Horse-breeding in the Tambov Area

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Vorontsov-Dashkov was interested in cross-breeding more than anybody else. He always was present at horsing, sitting under a glass cap at center above one of the stables. The count considered it to be so important, that often forced his spouse Elizaveta Andreevna (Shuvalova before marriage) to be present on it with visitors, which were in Novotomnikovo that time. The visitors were only grand people: the members of tzar family, which arrival was marked with planting of one more tree in oak alley of ancient park. Such as relatives of four daughters married off in families of Shuvalov’s, Sheremetyev’s, Musin-Pushkin’s, and Demidov’s.

The conversations about horses touched common interest, as all aristocracy had stables and stud farms. This kind of private business was considered to be almost the only activity that is not derogating dignity of a true aristocrat.

By the end of 19th century on private and state stud farms in Russia there were 20 trotters prizewinners of an American origin. In the mass order there was a crossing of blooded Oryol dams with American trotters.

The most given was Vorontsov-Dashkov. Even two victories of “oryols” over “americans” in summer season of 1898 didn’t cool him. The Oryol trotter Boets broke the record on three miles established by American trotter Monnet. His own mare Krylataya broke the record of Monnet on three and three quarters of second in the same season. But he had made the choice, « his knight's move », and was not going to back up. Soon the count accepted on a service all jockeys of Clayton’s family with the fantastic salary 300 thousands rubles per year.

The outstanding scientist hippologist prince Sergei Urusov engaged in controversy against Vorontsov-Dashkov. Urusov considered cross-breeding «as a medicine not by illness». «The only developing of ability to quick trot, as they have made with the trotter in America, - he wrote, - will result in quick but narrow, boneless, long-legged horse without rib and quite often without a back and completely useless in agriculture. It is necessary to improve inside the breed. Bad can be born even from good but never good from bad ».

Many years have passed since then and this dispute has not finished yet.

After the death of the count Vorontsov-Dashkov in 1916 his heirs, going to leave the country, arranged cut-price sale of all horses’ elite of the farm. In Soviet time it became only a branch of state stud farm in Morshansk.

By 1918 in Novotomnikovo left only three blooded mares of Oryol breed. Horses were taken from stables both by “red” and “white”. The very nice farm before now it fell to desolation and, as the saying goes, the farm was going. For long time it was existing only as horsing point, on which only a dozen of mares were blissomed per year.

By a lucky chance among the three left blooded Oryol dams there was the young mare Opora. Later she was bound to play the outstanding role in domestic horse-breeding and to save the breed of Oryol trotters from complete oblivion. In a 1934 she gave birth to a colt named Otboy. His father was stallion Burelom born in 1927. The Moscow scientist hippologist S. Kalinin liked this streamlined trotter after the Moscow races in 1930 and advised to pay the special attention to him.

Meanwhile stud farms kept cross-breeding of Oryol trot horses, what was started before the revolution. Only now they cross-breed blooded Oryol mares not with American trotters, the state did not give money to buy them, but with crossbreeds’ posterity. At first they were called “american-oryols”, then just Russian trotters. They were propagated on six stud farms, mainly on Lavrovsk farm in our region.

The big work was performing continuously on creating and developing of that new breed of thrifty trotters. The care for Oryol trotters was paled into insignificance. The majority of the experts believed that this breed had reached the limits of the further perfection. And, as it turned out, they were wrong.

Today in stalls of Novotomnikovo stud farm stay the good-lookers of Oryol breed restored by the efforts of horse-breeding enthusiasts. The farm fosterlings have reached friskiness, which once was considered possible only for American trotters. Now the Russian troyka, made from Oryol trotters revives abroad as the mode. The customers from abroad readily buy them in Novotomnikovo.

One cannot name the work on cross-breeding of Oryol trotter with American one as reckless step. If due to Oryol trotter Russia gained the improved breed of working horses in place of bow-backed hacks with bangled stomachs, then the cross-breeding of Oryol horse gave the new breed of Russian trotter of distinct sportish type.

There is no other animal like horse the mankind is so indebted to. Without the count Aleksei Orlov we would not have Oryol trotters, which bring glory to Russia for many years, making an ornament to our nation. We would not receive a trotter, which is used for breed improvement of trotting horses almost in all countries of Western Europe, and also in Asia and America.

For the revirescence of beautiful Oryol trotter we are obliged to S. Kasimenko. It was him, who managed the farm and choose the dams for Burelom. In such selection the ancestry of dams is very important, down to their great-grandfathers and great-grandmothers and even deeper into a family tree. All their features and qualities are taken into account. All was clear with Burelom, the son of distinguished Oryol trotter Lovchiy. Maternally his bloodline ascended to the famous stallion Zadorniy, who brought the first glory to Novotomnikovo farm of Vorontsov-Dashkov. But the mare Opora, born even before October revolution, was in declining years for horses and seemed to be not a suitable bride for young beauty Burelom. However Kasimenko took chances. As we mentioned, stallion Otboy was born from this unequal march. The careful godfather to him became A. Samoilov, who replaced Kasimenko in a 1934.

At first Otboy didn’t show anything special in posterity. They have from him just common trotters and dams not distinguished by high friskiness, only their exterior was faultless.

The farm decided to part with Otboy. He was sent to other stud farm. And here we should say thanks to A. Popov, who was the head of horse department during the Great Patriotic War. Popov decided to return Otboy in Novotomnikovo. But the new head V. Remizov received him there. Popov went to the front in 1943 and did not come back on farm, as well as other 36 workers of farm - hostlers, jockeys, foragers, tractor operators, smiths didn’t return here after war.

Remizov had been working in Novotomnikovo till 1965, and in his time a new line in breed of Oryol trotter was born and appeared the new branch on his family tree. The grey colt Otklik came into being after Otboy and mare Konventsiya on Zaporozhye stud farm in 1952. Konventsiya had arrived on this farm from Novotomnikovo already pregnant. So all palms for a new line of Oryol trotter belong to the stud farm in Novotomnikovo.

The posterity of Otklik appeared to be marvelously quick. The stallions Vodovorot and Borets ran a mile for two minutes and four tenths of a second.

The interest to Oryol trotter has revived today all over the world. Horses from Novotomnikovo have purchased the stud farms of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, China, Germany, and Sweden. All America and Canada have got acquainted with troika of Oryol trotters, where the thiller was a trotter from Novotomnikovo farm. The millions of televiewers in these countries admired them. Many newspapers of Old and New World enthusiastically wrote about them.

The Lavrovo stud farm

The Lavrovo stud farm is located in Mordovian area of Tambov region and stands out against other trotting stud farms because of the achievements of its fosterlings.

Established by the good judge of horses V.P. Voeykov 170 years ago, the Lavrovo stud farm is one of «big fishes» of domestic trotters. Ii is the birthplace of the well-known grey Oryol trotter Lebed 5.44 (Atlasniy - Pobeda), born in1829. He is on the pictures of the artist N.G. Sverchkov and on the tapestry made by bondmaids from village Lavrovo. These things are kept in the museum of horse-breeding of TAA.