The Orlov Trotter (also known as Orlov; Russian: орловский рысак) is a horse breed with a hereditary fast trot, noted for its outstanding speed and stamina. It is the most famous Russian horse. The breed was developed in Russia in the late 18th century by Count Alexei Orlov at his Khrenovskoy stud farm near the town of Bobrov (Voronezh Guberniya). The Orlovs emerged as the result of crossing various European mares (primarily of English, Dutch, Mecklenburg, and Danish breeding) with Arabian stallions. During the 19th century, Orlov trotters were used mainly for riding and harness racing by Russian nobility. They were valued for their beauty and elegance combined with the ability to work hard. They were also used for the improvement of other Russian horses. When harness racing became widespread at the end of the century, the Orlovs faced intense competition from American-developed Standardbreds, who are generally recognized as less refined but faster than Orlov trotters. Eventually Standardbred stallions were crossed with Orlov mares and a new breed, the Russian Trotter, appeared. The possibility of the extinction of the Orlovs was a concern in the 20th century because of crossbreeding and the Soviet disregard of horse-raising. However, the breed survived, and today fifteen stud farms in Russia and Ukraine raise pure-blooded Orlov Trotters. Development of the breed The land that became Orlov's Khrenovsky stud farm was given to him by Catherine II (Catherine the Great) as a reward for his participation in the coup d'etat which brought her to the throne. The buildings were constructed by Giovanni Giliardi. The original estate was very large; the modern Khrenovsky stud area is fifteen times smaller than it was prior to the Bolshevik revolution. The ancestor of all Orlov Trotters was the purebred grey Arabian stallion Smetanka. Orlov bought him in Turkey for the enormous sum of 60,000 rubles. Although he died the next year, he lived to sire five offspring. Among others he was crossed with Isabelline, a Danish mare from the Frederiksborg royal stud-farm, who foaled a stallion that was named Polkan (1778–1793). Polkan was crossed with a Dutch mare which, in 1784, produced the grey stallion Bars I (1784–1808), considered the first Orlov trotter. He was 162.5 cm high at the withers which made him taller than most contemporary trotters, possessed a fast trotting gait and featured the beauty and noble bearing which would later distinguish the newly created breed.