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| The Tersk Stud was officially
established on February 11, 1921, on the orders of Marshal Semyon Budyonny. The
breeding farm was used to restore the Russian horse population, which suffered
heavy losses during the Russian Revolution. |
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Early history In the 1880s, Count Sergei Aleksandrovich Stroganov and his
brother-in-law Prince Aleksandr Grigorievich Shcherbatov found a spot at the
foot of Mount Zmeika (“small snake” in Russian) in the Northern Caucasus they
felt was ideal for establishing a horse breeding farm. The two traveled to the
Middle East in 1889 and purchased several purebred Arabian horses for use in
their new breeding program. Stroganov also purchased horses from Crabbet Arabian Stud in England, including the
mares Makbula and Sobha, and the stallion Mesaoud, who came from Crabbet Stud by way of
Kleniewski Stud in modern-day Poland. |
| Russian revolution and Civil War
Shcherbatov died in 1915. During the 1917 Russian Revolution, Stroganov
fled to Paris where he remained with his family until he died in 1923.
The Stroganov estate was seized by Russian revolutionaries and none of
the Arabians of the Stroganov and Shcherbatov programs are known to
have survived the Russian Revolution. In 1921 Marshal Semyon Budyonny,
an accomplished horseman and cavalry officer, ordered two farms near
Mineralnye Vody, the former Stroganov breeding farm and the nearby farm
of White Army General Sultan Ghirey-Klych to be renamed and used for
restoring the devastated Russian horse population. The the stud
was named Tersky Horse-Breeding Farm No. 169 and today is known as the Tersk Stud Farm. There is no indication
Stroganov and Shcherbatov or their breeding stock had any involvement in the
founding of the Soviet-run Tersk Stud. |
| Soviet-era Arabian horse program Arabians were re-introduced to the new Tersk Stud in 1925 and the first
French Arabian imports arrived in 1930.
These included the stallion Kann and six
mares, most notable of which was Carabine. Koheilan IV was imported from Hungary. The
French horses had generally good conformation but were lacking Arabian type, so
the stud’s managers searched for quality breeding stock with the characteristic
Arabian refinement. In 1936, a shipment of 25 horses came from Crabbet Arabian
Stud in England, some of which were descended from horses that had lived at the
Stroganov and Shcherbatov stud and perished during the revolution. There were
six stallions in the purchase, of which Naseem (a son of Skowronek and great-grandson of Mesaoud) was
the most influential. Among the mares, Rissalma, Rixalina, and Star of the Hills
left a significant impression on the breed. Tersk attempted to purchase
Skowronek himself from Crabbet Stud, but he was not for sale. |
| World War II added significant bloodstock to Tersk, at the expense of
Poland’s Arabian breeding program. In 1939 the Soviets removed many of the best
Arabians bred at Janów Podlaski Stud in Poland and marched them the 1,000 miles
back to Tersk Stud. Among the horses making the trek was Mammona, a bay suckling filly whose name meant
“treasure” in Polish. Mammona’s sire, Ofir, was also in the group of horses moved to
Tersk. He had already left his mark on the breed by siring the famous "three Ws"
in Poland: Witraz (the sire of *Bask), *Witez
II, and Wielki Szlem. Ofir did not
sire the same caliber of horses at Tersk as he did in Poland. |
| In 1941, to evade the advancing German troops, the Tersk horses were
evacuated to western Kazakhstan where they faced harsh weather and terrain.
However, they returned to Tersk in 1943 with few losses. |
| The Ofir daughter, Mammona, had an extensive influence upon the Tersk
breeding program. She produced the stallion Pomeranets, who influenced both the Arabian and
Trakehner breeds; the mares Nomenklatura
(dam of Nabeg), Monopolia (dam of Monogramma), Metropolia (dam of *Menes), Malpia (dam of *Muscat, 1980 U.S. & Canadian National
Champion Stallion, and *Moment), and
*Magnolia (dam of *Marsianin, 1981 U.S. National Champion
Stallion). |
| Aside from Ofir, other notable stallions brought to Tersk from Poland
included Piolun, the sire of Priboj (out of Rissalma, who had been purchased from Crabbet Arabian Stud); and Taki Pan, the sire of the mare Taktika, who produced the mare Ptashka and the stallions *Pietuszok and Topol (all by Priboj). Topol's son Naftalin sired very good racehorses, including
Aspect, who won an amazing 28 of 39
races. *Pietuszok was exported to Poland in 1958, where he sired successful
racehorses like Wosk, *Orzel, and Wilma (the dam of *Wiking, whose offspring have earned over $8
million in purses). |
| Another of the confiscated Polish mares, Taraszcza, was bred to the Crabbet-bred
stallion Naseem at Tersk and foaled a grey colt named Negativ in 1945. Negativ sired 12 foal crops in
Russia, but because they did not excel on the racetrack he was sold to Poland in
1962, renamed “Negatiw,” and sired better
racehorses out of the Polish mares. |
| Negativ’s best-siring sons at Tersk were Suvenir and *Salon, the latter the sire of both the U.S. and
Canadian National Champion Stallion *Muscat and Tersk head sire *Moment. Another
Negativ son, Nabor (later renamed *Naborr when he was imported to the U.S.), sired
just 9 registered foals at Tersk, apparently because his offspring were
considered too delicate for the Tersk program, and was exported to Poland in
1955. The Poles sought a stallion of the Ibrahim sire line, and had hoped to purchase
Negativ from Tersk but were unable at the time, but were satisfied to own his
son Nabor instead. Nabor was exported to the U.S. in 1963, becoming the first
Tersk-bred Arabian to go to the States.
