Arabian Horse History - Domestic Bloodlines

DOMESTIC ARABIANSCMK'S EARLY BREEDERS
"Domestic Arabians" is the name given to ArabianAside from the Crabbet Park Stud and the Sheikh
horses bred in the United States. The bloodline forObeyd Stud, which were started by Lord and Lady
Domestic Arabians, like that of most AmericansBlunt of England, the other early breeders that would
themselves, is a melting pot of influences from all overbecome the foundation of the CMK trademark were
the world. However, the single most important event inbased in America:o Homer Davenport, whose 1906
the history of purebred Domestic Arabians was heldexpedition to Arabia had as its goal to bring home
on American soil.exceptional purebreds in order to produce a line of
THE 1893 CHICAGO WORLD'S FAIRunbeatable polo ponies. Peter B. Bradley financed the
Forty Arabian horses were exported from the desert,desert trek. He was a Boston industrialist who had
along with their Bedouin handlers, to be part of thebought many of the World's Fair stallions, including
Ottoman Empire exhibit at the Chicago World's Fair.Obeyran (AHR-2.) Upon Davenport's death in 1912, his
They made a huge impact on the American horsehorses became the property of Bradley, who
breeders who witnessed them at the fair.continued to breed Davenport Arabians up to the
SULTAN ABDUL HAMID II1920's.o Spencer Borden traveled to Egypt soon after
Abdul Hamid II was, from 1876 to 1909, the sultan ofhis exposure to the Arabian horses at the Chicago
the Ottoman Empire, and he maintained a stud ofWorld's Fair. He founded the Interlachen Stud with his
Arabian horses whose ancestry was wellimportation of 20 horses between 1898 and 1911.o
documented. The Arabian Horse Club of AmericaWilliam Robinson Brown was an early player on the
registered two of his stallions, *Leopard and *LindenDomestic Arabian scene, establishing the Maynesboro
Tree, after he donated them to President Ulysses S.Stud in New Hampshire in 1912. The financial
Grant. The Hamidie Hipppodrome Society was a groupdevastation of the great depression required him to sell
of wealthy Arab investors which took its name fromhis 33 horses, imported from Crabbet Park, Egypt and
the Sultan and in which he had an interest. TheFrance, to the other major breeders of the time:
Hamidie Society sponsored the equestrian portion ofKellogg Ranch, William Randoph Hearst, Roger Selby
the Ottoman Empire exhibit at the 1893 Chicagoand J.M. Dickinson, among others.o Albert W. Harris
World's Fair, and the Sultan contributed two of hiswas a Chicago banker whose Maynesboro-purchased
prized horses. He later permitted the exportation ofhorse won the first major endurance race held in the
desert-bred Arabian mares to America as a favor toUnited States. Harris established the Kemah Arabian
President Theodore Roosevelt.Farm with a Davenport import, and descendants of his
THE FATE OF THE WORLD'S FAIR HORSESfarm are called "Harris Arabians."o Randolph Huntington
Financial difficulties forced the Hamidie Society to sellof Oyster Bay, New York left his mark on the
all the horses from the Ottoman exhibit at the end ofDomestic Arabian by breeding his imported
the World's Fair. Many of the horses put up for saledesert-bred mare *Naomi to President Grant's
were young stallions. One mare among the HamidieLeopard. They produced Anazeh, the sire of foals
horses was a grey beauty named Nejdme, whowho still appear in the pedigrees of modern Domestic
commanded $1200 at auction, an enormous price for aArabians. Khaled 5 was another important sire bred by
horse at the time. She was bought by J.A.P. Ramsdell,Huntington.o W.K. Kellogg, the cereal magnate, founded
and went on to become the dam of eleven registeredthe Kellogg Ranch in Pomona, California in 1925. He
foals. Her blood is a common factor in many Domesticbegan with imports from Crabbet Park, and held
Arabians.weekend exhibitions of his highly schooled Arabian
THE REPORTER WHO LOVED NEJDMEhorses, spreading the popularity of the breed. Many of
Homer Davenport was a journalist covering thehis horses sired champions.o The Roger Selby Stud,
World's Fair for the Chicago Herald. He developed abased in Portsmouth Ohio, was just as important in the
fascination with the Arabian horses on display, andEast. Many of Selby's horses were well-known, prolific
spent years after their auction tracking them downsires, especially Skowronek's son *Raffles, a grey
and studying their ancestry. He bought two ofstallion imported from Crabbet in 1932. *Raffles was
Nejdme's foals and founded the Davenport Desertinfluential in the development of the Domestic Arabian,
Arabian Studs. One of Davenport's political cartoonsbegetting 122 foals.o An eclectic breeder was J.M.
