| Skowronek | |
|---|---|
 Lady Wentworth and Skowronek, her prized Arabian stallion | |
| Breed | Arabian |
| Sire | Ibrahim |
| Dam | Jaskoulka |
| Sex | Stallion |
| Foaled | 1908 or 1909 |
| Country | Foaled Poland, imported to England |
| Colour | Gray |
| Breeder | Count Jozef Potocki |
| Owner | Lady Wentworth |
Skowronek (a name meaninglark orskylark inPolish) was anArabianstallion foaled in 1908 or 1909.[1] He was bred by Count JózefPotocki who owned the Antoniny Stud inPoland. He was imported toEngland as a young horse. Upon purchase byLady Wentworth, Skowronek became a foundation stallion at Lady Wentworth'sCrabbet Arabian Stud. He was most often crossed onmares who were daughters or granddaughters of the stallionMesaoud, another foundation stallion for Crabbet, who had been bred byAli Pasha Sherif and imported fromEgypt to England by Lady Wentworth's parents,Wilfrid andLady Anne Blunt.
Skowronek was agray stallion, on the small side, noted for his outstanding Arabian type, particularly his fine head and overall correct conformation.[2] Lady Wentworth preferred to breed taller Arabians, but also wanted to preserve Arabian type and beauty, and Skowronek helped her accomplish this goal.
Skowronek was imported to England in 1913.[3] The English painterWalter Winans bought Skowronek fromCount Josef Potocki's Antoniny Stud in Poland. Winas had originally gone to Poland to hunt game at Count Potocki's private animal park, Piławin, located north of Antoniny, where he became enamored of Potocki's horses and upon the Count's recommendation, purchased Skowronek for £150.[4] Winans used him as a model for several bronzes, then sold Skowronek to Mr. Webb Wares,[5] "who rode him as ahack," and eventually sold him to H.V. Musgrave Clark, where he was shown and used at stud for the first time, coming to the attention of Lady Wentworth.[6]
Lady Wentworth bought Skowronek under circumstances that remain a bit confusing even today. Clark believed he was selling the horse to an American exporter, but at the last minute, the export was cancelled and Lady Wentworth turned out to be the owner of Skowronek. Clark was a rival Arabian breeder, and Lady Wentworth may have used the agent as a front; concerned that if Clark had known she was interested, he may have increased the price or refused to sell the horse at all. Clark was not happy with the result, and the two breeders had a somewhat cool relationship thereafter.[1]
Skowronek became well-known in England. Lady Wentworth later bragged that she once received a cable "from the Antipodes" addressed to "Skowronek, England."[7] There was an unsubstantiated report that she turned down an offer of $250,000 from theTersk Stud in theSoviet Union.[5] The outcross of the original Crabbet stock with Skowronek was extremely successful, and Skowronek's offspring not only sold throughout England but were exported to Australia, Brazil, Egypt, Hungary, Spain, the Soviet Union, the United States.[1]
Skowronek died in February 1930 at the age of 22.[1] Lady Wentworth donated the stallion's skull and hide to the British Museum in London.[8] She stated that "three experts" attended his necropsy and she stated that he had 17 pairs of ribs, five lumbar vertebrae and 16 tail vertebrae.[7]
There was some controversy attached to Skowronek's pedigree, even in his lifetime. Lady Wentworth herself was satisfied that Skowronek was a purebred (orasil) Arabian.[9] Some Arabian enthusiasts questioned if Skowronek was, in fact, a purebred for two reasons: First, his sire Ibrahim was desert-bred and imported to Poland via Turkey, but because of this route of importation, some claimed the stallion was actually aTurkoman horse.[2] Lady Wentworth noted that Count Potocki registered Ibrahim as a "Kehilan Ajuz", thus acknowledging his purebred ancestry.[10] Second, the Poles also crossed Arabian stallions onThoroughbred and other non-Arabian mares, leading some researchers to question the accuracy of the stud books. Further confusion emerged because some European breeders commonly referred to horses by the location they were foaled, rather than by pedigree, and hence the occasional Potocki quote describing the horses at his stud as not "desert-bred" which may have referred to being foaled in Poland. Wentworth commented on this, stating, "Confusing locality of birth with blood of origin is indeed a favourite error..."[9]
Skowronek's dam Jaskoulka, (variously known as Jakolka, Yascoulka or Yaskolka; from Polishjaskółka, "swallow"), was a Polish-bred purebred Arabian. The Poles had bred Arabians for centuries and kept careful pedigree records dating to at least 1800.[11] Jaskoulka's pedigree shows that her sire was Rymnik and her dam was Epopeja (also spelled Epopeia or Epopya).[12] The Bedouin tribe that produced the desert-bred Ibrahim was also identified, along with the strain name of his sire and dam.[13] Nonetheless, due to this controversy, some private breeders' organizations, such asAl Khamsa, exclude descendants of Skowronek.[14]
Skowronek produced 46foals–23colts and 23fillies. 39 of these were named, and 27 appear in American Arabian pedigrees.[1] Famous Skowronek offspring included his sonsRaffles, purchased by the American breeder Roger Selby,[15] and the stallions Raswan andRaseyn, exported to theW.K.Kellogg Arabian Stud in theUnited States.[16] Another son, Naseem, often said to be Skowronek's finest offspring, was exported to theTersk Stud in theSoviet Union, where descendantsNegatiw andNaborr were foaled.[17] Four of his daughters, including Reyna and Jalila, were sold to the stud of theDuke of Veragua inSpain.[18]
| Sire Ibrahim, d.b.** | d.b. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| d.b. | |||
| Dam Jaskoulka 1891 | Rymnik g. 1876 | Kortez 1870 | Cercle |
| Gonta | |||
| Hama | Kohejlan-Abu-Argub | ||
| Caramba | |||
| Epopeja 1897 | Derwisz 1858 | d.b. | |
| d.b. | |||
| Lira 1868 | Obejan-Maciuk | ||
| Kreolka |
* General Stud Book states 1909, Potocki pedigree states 1908
** "d.b." denotes "desert bred," indicating Middle East origin and no further named ancestors in the pedigree.
Ibrahim was imported to Poland by Potocki, who had pedigree records stating Ibrahim's sire was named "Heijer" and his dam, "Lafitte." However other sources state the sire's name was "Hejar". The dam was unnamed, but possibly of the Seglawi-Faliti strain.[11]
LC no 71-247969 (no ISBN listed)