Aswan (horse)
Aswan (1958–1984), originally named Raafat in Egypt. Aswan was a highly influential grey Egyptian-bred Arabian stallion who stood at the Tersk Stud in Russia. Sired by Nazeer out of Yosreia, he was given as a gift to the Soviet Union by the Egyptian government in 1963, in return for Soviet help in building the Aswan Dam.
He sired 296 foals over 19 seasons, more than any other stallion at Tersk Stud. His offspring were exported all over the world. A life-size commemorative bronze statue of him stands at the entrance of Tersk Stud.
Aswan's maternal great-great grandsire, Sotamm, was a horse of bloodlines all tracing to the horses imported by Wilfrid and Lady Anne Blunt from the stud of Ali Pasha Sherif. Sotamm was born in England and then sold to the Egyptian government by Lady Wentworth of the Crabbet Arabian Stud. Interestingly, Sotamm's grandsire Mesaoud once lived at the location of the Tersk Stud (when it was privately owned by Count Sergei Aleksandrovich Stroganov and his brother-in-law Prince Aleksandr Grigorievich Shcherbatov).
Read more about Aswan (horse): Pedigree