee was then 23 years old. A grey, he was foaled January 22, 1947. He was bred by and foaled at Crabbet Stud in England. He was a half-brother to *Silver Moonlight out of the same dam, the glorious Silver Fire.
*Silver Sparklee was sired by the chestnut Oran bred by Lady Yule, but of 100% Crabbet lineage and a leading sire at Crabbet. *Silver Sparklee was something similar to a three-quarter brother to *Silver Vanity 22555; they were by the same sire and *Silver Sparklee's dam was *Silver Vanity's second dam.
*Silver Sparklee was sold by Lady Wentworth in 1948, as a yearling, to William Booth, Carterton, North Island, New Zealand. The price was reputedly 1,500 pounds sterling. Mr. Booth, a retired merchant, stood *Silver Sparklee at public stud; his ads for the horse reportedly contained the exclusion "no common mares entertained."
In 1965, when he was 18, *Silver Sparklee was acquired by Lester Marshall for his Holly Farm. It was from Mr. Marshall that the Sharfs bought *Silver Sparklee.
During *Silver Sparklee's nearly 22 years in New Zealand he got many half-Arabian foals, but only 19 purebreds. Of these, 9 were sons and 20 were daughters; through some of these get *Silver Sparklee has descendants today in Australia as well as in New Zealand.
*Silver Sparklee got only two foals, both colts, in California before his sudden and dismaying death caused by an arterial aneurysm in the late spring of 1970. His two 1972 American sons were both bred by Ernest C. Golden, California, who had also bred two of the American *Silver Moonlight foals.
Only one of *Silver Sparklee's American sons bred on - GF Silver Mirage 70207. Because they bred no *Silver Sparklee foals from the horse before his death, the Sharfs have none of his blood today.
Among those with whom Dr. Sharf corresponded in late 1969, after *Silver Moonlight's death, was L.A. Campbell, Santarabia Stud, Luddenham, New South Wales. Mr. Campbell offered Dr. Sharf two stallions, *Ranald 67110 and *Crescentt 67111.
The pedigrees of both are 100% Crabbet although both were bred by Mrs. A.D.D. MacLean, Fenwick Stud. If one goes back in the pedigrees, the ancestors are all found to also be ancestors of American Crabbet descendants, but it is of interest to see the different ways the blood was combined by a different breeder in a different country; this individuality is what eventually gives a breeding program a more or less personalized stamp reflecting the dreams of the breeder.
*Ranald was a bay marked with a small star, left front fetlock, right front coronet, and socks both hind. He was foaled October 23, 1961, and was, therefore, 8 years old when he arrived in the United States.
His sire was the bay *Riffal, bred by Lady Yule in England and exported to Mrs. MacLean in Australia in 1947 at age 11. *Riffal was surely one of the tallest Arabs on authentic record; he stood 16.0 ¼ hands.
In his prime *Riffal was a handsome horse. He had important success as a sire in both England and Australia; among his English sons was the very important Crabbet sire Oran. *Ranald's dam was *Rizala, a chestnut bred by Crabbet Stud and taken to Australia by Mrs. MacLean as a 4 year old in 1947.
*Ranald was used on some of Mr. Campbell's own mares in Australia and got winning stock. In the United States, he sired a total of 28 foals over a span of thirteen stud seasons.
His first get arrived in 1971 and his last in 1983. He had 14 sons and 14 daughters. Four of his 1971 and 1972 get were out of the Heritage Hills mares which had originally been shipped to California for *Silver Moonlight.
Two others were the results of outside breedings of which one was an Ernest Golden mare. All the other *Ranald get were bred by the Sharfs and some were out of *Silver Moonlight and *Crescentt daughters.
*Ranald died in the fall of 1988 at age 27. He had been bathed and then turned out in his large grassed paddock. He capered about with such verve that Mrs. Sharf watched him from the window of the house, enjoying his happiness.
A short time later she again went to the window to see what he was doing and she saw him lying quietly dead, apparently from a heart attack.
*Crescentt did not come to the United States with *Silver Sparklee or *Ranald. He arrived separately more than a month later, on March 28, 1970. He was shipped by sea aboard the Stratus which put in at San Pedro, California, after a voyage of three weeks.