*Naborr was owned in the United States by Anne
McCormack, and then upon her death was purchased at auction by Tom Chauncey and entertainer Wayne Newton. None of Negativ’s Tersk-bred daughters had a significant influence on the
Tersk program. |
| After World War II, Tersk imported a few stallions from Poland: Arax in 1958, Semen in 1962, and Elfur (a full brother to *El Paso) in 1972. Of these stallions, Arax had
the greatest impact on Tersk’s program, siring the influential stallion Nabeg and a number of quality
daughters. Nabeg's most influential daughters include the U.S. National Top Ten
Mare *Poznan, and Pesnianka, a dam of race and show champions in
Europe. Nabeg’s sons include the stallions *Menes, *Pesniar, and *Nariadni, all three imported to the U.S. Peleng, another son, was sold for $3.2 million
but tested positive for piroplasmosis (Equine babesiosis) and was never
permitted to enter the U.S. Nabeg can also be found in Trakehner pedigrees
through some of his sons and daughters. Unfortunately Nabeg died young, having
left only eight foal crops. |
| In 1958, the Sid Abouhom son Nil
(named Azmy in Egypt) was a gift to the Soviet Union from Egypt in appreciation
for the USSR’s assistance in funding the Aswan Dam. Nil sired only 16 foals
before his untimely death in 1960, but still left a lasting impression on the
Tersk program. His loss was unfortunate because, based on his structure and
brief siring record, Nil could have been as significant to Tersk as his
successor. In 1963, the Egyptian government gave another stallion to the Soviet
Union, Raafat by Nazeer, who was renamed Aswan by the Soviets in honor of the dam
project. |
| Aswan had a profound influence on the Tersk breeding program. As a
whole, the broodmare band at Tersk had generally good structure but lacked some
elements of Arabian type. Aswan introduced, a more extreme dished head with
large nostrils, large expressive eye, long level croup, and high tail carriage.
He also had obvious faults, such as offset front knees, post-legged back legs, a
long low back, a "wasp-waist," and a thick neck and throatlatch. But because
Aswan’s faults were different than the Tersk mares’ faults, they often
complemented each other well. |
| Aswan sired 299 offspring over 20 seasons at Tersk, more than any other
stallion in the stud’s history. Some of Aswan’s best-known sons included Palas
(out of a daughter of Nil, the first stallion given to the USSR by Egypt), who
was exported to Poland and became a head sire at Janow Podlaski for many years;
Kilimanjaro, a German National Reserve
Champion who sired champions in North America and Europe; Patron, who sired the U.S. and Canadian
National Champion Stallion *Padron before
his untimely death; and Plakat, a
European champion who sired many champions himself. |
| Aswan excelled at siring broodmares. Examples include Pesnia, the dam of *Pesniar, who was purchased for $1 million and
imported to the U.S. in 1981; Molva,
called Aswan’s most beautiful and best-producing daughter by former Tersk
director Alexander Ponomarev and the dam of Wympel; and Karinka, a full sister
to Kilimanjaro, an accomplished race mare and the dam of Russian Derby winner
and European Champion Stallion Drug. |
| The *Menes son Balaton, out of
the Aswan daughter Panagia, was foaled in
1982 at Tersk and was immediately identified as the stud’s next great hope.