had helped Theodore Roosevelt win the 1904 election.Dickinson, a Brigadier General who founded Traveler's
In return, Roosevelt lent his political clout to Davenport'sRest Farm in 1930 on his family's estate in Franklin,
expedition to the desert in 1906. The result was thatTennessee. An accomplished horseman, General
Davenport was able to not only bring back a quantityDickinson blended Kellogg, Maynesboro, Crabbet and
of stud colts, which were easy to obtain, but also eightHarris stock, as well as direct imports from Egypt,
purebred mares. Mares were illegal to export andBrazil and Poland. Along with Selby and Brown,
required special permission from the Sultan. By 1910,General Dickinson meticulously catalogued his breeding
Davenport had bought Nejdme, had imported Crabbetherd.o William Randolph Hearst, the storied newspaper
Park Arabians, and was well on his way to becomingmagnate, established one of the largest herds of
one of the best-known breeders of Domestic ArabianArabians at San Simeon from the 1930's until his death
horses. "Davenport Arabians" are direct descendantsin 1951. His first horses were procured from
of his horses.Maynesboro and Traveler's Rest.
THE ARABIAN HORSE REGISTRYTHE EXPANSION OF THE BREED
In 1908, Davenport and his colleagues formed theHenry Babson saw his first purebred Arabians as a
Arabian Horse Registry of America. Nejdme was theyoung man working at the Chicago World's Fair. But it
first horse listed, as AHR-1. The number of horseswas not until he was 57 years old that he began his
registered with the AHR was half a million by 1994.stud farm in Grand Detour, Illinois, with the purchase of
Today, the number of Arabian horses registered inseven purebred Arabian horses from Egypt. Babson
North America exceeds that of all the rest of theimported Polish Arabians a few years later, but by
world put together.1960, he decided to adhere to Egyptian bloodlines
THE CMK TRADEMARKexclusively, and sold off all of his non-Egyptian Arabian
CMK is a working preservationist movement andstock. The descendants from his Egyptian Arabian
trademark, the letters standing for Crabbetbreeding program are known as "Babson Arabians."
Maynesboro Kellogg. In 1982, the first CMK catalogueIn 1945, the U.S. Army evacuated, to the Kellogg
declared that it was listing stallions whose pedigreeRanch, a small group of Polish Arabians that had been
traced at least 75% to the foundation stock of theheld by the German army. Among the evacuees was
following breeders: Crabbet Park Stud in England and*Witez II, who had been sired by Ofir out of Federacja.
the Sheykh Obeyd Stud in Cairo; the Hamidie SocietyAlthough his parents were shipped off to found the
horses from the World's Fair; Homer Davenport;Tersk stud in Russia, *Witez II found his fortune in
Spencer Borden; W.R. Brown; Randolph Huntington;America. He sired 223 foals in his lifetime, making a
W.K. Kellogg; Roger Selby; William Randolph Hearst;significant contribution to the bloodlines of the Domestic
and J.R. Dickinson.Arabian horse.
A CMK Arabian must trace in tail female to aBazy Tankersley imported 32 Crabbet Arabians in
purebred family established before 1950 in North1957, and became an important breeder of the CMK
America, and to a CMK sire line in tail male.bloodlines.