The ship had passed through a terrific ocean storm. *Crescentt traveled in a box with a window and was cared for by a sailor who accompanied the horse all the way to the Tule Peak Ranch.
In Australia, *Crescentt's name was Crescent. The extra 't' had to be added to his name in the United States because there was a prior Crescent already registered with Arabian Horse Registry of America, Inc.
Foaled October 1, 1962, *Crescentt was 7 years old when he came to America. A chestnut, he was marked with a blaze, right front fetlock, and right hind three-quarter stocking.
He was sired by *Sindh, a chestnut *Silver Vanity son. *Sindh was bred by Crabbet Stud in England and was taken to Australia as a 3 year old in 1961 by Mrs. A.D.D. MacLean; *Crescentt was from *Sindh's first foal crop. *Sindh reportedly stood a very tall 15.3 hands.
He became one of the foremost Arabian stallions of his time in Australia. *Crescentt's chestnut dam, Carla, was bred by Mrs. MacLean from two English imports to Australia - *Shafreyn from Crabbet and *Carlina from Lady Yule. An interesting feature of *Crescentt's pedigree is that he was a double great-grandson of the mare Sharfina who was herself a double granddaughter of the stallion Shareer.
*Crescentt also carried another line to Shareer via *Royal Diamond 12906 who was a great-grandson of that horse; in other words, *Crescentt's maternal grandsire, Shafreyn, was distinctly linebred to Shareer with three crosses to him within four generations.
This multiple use of Shareer as seen in *Crescentt's pedigree is unusual for the United States and Mrs. MacLean's choice to breed a Sharfina grandson to a Sharfina granddaughter was, in itself, rather unusual.
In addition to his Royal Show wins already mentioned, *Crescentt was Reserve Champion at a Royal Show before he was 4 years old and the next year was named Australian National Show Champion Stallion.
*Crescentt was trained to ride.
In Australia *Crescentt was used on some of Mr. Campbell's own mares and got winning stock. *Crescentt got a total of 28 foals in the United States; there were 18 colts and 10 fillies.
This was 64% colts and 36% fillies. He was used at stud for eleven seasons from the years 1970 through 1980; his foals arrived from 1971 through 1981. Six of his foals were from the arrangement with Heritage Hills with their mares and two foals were bred by the Sharfs.
Some of these were from *Silver Moonlight daughters, but none were from *Ranald mares. Endurance people have liked *Crescentt stock.
*Crescentt died in 1980, at age 18, of an obstruction and resulting colic.
After the death of his owner, Dr. Sharf rescued the 1953 chestnut stallion Witezan 8552 (*Witez II 3933 x Gezana 4074) from a starving situation. This superbly well bred horse had won many championships in American shows.
Witezan was a horse of truly outstanding type and quality, one of the best sons of his great sire. Witezan became the first American Arabian stallion exported to Australia.
He went L.A. Campbell, Santarabia Stud; thus Mr. Campbell sent two stallions to America and replaced them with one American horse.
In 1982 the Sharfs moved all of their horses to their present ranch at Santa Ynez. From this lovely place, of some 20 more or less flat acres, one sees wonderful views of the distant mountains forming the valley.
The ranch has its own well and there are 12 acres of irrigated permanent pastures. There are 34 stalls, each measuring 12 x 14 feet, in two different barns, one of which also houses the breeding facilities. There is a special horse laundry and a marvelous Aqua Tred, besides the usual exercise walker.
Mike Murillo manages the Sharf Ranch at Santa Ynez. He has been with the family since August 1978. In his native Mexico, Mike's father was a wood chopper who used donkeys and mules in the mountains.
Not only is Mike Murillo particularly good with the management, direction, and handling of the Sharf horses which are all superbly kept under happy and most pleasing conditions, but he is also exceptional at the general ranch management and supervision.
As a ranch visitor, I was further impressed by Murillo's knowledge of the horses and their histories.
The beautiful Sharf daughter, Sheri, has done a lot of successful showing of the ranch stock and is a very capable horsewoman. She has been a tremendous asset to the Sharf program.
