The Arabian Horse in Australia


Arabian horses were introduced to Australia in the earliest days of European Settlement. Early horse imports included both purebred Arabians as well as light Spanish Jennets from Andalusia.

Early Imports
Arabian horses were introduced to Australia in the earliest days of European Settlement. Early horse imports included both purebred Arabians as well as light Spanish Jennets from Andalusia. Many Arabians also came from India. Based on records describing stallions "of Arabic and Persian blood," the first Arabian horses were probably imported to Australia in several groups between 1788 and 1802. In 1803, a merchant named Robert Campbell imported an Arabian from India and in 1804 two additional Arabians, also from India, arrived in Tasmania one of whom, White William, sired the first purebred Arabian foal born in Australia, a stallion named Derwent.

Purebred Arabians were used to improve racehorses and some of them became quite famous as such. About 100 Arabian sires are included in the Australian Stud Book (for Thoroughbred Racehorses). They were part of the foundation of several breeds considered uniquely Australian, including the Australian Stud Book Pony, the Waler and the Australian Stock Horse.

Throughout the 19th century, many more Arabians came to Australia, though most were used to produce crossbred horses and left no recorded purebred descendants. The first significant imports to be permanently recorded with offspring still appearing in modern purebred pedigrees were those of James Boucaut, who in 1888 imported several Arabians from the Blunt's Crabbet Arabian Stud in England.

Australian Arabians Today
In the early 20th century, more Arabian horses, mostly of Crabbet bloodlines, arrived in Australia. The first Arabians of Polish breeding arrived in 1966, and Egyptian lines were first imported in 1970. Arabian horses from the rest of the world followed, and today the Australian Arabian horse registry is the second largest in the world, next to that of the United States.

Arabians Today
Arabian horses today are found all over the world. They are no longer classified by Bedouin strain, but are informally classified by the nation of origin of famed horses in a given pedigree. Popular types of Arabians are labeled "Polish," "Spanish," "Crabbet," "Russian," "Egyptian", and "Domestic" (describing horses whose ancestors were imported to the United States prior to 1944, including those from programs such as Kellogg, Davenport, Maynesboro, Babson, Dickenson and Selby). In the USA, a specific mixture of Crabbet, Maynesboro and Kellogg bloodlines has acquired the copyrighted designation "CMK."

Each set of bloodlines has its own devoted followers, with the virtues of each hotly debated. Most debates are between those who value the Arabian most for its refined beauty and those who value the horse for its stamina and athleticism. There are also various controversies over the relative "purity" of certain bloodlines.

Uses
Arabians are versatile horses that compete in many equestrian fields, including Horse racing, the horse show disciplines of Saddle Seat, Western Pleasure, and Hunt seat, as well as Dressage, Cutting, Reining, Endurance riding, Show jumping, Eventing, youth events such as equitation, and others. They make reliable pleasure, trail, and working ranch horses for those who are not interested in competition.

Competition
Arabians dominate the sport of Endurance riding because of their stamina, where they are the leading breed in competitions such as the Tevis Cup that can cover up to 100 miles in a day. They also participate in FEI-sanctioned endurance events worldwide, including the World Equestrian Games.

"Sport Horse" events for Arabian horses are newly popular in the USA, though Arabians have participated in this type of competition for a long time in Europe and Australia. The Arabian Horse Association began hosting an Arabian and Half Arabian Sport Horse National Championship in 2003 that within two years grew to draw over 1900 entries competing in Hunter, Jumper, Sport Horse Under Saddle, Sport Horse In Hand, Dressage, and Driving competition.

Arabians have an extensive series of horse shows around the United States for Arabians, Half-Arabians, and Anglo-Arabian Horses only. Wins in regular shows sanctioned by the USEF and Arabian Horse Association qualify exhibitors to go to larger regional shows and ultimately to National competitions such as the U.S. Nationals, Youth Nationals, Sport Horse Nationals and Canadian Nationals. Major events include Western pleasure, reining, both hunt seat and saddle seat English riding classes, and the very popular "Native" costume class.

Arabians have excelled in open events against other breeds. The most famous example was the Arabian mare Ronteza, who defeated 50 horses of all breeds to win the 1961 Reined Cow Horse championship at the Cow Palace in San Francisco, CA. The Arabian stallion Aaraf won an all-breed cutting horse competition at the Quarter Horse Congress in the 1950s. At the 1936 Olympics, the French, with two Anglo-Arabians on their team, won the Silver team medal in Dressage.

Other Activities
Arabians are involved in a wide variety of activities, including fairs, movies, parades, circuses and other places where horses are showcased.

Arabians have been popular in movies, dating back to the silent film era when Rudolph Valentino rode the Kellogg Arabian stallion Jadaan in 1926's Son of the Sheik. Other Arabian horse film stars include the stallion Cass Ole in The Black Stallion. Arabian horses also appeared in Lawrence of Arabia, The 13th Warrior, Hidalgo, and other films.

Arabians are mascots for football teams, performing crowd-pleasing activities on the field and sidelines. Traveler, the mascot for the University of Southern California Trojans, is currently a purebred Arabian. "Thunder", a stage name for the purebred Arabian stallion J B Kobask, was mascot for the Denver Broncos from 1993 until his retirement in 2004, when the Arabian gelding Winter Solstyce took over as "Thunder II". Cal Poly Pomona's W.K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Center Equestrian Unit and many other Arabian organizations have made Arabian horses a regular sight at the annual Tournament of Roses Parade held each New Year's day in Pasadena, California.

Arabians also are used on search and rescue teams and occasionally for police work. Some Arabians are also used in polo in the USA and Europe, in the Turkish equestrian sport of Cirit (pronounced Jee-rit), as well as circuses, therapeutic horseback riding programs, and on dude ranches.