The Boudienny horse

Gifted for jumping, he’s a fast galloper.

As good under saddle as in light draft, this is an excellent all-round competition horse (dressage, show jumping, steeplechase) that is also oriented towards equestrian leisure. This light horse was created after the Russian Revolution of 1917, in response to Marshal Boudienny’s desire to have a high-performance horse for the army. The Don horse was not considered to be fast enough, and it was this shortcoming that led to the creation of this breed of horse. Another version puts the emphasis more on the fact that the Soviet army was short of horses, and that this breed was intended to make up for this shortage, rather than the speed of the horses used by soldiers and officers at the time. Whatever the case and whatever the versions, it’s undeniable that the Boudienny horse was created with a martial purpose in mind. The breed is the product of crossbreeding the Thoroughbred with Don and Chernomor mares. The latter, lighter than the Dons, were the former Cossack horses. The first offspring were called Anglo-Dons. Breeding, governed by strict selection, was concentrated in the Rostov region. The breed was officially recognized in 1949.