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| The French horses at Tersk were
providing traits of dryness and sound structure but many of the progeny needed
the addition of Arabian type. The next major step in the development of the
Tersk program began with a trip in 1936 by a delegation of Russian horsemen to
visit Lady Wentworth's Crabbet Park stud
in England. |
| The visit was timely as the Arabian market was in a relative slump due to the
unsettled economic conditions in Europe. Crabbet was overstocked at the time,
with over 120 horses in residence. The maintenance costs for such a large
establishment were enormous. |
| An initial visit was made, followed two weeks later by a second appointment
and a request to purchase a group of horses. Lady Wentworth was known to be a
shrewd trader, but economic pressures made it necessary for her to part with
some horses that she wished to keep. |
| The Russians shared Lady Wentworth's admiration for horses with strongly
identifiable type and size. They also refused to purchase certain horses until
they had specific individuals included in the package. The most important was
the stallion Naseem. Upon completion of the negotiations, the Russians had purchased a total of
six stallions and 19 mares. |
| Pedigrees All of the English horses had pedigrees originating from the stallions
Mahruss, Ibrahim, Ibn
Nura, Mesaoud, and from the mares
Rodania, Dafina, Dajania, Bozra, Sobha, Ferida and Hagar. Mahruss had nine sons and daughters
represented. Ibrahim was represented with five offspring through his son Skowronek. Ibn Nura, through his grandson Rasim, had five represented. The Rodania family
had eight horses represented, Dajania had seven varied progeny, and Sobha's
family representatives numbered four. |
| The pedigrees of the English mares reflected significant inbreedings to
Mesaound. Two mares with great production records at Tersk, Rixalina and Rissalma, had heavily inbred pedigrees. It is
of interest to note that the pedigree of the important contributor, Naseem, does
not indicate inbreeding. |
| Mares Among the mares, Rissalma, Rixalina, Ruella and Star
of the Hills were the most important. Star of the Hills' female line was
greatly cherished by the stud masters at Tersk. Her line became established
through her granddaughter Taktika, and
through her great-grandsons Pietuszok and
Topol. Rissalma and Rixalina were Rissla daughters and were very influential in
the Russian breeding program. Rissalma produced horses known for strength and
stamina. She was the dam of Priboj.
Rixalina made a significant contribution through her son Korej (by Kann), and ultimately through the sons of
Korej: Kankan, Knippel, and Mak. |
| Korej was born at Tersk in 1939. His pedigree represented one of the
most successful crosses of French and English lines. Korej was a successful
racer as well as an important sire. He left 211 get, of whom six sons and 15
daughters were retained for use at the stud. Korej died in 1958. The Korej son, Kankan, had a primarily Crabbet pedigree. Inbred, out of
Rixalina's daughter Nagrada (by Naseem),
he was used at stud through most of the sixties. |
| Knippel was foaled in 1954 and died prematurely at the age of ten. He was
champion of the 1961 All USSR Show, which is, in terms of importance, analogous
to the US National Championship but differs in that it is an all-breed show in
Russia. Knippel held the 7,000 meter record, was twice winner of the Comparison,
and winner of the Elite and Name of USSR as well. Knippel took all three major
races in 1959. Eleven of his daughters were retained for use at the stud. |
| The final Korej son of interest, Mak, was foaled in 1956. A winner of the USSR
three-day event championship in 1956, Mak was a 15.2 H chestnut. He was also a
race winner at Tersk. The male line of Korej is carried through Mak to his son,
Kumir. |
| Shareer had been a good sire in England
and arrived at Tersk with his son Rytham
and his daughters Rissalma and Rashifa.
Shareer was used only one year at Tersk and he died in 1937 after an accident.
