Tersk Stud
[2] 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.
[3][better source needed][4] The two traveled to the Middle East in 1889 and purchased several purebred Arabian horses for use in their new breeding program.
World War II added significant bloodstock to Tersk, at the expense of Poland’s Arabian breeding program.
[12] Among the horses making the trek was Mammona, a bay suckling filly whose name meant “treasure” in Polish.
[14] In 1941, to evade the advancing German troops, the Tersk horses were evacuated to western Kazakhstan where they faced harsh weather and terrain.
[13] 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).
[17][18] *Pietuszok was exported to Poland in 1958,[19] where he sired successful racehorses like Wosk, *Orzel, and Wilma (the dam of *Wiking, whose offspring have earned over $8 million in purses).
[20] 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.
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.
*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.
[23] 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.
[13] 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.
[36] 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.
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.
[23] 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.
[42] 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.
[47] While the weather is not harsh, the mares and foals at Tersk Stud live a rugged life outdoors most of the time.
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.
[48] Tersk is best known for its purebred Arabian horses, but it has also hosted breeding programs for Akhal-Tekes,[49] Terskys, Kabardins, and Dons.
