The Forgotten Man: Peter Bradley’s Role in Early American Breeding (Part II)

BY Charles and Jeanne Craver
Arabian Horse World July 1984
Used by permission of the Cravers
all rights reserved

Peter Bradley’s characteristic mode of sale was in breeding groups of horses. His most important customer, of course, was Homer Davenport, whose career as an Arabian breeder began with Hamidie Society horses obtained from Bradley. That transaction occurred befor there was an Arabian Horse Registry, and it is impossible to know details of what happened, but we do know that by the time of publication of his 1906-07 “Catalog of World’s Fair Arabians.” Davenport had in his possession 13 Hamidie Society horses, most of which could have come only from Bradley. The transfer of horses was major for the day, but its greater significance was that it was Davenport’s beginning venture in Arabian horses.

In 1917 there was a major sale of nine head to Tetsuma Akahoshi of Japan, who also purchased three Arabians on the West Coast. The Hingham horses sold were Aared, Ain, Gharah, Hartebah, Kassab, Khyma, Satwan, Sharmah and Sugra. These American Arabians were evidently bred for some time in Japan. Volume III (1927) of the AHC stud books indicates that as of its date, Akahoshi still owned four stallions and eight mares. (Could any of these bloodlines have gotten into Emperor Hirohito’s white horse?) It is at least a reasonable assumption that the exportation of these horses from the U.S. at a time when Arabian breeding here was in a formative stage had some effect because it removed foundation bloodlines from breeding in this country. The most noted animal in this exportation was Aared, who has established one of the strongest female lines in current American breeding through her daughter Sedjur, from whom so much descends.

A major breeding group went to F.E. Lewis of the Diamond Bar Ranch of Spadra, CA; in 1918. This group included two prime stallions in Letan and Harara, and some of the choicest Hingham mares. Included were Adouba, Freda, Hasiker, Tamarinsk, Kosair, Saleefy, Samit, Sedjur and Moliah. A colt, Ziki, and two filies, Medina and Mecca, were sold in utero. The Lewis horses were maintained for a time as a breeding group. they were eventually dispersed primarily in the California area, with most of them going to Kellogg’s where they contributed to the fine early history of that ranch. The most famous horse produced by Lewis from this group was Antez.

Another sale with a California distination was made in 1925 when Chauncey D. Clarke enjoyed a brief ownership of Arabian horses. Mr. Clarke had obtained the services of a young German immigrant, Carl Schmidt, who had lived with the Bedouins of Arabia and was beginning a career with Arabian horses in the United States. Schmidt later became famous as Carl Raswan. He was the founding manager of the Kellogg Ranch, made its best importation, and served as a breeding consultant to countless breeders, among them W.R. Brown, J.M. Dickinson, the Selby Stud, Carl and Jane Asmis, Al-Marah, Wayne Van Vleet, Alice Payne, John Douthit, James Wrench, the Otts, Margaret Shuey, Craver Farms, Dr. and Mrs K.F. Krausnick, and Dr. J.L. Doyle. In addition, he wrote extensively and was published in several languages.

Acting as Clarke’s agent, he purchased a breeding group of horses from Peter Bradley. Included were *Deyr, Amham, Arak, Fasal, Jadaan, Jeremah, Mizuel, Sherlet, Sotamm and Killah. An additional horse of similar breeding, Ben Hur, was purchased from Albert W. Harris. Mr. Clarke was unable to continue ownership of these horses, and they were sold within the yrear of their purchase by him to W.K. Kellogg, with Carl Schmidt (Raswan) going along to set up the Kellogg Arabian enterprise.

The major sale of Peter Bradley’s career as an Arabian horse breeder was to John C. Winant, twice the governor of New Hampshire and ambassador to Great Britain. The sale occurred during 1921. It involved the central part of the Hingham breeding band, including the premier stallion *Hamrah as well as *Azra and Maleik. Females in the sale included *Haffia, Domow, Halbe, Hegra, Killah (re-transferred later to Hingham and on to C.D. Clarke), Meleky, Morfda, Poka, Saba, Sankirah, Sheria and Tehama. The total number involved was at least 21 head.

