IN SEARCH OF THE CRABBET ARABIAN IN HIS OWN LAND
By Coralie Gordon

Like eager pilgrims we had journeyed from many parts of the world - from Australia and Argentina, New Zealand and South Africa, Sweden and Holland, Germany and the United States. All drawn by our mutual passion - for the Crabbet Arabian Horse.

THE VISIT TO CRABBET PARK

And like pilgrims, on the Friday before the Convention proper commenced, we turned first to our hallowed ground, the famous Crabbet Park at Crawley where the whole adventure began almost 125 years ago. Readers of Lady Anne and Lady Wentworth's books would all recognize the magnificent old house, the tennis court [now known as The Orangerie], the old stables and the Coronation Stables with the famous archway which has framed several generations of Crabbet Arabians and their breeders. To us foreign visitors there is a familiarity about the property, even though massive and intrusive inroads have been made by the motorway, the new housing estates and the modern hotel at the front entrance. The dull roar of the traffic may be never far away, and the fields with their beautiful established trees may be mostly just a pleasant memory, but this is Crabbet where those first desert importations - Kars, Lady Hester [Dajania], Palmyra [Hagar], Jerboa, Wild Thyme and Zenobia [Burning Bush] - clattered up from the station at Three Bridges on the 2nd of June 1878, to found the most famous Arabian Stud in the world.

Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Isabella Noel King had been married in London on the 8th of June 1869. They lived first at Newbuildings Place, another famous home in the annals of the Crabbet Stud, but in 1872 on the death of his brother Francis, Blunt inherited the estates of both Crabbet and Newbuildings. The "old mansion" at Crabbet had been largely torn down, leaving just an old wing to which Blunt's father had added a few rooms.

The Blunts now decided to rebuild entirely the main portion of the house and together they drew up their own designs. Apart from the Portland stone facings, local materials were used. The bricks were made in their own brickyard and the roof of Horsham stone slates. The timber came from the estate and only local labour was used. Today Crabbet, a listed building, stands as a monument to their combined abilities. `The Crabbet Arabian Stud, Its History and Influence' - Rosemary Archer, 1978.

The old house still stands impressively in its grounds. I last saw it over 20 years ago and it seems largely unaltered except for the establishment of more formal gardens. Hundreds of photographs, this time with enthusiastic Convention delegates clustered in the foregrounds, have circumnavigated the world once more! The tennis court was a real surprise. On my last visit it was derelict with crumbling brickwork, broken windows, and saplings growing up through the roof. Today it has been beautifully restored and is being used as an office. The stables are a different story. The original Blunt [wooden] stables seem weary and untouched, while the Coronation Stables are no longer as pristine as they were. The well-known Arabian horse weather-vane has vanished from the arched brick Gatehouse. The wall which formed a backdrop to the Parades, and where Lady Wentworth photographed her horses, is still there although a carpark replaces the lawns of old. It was interesting to observe the reactions of the delegates. Some approached the visit almost in awe, others were deeply moved by the experience of being there at Crabbet at last. I know some of our British hosts had mixed feelings about taking us to see it in this condition, but to my mind it was never a mistake. It was, in fact, essential, and a perfect starting-point for what proved to be a very well-planned and successful Convention. We rounded out our Crawley experience that first day with a visit to the Worth Church which is over 1000 years old.

From the cocktail party which welcomed us, to the farewell dinner which concluded the formal part of the Convention, the happy babble of voices from day's beginning to day's end, set the tone for a mutually beneficial exchange of information and ideas. However, for the Australians at least, the high point was to be the Parade of Horses on the Saturday at Merrist Wood Equestrian Centre. Australia has acquired almost all its Crabbet horses directly from England, and until fairly recent times, always has looked to the British breeders as a source of new blood. We had noted with concern, through the pages of the British Arab Horse Journal of late, the demise of Crabbet breeding in its homeland, therefore we had come to see what indeed was left of those famous families last paraded together in 1985. Our hopes were high and we were not disappointed.

THE PARADE

Our hosts had catalogued 111 Arabians in their family groups, as well as 36 ridden horses, some of which also appeared in their family groups. They came from all over England, from Scotland, Wales and even Ireland! I understand horses were `found' that were previously `unknown' or overlooked. This will hopefully be one of the positive legacies of the Convention.

