Foundation Caspians

OSTAD* (Not Exported)

The dark bay stallion ‘Ostad*’ was known as ‘The Professor’ by the Firouz family, because he was kind, wise, capable and clever.  A photograph taken of him jumping with Louise Firouz’s daughter Ateshe, soon after discovery, shows his versatility and athleticism.  He was pulling a rough, heavily laden cart in Amol when Louise found him and took him to her riding centre outside Tehran and he was often driven as well as ridden by the family.  

Ostad* was strongly represented in the UK by a daughter, Taliyeh.  She produced many of our leading sires, perpetuating the Professor’s exceptional genes.  By the time of her death at 22, she had produced 13 quality foals.   Ostad* was also the sire of Momtaz-e-Mahal, the bay mare who was given to HRH the Duke of Edinburgh on leaving Bermuda.  In all Ostad* was the sire of three mares which came to Britain and two colts and two fillies in Iran.

FELFEL* (Not exported)

The first foal born to Taliyeh, exported in utero, was the dark bay filly Hopstone Banafsheh, sole progeny of her Iranian sire Felfel*.  Banafsheh has since produced a line of quality stock and Felfel’s* great-grandson, Bytham Justin Time, sired by Banafsheh’s son Runnymede Fel-Fel, was recently awarded the Breed Championship, like his four-times Champion sire.  This line is reasonably well populated.

RUBA* (Not exported)

Taliyeh’s bay colt foal MAROUN (four months old on arrival in 1974), was sired by RUBA’s* son RUBA II.  Maroun became an exceptional stallion, who passed on his wonderful temperament and conformation to his foals.  Ruba II won the title “Supreme Champion Pony” at the 3rd Salon du Cheval in Paris in 1974, for the Royal Horse Society of Iran.  Imported soon afterwards, he covered two mares in the UK before re-export to Australia.  Due to unforeseen circumstances, he only sired three more pure-bred Caspians towards the end of his life in Australia, having mostly sired part-bred Caspians.

Ruba* was the sire of ROSTAM, the bay colt presented to HRH Prince Philip by Louise Firouz during the Royal visit in 1971 to celebrate the 2,500th anniversary of the Peacock Throne.  Rostam spent two year’s quarantine in Hungary before reaching Hampton Court. He was later loaned to the Hopstone Stud.  He sired 17 foals and Maroun sired 26, making the Ruba* line one of the most populous.

ASEMAN* (Not exported)

The grey stallion Aseman*’s three year old dark grey son Mehran arrived on the first Iranian exportation to the UK in 1974.  Another three of his foals were carried to Britain in-utero and born here.  Mehran, who became pure white with age, was the perfect gentleman.  He sired 30 foals in his long life.

A son, Hopstone Kaftar was exported to the Heroden Stud in West Australia, where he sired several pure and part-bred Caspians, and became the star of a popular and impressive Caspian Demonstration Team.  He was a ride and drive stallion who, at 23 years old, was still taking part in club driving events.

DARIA NOUR* (Exported to Bermuda, then UK)

Daria Nour* (Dusty) was a tiny, 'flea-bitten grey' stallion with a classic Caspian head, a kind temperament and enormous presence.  He became an enthusiastic ‘racing pony’ on the prestigious Teheran racetrack for the Firouz family and friends.  He was later exported to Bermuda by Joan Taplin, taken on a show circuit and ridden by young children.  During this time the Caspian Stud UK (prefix ‘Hopstone’) was able to purchase his first Bermuda-bred colt, Amu Daria (x Mitra*), from his English importer.  The mid-1970's fuel crisis (and consequent shortage of imported feed on Bermuda), prompted Joan Taplin to send all her remaining Caspians to Britain.

Dusty was an excellent jumper and imbued his foals with his delightful personality.  Apart from occasional stud loans, he stayed at Hopstone until his death at around 21 years old.  Amu Daria was later exported to South Australia, where he founded another dynasty.  Another son, the bay Forstal's Barewa, became a popular UK sire who has been somewhat over-used although few of his offspring have been bred, redressing the imbalance.  An Iranian-born daughter, Touran (x Pourandokht) was retained by Hopstone, although originally destined for re-export to Australia.  Except for her daughter Hopstone Qahve, who was exported to New Zealand, her other eight foals remained in Britain.

PALANG*

The bay stallion PALANG* came to the Hopstone Stud with several foundation mares, in the last flight from Iran before the Gulf War and Revolution interrupted exports.  Imported with little time between their discovery in the wild and a lengthy, delayed flight, all were thin and traumatised on arrival, but soon acclimatised to British conditions.  

A slightly larger type, Palang* was initially depressed and nervous and took a year to recover.  Apart from a slightly longer head, he otherwise possessed typical Caspian conformation and sired stock with lovely temperaments, of a size which proved useful for performance.  He sired 12 foals. Another son, Hopstone Chahar-Shambe, sired two foals before being gelded to become the wheeler in a most successful tandem driving team which competed at national level.  He was also regularly ridden and jumped in competition.  

A stallion son, Hopstone Jamshyd, was regularly shown by children under saddle and driven in county classes by his owner, Mrs. Jenny Quinney.  He sired 11 foals. 