On December 31st of 1921 — the year of their purchase from Peter Bradley — the Winant horses were transferred to the ownership of Mrs. John Winant. She continued in ownership of some of them, and in Volume III (1927) of the AHC stud book is shown as owning four stallions and one mare. Most of Mrs. Winant’s horses, however, were sold to Morton S. Hawkins of Portland, IN, in 1922. The total number transferred is not clear from available records, but the sale was a major transaction, including *Azra, *Haffia, Dahura, Domoude, Domow, Hanad (in utero), Hegra, Maleik, Morfda, Poka, Saba, Sankirah, Tabab and Tehama.

Whatever Hawkins’ plans for the horses might have been, they did not go well. Before they could really get started, he was sent to Federal prison. His horses were scattered into various hands, and their welfare suffered. Mr. H.V. Tormohlen, a well-known breeder who lived in the same small town as Hawkins and knew firsthand of the events, said that some of Hawkins’ horses became debilitated to the point that there were deaths on the roadside as they were taken to new custody. Ownership of surviving horses was transferred for small amounts such as would be required to pay outstanding feed bills. According to Forrest Lee Thompson, who took notes in 1931 on a conversation with Dr. Charles D. Pettigrew, Dr. Pettigrew bought Sankirah and her suckling foal Hanad in the winter of 1922-23 without papers for $300 in one-dollar bills plus $100 for help in getting the mare and foal out of a “stump” pasture in which the tree stumps were four feet high. Hanad was so weak that he could not stand and had to be strapped to a drag to pull him out of the pasture. (18) In spite of such a dismal start in life, Hanad went on to become one of the noted performance and breeding stallions of his time, and even today some of his descendants show a certain flair that comes only from him.

The Hawkins venture was a dissater for Hawkins and horses alike, but it had major consequences for the development of Arabian horse breeding in America. The end result was that important Bradley bloodlines were transplanted into the Midwest where they provided foundation stock for a whole new group of breeding programs which are represented today in a major portion of domestic American breeding, Among breeders who obtained breding stock form this source were Tormohlen, Jewett, George, Pettigrew and Harris.

For some of the horses which had originally gone to Winant, the route of ownership led to Hawkins, then to others in the Midwest and finally to the West Coast where such horses as Hanad, Killah, Poka, Saba and Sankirah continued as representatives of Peter Bradley’s breeding along with the horses that came by way of Chauncey Clarke and F.E. Lewis. The consequence of Bradley’s practise of selling horses as breeding groups was that these groups tended to stay intact after the initial sale. The concentration of Bradley breeding in California developed into an amazingly durable breeding pattern which preserved seed stock from which Bradley’s breeding continues even today. There are about 400 living Arabians which trace entirely to his Hingham Stock Farm bloodlines. they include all the living “Davenoprt” Arabians, plus a few others which also trace to Bradley’s Hamidie Society horses. These horses constitute the oldest closed breeding group of American Arabian horses and one of the oldest in the world.

One of the criteria for evaluating a breeder’s success is to consider how well the mares have been used: were the foals as good as their dams? In Peter Bradley’s case, this is a difficult question to answer because we have few physical details about his foundation horses and their first generation of foals. For most of these horses, thee are only names, a little pedigree information, and sometimes a few pictures. Nothing is known of many foals except that they were registered. Some may have been sold as riding and driving horses. Some were sold abroad. Fortunately, others come to us in ways that can be traced, and of these there are some which are famous both as individuals and for what they have contributed to the breed. Hanad, Jadaan, Letan, Fasal, Harara, Sedjur: these were horses which would be ornaments for any breeding program. For each of them, there were others less well-known but perhaps of equal merit.

In a more general sense, Bradley’s breeding can be evaluated from its overall contribution to the development of the Arabian horse in America. Almost all his production was either of Davenport or part-Davenport bloodlines. Furthermore, most Davenport elements in modern pedigrees get there by way of breeding at Hingham Stock Farm. Therefore, the percentage of modern Arabians tracing to Hingham breeding is nearly the same as that tracing to Davenport breeding, which is estimated to be approximately 90%, just over the 12% level per pedigree (see “The Common Denominator, ” p. 342, the March ’84 issue). Because Bradley’s production included a number of very successful non-Davenport lines, the average figures at which his horses are represented would be slightly higher than those given for exclusively Davenport bloodlines.

