Our Quest #39
an occasional newsletter for davenport enthusiasts
copyright April 1999
used by permission of Charles & Jeanne Craver

Craver Farms

Charles & Jeanne Craver
Rt 2 Box 262
Winchester Il 62694
(217) 742-3415
email
 

Page 8

Fran Dewey

Fran Dewey—who appears above as a “Greener Pastures” entry—and her late husband, George, were recruited for Davenport breeding by our all-time champion missionaries on the subject, Ed Skinner and his late wife, Hope, of Littlerock, California. On October 27, l994, which was after the death of George, Fran sent this account of the joint Davenport venture through which they contributed a valuable dimension to Davenport breeding. Like many retired military people, the Deweys had a sense of adventure that added zest to their lives and to the privilege of knowing them. Fran wrote:

  

Divine Lilli, owned by Randy & Kathy Jamison, Riner VA

"It’s regrettable that Fancy Flight hasn’t produced more foals for you. When George and I took her in 1973 we immediately enlisted Dr. Lange’s assistance in getting her into breedable condition. He had been so successful in getting Tyranah into production that we had faith in him as far as Fancy Flight was concerned. However, as with Tyranah, it took months of treatment with hormone & vitamin shots & countless palpations to bring her to that stage. When she finally produced a follicle, we took her to Pollocks’ for breeding to Dharantez, but that wasn’t successful so we took her to Skinners’. George took Dr. Lange to Skinners’ numerous times while she was there to monitor her progress, & that was when Skinners became acquainted with Dr. Lange. Ed bred Fancy Flight to Said & in due time she produced a filly, much to everyone’s delight. Maybe the 5 foals she produced in the ensuing years will be all we’ll get, but considering her reproductive system’s being what it was, we probably should be grateful that we got any, & we have Dr. Lange to thank for that.

"Tyranah was another story. She was not as easy to handle nor to treat as Fancy Flight. Actually, chronologically, we went through our trials and tribulations with Tyranah first. After we transferred her from Pollocks’ to our pasture in Santa Barbara, we asked Dr. Lange to come out & take a look at her. We had been taking a course in Horse Management that he taught at City College & had become well acquainted with him. He agreed, although he was semi-retired. Tyranah had ovarian cysts which had to be eliminated before we could prepare her for breeding. That was accomplished, & it took six months in all, of treatment & exams & set-backs, before we were ready to take her to Pollocks’ for breeding to Dharantez. Dr. Lange would meet us at Pollocks’ when he had horses to treat in the San Fernando Vally, & continued to examine & treat Tyranah at Pollocks’.

"Finally, after much blood, sweat, & tears, she was ready to breed, but the attempt failed miserably. So, we took her to the Merle Ellis's in Barstow the next morning for breeding to Nahas. The Ellises were successful, & eventually we got a beautiful filly, Bint Nahas. She is the only 100% Davenport offspring of Nahas—the last of a line. Unfortunately, Nahas died before we could get a second foal from him, but we were able to talk Pollock into trying again, & in due time bred Tyranah to Dharantez. She had a lovely black filly, Dharantanah—the only female 100% Davenport among the get of Dharantez. Tyranah had 2 more foals—a filly by Astrologer, & a colt by our stallion, Silvantez (a Dharantez son). Tyranah never went to Skinners. The breeding of these 2 mares (Tyranah & Fancy Flight) was a major part of George’s & my lives for several years—we devoted a great deal of time, work & expense toward that end, & I like to think that our efforts made a contribution to the Davenport program. Certainly we never could have done it without Dr. Lange, for without him those 2 mares would have remained barren.

"And I can’t close without including Silvia. She was never any problem, either in handling or in breeding, but she made a significant contribution in her own right by giving us 2 foals by Dharantez, Ibn Dharantez & Silvantez. She was a wonderful mare & never gave us any trouble—breeding her to Dharantez was smooth sailing. With her help, 3 out of 5 of Dharantez’s 100% Davenport get were bred by us.

"I hope I haven’t bored you with all of this history (I kept a journal) but I felt I should set the record straight as a tribute to Dr. Lange & George.

"I’m happy to hear that you have a Silvia grandson. I know where he gets his sweet disposition—Silvantez does, too, & is very easy to handle."

Turn to Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
 

Return to: Craver Chronicles

Return to: Your Quest

To subscribe to Craver Farm's Quest Talk:
Carol Lyon's Our Davenport Album:

The Davenport Bulletin Board

The Davenport Arabian Mailing List

The Al Khamsa Horseman List

Return to: Articles of History

Return to: Arabian Vision's Archives


 

 

 

This page hosted by
Get your own Free Home Page

1