Balaton became one of the youngest stallions to become a head sire at Tersk at
just three years of age, and Tersk Director Alexander Ponomarev called him "the
horse of the century at Tersk" after his first foal crop arrived. |
| The Balaton son Kubinec, out of
the *Muscat daughter Kosmetika, was
foaled at Tersk in 1987. A chestnut with a wide blaze going all the way over his
nose and lips, Kubinec’s white markings weren't considered acceptable in the
Tersk breeding program. According to Dr. O.A. Balakshin of the All Russian
Research Institute of Horse Breeding, “Too many horses now have white markings
on their head and legs. This is undesirable and should be eliminated by
selection.”. Kubinec was sold in 1991 and began making his mark in European show
rings. He was named German National, European, and World Champion Stallion as
well as European Conference of Arab Horse
Organizations (ECAHO) "Five Star Stallion" and his offspring are
desirable around the world today. |
| In the mid-1980s, Tersk Stud introduced a few different outcross stallions,
such as the Polish imports Gvizd ("Gwizd" in Poland) and Harfiaj ("Harfiarz" in Poland) and the English-bred pure
Spanish Esplendor. Gvizd, Harfiaj, and
Esplendor left Tersk but some of their descendants were used in the Tersk
breeding program. Of the three outcross stallions, Gvizd had the greatest
influence through a few of his daughters and his son, Negasimyi, who later became a sire of
racehorses at Tersk in the mid-1990s. Gvizd's daughter Purga produced the
stallion Padishah (by race winner Drug),
who won several halter championships in Europe in the early 2000s. Gvizd also
sired Pogojii, winner of four stakes
races in Russia. |
| Post 1991 Stud History The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 brought Tersk's future into
question. |
| Influence Of American Buyers By the mid-1980s, Russian Arabians were viewed as an exotic and
profitable business in the U.S. Notable examples include *Pesniar, who was
purchased from Tersk in 1981 for $1 million, and Peleng, who was purchased for
"well in excess of $3 million" in 1985. Before American-purchased Tersk Arabians were eligible for registration
in the U.S., Howard F. Kale traded two
Standardbred stallions worth $1 million each to Tersk Stud for the stallion
*Muscat. |
| Russian horses also retained their value within the U.S. A half-interest in
the aged broodmare *Nariadnaia was sold at auction in the U.S. for $580,000 in
1983 and the stallion *Abdullahhh was
sold for $3.2 million at a U.S. auction in 1984. The Soviets noticed the
inflated prices that westerners were willing to pay for their horses and
accordingly set high reserves on their auction lots. |
| Prices began to come down at the annual Tersk auction starting in 1985
and the values of all big-investment Arabian horses dropped dramatically after
the U.S. tax laws were changed in 1986. After that point, breeding "straight
Russian" Arabians, or horses that were descended only from Tersk-bred horses,
was not as common in the U.S. Some American breeders increasingly crossed
Russian-bred horses with other lines to produce more exotic type and movement, while Arabian sport
horse breeders outcrossed to Russian lines for their athletic ability. |
| Acceptance By The American Arabian Registry The Arabian Horse Registry of
America (AHRA) did not approve the Russian Stud Book until 1978, meaning
any Arabians imported to the U.S. directly from Tersk Stud were not permitted to
be registered. The reason given by the Registry in a letter to Mr. Ed Tweed was
“we mustn’t deal with the Russians” after Tweed attempted to register the
Tersk-bred mares *Napaika and *Palmira and the stallion *Park in 1963. Tweed
argued that the Tersk-bred *Naborr was registered by AHRA that same year with no
problems, to which the registry replied that a Russian-bred horse may be
registered by AHRA as long as the horse was owned in England or Poland for
several years before its sale to the U.S. (*Naborr was sold by Tersk to Poland
and used there for a number of years before he was imported to the U.S.) “We
(Americans) are not as intimately acquainted with the Russians as the Poles and
British, and we need not deal with them.” AHRA eventually accepted and approved the registering of Arabians
imported directly from the Soviet Union in 1978, and *Napaika and *Palmira were
registered that same year. |
| Tersk Environment Tersk Stud is located in the Caucasus
Mountains in southern European Russia. The nearby town, Mineralnye Vody,
means "mineral waters" and is renowned as a spa town. The abundant natural
mineral springs and beautiful scenery draw visitors from around the world. The
weather is mild, ranging from 40 degrees Fahrenheit in the winter to nearly 80
degrees Fahrenheit in the summer. |
| While the weather is not harsh, the mares and foals at Tersk Stud live a
rugged life outdoors most of the time. There are no fences around the stud, so
mounted watchmen follow and monitor the herds night and day. The horses are
brought into the barn twice each day to be fed and checked, but otherwise they
are free to enjoy the open spaces. |
| Breeding Operations Tersk is best known for its purebred Arabian horses, but it has also
hosted breeding programs for Akhal-Tekes, Terskys, Kabardins, and Dons. All
Terskys were transferred to nearby Stavropol Stud in 1945 to continue the
development of the new breed. |
| From the beginning of its history, the stud has tested its horses on the
racetrack. Tersk Arabians are sent to the Pyatigorsk racetrack at the age of two and may
race one or two seasons. The best performers race on Sundays, with two-year-olds
running 1,400 meters and older horses running 1,600 and 1,800 meters. The top
individuals may be used for breeding at Tersk or return to the racetrack for
another season. Many others will be sold at the age of three. |
| While race records are important to the Tersk breeding program, Dr.
Balakshin stated “…good racing results are not the only criterion for selecting
young stock for breeding purposes. Excellent runners which deviate from breed
type may be used for limited breeding or else they are eliminated from
selection.” |
| Any horse used for breeding at Tersk
is required to be rated “Elite” or “Grade I” in the Russian Stud Book. Horses
that receive lower grades are sent to other studs or sold. |
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