Seren Arabians

100% Crabbet Arab Stallions at Stud.

Winged Saint

Winged Saint is a 100% Crabbet arabian stallion. He was bred at the Moulton Stud in 1990, son of British National Ridden Champion El Santo, and went on to showing success in his own right. He has never been ridden, but has himself sired a British National Ridden Champion in Silver Brocade, as well as other quality ridden progeny.

Already distant admirers of his, we were able to buy him during January 2009. On hearing that he was available we went straight away from Cumbria to Devon to see him. We wanted to be sure of his temperament, conformation and movement.

The vital temperament test was easy to carry out. He was indoors when we arrived, in a large loosebox with one of his mares. Having observed and approved of his peaceful manner for a short while, it was time to see whether he was as placid when the dynamic was upset against his wishes. The gentlest of pressure was enough to have him yielding and separating from his mare, and he was interested in rather than resentful of the stranger who was interfering with his afternoon's socialisation.

Perhaps a full five minutes after arrival we were sure that we wanted him. Running him up in a plain headcollar on a loose leadrope was pleasant and straightforward, and confirmed it. The agreement was reached with near indecent haste but great cordiality.

The most difficult part of the plan to carry out was transporting him to Cumbria. Winter took hold, and one end of the country or the other (but never both!) was impossibly icy for the horsebox. It took four impatient weeks before we could safely make the run with Saint on board. He loaded and travelled superbly. The photo, taken less than a minute after unloading, shows how well he had taken it in his stride.

As a herd horse, he is relaxed and kind with his mares and youngstock, both out of doors and in the barn:

In September 2009 he went to West Kington Stud for a frozen semen collection. Their assessment of his temperament : "Saint by name, Saint by nature." For the collections they soon changed from chifney to plain head collar as his controlling headwear. There simply wasn't any need for anything else. They remarked that in all of the thousands of stallions they have collected from, he was the first they had ever been able to handle this way.

Winged Saint at Stud

Notes

Alexia Ross's history (below) includes a far more authoritative and interesting description of Winged Saint's lineage and background than we can give.

Details of Winged Saint's stud arrangements are on the main page.

We have two of his youngstock here, Silver Serendipity out of Silver Ingot, and the newly arrived colt Binley Winged Spirit. Pictures of them and his older progeny are on his youngstock page.

Winged Saint meets Binley Winged Spirit for the first time

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A brief history of Winged Saint  by Alexia Ross

The first time I saw Winged Saint I ran the length of the Malvern showground at the 1992 UK Nationals to get a closer look at a spectacular moving chestnut. I had no idea who he was but he turned out to be the 100% Crabbet colt Winged Saint. On closer inspection he was pretty, as well as a great mover, and I was completely hooked. He moves as a true athlete should, lifting his front end and powering through his back so that he tracks up behind and is a picture of balance – so few really move this way. He bucked the trend that year, placing well in a large 2 year old colt class against a collection of already fashionable Egyptian and El Shaklan modern in-hand types.

Winged Saint was, I believe, the last Arabian to be actively campaigned in the show ring by the Wrights of the Moulton Stud in Norfolk. This supremely important Crabbet breeding programme was founded on the great mare lines of Silent Wings’ daughter Yemama, the rare Nizzam daughter Nishida and the Indian Magic mare Indian Starlight, all of them part of the great Crabbet “N” line family tracing back to Dajania Or.Ar’s daughter Nefisa. The Wrights’ key foundation stallion was the Blue Domino son Ludo, a superlative ridden champion who still underpins so much successful UK endurance breeding. Later a grandson of both Blue Domino and Silent Wings was added, the elegant grey Silver line stallion Silver Blue.

The Moulton Stud bred many great show champions and provided foundation stock for other breeders both at home and abroad. Winged Saint’s own sire was British National Champion El Santo, a son of Ludo and Nishida. Saint’s dam was the ever beautiful Silver Blue Wings. She made a huge impression the one time I saw her in the flesh, again at the UK Nationals, combining her sire’s scope and elegance with the style and movement of Yemama’s Dove family. In the Moulton Stud’s later years she did not get the chance to breed as many foals as her full sister Ivory Wings, dam of WAHO and HOYS champion Imad, but Winged Saint is a worthy successor.

For much of his life Saint has been inaccessible to breeders, running out with a few mares in Norfolk after the senior Wrights died. Nonetheless he has already sired a British National Ridden Show champion, in the form of the Straight Crabbet mare Silver Brocade, the consistent endurance mare Moonshell, and his son Moulton Millennium was exported to Denmark and has already sired some excellent stock of his own. 

Winged Saint’s pedigree is quality through and through and he has the type and movement to pass the best of this on. He also inherits that lovely sweet Ludo temperament – this is a horse that is easy to live with. He is the result of a tried and tested Wright formula – use consistent mare families, then double up on Ludo for movement and temperament and add a dash of Silver for smooth strength and elegance. Time and again this formula produced top-class Arabians with the added bonus that generations of informed breeding also results in a genetic consistency that breeds on extremely well in all manner of combinations. Winged Saint is currently the UK’s only Straight Crabbet sire of 100% Moulton Stud breeding so I sincerely hope that we use him while we can.

At the grand old age of 18 years Saint is finally with an enthusiast who hopes to give him the chances at stud he deserves. He looks much the same as he did as a 2 year old and can still show off that movement with very little encouragement. I hope to be visiting again soon!

© Alexia Ross 2008

This article was written by Alexia Ross when Winged Saint moved to the Berryscroft Stud the year before he joined us at Seren Arabians. We hope we too can live up to her expectations.

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Berryscroft Stud

Terri, Dave and Michelle Underhey own and run Berryscroft Stud.

More details will follow here in due course.

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Contacting Us

Seren Arabians

Upper High House, Over Staveley, Kendal, Cumbria. LA8 9QX, U.K.

Telephone (U.K.) 01 539 821 019

(International) +44 1 539 821 019

e-mail: mail@arabianhorse.co.uk

www.arabianhorse.co.uk

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