Transposing these percentages into physical terms, if all the horses at a modern Class A horse show which trace to the breeding of Peter Bradley were magically to disappear, few animals would be left — not enough to fill many classes. They would be different from what we are used to seeing. There would not be the influences of breeding animals like Alla Amarward, Fadjur, Saki, Ferzon, Jurneeka, Garaff, Radio, Rafferty, Kimfa, Ben Rabba, The Judge, Bay-Abi, Khemosabi, Ibn Hanrah, Tsali, Hanida, and a host of others which are a precious resource in contemporary American breeding. Bradley breeding is not a major theme in the pedigrees of all these animals, but it is nevertheless present at a significant level, and they would be different individauls — breeding, moving, and acting differently — without it.

If it were not for the activities of Peter Bradley, the Arabian horse would still have been popular in the United States, but there is no question that different modes of developement would have been taken. Without Bradley’s supporting influence during the first years of this century, the Arabian Horse Club of America would probably have been formed much later than it was. (The Arab Horse Society in Britain was not founded until 1918.) If establishment of the Arabian Horse Club had been delayed substantially, the early breeding programs of Randolph Huntington and Spencer Borden might have been lost, and organization support would have been lacking for newcomers interested in the Arabian horse. Perhaps a less vigorously organized breed would have failed to attract the interest of such key new breeders as W.R. Brown and A.W. Harris, who followed Bradley in succession as presidents of the Arabian Horse Club.

Without Bradley as financial backer, it is unlikely that the Homer Davenport importation from Arabia would have been made or that a number of Davenport’s other contributins to the breed would have occurred. Without the steady, long-term commitment of Peter Bradley toward its continuity as a breeding group, the breeding stock of the Davenport importation would have been mostly or completely lost, as would that of the Hamidie Hippodrome Society. The mares of the “unimproved” desert breeding represented in the Davenport and Hamidie importations would then most likely have been crossed with more sophisticated stock coming to this country from Europe. Resulting foals would no doubt have also been lovely. But, by staying within the parameters of close-up desert origin. Bradley was able to pass on the full measure of strength of that breeding to the next generatin of breeders. Maybe that is one of the reasons why so many of the foundation lines with which he worked have survived into modern pedigrees.

The odd thing is that, for all his importance, we do not know much about Peter Bradley as a man or a horseman. What he looked for in a horse and what he felt he was doing are mysteries to us. Maybe he acted out of great wisdom, but he could have produced very nearly the same results by lucking into a good start and then simply being too conservative or unconcerned to make a change. The closest parallel in more recent Arabian breeding is to the late Henry Babson, who was also a great breeder. Like Bradley, he had unlimited wealth as regards horses, but did not choose to spend it lavishly. Like Bradley, he was primarily identified with the developement of one breeding group of foundation-quality bloodlines, although both men were also associated with other excellent lines. Both men headed our national Arabian horse registry in their times. Neither of them cared about showing or public recognition. Both men had self-regenerating breeding programs which lasted for decades with minor changes but few major ones. Both men delegated day-to-day operation of their breeding ventures to others.

For the most part, Peter Bradley is remembered as the silent partner who financed the Homer Davenport importation from Arabia in 1906. Maybe there is a fine stone memorial to him someplace, but, if so, few Arabian breeders have ever heard of it. He could not have done all that he did for Arabian breeding in America if he had not had ideals in his horses and hopes for how those horses would fit into the future. Those ideals and hopes are now embodied in the Arabians of today and the people who have them. They are a memorial: a living, beautiful one, much in the thoughts of man.

But, after 90 years, hardly anyone remembers Peter Bradley’s name.

[Thanks to the Arabian Horse Registry of America for their assistance. All rights reserved.]

DICTIONARY OF REFERENCED HORSES

Aared 91 (*Obeyran x *Wadduda): 1909 grey Saqlawiyah-Al Abd mare.