The groupings were those of four famous Crabbet mare families as follows : RISSLA [7 groups - Indian Flame II, Gleaming Gold, Ludo, Farette, Irex, Irex plus Nuhra, Irex plus Sainfoin], RAZINA [3 groups - Indian Magic, Oran and Bright Shadow], NASRA [3 groups - Indian King plus Dargee, Indian King and Naseel] and my favourite SILVER FIRE [5 groups - Silver Grey, Imad, Prince Sadik, Hanif and Silver Ripple]. A more recent US influence, the stallion BEN RABBA [Rifnas] had his own group, while two living Premium Stallions, IMAD and PRINCE SADIK, were honoured with their own groups within the Silver Fire family. Indeed, Imad entered with the British flag to open the day, and proved to be one of the `stars' of both the Parade and the Stud Tour that followed!

It should be explained that not all the horses paraded were of `Pure Crabbet' or 100% Crabbet breeding. There has been some [largely] good-natured debate about a uniform Definition of Pure Crabbet for the whole world. The subject was introduced by Peter Upton at the 2000 Crabbet Convention in Melbourne, Australia, and fell largely on [if not deaf] fairly ambivalent ears, as we Australians accepted a Definition we were satisfied with twenty years ago, after considerable input from respected Crabbet breeders in England and America, and we are now 20 years `down the track' with our breeding programmes. Our Definition doesn't include horses that were not ever a part of Crabbet, even if related to some that were. It doesn't make sense to shift our goal-posts at this stage. We decided to `keep it simple', therefore the Australian Definition reads - `A Pure Crabbet Arabian Horse is one which traces in all lines of its pedigree to Arabian horses bred or owned by Lady Anne Blunt, Wilfrid Blunt, Lady Wentworth, Cecil Covey or The Crabbet Stud.' We also respect Carol Mulder's far more detailed Definition. The Crabbet Organization for the 2002 Convention adopted our simple Definition in choosing horses for the Parade. It works for us I think, because we also respect and pay due attention to what we call our `High Percentage Crabbet' or Crabbet-Related horses, for our purposes 75% Crabbet blood or more. They are our very best ambassadors and have taken the Crabbet cause a long way in the showring and performance areas. The 2002 Convention Parade included both 100% and 75% Crabbet horses, helpfully noted as such in the Catalogue.

The Catalogue itself is a fine thick volume - a virtual Report Card on the state of the genre in the UK - prefaced by stories from the United States [Robert J. Cadranell], Europe [Betty Finke], Australia [Russell Flynn] and the UK [Alexia Ross]. Alexia, together with Rosemary Archer, is to be congratulated on its production and I'm sure Arabian breeders everywhere will want one. My copy is certainly very well-thumbed already, and since I've been home, my visitors have been easy to entertain!

It was entirely appropriate that the Parade began with a presentation by Chairman Leslie Thacker to Rosemary Archer, whose research, writings, and personal encouragement, have done so much to buoy up enthusiasm for Crabbet horses all over the world. Her daughter Caroline Sussex followed the delegates all the way from registration to the end of the Stud Tour, an enormous effort which was much-appreciated by us all.

I cannot do justice to all the fine horses we saw paraded. I know I am looking forward to my Parade Video so I can re-visit them all. Most of the horses could have represented more than one `family' by virtue of their intertwined pedigrees but an effort had been made to group them where they best augmented that family's physical characteristics. This made for very satisfying groupings. Inserted between
the family groups were demonstrations by saddle horses, racehorses and endurance horses. These were visually imaginative and well-received. It is clear the British Crabbet horse is more than just a pretty face. The Finale, with an inspiring dressage sequence by the stallion PHA SILVERN RISALM, followed by a heart-stirring quadrille in costume where he was joined by four others, was a lot of fun!

THE CONFERENCE DAY

Leslie Thacker opened proceedings back at the Holiday Inn's conference room, co-incidentally on the very birthday of Lady Anne Blunt! I was the first speaker, generously allowed more than my allotted 45 minutes to introduce Australia's Crabbet Arabians. I was after all the bearer of good news. The Pure Crabbet Arabian is alive and well in quite significant numbers, in Australia. My task was to show what we have made today of the abundance of Crabbet lines we have imported in the past. I also wanted to pay tribute to some of our most esteemed breeders who have made it possible for us to have such a proliferation of quality Crabbet horses today.

It all began with Judge James Penn Boucaut of `Quambi Stud', the Governor of South Australia, who made two importations of three horses each from Crabbet, in 1891 and 1901. Remnants of his Stud have passed from breeder to breeder for over 100 years now. His imported mare NAMUSA [Ahmar/Narghileh] is the progenitor of our largest present-day Pure Crabbet mare family. Twelfth-generation descendants of the Namusa family have frequently figured in Australian National Championship winners and Top Tens of recent years, in halter and saddle.

Mrs ADD Maclean of `Fenwick Stud' [who is often called `the Lady Wentworth of Australia'] imported no less than 18 horses direct from Crabbet, from 1924 until 1951. They reflect all the various eras of Crabbet, setting a solid foundation on which our breeding programs have been built.

