Meet Beresten!

This rare Don Stallion is turning heads with his stunning solid metallic gold chestnut coat. 

The seven-year old stallion not only has good looks, he is also a three-time champion of the Don breed. He has many accolades under his name in show jumping and even participated in a special historical race just for Don horses at the Moscow Hippodrome. Beresten has a huge personality and loves to show off, especially tricks he was taught. He exhibits a calm disposition with good manners, which he passes on to his offspring.

Owner Polina Egorova bought Beresten as a young horse and started him under saddle herself, using many Natural Horsemanship training techniques. She was told by many coworkers that the Don horses can be wild and spirited, which makes them hard to train. After working with Beresten she found they are not at all hard to train, but rather very intelligent and willing. They pick up on things very quickly so it is important to know what you are doing when working with a young horse as they can learn bad habits very easily if not corrected. These bad habits are difficult to train out of the horse once learned, which is why Polinia thinks many people perceive the Don breed as difficult to work with.

While Bresten no longer competes, he acts as an ambassador for the Don breed. Polina uses her beautiful stallion to promote and grow awareness about one of the oldest Russian breeds. He spends his days modeling for photos and videos for many media groups and is a breeding stallion, passing on his athleticism and beautiful color to the future of the Don breed.

History of the Don Horse

The Don horse was first mentioned back in the  16^th century and was a cross between the semi-wild horse breeds of Russia and either Arabian, Turkmenian, or Karabakh stock. The result created an extremely rugged, brave, and hardy horse that was able to withstand the harsh, bitter winters of northern Russia. They were popular in the Russian army during the Napoleonic wars. Later the old Don was refined into the present day Don by adding Thoroughbred and Orlov Trotter bloodlines. This created a lighter riding horse that excels in sport competition, recreational riding, and driving. The Russian breed almost became extinct after WWI and the Russian Civil War. Only a few hundred remained. Luckily a stable breeding program emerged and one of the oldest Russian breeds was able to be saved.