*Abbeian 111: db 1889 grey Abayyan-Dahwan stallion, imported by H. Davenport in 1906.

Abbya: db 1885 black Kuhaylan mare, imported by the Hamidie Society in 1893.

Abdallah 52 (*Bedr x *Jamila): 1897 bay Saqlawi-Jidran gelding.

Abeyan: db 1888 grey Abayyan-Dahra stallion, imported by the Hamidie Society in 1893.

*Abu Zeyd 82 (Mesaoud x Rose Diamond): 1904 chestnut Kuhaylan-Ajuz stallion.

Adouba 270 (*Hamrah x Meleky): 1917 bay Hadbah-Inzihiyah mare.

Ain 148 (*Hamrah x Dahura): 1915 bay Kuhaylan-Ajuz stallion.

Akid 387 (*Hamrah X Amran): 1919 bay Saqlawi-Al Abd stallion.

Alla Amarward 1140 (Stambul x Makina): 1935 chestnut Kuhaylan-Haifi stallion.

Amham 123 (*Hamrah x Dahura): 1920 grey Kuhaylat-Ajuz mare.

Amran 123 (*Deyr x *Wadduda): 1920 chestnut Saqlawiyah-Al Abd mare.

Antez 448 (Harara x Moliah): 1921 chestnut Saqlawi-Al Abd stallion.

Araby: db imported by the Hamidie Society in 1893.

Arak 269 (*Hamrah x *Haffia): 1917 bay Abayyah-Sharrakiyah mare.

Bay-Abi 12335 (Errabi x Angyl): 1957 bay Kuhaylan-Ajuz stallion.

Ben Hur 513 (*El Bulad x Rhua): 1923 grey Saqlawi-Jidran stallion.

Ben Rabba (Ringo) 29921 (Aurab x Rollicka): 1964 chestnut Hadban-Inzihi stallion.

*Berid 80 (Daoud x Bereyda): 1908 grey Saqlawi-Jidran stallion.

Bint Sahara 2394 (Farawi x Bint Sedjur): 1942 grey Saqlawiyah-Al Abd mare.

*Bushra 23 (Azrek x Bozra): 1892 bay Saqlawi-Jidran mare.

Carolstone 637 (Kilham x Dehaff): 1925 chestnut Abayyah-Sharrakiyah mare.

Dahura 90 (*El Bulad x Nanshan): 1909 grey Kuhaylat-Ajuz mare.

Dehahah 136 (*Hamrah x Dahura): 1914 grey Kuhaylat-Ajuz mare.

*Deyr 33: db 1904 chestnut Abayyan-Sharrak stallion, imported by H. Davenport in 1906.

Domow 267 (*Abu Zeyd X *Wadduda): 1912 bay Saqlawiyah-Al Abd mare (see text).

*El Bulad 29: db 1903 grey Jilfan-Stam El Bulad stallion, imported by H. Davenport in 1906.

Fadjur 7668 (Fadheilan X Bint Sahara): 1952 bay Saqlawi-Al Abd stallion.

Fartak 141 (*El Bulad X *Farha): 1913 grey Mu’niqi-Sbaili stallion.

Fasal 330 (*Hamrah x Amran): 1918 bay Saqlawiyah-Al Abd mare.

Fersara 4104 (Ferseyn x Bint Sahara): 1947 grey Saqlawiyah-Al Abd mare.

Ferzon 7723 (Ferneyn x Fersara): 1952 grey Saqlawi-Al Abd stallion.

Freda 20 (*Obeyran x Zitra): 1903 brown Hamdaniyah-Simriyah mare.

*Galfia 225 db 1887 chestnut Hamdaniyah-Simriyah mare.

Garaff 5021 (*Raffles x Woengran): 1948 bay Saqlawi-Al Abd stallion.

Gharah 142 (*Hamrah x Dahura): 1913 grey Kuhaylat-Ajuz mare.

*Haffia 45 (a Hamdani-Simri x *Abeyah): db 1906 chestnut.

Halbe 334 (*Hamrah x Domow): 1918 bay Saqlawiyah-Al Abd mare.