The horses were -

1924 M RAFINA [Rustem/Risala]

S RASEEL [Nureddin II/ Rafina*]

1935 S INDIAN LIGHT [Naseem/Nisreen]

M NASIRIEH [Skowronek/Nisreen]

1936 M NURALINA [Hazzam/Nasira]

1946 S FAYRIAL [Fayal/Raxina]

1947 M CARLINA [Rissam/Shamnar]

M RIZALA [Rissam/Ghezala]

S RIFFAL [Naufal/Razina]

1950 S ELECTRIC SILVER [Raktha/Silfina]

1951 S SILVER MOONLIGHT [Indian Magic/Silver Fire]

M GREY CORONET [Oran/Grey Royal]

1956 M ROSINELLA [Oran/Rosalina]

S ROSSFENNICK [Indian Magic/Rosinella*]

S SHAFREYN [Royal Diamond/Sharfina]

1959 M ROYAL RADIANCE [Royal Diamond/Silver Gilt]

S GREYLIGHT [Bright Shadow/Royal Radiance]

1961 S SINDH [Silver Vanity/Silfina]

Other Crabbet-Related importations such as the great stallions COUNT MANILLA [Count Dorsaz/Namilla] and ROYAL DOMINO [Blue Domino/Scherzade*] imported by Mrs Elwyn Bligh of `Bostocks Stud' account for some of our favourite show stallions such as International Champion RALVON PILGRIM. And today in Australia, the runaway popularity of the sport of Endurance has led to an unprecedented demand both within Australia and from overseas, for our very successful Crabbet saddle horses. Some amazing six-figure prices have been paid for proven horses! Our International teams frequently compete against Australian horses being ridden by teams such as the United Arab Emirates and Japan. Even as we began the Convention we had news that the Australian endurance team, gold medallists in the last World Equestrian Games in France, had taken bronze, riding sensibly for a team finish in the difficult conditions in Jerez, Spain! Our top rider placed 4th but an Australian-bred horse was the winner.

Following on the endurance theme, Alexia Ross spoke on the Endurance Bloodlines in the UK. It was interesting to see some of the correlations between the UK experience and ours, with some of the same bloodlines [Ludo/Blue Domino in the UK; Royal Domino in Australia] coming to the fore. There was a time when endurance riders didnít care much about the bloodlines of the horses they were riding - now they search out the same lines that have been successful for them in the past.

Michael Bowling, the well-known American geneticist and CMK [Crabbet/Maynesboro/Kellogg] breeder, who had just presented a paper on SCID at the WAHO Conference in Turkey, then spoke to us on the principles of Preservation Breeding. He encapsulated some important thoughts in his own precis: "Maximum genetic diversity is maintained, not by working with homogeneous populations, but by allowing subgroups to develop. Practical breeding groups may be a single large breeding program, a circle of co-operator breeders, or a defined subset of a breed. Any of those may develop finer substructure, as trends develop over time. Wilfrid Blunt himself wrote that it would be desirable to develop a sub-group at Crabbet with no Mesaoud, which would have allowed a built-in outcross for the future - but an outcross to the same kind of horse, Our task today would be far simpler if that kind of long-term plan had been implemented; our counterparts in the future will have breeding options defined by what we do in our turn." Also: "Traditionally the Arabian horse has been a highly selected using and companion animal: our goal in Arabian preservation breeding must be to select within our stock to combine the best traits of the traditional Arabian. By "improve" we mean, to produce better examples of the same kind of horse. We must not be led astray by the false notion of breed improvement which means to make the Arabian into a different kind of horse."

Michael also listed his thoughts on Potential Crabbet-Based Breeding Groups:

1. Straight Blunt

2. Straight Crabbet [ie. Pure or 100% Crabbet - my note]

Possible Sub-Groups - Blunt-Skowronek

- Dargee

- Dafina

- Mirage [Zirree el Wada]

- Algola

3. GSB

4. Crabbet-Old English

5. Open Pedigree [75% plus horses]

Gari Dill-Marlow, an Arabian breeder and researcher from the US, and Betty Finke from Germany, a photographer and editor of the German Trakhener Society magazine, had prepared a most interesting schedule of the percentages of Crabbet blood contained in modern Arabian horses of Europe and the US. Although it is a well-known fact that most Arabians, even Straight Egyptians, contain varying percentages of Crabbet blood, such was the far-reaching effects of Crabbet, it is fascinating to see the true extent of this. For instance, from 1958 to 2001, only 4 US National Champion Stallions did not have Crabbet blood. 98% of the National Champion Mares had Crabbet lines. All Straight Egyptians have 20 to 30% Crabbet blood. Allow me to just pluck out a few European showhorse examples from what was a very comprehensive survey - Monogramm 25%, Padron's Psyche 39%, El Shaklan 12 % plus [he would probably have
extra Crabbet blood if we knew which of the Veragua mares he descended from], Camargue 55%, Simeon Shai 31%, Kubinec 24%, Aliha 61%, SHF Pearlie Mae 53%, Balaton 27%, Rusleem 73.23%, Plakat 32%, Zazula 36%.

