PERSANO
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A GOOD PERFORMANCE HORSE THE FERRARI EMBLEM By Alessandra Deerinck
The equine breeds originally were created to fulfill various human needs. While nowadays many breeds are still our partners in sports and pleasure, and so this should inspire us to safeguard the precious genetics of those horses.
On October 8th 2023 a very important event happened in a castle at Persano in Italy. The Persano breed of horses, which was created in that location, returned to its place of origin, thanks to Prince Alduino di Ventimiglia who worked very hard, and for forty years, to purely preserve the Persano breed. The reintroduction to the original place is a very important advantage for the breed because the characteristics of the territory, along with a proper nutrition, will influence the development of the foals and their phenotype.
Persano horse ridden while hunting with falcons.
EQUINE Lifestyle
Going back to the characteristics of the breed, the Persano excels in terms of appearance and most importantly of behavior. The conformation of the Persano is of regal appearance, and this breed has solid essential behavioral traits that were originally developed for the cavalry, for parades and for hunting with falcons. In more recent times the original qualities of endurance and agility of the Persano breed produced great jumpers, that have won gold medals at the Olympic Games in Rome with the Italian riders, Raimondo and Piero D’Inzeo and at the 2020 Olympics in three day eventing. These achievements and at the fact that the existing number of horses of this breed is small is the clear evidence of the value of their performance abilities and great genetics. Along with being great athletes nowadays, the fact that they were the cavalry horses gave them endurance and a disposition for relating to human beings, which makes these horses easy to handle, even when we talk about breeding stallions. The Persano has been saved from extinction several times and at the moment Prince Alduino di Ventimiglia di Monteforte Lascaris, who, after a forty year quest, has succeeded in masterfully preserve the pure breed through stallions and mares that he carefully selected and acquired. As a young rider, The Prince has ridden Persano horses in competition and has reconnected with the breed while serving in the military, time in which he also began his work to preserve the breed. In addition to having saved the breed from extinction, Alduino di Ventimiglia is dedicated to training falcons for
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The book written by Prince Alduino di Ventimiglia di Monteforte Lascaris
hunting, and founded the Italian Academy of High Flight Riders. The Prince studied Agricultural Sciences that gave him a solid knowledge in genetics, and his experimental thesis, “The Historical Evolution of the Razza Governativa di Persano” served as a reference point for several scientific researches in the years that followed. He wrote the excellent book “Persano, the Royal Breed”, and I had the privilege to connect with Alduino di Ventimiglia and hear from him about the Persano.
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