| Administrative History | These records of the Tadsor Arabian Stud Farm in Ticknall consist of administrative records of the farm and of their horses, awards from shows, photographs, and newspaper cuttings.
Tadsor Arabian Stud Farm was a small privately owned venture, which was set up in 1960. Mr. and Mrs. Haywood, having bred Arabian horses since 1957, took over the property by an informal agreement with Mr. Charles Harpur-Crewe. Through direct-line breeding, the Haywoods were able to preserve a rare gene pool of pure-bred Arabian horses. At its height the Stud consisted of 27 pure breds, all with a direct line to the first authenticated desert-bred Arabians imported by Wilfrid Scawen Blunt and Lady Anne Blunt of Crabbet Park, Sussex in July 1878. <http://en.wikipedia.org> Their achievements led to gifts of ceremonial saddles and regalia from the royal stables of Jordan and of Saudi Arabia.
Between 1962 and 1976, the farm had eight champions and four reserve champions in show. In 1968, the golden jubilee of the Arabian Horse Society, four of the farm's champions were chosen to appear at The Royal Show. In 1971 two of the horses, Khada and Rikki, were chosen by the President of the Horse of the Year Show Committee as horse personalities of the year, the premier award in the equine world. This honour brought them wide acclaim, including the congratulations of Prince Philip and Princess Anne. This accolade prompted the Haywards to open the farm to the general public. From 1972 open days at Tadsor Farm helped to raise many thousands of pounds for cancer research.
Following the death of Mr. Haywood in 1985, the frequency of showing the horses diminished, with Mrs. Haywood devoting her time to maintaining the quality of breeding. Then, in 1998, following ill health, Mrs. Haywood retired from Tadsor Stud. The remaining twelve pure-bred horses were initially cared for at the British Horse Society's Rescue Centre at Oxhill, south Warwickshire. Later, they returned perminently to the north Midlands to reside at Stonehouse Farm, Stoke, Staffordshire. |
| Custodial History | These records were donated to Derbyshire Record Office in March 2007. |