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Napitok From Russia With Love by Linda White
When Howard Kale Jr. visited Russia’s Tersk Stud in the spring of 1976, he saw 3-year-old Napitok and was mightily impressed. As he watched the young Pirit son’s exuberant, athletic capers, a dream began to form in Kale’s mind. He bought the gifted colt on the spot.
Kale and other early Russian Arabian advocates foresaw the outcross excellence that the Tersk imports and their illustrious descendants would bring to the Arabian horse population worldwide. A look at many recent national champions’ extended pedigrees confirms that impact.
“He was going to be my park horse,” says Kale, a secondgeneration Arabian breeder, exhibitor and scholar. “He probably had the most terrific shoulder I ever saw on an Arabian horse. He was big enough that I could ride him, and he had such superlative structure. He was a wonderful horse!
One early Russian enthusiast was Dr. Dee Whittlesey, a Texas OB/GYN who, with her husband, Dr. Phil Whittlesey, had established Zodiac Farm in 1971. Two years later, Kale and other early Russian imports cast their powerful magic spell on Dr. Dee. Zodiac Farm was soon participating in a star-studded list of imported Russian stallion syndications, and hosting educational conferences and seminars their participants still recall as invaluable.
“Once in a great while, you see that shoulder on a Saddlebred or other high performance breed,” he explains, “but you almost never see it on an Arabian. People used to wonder how CHMy My and CHSky Watch (legendary world’s grand champion American Saddlebreds) could do what they did. Of course they could do that! They both had those exceptionally long, strong shoulders that allowed them to perform so spectacularly. *Napitok had that same shoulder. “When I bought him, I believed I was going to have the time to ride and show him. You know how that worked out: building Karho, campaigning *Muscat (1980 Scottsdale, U.S. and Canadian National Champion Stallion), and developing a Russian herd … time was the last thing I had. When Dr. Dee Whittlesey saw him, she fell in love with him and wanted him badly. The sensible side won out. Dee genuinely loved *Napitok, and she gave him the best home imaginable. “Another wonderful dream that never came to pass,” he sighs philosophically, “but I was very lucky while it all lasted. Few people ever get to chase their passions without economic restraint.” 180 | AR ABIAN HORSE TIMES
“He probably had the most terrific shoulder I ever saw on an Arabian horse. He was big enough that I could ride him, and he had such superlative structure. He was a wonderful horse!” Howard Kale Jr.
Among the Russian stallions syndicated during that era were Karho’s *Muscat and *Nariadni, *Plastun, Ptersk, *Norton, and *Namiet. *Napitok was syndicated in 1980,