Halool: db 1886 bay Kuhaylan-Ras el Fedawi stallion, imported by the Hamidie Society in 1893.

*Hamrah 28 (a Hamdani-Simri x *Urfah) db 1904 bay Saqlawi-Jedran stallion, imported by H. Davenport in 1906.

Hanad 489 (*Deyr x Sankirah): 1922 chestnut Saqlawi-Al Abd stallion.

Hanida 4698 (Hanad x Gafsa): 1948 chestnug Saqlawi-Jidraniyah mare.

Harara 122 (*Deyr x *Haffia): 1912 chestnut Abayyan-Sharrak stallion.

Hartebah 145 (*El Bulad x *Haffia): 1913 grey Abayyah-Sharrakiyah mare.

Hasiker 268 (*Hamrah x *Reshan): 1914 gey Kuhaylah-Haifiyah mare.

Hegra 487 (*Aziza x Domow): 1922 grey Saqlawiyah-Al Abd mare.

*Houran 26 db1904 bay Kuhaylan-Tamri stallion, imported by H. Davenport in 1906.

Ibn Hanrah 6725 (Hanrah x Ronara): 1952 bay Saqlawi-Jidran stallion.

Jadaan 196 (*Abbeian x Amran): 1916 grey Saqlawi-Al Abd stallion.

*Jedah 44: cb 1902 brown Hamdaniyah-Simriyah mare, imported by H. Davenport in 1906.

Jeremah 144 (*Hamrah x Nanshan): 1913 grey Kuhaylan-Ajuz stallion.

Jerrede 84 (*Euphrates x *Nejdme): 1910 bay Kuhaylan-Ajuz stallion.

Jurneeka 13435 (Fadjur x Fadneeka): 1958 bay Saqlawiyah-Al Abd mare.

Kassab 158 (*Abbeian x Amran): 1915 grey Saqlawiyah-Al Abd mare.

Khemosabi 45471 (Amerigo x Jurneeka): 1967 bay Saqlawi-Al Abd stallion.

Khyma 159 (*Hamrah x Abbess): 1915 grey Mu’niqiyah-Sbailiyah mare.

Killah 103 (*Gomusa x *Hadba): 1911 bay Hadbah-Inzihiyah mare.

Kimfa 10836 (Mustafah x *Iorana): 1956 chestnut Kuhaylan-Ajuz stallion.

Kokhle 336 (*Hamrah x *Farha): 1918 grey Mu’niqiyah-Sbailiyah mare.

Kosair 138 (*Hamrah x *Jedah): 1914 chestnut Hamdaniyah-Simriyah mare.

Koubishan: cb 1888 bay Kubayshan-Al Umayr stallion, imported by the Hamidie Society in 1893.

Kuzoiv db 1887 bay Kuhaylan-Mukhalladi stallion, imported by the Hamidie Society in 1893.

Letan 86 (*Muson x *Jedah): 1909 grey Hamdani-Simri stallion.

Maleik 51 (*Haleb x *Abeyah): 1908 bay Abayyan-Sharrak stallion.

*Mannaky 294: db 1888 chestnut Mu’niki-Saluki stallion, imported by the Hamidie Soceity in 1893. (Cataloged by H. Davenport and the Tattersalls’ sale as a Mu’niqi; registered, evidently in error, as a Hamdani-Simri.)

Mannaky Jr 292: (*Mannaky x *Galfia): 1895 chestnut Hamdani-Simri stallion.

Meleky 63 (*Haleb x *Hadba): 1907 brown Hadbah-Inzihiyah mare.

Miggour: cb 1887 bay stallion, imported by the Hamidie Society in 1893.

Mizuel 388 (Narkhaleb x Sankirah): 1919 chestnut saqlawi-Al-Abd stallion.

Moliah 109 (*Hamrah x *Wadduda): 1911 chestnut Saqlawiyah-Al Abd mare.

Morfda 203 (*Hamrah x Dahura): 1916 grey Kuhaylat-Ajuz mare.

Nanshan 13 (*Garaveen x *Nejdme): 1902 grey Kuhaylat-Ajuz mare.

