The Versatile Arabian Horse On Film: All-Arabian Horse Show, October 1955, Pomona, California

Certain images in this post are provided under the Fair Use provision in Section 107 of the United States Copyright Act. "Fair Use" specifically allows for the use of copyrighted materials for educational purposes only.

Much of what I share about Arabian horses from the 20th century comes from articles and photographs in books and  magazines. If I'm truly blessed, I can talk to someone who knew the horses and their humans and learn more of the details. 

Seeing famous horses in old "home movies," probably shot by amateurs, help me imagine what it would have been like to have been in the horse show ring "where it happened" (to borrow a phrase from Hamilton). This enhances my understanding of equine history in a unique way.

A good example of this is the legendary Arabian stallion *Serafix (1949-1973). Bred by the Crabbet Stud in England, *Serafix was imported to the United States in 1954 by horseman John Rogers of Walnut Creek, California. He went on to have a stellar career as a show horse and sire. His owners promoted him as "*Serafix the Beautiful." 

The photograph of him below was taken by another legend in the Arabian horse community, Johnny Johnston. Before he passed away in 2019, Johnston commented in a Facebook group that *Serafix was "truly magnificent."   

Source: Wikipedia

Author Jim Panek remembered first seeing *Serafix in his article that appeared in the March/April 1986 issue of The Crabbet Influence magazine (link below).

"*Serafix was truly a magnificent specimen. At that time I didn't know or care how good an Arabian he was; it was his magic, his charisma, his bloom, his attitude, his indescribable 'noblesse oblige' that, in my eyes, has yet to be duplicated."

Panek remembered the stallion's fire, poise, and balance, with skin "like tissue paper."

I'd heard of *Serafix all my life, but never saw him in person. You can imagine my excitement when I spotted *Serafix in this old film that was donated to the W. K. Kellogg Arabian Horse Library at Cal Poly Pomona by the Arabian Horse Association of Southern California. It has been digitized and made available online, for free (and ad-free) viewing on the California Revealed website.

https://californiarevealed.org/do/8cba4b2f-0deb-4942-b864-5915d2305b9c

(I'll share the link again at the end of this post, in case you want to read through first.) 

The online description reads:

"This silent, color film contains footage of the Arabian Horse Association of Southern California’s 11th Annual All-Arabian Horse Show in Pomona, California. The film contains footage of several men and women leading horses into an riding arena, and showing them off to the crowd and judges. The names of the horses are shown in the film, as well as the prizes that some of the horses received. Later on in the film, there [are] views of men and women riding the horses in the arena. 

"The Arabian Horse Association of Southern California was founded in 1944 to promote the Arabian horse breed, educate owners on proper care, and to study the history and characteristics of Arabian horses."

This old film is interesting and useful for many reasons -- not the least of which is the color footage of *Serafix himself. Here, he and his handler accept the trophy for Grand Champion of the Show. 

In looking at the film footage, we see the sparkle in his eyes, his commanding attitude, his silky coat as he shimmers across the screen. We feel his strength and grace.

A short article in the Los Angeles Times tells us that the Arabian horse show dates were Saturday and Sunday, October 15 and 16, 1955.

Los Angeles Times, Friday, October 14, 1955.

The film begins with a graphic telling us that this footage covers Sunday Morning.

Fortunately, someone took the time to edit the movie, inserting cards showing the names of the horses that won prizes for each class. As we watch the film, we see many other familiar mid-century Arabian horse names. Some of the contestants had traveled from other parts of California and other states.

FERNEYN 2865 (gray 1944, Ferseyn x Moneyna)
picks up his third place ribbon in the Stallions - 4 Years & Over class.

HY-GAYR 6302 (chestnut 1950, Gayr x Hyka) won the Geldings - 2 & Over Class. He also won the Combination and Park classes at the show.

The two-year-old gray NUSEYN 8883 (Nusik x Hallaseyna) was Reserve Champion Stallion of the show.

The gray 1952 mare ROSE RAHNAFIN 7588 (El Rahna x Fin) won the Champion Mare award. 

Over the course of a few years after World War II, Arabian horse shows had become larger, with more diverse classes than before. (At the end of this post I'll put a link to another story I wrote about a 1946 Arabian horse show staged by the same organization, so you can compare.)

Note: some of the performance classes shown in this film display activities that have since come under increased scrutiny because of concerns for the safety of horses and riders. (We even see one cutting horse fall, in the film.) Arabian costume classes are also the subject of much debate, over whether they are a tribute to the Arabian's heritage, or cultural appropriation.

Cutting, Pole Bending, Stock Horse, Parade, English Pleasure, Park, and Western Pleasure classes appear in the film. Owners and breeders were demonstrating the versatility of the Arabian horse during this post-war era, when it was not uncommon for American adults and children to ride horseback. (As well, they were competing for the public's attention with other versatile breeds, including Morgans and Quarter Horses.) 

A class for horses and riders in ornate costumes with sparkling tassels and pompoms demonstrates that the mid-1950s Arabian horse community in Southern California was leaning in to the romantic tales told of the breed's origins in the deserts of West Asia and North Africa. 

The 1945 gray stallion BALEYN 3272 (Alla Amarward x Babeyn) won the Arabian Costume -- Stallions class. In 1959, Baleyn would support Howard Keel, Susan Kohner, and Herbert Lom in the Hollywood blockbuster "The Big Fisherman," wearing a different costume.

The gray 1947 stallion FARNUR 4128 (Nur-Ed-Dam x Farhan) was awarded the title High Point Working Horse.

The film is more than a snapshot in time of a horse show. It reflects Southern California demographics and cultural norms in the post-war era. It illustrates the dress and hair styles of participants, and adds to our knowledge of recreation and entertainment back then. 

We see the way the Los Angeles County Fairgrounds in Pomona looked, decades before they were first rebranded as Fairplex in 1984. 

Equine historians and other horse experts can observe and discuss the various riding styles, and the nature of the classes. They will also note the changes in the physical appearance of an Arabian show horse over the decades.

And for the average horse lover? The film gives us a chance to "think like a historian" about how we take part in equestrian activities, while still appreciating the beauty of the horse and magic of the horse-human relationship. These are captured in time and preserved for us all -- through digitization.

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This is the second in a series of posts that underscore the importance of preserving and digitizing equine history material. Part One is here:

https://californiahorsehistory.blogspot.com/2026/03/post-war-treasure-found-arabian-horse.html

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Here's the California Revealed link again:

https://californiarevealed.org/do/8cba4b2f-0deb-4942-b864-5915d2305b9c

This film is also available if you're perusing the Internet Archive website: https://archive.org/details/cpomcp_000107

Here is *Serafix's Wikipedia entry, a short summary of his life and career. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serafix

Jim Panek's tribute to *Serafix is available here: 

https://crabbet.com/serafix-remembered/

The W. K .Kellogg Arabian Horse Library is an indispensable part of  Special Collections and Archives, University Library, Cal Poly Pomona. 

https://libguides.library.cpp.edu/wkkahl

You can search the Arabian Horse Association of Southern California records here:

https://oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/c8kk9j5x/