Shareer's daughter Rissalma, produced the important stallion Priboj (by Piolun), and the daughters Florencia, Naturalistka, and Praga. |
| Rytham had four daughters and two sons kept for breeding at Tersk. The sons were
eventually transferred from the stud. These lines continue today at Tersk
through two of Rytham's daughters, Raduga
and Rezeda II. |
| Ferhan was bred primarily to French
mares and had two sons and five daughters retained for use at the stud. Ferhan's
daughter Fadbanka was the dam of the 1961
Champion 3-day event horse, Profil.
Ferhan's daughter Figurantka produced 13
foals, most noteworthy being the mares Strofa, Sfera, and Platforma. |
| Jeruan was given every opportunity
at Tersk and sired 19 foals. None, however, was of sufficient quality to be
maintained in the purebred program. |
| Stallions Of the stallions purchased from Crabbet, the best sire one was Naseem.
Siglavi in type, Naseem was used for service at Tersk for 17 years until his
death at the age of 31 in 1953. Overall, Naseem's progeny did not excel in
jumping ability and lacked good quality of movement. The smallest in the group
of Crabbet stallions, Naseem's measurements were 147, 174 and 18.5 cm. He
generally sired horses of moderate height. |
| Born in 1922, Naseem was a son of Skowronek and out of Nasra. His contributions to breeding programs
worldwide are significant. Acclaimed by Lady Wentworth as the best son of
Skowronek, Naseem lived up to his reputation. In England in 1934, he sired Raktha, who in turn sired Silver Drift, Serafix, and Indian Magic. |
| At Tersk, Naseem sired 87 purebred foals including the champions Negativ and his full sister Nitochka. Nineteen of his daughters were
retained for use at the stud. In addition to Nitochka (out of Taraszcza) the most valuable to the program
were the mares Nagrada (out of Rixalina)
and Naturalistka (out of Rissalma). Four
of Naseem's sons were maintained in the Tersk program. |
| The most important Naseem son was Negativ. The line of Naseem is currently
represented by descendants of this stallion. Foaled in 1945, Negativ stood at
stud 11 years. He won two races in Russia and was also named Champion at the All
Union Exhibition. Negativ was sold to Poland in 1962 at the age of 17 and
succeeded his son Naborr at stud. Negativ
died in 1973 at the age of 28 after a very successful stud career. |
| Of the four Negativ sons used at Tersk, Naborr, Suvenir and Salon are of greatest interest. Naborr, a
premier son of Negativ, was used sparingly at stud for two years at Tersk. He
was sold to Poland in 1957 and six years later was resold to the US. Naborr's
influence in North America has been staggering. His progeny have won hundreds of
major championships including over 30 US National and 20 Canadian National
Championships. Naborr was known as Nabor
in Poland and Russia. |
| The Negativ son Suvenir was foaled in 1957 and is a full brother to Salon.
There are 36 of his get registered through Volume IV of the Russian Stud Book.
In comparing the two brothers (Suvenir and Salon) Salon was the more popular
stallion at Tersk and certainly a superior sire. |
| Salon (Negativ x Sonata) was foaled in 1959. A winner of the Certificate of
First Degree, Salon stood at stud from 1964 until his sale to Germany in 1971.
Sixty-four Salon offspring are recorded in the stud book. Through Volume IV of
the Russian Arabian Stud Book, there were 16 Salon daughters in use at the stud
and one son, Moment. Fifteen offspring
have been named National Champions. The most notable of the group is Muscat, with National Championship honors in
both the US and Canada. Salon's use in Germany was limited. He was imported to
America where he gained immediate recognition as a sire of note. |
| Conclusion In general, the crosses of the French stallions onto the English mares
produced foals of better quality, conformation, and beauty than either of the
parents. The breeding results were generally unpredictable, however. The most
successful example of the French/English cross was the stallion Korej (Kann x
Rixalina) as mentioned. |
| After the most rigorous selection of the 19 female lines imported from
England, only five are still in use at Tersk today. |
| The breeding results from the English stallions at Tersk were varied. For
example, Raseem sired ten foals but only two daughters were retained for use at
the stud. The contribution of his daughter Rixalina is detailed above. |
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