История коневодства в Тамбовской области
История коневодства в Тамбовской области
Horse-breeding in the Tambov Area
Applicant: Irina Nikitina, the pupil of the 11 “B” form CG
Supervisors: L.I. Ivina, the teacher of Biology
L.N. Kozhevnikova, the teacher of English
Tambov 1998
Historically Tambov area has been known as the territory of chanters.
By the amount of private stud farms it challenged superiority of Voronezh,
Oryol and Kursk areas. The development of horse breeding in many respects
was promoted by two circumstances. First because of the flood plains, where
the herds freely grazed (only in one Morshansk area today are left about 20
thousands hectares even after rash ploughing up of a large part of flood
plains). Secondly, and it is also important, the deep pocket of the Tambov
landowners. They had large and sometimes fabulous capitals. So, one of
brothers Archarov’s, the holder of extensive lands in Rasskasovo area,
bestowed him by Katherine П, handed the whole horse regiment to the Tambov
national militia in 1812, by putting on the horses his own bonded recruits.
He also gave regimentals, armed and supplied the regiment with provisions
for three months. Nobody in Russia made such generous gift for army that
time.
Count Stroganov, princess Golitsina, general Lanskoy (the second
husband of Natalya Goncharova), Bashmakov - the Tambov millionaire and
holder of gold mines beyond Urals, old-line noblemen the Naryshkin’s, the
Arapov’s and many other had their own stud farms in Tambov area. The
Lavrovsky stud farm, which nowadays has worldwide glory, was built in
Tambov land by the landowner Voeykov.
The merchantry tried not to drop behind from the aristocracy. One
of the Aseev’s brothers, the holder of Arzhenka cloth factory, has
purchased the stud farm from a widow of the local broken landowner
Kruchenkov. The example of Aseev, but without the raping, was followed also
by other industrial aces from the districts of the region. It was
considered very prestigiously.
We should remember that horse-breeding remained one of the few
worthy commercial activities for the aristocrats. In 1840, when Chicherin,
the relative of our future Minister for Foreign Affairs, has opened
distillery in Lyada and the landowners Tulinov and Poltoratsky have
purchased cloth factories, noble society has apprehended it as mauvais ton.
But the pinces and dukes and members of the tsarist family very well
descended to trading horses from theirs stud farms.
All reading Russia knew from the story by Turgenev about
inveterate chanters from the district city of Tambov region with a
beautiful name - Lebedyan. But only few know today, that the fans of
equitation created there the first Russian association and issued first
horseracing journal. Much earlier than in metropolis and Moscow, the prize-
winning horserace of Oryol trotters were arranged in Lebedyan. Several
years later the same association of equitation fans was also established in
Tambov. This association built on share contributions the three-storey
building for its club on former Dvortsovaya, nowadays Sovietskaya Street,
one of first in the center of our city (now The Department of
Communications). In this club the horse-breeders from all Tambov districts
met at card tables and in the hall of extensive library.
The special page in a history of domestic horse-breeding were
written by the life copers brothers Demin’s from Kozlov. They managed to
get and turn over the blooded trotters even from Khrenov farm of count
Aleksey Orlov. Although, only after his death. While alive the count
strictly forbade selling his horses. Demin’s were in close friendship with
former count’s adscript Vasiliy Ivanovich Shishkin, the manager of Khrenov
farm. Shortly Shishkin opened his own stud farm.
The abundance of private stud farms in the region produced big
horse fairs, beginning from Lebedyanskaya and finishing with Tokaryovskaya,
one of cheapest in country. On Tambov fairs the merchants came a long way
from European countries, and also from Persia and Turkey. Only in 1897 61
580 horses were exported from Russia. Each tenth of them was purchased in
Tambov region. On fairs they sold not only separate horses, mainly it was
the business of small copers, the owners of stud farms sold the young
grossly, by so-called stakes after one famous stallion and different dams.
Unblooded horses on Tambov fairs were bought up for meat merchants from
Denmark. A kilo of horsemeat was equal in cost with a kilo of Danish
butter. Vneshtorg knows the price that the danish horsemeat lovers, the
horsemeat is the irreplaceable ingredient of top-grade sausage, are ready
to pay us for horses for meat.
Many brilliant trotters were grown up on Tambov stud farms. In
1904 at stud farm of Afanasyev in village Yaroslavka, now the territory of
Rzhaksa area was born grey stallion Krepysh. His father was Gromadniy, the
Imperial prizewinner, and the mother Koketka, the grand daughter of Varvar
– prizewinner from the farm of well-known horse-breeder Rogov. Changing
hands, Krepysh in a 1907 stepped on the turfs of Moscow and St. Petersburg
for the first time. By his graceful pace he made a conquest of fans.
Krepysh entered the competitions for 79 times and in 55 races he was the
first and he established or improved 13 records. With heartache thousands
of fans witnessed a loss of Krepysh in February 1912 in Moscow to the
American trotter General Age. They did not blame their favorite but his
american jockey William Keaton, who, they believed, intentionally drive
Krepysh in a wrong way.
The Novotomnikovo stud farm
The stud farm in Novotomnikovo played a large part in the
history of domestic horse-breeding; it was founded by count Illarion
Ivanovich Vorontsov-Dashkov in 1860 and still exists now. In short time he
bought up the best orlov’s stallions and dams, paying no attention to the
prices.
His new stud farm in Tambov area got famous after his bonded
jockey Oblopokhin on the stallion Zadorniy beat all capital jockeys on the
horses from the best prize-winning stables in St. Petersburg in 1861.
Zadorniy made three versts for 6 minutes and 6 seconds.
Vorontsov-Dashkov opened a new era in horseracing after he became
in 1882 a state manager of horse-breeding at tzar Alexander III request. At
that time he was the defense and domestic minister in the rank of adjutant
general.
He turned the horse-breeding from lairds’ merry-making into real
commerce. The prices on the private stud farms were raised up. The owners
of stud farms in Moscow or St. Petersburg could be lucky enough and win
whole bags in one racing season.
In the last quarter of 19th century in a pursuit of high prizes
the american jockeys began to appear in St. Petersburg and Moscow more and
more often on theirs so-called “two-minutes” trotters – they cover a mile
(1600 meters) for two minutes and some seconds.
One of the first to Russia from America came Clayton’s, the well-
known jockey family – the father and sons with their own trotters. They
established the prize-winning stable and began the manufacturing of modern
very light carts with rubber wheels. Very soon they were unrivalled on the
racecourses of Moscow and St. Petersburg. One year Clayton and sons won
almost all prizes and earned more than 300,000 rubles. The horse-breeders
got agitated and began to repine. Some of them rushed to buy the very
expensive American trotters. Other protested demanding to forbid the
performance of American trotters in Russia.
In such conditions Vorontsov-Dashkov, as a head of domestic horse-
breeding, had to make a decision. He found a compromise. The prizes were
divided into two groups. One was for the horses of all breeds, other only
for Oryol trotters. But nevertheless, the count preferred American
trotters. «The only criterion of quality of a horse I consider a prize
pole», - he told later. With such reasoning Vorontsov-Dashkov made vigorous
efforts buying American trotters, not only for his stud farm and prize-
winning stables in St. Petersburg and Moscow, but also for state stud
farms.
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
