Arabian horses, spotted dogs show

Press, 23 February 1989, Page 6

Arabian horses, spotted dogs show

Two breeds of animals of ancient lineage will be shown together in Christchurch on Saturday. The world’s oldest purebred horses and strikingly spotted dogs will be on show at the first combined Arabian horse and Dalmatian Show at the Canterbury A. and P. Show Grounds. They will be judged by an English husband and wife team, Paul and Joan Atkinson, for the Canterbury Arabian Horse Club and the Dalmatian Club. Mr Atkinson will judge the horses, and Mrs Atkinson, the dalmatians. The Atkinsons own a combined Arabian horse stud and dalmatian breeding farm in North Humberside. Before starting the new horse stud, Mr Atkinson managed the former Grange Arabian Stud in Lincolnshire, for 15 years. The stud was widely regarded as the greatest stud in Britain. Mrs Atkinson is the honorary treasurer for the British Dalmation Club, which has the largest membership of three different clubs in Britain. Dodie Smith, the littleknown author of the story of “101 Dalmatians,” was also an honorary member of the British Dalmatian Club, Mrs Atkinson said. Arabian horses and dalmatians have more in common than meets the eye, the Atkinsons say. Arabian horses are among the oldest known recorded purebreds, originally bred by Bedouin (ribes. They are

best known for their stamina and endurance. All Arabian horse lineage can be traced back 3000 years. The dalmatians are also an ancient breed, originating in the Mediterranean. They have been bred for at least two centuries in Britain, where they gained an affinity with horses because of their role as carriage dogs. In the past they were traditionally used as guard dogs for horsedrawn coaches. A guard dog was usually seen running under the axle at the back of a carriage, which was why purebreds were not supposed to stand higher than 26 inches, the height of the axle, Mrs Atkinson said. Like Arabian horses, the dogs had great stamina and as carriage dogs it was not unusual for them to run up to 40 miles a day. Mrs Atkinson said the dogs were also a popular mascot with fire brigades in the United States, where they had traditionally been guard dogs at the firehouse and would run alongside the old horsedrawn fire engines. As judges, the couple have avoided reading anything about New Zealand dalmatians or Arabian horses to help them remain unbiased, Mr Atkinson said. They will be looking for high quality animals that were sound and representative of their breeds, he said. '|ji