A Stable Island of Amity

The horse trading in Geneva over arms control may be going nowhere, but the Soviet-American negotiations at Tersk were a success. On a Soviet horse farm nestled in the foothills of the northern Caucasus, 70 Western horse breeders, half of them Americans, gathered with hard dollars in hand for the annual Tersk stud Arabian horse auction. The goods for sale were definitely low technology, and detente flourished. The buyers sat in a verdant paddock and listened as an auctioneer wheedled, cajoled and otherwise tried to nudge bids upward with capitalist determination. "What's the matter, you leave your wallets at home?" he asked after the first 17 horses were shown and only five were sold for a paltry total of $142,000. To help warm up the bidding and the bidders, Alexander ("Sasha") Ponomarev, Tersk stud manager, seized the gavel and ordered generous rounds of vodka. The stratagem was rewarded. Ken Ford of San Antonio success fully bid $52,000 for a gray mare named Pishka, which he said would be a present for his daughter Tina, 20. After the auction, the Soviets said they had sold 24 Arabian purebreds

for a total of $769,600. Said Howard F. Kale Jr. of Scottsdale, Ariz.: "Horse people are always difficult if you're trying to buy their best stock. The Russians are no exception." Founded in 1921 with a group of fine horses that had survived the Russian Civil War, the Tersk farm held its first auction in 1971, after the Soviets realized they could make hard currency selling Arabian purebreds. The best of the Arabians raised on the bluegrass and rich mineral water at the Tersk farm are acknowledged to be among the world's finest. U.S. Industrialist Armand Hammer and two partners in 1981 paid the Soviets $1 million for Pesniar, now an eight-year-old Arabian stallion that is standing at stud in the U.S. Said an American rancher's wife: "They're the most beautiful horses in the world."

The top price this year was $135,000, paid by Howard Kale for a chestnut mare named Parcha. Breeder and Trader Robijn den Hartog of The Netherlands was the show's major buyer. He says he spent $355,300 for 14 Tersk Arabians. About one-third of the horses sold went to Americans. Some of the rest may eventually be resold to other breeders in the U.S. Before entering the country, the horses must be checked for piroplasmosis, a blood disorder common among Tersk stock. The U.S. will not admit horses that have it.

Americans are relative newcomers to the Tersk Arabian auction. Kale was a pioneer, making his first purchase in 1975. He says that he made 13 trips to the Soviet Union to obtain Muscat, a stallion that was the U.S. national champion show horse in 1980. In the past eight years, Kale has purchased more than 100 horses from the Tersk farm.

All parties concerned have found the Tersk auction to be a stable, and profitable, island of amity amid the shifting tides of East-West trade. Equine dealings between the U.S. and the Soviets are even beginning to transcend buying and selling. A new concern called Fidelis International has struck a deal to market Soviet horses and stud services in the U.S. and Canada. Says a Soviet trade official with the terseness of a Yankee horse trader: "This is a good agreement." This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so viewer discretion is required.