Narkhaleb 114 (Leucosia x Khaletta): 1911 chestnut Mu’niqi-Hadruj stallion.

*Nejdme 1: db 1887 grey Kehaylat-Ajuz mare, imported by the Hamidie Society in 1893.

*Obeyran 2: cb 1879 grey Saqlawi-Ubayri stallion, imported by the Hamidie Society in 1893. (Cataloged by H. Davenport and the Tattersalls’ sale as foaled in 1879; registered as foaled in 1889.)

Poka 438 (*Hamrah x Sheria): 1921 chestnut Saqlawiyah-Jidraniyah mare.

*Pride 321: db 1893 chestnut Mu’niqiyah-Salukiyah mare, imported by the Hamidie Society in 1893.

Radio 17970 (Ferzon x Radiant): 1960 grey Kuhaylan-Ajuz stallion.

Rafferty 8658 (*Raffles x Masrufa): 1953 grey Saqlawi-Jidran stallion.

Ribal 397 (*Berk x *Rijma) 1920 chestnut Kuhaylan-Ajuz stallion.

Saba 437 (*Deyr x *Haffia): 1921 chestnut Abayyah-Sharrakiyah mare.

Saki 6248 (Ferseyn x Ferdia): 1960 grey Kuhaylan-Kurush mare.

Saleefy 70 (*Haleb x *Urfah): 1907 brown Saqlawiyah-Jidraniyah mare.

Samit 153 (*Kusof x *Haffia): 1914 chestnut Abayyah-Sharrakiyah mare.

Sankirah 149 (*Hamrah x Moliah): 1915 bay Saqlawiyah Al-‘Abd mare.

Satwan 100 (*Deyr x *Haffia): 1911 chestnut Abayyah-Sharrakiyah mare.

Sheba 19 (Mannaky Jr. x *Pride): 1902 chestnut Mu’niqiyah-Saluki mare.

Sheria 110 (*Abbeian x *Urfah): 1911 grey Saqlawiyah-Jedraniyah mare.

Sherlet 339 (Letan x Sheria): 1911 grey Saqlawiyah-Jedraniyah mare.

Sirhal: db 1886 grey stallion, imported by the Hamidie Society in 1893.

Sotamm 389 (*Hamrah x *Farha): 1919 bay Mu’niqiyah-Sbailiyah mare.

Sugra 140 (*Hamrah x Meleky); 1913 bay Hadbah-Inzihiyah mare.

Tabab 441 (*Deyr x Domow): 1921 bay Saqlawi-Al Abd stallion.

Tamarinsk 331 (*Hamrah x *Werdi): 1918 chestnut Kuhaylah-Kurush mare.

Tehama 490 (*Deyr x *Haffia): 1922 chestnut Abayyah-Sharrakiyah mare.

Terina 102 (*Hamrah x Meleky): 1911 bay Hadbah-Inzihiyah mare.

The Judge 47461 (*Bask x Wirdih Jameel): 1968 chestnut Kuhaylan-Kurush stallion.

The Real McCoy (Silky Rief) 17362 (Aarief x Fersara): 1960 grey Saqlawi-Al Abd stallion.

Tsali (Ibn Hanad x My Bonnie Nylon): 1952 chestnut Mu’niqi-Hadruj stallion.

*Urfah 40: db 1898 bay Saqlawiyah-Jidraniyah mare, imported by H. Davenport in 1906.

*Wadduda 30: db 1899 chestnut Saqlawiyah-Al Abd mare, imported by H. Davenport in 1906.

*Werdi 41: db 1903 chestnut Kuhaylah-Kurush mare, imported by H. Davenport in 1906.

Zariffey: db 1888 black Kuhaylan mare, imported by the Hamidie Society in 1893.

Ziki 415 (*Hamrah x Samit): 1919 bay Abayyan-Sharrak stallion.

Zitra 68 (*Mannaky x *Galfia): 1896 chestnut Hamdaniyah-Simriyah mare.

FOOTNOTES

18. Thompson, Forrest Lee: Private commication with Charles Craver.

19. Payne, Pat: “The F.E. Lewis Horses,” typewritten manuscript, 1970.