Another son was the stallion Hopstone Shabdiz, who was Breed Champion numerous times, almost until his death at 29 years old.  Probably as a result, he became a rather over-used stallion and sired more than 40 foals.  Consequently this bloodline is one of the most populated.

MITRA*

Mitra* was exported to Bermuda with Daria Nour.  She was a small lively bay mare with a big eye and quality Caspian head.  Her first colt, by Dusty, was the colt Amu Daria, who came to the UK and soon afterwards started breeding at the Hopstone Stud.  His younger brother Darius arrived with the remaining Caspians from Bermuda in 1976 but was gelded after one foal.  Mitra* remained mostly at the Hopstone stud until her death, having produced nine foals. One of these was Rostam, foaled in Iran and later presented to HRH Prince Philip.

KHORSHID KOLA*

The beautiful dark chestnut mare Khorshid Kola*, was bought from an Iranian villager and later presented to HRH Prince Philip by Louise Firouz, along with the colt Rostam.  Both came to Britain via two years’ quarantine in Budapest.  There they produced the bay filly Atesheh.  At first Khorshid Kola* and Rostam lived in a walled paddock at Hampton Court, while Atesheh was kept at Windsor Castle.  The Hopstone Stud was offered all three on permanent loan so that their genes would be available to breeders.   

Khorshid Kola*'s chesnut colt Hopstone Atesh, by Karoun, was exported to New Zealand, as was the filly Hopstone Safiyeh (by Mehran).  At the Cheleken Stud he sired several pure and part-bred Caspians.  The part-breds in particular excelled in the show-ring and in show-jumping and cross-country events.  Atesh himself was successful in Cross-Country events and won the 1997 Progeny Award as a sire of hunter ponies in New Zealand.  Cheleken Xerxes, his colt out of a Thoroughbred mare, became a sire of top quality ¾ bred show hunter ponies.

Khorshid Kola*'s beauty and kind temperament were a credit to the breed and she played an important role in their international acceptance.  She had 13 foals and was dam of the highly popular stallion Hopstone Shabdiz, by Palang*.

FATEMEH*

According to Louise Firouz, in Iran Fatemeh was the self-appointed leader of the pack, tirelessly trotting for mile after mile to lead them to better grazing or water.  This rather plain bay mare produced better stock than herself.  After arrival in the UK in-foal to Aseman*, the filly Kineton Kistam was born at the Kineton Stud.  Another daughter, Kineton Khamyab, went to Canada, where she was never bred to a Caspian stallion.  Fatemeh* produced only seven foals in her lifetime and her bloodline is one of the least populated.

SIYAH GOSH*

The bay mare Siyah Gosh*, who arrived in the 1976 importation, remained at Hopstone after the Cheleken stud in New Zealand was refused permission to import her. Amongst her many foals was Hopstone Shoja by Maroun, who later became a popular sire and a well-known representative at many shows with the Henden Stud.   Siyah Gosh* was sold to the Costessa Stud in Norfolk, and produced nine foals in a long life.  A son, Costessa Siyroun, went to France.

PARI*

The chestnut mare Pari* (‘Fairy’) arrived with the emergency ‘wolf’ shipment in 1976, very young, underweight and tiny.  She had collapsed by the time the road transporter finally arrived at the Hopstone Stud after a lengthy flight from Iran and transfer to Shropshire.  With better care she thrived and grew to be one of the larger Caspians. 

Pari* produced several foals better looking than herself thanks to careful choice of stallions, including her son Forstals Barewa by Daria Nour*, who became a much-used sire. She had ten foals, latterly under the Bytham prefix.  Due mainly to Barewa, this line is quite well-supported.

TALOCHE*

The bay mare Taloche* was exported from Iran in the same emergency shipment in 1976.  Her condition on arrival was very poor and despite all measures taken to help her, she did not have a long life and produced only five foals.  Probably her main representative was the attractive bay filly Hopstone Lili by Daria Nour.  After initially living in Scotland, Lili produced three foals for the Rosmear Stud, latterly in France.  This is a lightly populated bloodline, particularly in Britain.

SHIRINE*

The lovely and unusually apricot-coloured mare Shirine* has been the subject of her owner Brenda Dalton's own affectionate book.  Shirine* was part of the emergency evacuation in 1976 and started her UK life at Hopstone.  She had been injured in her back, which affected her gait.  After producing an exceptional filly by Maroun, she was put back to him, but then produced a suspected haemolytic filly, which died.  After this she was sent to the National Foaling Bank for special attention when foaling, until Brenda offered to give her the one-to-one care she needed.  With Brenda she went on to produce three more quality foals under the Spark prefix, most of her foals inheriting her distinctive colouring.   This is a slightly under-populated bloodline.

DOUEEZ*

A fine-boned little grey mare, Doueez* arrived in UK with the ‘wolf’ shipment in 1976.  Her ears had been squared off by her Iranian owner so the tips could not be seen to turn inwards, but in all other respects she was typically Caspian.  During her lifetime she was dam to six foals, all under the Winstay prefix.  This is another under-populated bloodline.