TDLR -- a very beautiful and extremely rare russian breed. NOT to be confused with orlov trotter even though the beginning of the name is the same. primarily a dressage breed, which has the charactersitics + versatility of a sporthorse while having the elegant appearance of a thoroughbred or an arabian! very gorgeous, elegant, primarily black or bay. 16-ish hands tall on average. look below for pics or a video of one -- html editor wouldn't let me add pictures so i had to link them.

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hello! i am a new member here at horse phenomena. i noticed the option to request for new breeds to be added and i thought this breed would be a wonderful candidate. i would go so far as to make it my breed specialty and primary focus on this site if it were to be implemented, and i would love to partner with anyone else who would share this interest for breeding, training or otherwise introducing the breed to the site. i have been an admirer of this breed for quite some time -- it is extremely rare, but also extremely beautiful. i've included some information below!

01. A BRIEF HISTORY 

click to view image

The Orlov-Rostopchin Sporthorse (also known as the Russian Warmblood, or Russian Saddle horse) was bred by combining the Rostopchin Riding Horse and the Orlov Riding Horse. Both breeds were gorgeous in their own right. Orlov saddle horses were beautiful and perfect for dressage, with a "swan like neck and an superb topline." They were ideal for dressage and were favored for the sport throughout Russia. The Rostopchin was similarly beautiful, but they were bred for speed. They were extremely successful racing mounts -- Count Rostopchin's mount Anubus would even win against English Thoroughbreds on the race track. Once combined, the Orlov-Rostopchin breed was often used in the calvary for dressage. It was also favored highly in the Tsarist courts, and was often exported as an exotic gift, winning multiple awards at exhibitions. The breed was prematurely declared extinct due to the hardships of both World Wars. However, in 1950, it was restored. 

02. TODAY'S ORLOV-ROSTOPCHINS  

a video of Danielle Gallagher performing on her Orlov Rostopchin, Abrikos.

To this day the headcount for the breed is very small but immensely loved by those who know about it, and hopefully will continue to grow in count. A recent estimate on the population # is approximately 500 head. (According to the International Museum of the Horse, linked below). The horse today is used primarily in dressage competition. Due to its elegance, it sees strong success in dressage. However, it also has been successful in jumping competition as well. Originally, they were not often seen outside of Russia. That has changed somewhat, with exports of the breeds centering in Europe and the United States. There are a small handful of stud farms & organizations dedicated to the breed in the West. The main one is listed down below as the first reference. 

03. BREED CHARACTERISTICS

click here to view image.

Orlov-Rostopchin Sporthorses are usually black, but they also come in bay and brown. They are on average 16-16.1 hands high, though they can reach 17hh too. They are characterized by a superior lightness and elegance, and are the perfect breed for those who love Thoroughbred and Arabian mounts but are seeking something with better sport qualities. They have a quiet temperament and extreme trainability, making them particularly excellent for dressage.

04. REFERENCES 

http://www.orlov-rostopchin.org/breed-history/ (also where all pictures & videos were found).

http://www.equiworld.net/breeds/orlovrostopchin/index.htm

http://imh.org/exhibits/online/breeds-of-the-world/europe/russian-riding-horse/

05. SUPPORTERS 

we have 6 supporters including myself now! :) i have contacted koni to get them added and am just waiting for final approval now. i have included the supporters in a list down below for reference:

1. kuryakin (me lol) 

2. famous shamus 

3. utakata

4. n.adhima

5. primrose 

6. insomnia

ahh the formatting got weird when i tried to insert pictures, so i added them as links instead. :) let me know if anyone else is interested in this elegant breed too!!! i'd adore for it to get added. 

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ALSO --> I believe the first link I sent is a breed association that would qualify to verify the breed's eligibilty. Let me know if any others are needed besides just that one, I know of another one I saw in a different page but I forgot to link it.

They are pretty!

wow that is what I call a fantastic horse, 

i agree!!! they are absolutely gorgeous. they seem to be the best of both worlds with being warmbloods and also having the characteristics / elegence of TBs and maybe arabians too. i think they'd be a great candidate to add here!!

if anyone does happen to be interested in getting this breed into the books, i'd totally be willing to collaborate and help out in a multitude of ways:

I could share my first few studs for lines once they've accumulated enough points!!

or also offer training tickets at an extremely discounted price as soon as i buy some more at the start of june. 

i'm currently figuring out how showing/training services work on here. as soon as i have my layout together i'll start offering it up, but I want to get a better lay of the land first and figure out the usual price for it and such. but i'm extremely bored and cooped up at home for the remainder of the summer, so i could definitely offer such services soon. when i do i'll offer it at a very low price for anyone who starts a line of this breed (half off or better, not sure yet). 

all-in-all i'd love to have this breed added, it's my all-time favorite and i think it'd be a great candidate. so if anyone is thinking about it, lmk!! 

I'd be willing to breed them! They're georgeous! 

Ahhh yay awesome @Famous Shamus!!!! I'll send you a friend request on here so we can keep in touch! yes they are gorgeous indeed!!! certainly a lovely breed, i'm so happy it has been preserved from extinction irl. totally my dream breed haha, if i can ever afford one. 

omg I don't know why my reply is showing up 700 times. 

Lol oops it did show up a lot idk how I didn't notice that before! I totally understand lol, mine does that too sometimes! 

I'd be up for having some of these if they're brought into the game, they're gorgeous and the dressage rider in me is a sucker for pretty WBs.

sweeeet that's just 2 more we need I think?

*crosses fingers that this reply doesn't post 400 million times like my other one* lol

Ahh yay @utakata!!! And yes I agree. Dressage was my sport of choice when I rode so this breed makes me drool. 

Also @ shamus yes we just need 2 more now!!!! (and lol no i dont think it glitched this time)

We should totally aim to get them called Orlov-Rostopchin Sporthorses on here because that just sounds so cool hahaha

Ooh I like that name! See it has so many different names that I wasn't sure which one to settle on -- but that one in particular sounds super neat!!! I'm gonna change the title to encompass that and maybe that'll be the one they pick when/if they add it into the site!!!

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I edited it to reflect that!! thank you for that suggestion @shamus!!! that helped me a lot with my name indecision haha.

They are a pretty horse! Unfortunately I don't have an account to breed them on. But I would definitely be interested in partnering with someone on this breed!

aahh yay @n.adhima!!! & i completely understand regarding accounts haha - but i'd be happy to partner with you on a line of them!

i think that means we only need 1 more to get it added! 

Yeesss! I'm totally down!

wooooooo

ahhh yay!!! thank you @primrose!!! 

i think that's all the people we need now!!! I went and sent a message to koni as the stickied thread instructs so now we just await it getting added. i'm so excited for this one, thank you to all of you guys who supported it / are wanting to breed it too!!! i look forward to working with you to get it established here on HP! 

Ok! That'd be fun!