The medal's obverse bears head of Arabian horse, facing left, stylized moon sickle behind. Around, 1908 · ARABIAN · HORSE · CLUB · OF · AMERICA ·
The reverse bears streamer running in zig zag down height and width of medal. On streamer, AWARDED / IN · CLASS / (empty) / HORSE SHOW / (empty) / (empty)
The Arabian Horse Club of America was established in 1908 in New York. The founding members were Henry K. Bush-Brown, Homer Davenport, Charles A. Voetsch, Francis A. Huck, and James B. Kilburn. You might notice that one of the founders was Bush-Brown who also designed the medal!
Today, the club is incorporated under the name of Arabian Horse Registry of America, Inc, and in 2002 had 27,500 associate members.
The history of Arabian horses in America is quite interesting. After his second term as U.S. President, Ulysses S. Grant traveled the world. In 1877 he visited Sultan Abdul Hamid II in Turkey and, well-known as an admirer of horses, was gifted two Arab stallions by the sultan. One of the two eventually ended up in America and, together with another stallion and two mares can be considered the first purebred Arabian breeding program in the U.S.
The second important influence is tied to the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. The Turkish exhibition included 45 purebreds. The mare Nedjme and the stallion Obeyran stayed in the U.S. and became horses #1 and #2 in the Arabian Horse stud book.
The circular medal measures 50.6mm in diameter and was struck in bronze and silver by the Medallic Art Company of New York. No mintage is reported.
References: MACo 1916-002