As of March 25, 1990, there were seventeen Arabs at the Sharf Ranch carrying the blood of the imports from Austalia. They were:
Moonlight Apollo 67674, 1970 grey stallion. By *Silver Moonlight x Juna 16760 (Fadjur 7668 x Fer-Natta 6329).
Moonlight Miss 67668, 1970 grey mare. By *Silver Moonlight x Bint Fern-Natta 15612 (Fadjur 7668 x Fer-Natta 6329).
Moonlight Fame 64798, 1970 grey mare. By *Silver Moonlight x Myla 27945 (Farlowa 8545 x Gamyla 4261).
Cresta 82710, 1972 grey mare. By *Crescentt x Myla 27945 (Farlowa 8545 x Gamyla 4261).
Crista 101474, 1973 bay mare. By *Crescentt x Myla 27945 (Farlowa 8545 x Gamyla 4261).
Moonsera 112818, 1974 chestnut mare. By Moonlight Apollo (*Silver Moonlight) x Sera-Lu 36478 (*Serafix 8955 x Electra Lu 19302).
Silver Taffy 129646, 1975 grey mare. By *Silver Vanity 22555 (Oran x Silver Gilt) x Moonlight Fame (*Silver Moonlight). Silver Taffy has been sold since March 25th.
Sharinda 160047, 1977 chestnut mare. By *Crescentt x Sharfena 91794 (*Silver Vanity x Sera-Lu 36478).
Cristalle 160048, 1977 grey mare. By *Crescentt x Moonlight Fame (*Silver Moonlight).
Moon Chrissie 170327, 1978 grey mare. By Moonlight Apollo (*Silver Moonlight) x Crista (*Crescentt).
Moon Kari 170331, 1978 bay mare. By Moonlight Apollo (*Silver Moonlight) x Khreshara 42209 (Fadjur 7668 x Karredi 8503).
Moon Cassandra 190257, 1979 grey mare. By Moonlight Apollo (*Silver Moonlight) x Crista (*Crescentt).
Rasera 200307, 1979 bay mare. By *Ranald 67110 x Moonsera (Moonlight Apollo by *Silver Moonlight).
Nu Fanisha 320187, 1984 grey mare. By *Nuwas 244461 (Kilimanjaro x Nuwa) x Moonlight Fame (*Silver Moonlight).
AMS Premera 335996, 1985 bay mare. By *Pereth 290754 (Salah x Perina) x Ramera 231076 (*Ranald x Moonsera by Moonlight Apollo, son of *Silver Moonlight).
AMS Pearlessence 336337, 1985 grey mare. By *Pereth 290754 (Salah x Perina) x Silver Taffy (out of Moonlight Fame by *Silver Moonlight). This mare has been leased out since march 25th.
AMS Fames Fancy 415535, 1988 grey filly. By *Nuwas 244461 (Kilimajaro x Nuwa) x Moonlight Fame (*Silver Moonlight)
Two grey stallions have been imported from Germany by Dr. Sharf for use on the descendants of the Australian imports and the other Sharf mares. They are:
*Nuwas 244461, foaled in 1981. Bred by S. and H. Garde-Ehlert, Overath, West Germany. Imported December 12, 1981 at age almost ten months. Sire: Kilimanjaro (Aswan x Karta). Dam: Nuwa (Nuri Schalan x Nika).
*Pereth 290754, foaled in 1977. Bred by Wolfgang and Ingeburg Thorner, Melle, West Germany. Imported on September 7, 1983, at age 6. Sire: Salah (Ghazal x Seseneb). Dam: Perina (Kilimanjaro x Peri).
It was a most pleasurable experience for me to visit the Sharf Ranch, meet the Sharf family and Mike Murillo, and to follow through on the results of Dr. Sharf's importations of Crabbet blood from Australia.
**All of the articles included in the re-launched Crabbet.com site from the original website, Georgia Cheer, Silver Monarch Publishing and The Crabbet Influence magazine are shared here with permission of Georgia Cheer given May 16, 2012.**
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