Absinthe (stallion)

Absinthe (Russian: Абсент, named "Absent" in some Russian transcriptions) was a black stallion of the Akhal-Teke breed, born in 1952 in Kazakhstan under the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Spotted by Marshal Semyon Budyonny, this son of the stallion Arab obtained the first world record for the number of Olympic titles in the dressage discipline, with Soviet horseriders Sergei Filatov and Yvan Kalita.

His performance at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome, where he and Filatov won the individual gold medal in dressage, was highly regarded and has since become a benchmark in the discipline. Absinthe's achievements significantly raised the profile of the Akhal-Teke breed and Russian equestrianism.

Regarded as one of the best Olympic horses of the 1960s, Absinthe is also recognized as one of the most famous horses in the USSR. After retiring from competition, he was returned to stud in Kazakhstan by Budyonny and sired more than sixty foals, several of whom went on to join the Soviet dressage team in the 1970s and 1980s.