The Renaissance of the Russians

Anyone who has only found his way to the Arabian horse in the last 10-15 years hardly knows the “Russians”, because athleticism and movements, substance and caliber have been pushed far behind type, “refinement”, dish and once more type in Arabian horse breeding. But maybe we see a little renaissance of the Russians again?

Those a little bit older among us probably still remember how the “Russians” dominated the show ring from the mid-1980s to the 1990s. It was the days, when Gips was doing his rounds trotting like clockwork in Aachen and was completely chilled at the exit, as if you had switched him off. Or Vodelej, who demonstrated his trotting ability round after round, while the handlers had to take turns to keep up with him – and the audience was racing with enthusiasm.
That was the era of the Russians, when movements, substance and athleticism were still in demand in the show ring. Later, when mainly “type” counted, the winning horses became more and more “refined”, and the Russians fell behind. Therefore, the Russian mares were covered with “show stallions” in order to make the offspring “showable”. The consolidated damlines were sometimes maintained because they were often able to give the show horses at least some substance, even after several generations, but only a few breeders, especially those from the endurance riding scene, stuck to their “Straight Russians” and subjected them to a performance test wherever possible or they rode them in endurance competitions, etc. Over the years, and due to this change in time, “Straight Russian” stallions in particular became short in supply.

What are “Russian Arabians”?

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