A Brief History of the Crabbet Stud

Crabbet Arabian Stud was an Arabian breeding stud located in England founded by Wilfrid Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt July in 1878. On the Blunts’ early trips to the desert they obtained horses from Bedouin tribes, Sheykhs and other desert sources. Later the Blunts were able to purchase many horses from the Abbas Pasha and Ali Pasha Sherif breeding programs in Egypt. Mesaoud (Ali Pasha Sherif) was a foundation stallion who has significant influence on bloodlines around the world. Most Pure Crabbet horses today carry 10-25% Mesaoud blood. Foundation mares included Rodania, Dajania (DB) and Sobha, who have had extreme influence through their daughters and are the most common dam lines in Pure Crabbet horses. Horses were kept at the Crabbet Stud in England or the Sheykh Obeyd Stud in Egypt.

The Blunts’ legacy was continued by their daughter Lady Wentworth who added the outcross stallions Skowronek and then Dargee to the breeding program. Many Pure Crabbet horses today carry in excess of 10% Skowronek blood. The Pure Blunt (Pure Crabbet) horses bred by the Doyle family (USA) have horses with no Skowronek blood. Lady Wentworth sold horses to the Royal Agricultural Society in Egypt, the Duke of Veragua of Spain, Kellogg Arabian Ranch, Russian government, Poland, Australia and many other smaller breeders.

 In 1957, when Lady Wentworth died, Cecil Covey took over the Stud. Covey was able to continue the Stud on a much smaller scale helped by the many purchases of Bazy Tankersley of Al Marah Arabians, USA. For over a decade, Covey ran the stud and continued the Crabbet traditions. In 1970, Covey learned that a new motorway was going right through Crabbet Park and within a couple years the remainder of the Crabbet horses were sold.

Today, over 90% of all Arabian horses carry lines to Blunt or Crabbet bred horses. — Richelle Elchuk