Book Review – THE QUAMBI STUD and Purebred Arabs of Sir James Penn Boucaut

[The Path to the Present] By Peter Clarke

If I was granted three wishes, one would be used to spend a day with Sir James Penn Boucaut. I’ve been a long admirer of his writing, which is full of thoughtful concern for the Arabian breed and its future. When you consider his words were written in the late 1800’s I can’t help but wonder if he owned a crystal ball. You also sense his obvious affection for the breed itself and his even deeper affection for his horses.

To imagine him sitting down to dinner with his wife and saying, ‘I might start a little stud of pure Arabian horses,’ makes you wish you could have been a fly on his wall. In the book he states, ‘… and I believe that the pure Arabs would be eminently useful in renovating Australian horse-flesh, I started a little stud.’ And so in the year 1891 Sir James attended a Crabbet Sale in the UK and purchased three horses to form a foundation of his stud.

Judge Boucaut’s determination sets one’s head spinning, when you think about transporting horses from the UK to Australia in this era. Nothing is more inspiring than to read about success combined with hardship.  Australian Arabian breeders should definitely make an effort to become acquainted with the legacy of Quambi, and this book introduces what the stud represents admirably. The insightful idea that the Arabian could improve all breeds to produce a horse suited to the harsh Australian conditions shows Judge Boucaut’s vision for the future.

If only all breeders possessed the intuition of Sir James. No one can take away the incredible fact that Quambi was the first stud in Australia to concentrate on breeding the purebred Arabian.

I must add that the photographs are a delightful treat, giving the reader a clear impression of life at Quambi in the late eighteen hundreds. Whether you agree or disagree with his opinions they certainly encourage some interesting discussions.

The listing of horses with pedigrees at the back of the book is a useful and fascinating resource for all pedigree enthusiasts. Thanks must go to the late Peter R. Clarke for documenting the beginning of Australia’s association with the Arabian horse. Also I must mention the tireless efforts of Coralie Gordon, Joan Flynn and Brother Peter McIntosh and others, what a great effort. Congratulations to the Arabian Horse Society of Australia for printing this chronicle.

Unequivocally, THE QUAMBI STUD and Purebred Arabs of Sir James Penn Boucaut [The Path to the Present] is a book Australian Arabian horse breeders should own even if Quambi bloodlines are not a part of their particular breeding program.

Breeding programs never really finish they just keep evolving. But the beginning of the Arabian horse in Australia is a vital part in gauging where the breed sits today. The more we learn means the more we’ll be able to make connections between pieces of knowledge – and the more creative we’ll become.  One should never forget that breeding is about continual learning, and the never ending search for answers.

THE QUAMBI STUD and Purebred Arabs of Sir James Penn Boucaut
[The Path to the Present] can be purchased from the Arabian Horse Society of Australia.
Tel: 61 2 4577 5366
www.ahsa.asn.au