Having been despatched to round off the Conference with a human perspective rather than an equine one, Peter Upton proceeded to deliver incredibly detailed and fascinating profiles of Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt. He fleshed out their characters and diverse talents with alacrity, illustrating his presentation with an enormous collection of slides that included photographs, paintings and drawings, many of which we'd never seen before. Delivered with the customary Upton humour, it rounded out the Conference most satisfactorily.

THE STUD TOURS

Bright and early on the Monday morning, having said our reluctant farewells to those who were not continuing, we set out by coach on the first of our Stud Tours. Our hosts had arranged a wonderful variety of interesting Studs for our visits - starting in Sussex, winding through Gloucestershire and Wales, to Ireland.

The Studs were -

HARWOOD STUD - Monica Calvert and family

WORTH STUD - Rosemary and Elizabeth Archer

BINLEY STUD - Caroline Sussex

BIDDESDEN STUD - Finn Guinness and family

IMPERIAL STUD - Geoffrey Plaister

THE FOXBURY STUD - Caroline Murray

CWM FARM - John Coward

COED-Y-FOEL - Diana Whittome

KLINTA ARABIANS - Gunilla Hamer

We were met everywhere with hospitality and some excellent Crabbet horses, many of them of considerable vintage. I had not thought I would see KASADI again, and yet there he was at Harwood Stud, and we liked so many of his stock as we wound our way through the countryside. GENERAL GOLD was British Champion Stallion the last time I was in the UK, and there he stood golden and large-eyed, posing with his visitors at The Foxbury Stud. In a nearby box the Australians were happy to see BREMERVALE EMPEROR, 26 years young and obviously quite pleased with himself. At Biddesden, Finn Guinness' breeding experiments into Arabian sport horses were a revelation, especially with the success that same week of the Anglo Arabian TAMARILLO with the British eventing team at WEG. Geoffrey Plaister's large collection of Pure Crabbet horses was a joy, as I in particular found the descendants of the Dargee mare Zahri, whose daughter Zaria came to Australia and has had a huge influence in my own Stud. At Worth and Binley the on-going strengths of the Crabbet Silver families in pedigrees of the modern era were re-inforced by the regal SILVERN DREAM and her family, and by PRINCE SADIK and his ladies at Binley. The effervescent RUSLEEM charmed the socks off his visitors in Wales. What a magic horse! Later, at Diana Whittome's Coed-Y-Foel Stud IMAD, entering with the Welsh flag this time, allowed us a closer encounter with a stallion that proved very popular on this trip, particularly in combination with his progeny such as the quite outstanding mover, his son SORRENTO. It was significant that three of the most beautiful stallions we saw on our visits - Prince Sadik, Rusleem and Imad - are noted for their saddle achievements and are all Premium Stallions. Thus is the strength and versatility of the Crabbet Arabian!

Now we have returned home, inspired and reflecting thoughtfully on all we have seen.

That there is variety and quality still amongst the Crabbet Arabians of the UK is indisputable. Certainly some families are much-depleted as far as Pure Crabbet representation is concerned, but others are strong and vigorous. Concerns were expressed amongst Convention delegates that some of the excellent older stallions, now in their 20's, will be `lost' to the breed unless concerted efforts are made to breed them with as many of the best mares as possible, and also to preserve their genetic heritage through frozen semen for export and for later use at home. It is best to do this before the stallion is too old and his semen is unsuitable for freezing. There is really no time to lose. At the end of the world here in Australia we understand geographical isolation. While this has perversely protected our Crabbet lines in that we have not been bothered by some of the more extreme fads that have weakened great breeding lines elsewhere, we need to look outside our present gene pool, and AI is the way to go. British breeders are in the box seat as their Vets have an enviable reputation on our side of the world for their success with frozen semen. We also hope The Crabbet Organization, formed for the Convention, goes on to be a catalyst of renewed interest in the Crabbet Arabian `in his own country'. All over the world Crabbet horses are taking prominent positions as saddle horses, endurance horses, racehorses and sporthorses, useful and functional animals such as Lady Anne envisaged when she and Wilfrid brought the first of their Arabians from the desert.

As for the travellers, we went on a pilgrimage and found ourselves in the middle of a celebration. We are Australians after all!