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?

The Early Beginnings of Crabbet Park Stud
Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Isabella Noel King were married in London on June 8th, 1869. The Blunt family had been landowners in Sussex, in southern England, since the middle of the seventeenth century. Wilfrid and Lady Anne’s early travels to the desert were made to seek “some of the true breed of Arab mares ... ”1
On December 14th, 1877, Lady Anne Blunt wrote in her journal: “We have made a plan...of importing some of the best Anazeh blood to England and breeding it pure there... it would be an interesting and useful thing to do and I should like much to try it.”2 So, on Christmas Day in 1877, the Blunt’s were able to purchase their first mare, Dajania, in the desert city of Aleppo. By the following year, Crabbet Park Stud was founded by the Blunts.
Their desert acquisitions began to number and soon many horses were shipped back to the Crabbet Park grounds, near what is modern day Crawley, in Sussex. After generations of breeding Arabians, and selling their horses to many private breeders and foreign dignitaries, the Blunt’s stock was soon carrying the Crabbet name and qualities throughout the world. The breeding program eventually passed onto the Blunts daughter, Judith, better known to the world as Lady Wentworth, who is still to this day arguably the most intelligent and widely admired Arabian horse breeder of all time.

The First U.S. Importations
The first major importation’s to America were made by W.R. Brown of Maynesboro stud. He imported 18 Crabbet Arabians in 1918, although several individual breeders had imported one or two Crabbet Arabians earlier. In 1926, W.K. Kellogg purchased 16 Arabians from Crabbet Park Stud (including *Raseyn, half brother to *Raffles by Skowronek). Another significant importation came in 1930 when Roger Selby of Ohio brought nine Crabbet Arabians, one being the famous *Mirage.3
After the death of Lady Wentworth in 1957, Bazy Tankersley of Al-Marah Arabians purchased 16 Crabbet Arabians, which were imported later that year. Most of these Crabbet Arabians preceded the popular importation’s in the 1960s from Poland, the most notable Polish import being *Bask. Bask received considerable success as a sire when put to Crabbet mares.
But in this article I will focus on three influential Crabbet stallions who were prepotent sires of champions: *Serafix, *Silver Vanity and *Raffles. These were the three Crabbet stallions, in my opinion, that have had the most influence on the breed, although there are so many other Crabbet stallions and mares who have also made their substantial mark. Each one of these three stallions was bred at Crabbet Park by the Right Honorable Lady Wentworth. (You can learn more about Crabbet Park Stud from the book “The Crabbet Arabian Stud, It’s History and Influence,” by Archer, Covey and Pearson. This book is a must for every Crabbet Arabian owner, and is quoted in this article.)

A Writer’s Perspective
But how is it that I have been asked to discuss this fascinating subject? Well, I’m the publisher of The Crabbet Influence in Arabians Today magazine, which I started in 1983 based on my interest in Arabians of Crabbet lineage. Through the years of publishing this magazine, I have attended many of the largest shows in the U.S. along with the British Nationals. Over the years, I have become well acquainted with many Crabbet breeders in the U.S, England and Australia, where I have traveled extensively in all these countries evaluating horses, attending seminars, studying horses both at farms and in the show ring, and writing articles. Naturally, I have owned Crabbet Arabian broodmares, chosen stallions for them, raised their foals, and shown them. I have also judged horse shows arranged by Crabbet clubs.

*SERAFIX 8955
The chestnut *Serafix 8955, was foaled in 1949. His sire was Raktha, and his dam Serafina. Raktha was a prominent sire at Crabbet, and was also the sire of Indian Magic, Rithan, and *Serafix’s full brother, *Silver Drift. Serafina was also the dam of Oran Van Crabbet. *Serafix was imported in 1954 by John Rogers of Walnut Creek, CA.
*Serafix sired 119 champions, 41 of which were National winners from among his 257 registered foals, with a champion percentage of 46%. At one time, *Serafix was the leading sire of champions in the United States.
To quote Jim Panek, a Nationals judge and Arabian horse breeder, “*Serafix was truly a magnificent specimen. At that time I didn’t know or care how good an Arabian he was; it was his magic, his charisma, his bloom, his attitude, his indescribable “noblesse oblige” that, in my eyes, has yet to be duplicated. It was only later, after I became a more serious student of the breed, that I realized that, along with all of the things that tugged at one’s heart, *Serafix was truly everything one could want in a breeding stallion. He was beautiful, typey, and refined. He had excellent conformation. He had so much quality that his skin was like tissue paper, and his veins showed through as if they were meant to be studied. He seemed a tall horse - with substance, masculinity, and power.”4
*Serafix had an incredible impact on the Arabian breed, and this was because he sired so many champions from all the different bloodlines that were put to him, whether it be Polish, Egyptian, Russian or American. This is a true mark of a breeding stallion - that he can sire consistently and better than himself the majority of the time. *Serafix was known to have a fiery presence, and a regal, dynamic way of going that made an impression on all who saw him.