Arabian horses in America: *Leopard
*Leopard was the first Arabian import to be recorded by The Arabian Horse Club of America.
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The Arabian horse's history in America probably dates back much earlier than the "official" record makes note, but for the sake of traceable bloodlines we have to begin with a single horse: *Leopard.
If you haven't heard of *Leopard, you're not alone. His story lacks much of the glamour enjoyed by more recent Arabian imports such as *Witez II and *Naborr. He does, however, enjoy a very prestigious place in the history of the American Arabian: he was the first imported Arabian to be recorded by The Arabian Horse Club of America, and his blood can still be found in many of today's American Arabians.
*Leopard belonged to one of America's most revered characters, General Ulysses S. Grant. The stallion was presented to General Grant by The Sultan of Turkey, Abdul Hamid II, during a visit to Constantinople in 1878. When Grant, who was an accomplished horseman, admired the young dapple grey horse during a tour of the Sultan's stables, the Sultan responded by immediately presenting the horse to Grant as a gift. Before the end of the visit, Grant was also presented with a second horse, another dapple grey stallion called *Linden Tree.
The two stallions were shipped to America aboard the steamer Norman Monarch. They arrived in New Haven, Connecticut on May 31, 1879, marking the first officially recorded importation of desert bred Arabian stallions into the U.S. The stallions' first job was to impress the people of America: they were immediately shown at Suffolk Park, then at fairs in Delaware, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. Following their fair tour, they were delivered to General E.F. Beale for permanent stabling.
Though technically the two horses belonged to General Grant, he had very little to do with them once they arrived in the United States. Instead, the horses attracted the attention of Randolph Huntington, who had recently established a breeding program that aimed to develop a unique ";American"; breed, adapted to the nation's specific characteristics and needs.
Huntington immediately began sending his mares to Beale's stables in the spring of 1880. Over the next few years, Huntington's program produced enough quality horses that it seemed his ambition was within reach--until his secretary absconded with $100,000 and he had to dispose of most of his 100+ horses at public auction. The high prices paid for many of these horses confirmed the soundness of his breeding program, but the dissipation of his herd ended the program forever. America would have to find the foundation for its own unique breed somewhere else.
Huntington did not stop breeding horses, despite this early setback. During the lifespan of his first ill-fated breeding program, he had developed an enthusiastic interest in the Arabian horse. He began researching earlier importations of Arabian horses and discovered that all of them had been used almost exclusively to improve other breeds, so much so that their blood became almost untraceably watered down within 15 years.
After making this discovery, Huntington realized the value of maintaining pure Arabian stock in America. Though *Linden Tree was never bred to an Arabian mare, Huntington's discovery had destined *Leopard to become the first recorded Arabian stallion to sire a purebred in the United States. In 1888, Huntington imported the desert bred Arabian mare *Naomi, crossing her with *Leopard a year later. The result was *Leopard's only pure Arabian son, Anazeh. Anazeh later went on to sire eight pure Arabian foals, four of which can still be found in today's American Arabian pedigrees.
Past articles by Becki Bell:
The Arabian Influence (July 2002) | Horses on the Arabian Peninsula (May 2002) | Witez II (March 2002) | Arabian horses in America: *Leopard (January, 2004) | Turkish Arabian Horses: The History of Cirit (August, 2004) | The Spanish Arabian (June, 2003) |
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