Re: bloodlines

[kitten@resp-sci.arizona.edu (Bruce Saul)]

	I was going to stay out of this and I apologize for continuing a
thread that some people have said they don't want to have on the list
any more, but since the allegation has been made and the history has
not been seriously addressed I thought I'd give a bit of information
regarding Skowronek's past.  As a very important ancestor of endurance horses
I feel that this is worth touching on.
 
	The controversy concerning Skowronek was first published by 
Raswan who found some information about a horse named Szumka who was 
said to be out of an English (Thoroughbred) mare.  It was assumed by him 
that this Szumka was Szumka II foaled at Slawuta in 1824 out of a mare 
named Polka and sired by Hajlan OA.  Szumka II figures heavily in a number
of Polish pedigrees including Skowronek's, this fueled a storm of 
criticism of Skowronek that was as much directed at Lady Wentworth as
the horse.  Later Ursula Guttman picked up on this allegation and decided
that because of it many horses including Skowronek could not be classified
as pure Arabian.  However a book published in 1991 called The Arabian 
Horse Families of Poland by Britta Fahlgren shed some light on that 
allegation.  The allegation derives from a statement by Wladyslaw Sanguszko
that the dam of a horse called Szumka, said horse being a contemporary
of Zboj who was purchased for Slawuta in 1813, was an English (Thoroughbred)
mare.  It was assumed by both Raswan and Guttman that the mare was Polka
and the horse was Szumka II.  However at the time Sanguszko wrote about 
this questionable horse there were not one but three Szumkas available
who could have been the horse in question.   Sanguszko also wrote that 
the questionable Szumka had most of his female get culled because they 
were not high enough quality.  Szumka I only had one get Kara Szumka 
retained by the stud.  The third Szumka is only to be found in notes.  
However Sanguszko didn't seem to have any reservation about using Szumka II 
because they used him frequently and retained a lot of get.  In addition 
Lady Anne Blunt was a visitor to Antoniny only 40 years after and while 
she went on in great detail about other crossbred ancestral horses she 
mentioned nothing about Szumka II in her notes.  She may even have 
consulted at some point about the stud's impure bloodlines because those 
lines she had complaints with were eventually eliminated, but again nothing 
was said by her concerning this horse or his get.  On the basis of
that evidence it is very unlikely that Skowronek's ancestry was impure
at least as far back as the pedigrees are available which is into the
late 1700s (beyond that the earlier pedigrees apparently were with the
granddame of the estate and disappeared when she died in the early 1800s).  
Jaskoulka, dam of Skowronek, was said to be one of the most beautiful Arab 
mares at Antoniny.  His sire, Ibrahim, was purchased for the stud by a 
knowledgable dealer and imported from Aleppo and therefore even though 
a pedigree on him is unavailable he is considered to be desert bred.  
	As to the quality of the individual, here is what Herbert H.
Reese, manager of the Kellogg Arabian Ranch and author of the book,
The Kellogg Arabians, had to say about Skowronek:  "Although Skowronek
was greatly admired for his distinctive 'gazelle' head and arched neck,
a good head and neck were not unusual in other fine Arabs of that period.
His other outstanding qualities, which have been proven so great a 
contribution to the breed -- which were more difficult to find among even
the top specimens -- were his eye-pleasing symmetry; refinement; smoothness
of outline; good croup; and especially his unusually good legs.  Although
at an advanced age he showed a slight tendency to be over at the knees,
his hindlegs were straight enough to please even a Thoroughbred breeder,
his hocks were strong and his bone flat.  Such near-perfection in underpinning
was rarely seen in the breed up to that time, and fortunately he was as
dominant in this regard as he was in the matter of color and type."

Tracy Scheinkman
Misty Mountain Arabian Sport Horses
Tucson, AZ