Miss May Lyon on her foundation mare Howa in 1896. Howa was bred at Crabbet Park, by Azrek out of Harra.

The Harwood Arabian Stud was founded in 1896, when Colonel Lyon of Harwood House in Horsham bought the mare Howa from the 8th of the biennial Sales at Crabbet Park. Her sire was the lovely Azrek, and on her dam's side she was a descendant of Hagar, the original desert import who was famed for her ability to gallop long distances. As Lady Anne Lytton said in her 1972 article on the Stud, Howa was no beauty, despite her fine breeding, and although she was stated to be a Kehailat Ajuz, Lady Anne felt that she was more a Managhi type. She was bought for riding, and the photo shows Colonel Lyon's daughter Miss May Lyon elegant on this mare as an attractive young lady. May Lyon never married although when young she made a definite impression with her cloud of red hair and vivid colouring. It was decided to breed from Howa, and she became the foundation mare of the stud which continued until May's death aged 86 in the 1962. On the death of her brother she had inherited an Irish property, Rostrevor which was set in a stunning location on the shores of Carlingford Bay at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, and for a while she had horses there as well as in Horsham.

May Lyon shortly before her death with Georgie Calvert and Flying Storm.

May Lyon was a friend of Lady Wentworths, and was able to use the Crabbet stallions when she wished. Although she used some excellent Crabbet bloodlines in her stud, and bred some good horses, she was hampered in her efforts by her truly deplorable stud management, which grew worse as she grew older. As Lady Anne Lytton so graphically described Miss Lyon 'hated cows' and declined all advice on pasture management, and as a consequence the pastures were extremely horse sick, the horses were riddled with worms and often looked half starved.

Fancy Shadow ridden by Georgie Calvert and his son Cranleigh Red Shadow ridden by Marlyn Pollard. They won many pairs classes together.

Both studs continued to grow, and matters had reached a low ebb indeed by the time Miss Lyon died, but most fortunately the stud was inherited by Robbie and Monica Calvert. By then it consisted of 48 horses, and included two stallions, Fancy Shadow, by Bright Shadow out of Yavroum who was at Harwood, and Magnet by Dargee out of Rosalina who was at Rostrevor.

Magnet

After a hesitant start, the Calverts became fully committed to their new role as guardians of what at that time was arguably the oldest Arab Stud in England. Now, 40 odd years later, the title is undisputed, and Monica Calvert can look back with great satisfaction and pride at what has been achieved.

Immediately they took charge, the Calverts set about selecting which horses to keep, getting the worms under control, and ensuring that the health of the horses was what it ought to be. The Irish horses were moved to Horsham, and in 1963 they moved the entire stud to the newly purchased Hop Oast Farm, which was fresh ground for horses, and with excellent pastures, and good management, the horses began to be as good as their pedigrees. The Harwood name was retained to keep the continuity.

Zeus II shown by Mrs Nicholson

Not all was easy initially and there were disasters and ill luck in the early years, including the loss of three promising stallions in quick succession. Zeus II, bred at Crabbet and bought in Ireland from Mrs Nicholson, described by Lady Anne as ' just the right type for Harwood' was killed by a car. Kedowa, a young homebred stallion by Magnet died in a riding accident. Finally, and most grievously of all, the handsome young Crabbet-bred stallion Indian Flame II became savage and was put down at only 6 years old, although not before leaving some good foals.

Indian Flame

However, nothing daunted, the Calverts persisted, initially using their homebred stallions Magnet, Fancy Shadow and Harwood Asif and later Kasadi and Taqah. The mare lines remain those of Miss Lyon to this day, with the addition of Blue Sophonisba by Blue Domino in 1968, and much later, Pharitz Maneon, a mare with a Russian tail female line bought to race with. As Monica says 'There was a geat deal to learn about running a stud, and we had many disasters and made mistakes, but we also had successes and joys, and never regretted the decision to keep the horses and change our life' !

Taqah

The stud has continued exactly along the lines prophesied by Lady Anne Lytton, who stated in her 1972 article that the aims were for Harwood 'to breed the riding type of Arab, ie to concentrate on the good shoulder and first class legs which are very much a feature of their Arabs'. Any objective observer would have to say that the stud has not deviated from that goal. Monica puts it slightly differently when she says 'We are really interested in the performance horse, but like them to be beautiful - our aim is to produce beautiful riding horses', but the effect has been as Lady Anne predicted nearly 30 years ago.

Kasadi

Modern Harwood horses include many superb ridden Arabians, and racing has always been something that the stud has actively pursued from the very first meetings in 1978. Colts have always been gelded where not absolutely top class, long before this became accepted as the normal practice, and some fantastic geldings have gone on to make their names including the excellent ridden Champions Shannaz and Vikta.

Vikta shown by Christine Bayman. Photo:Anthony Reynolds

The horses still have good shoulders and good legs. Today they are no longer wholly English, but all their good qualities have persisted through the generations, and I feel sure that Lady Anne Lytton would not have been disappointed if she had returned for the Stud's Centenary in 1997.

Monica Calvert

So, the Harwood Arabian Stud has depended to date on the efforts to two ladies - Miss May Lyon, a Council Member in her day, and since 1962, Mrs Monica Calvert, a past President of the Arab Horse Society, a very long standing Council Member, and later a Governor of the Society. There are very few studs in the world which are more than 100 years old, and Harwood has only survived this long due to the fortunate chance that Monica and Robbie Calvert were able to become Arab Breeders when the need arose, even though they had had no previous interest in the breed, and that Monica developed into one of our most talented and enthusiastic exponents of the art of Arab Horse breeding. Following Monica's death in February 2007 the stud has now passed to her daughter Georgie Moore and her husband John. After almost a year the decision was taken to relocate the stud at Larkinglass Farm, Motcombe, Dorset as the Moores home was just too far from Hop Oast Farm. The horses will be joining a thoroughbred stud and racing yard at their new home and their comfort and future should be assured. The Moores are moving to a new home nearby and the horses will be under the immediate care of their business partner and friend Mrs Liz Harrington.