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last updated: 6th
August
2009
Introduction | Newsletters
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Let
us begin by introducing ourselves. We are not a new Akhal-Teke
society, nor are we a formal committee. Rather,
we are a group of friends wishing to celebrate our horses, to
bring them to a wider public and to create opportunities for
others to join us in doing the same. There is no organisation
to "join", therefore no membership or subscription.
Simply, we wish to invite as many people as possible to participate
in our activities. Our aims are:
- Promotion of the Akhal-Teke
as a beautiful and versatile horse for sport and
pleasure;
- Show classes/sporting
events to showcase our horses and meet other owners/enthusiasts;
- Inclusivity
- inviting all who have an interest in the breed
to come to our parties, with or without horses.
We intend to publish
a newsletter soon. A website is also being planned. Please
let us know if you would like to receive a copy of the
newsletter. You can contact any of the people below,
or email through this website.
We would also be
delighted to hear from anyone who might be willing to
help us in any way.
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HORSES IN HISTORY - Moreton Morrell, 17th April
2009
Visitors to Moreton Morrell College enjoyed an unusual and entertaining
evening on Friday, April 17th. Titled "History and Origins of
the Palomino, Akhal-Teke and Caspian Horses", the event included
a series of presentations on these horses.
First to speak was David Webb, of the British Palomino Society (www.britishpalominosociety.co.uk).
Posing the question, "How do we see the horse?", he discussed
what horses have meant to people over the millennia of their partnership.
Stressing the long importance of beauty besides utility, he described
how Queen Isabella of Spain promoted palomino horses, even sending
some with Columbus to the Americas. Was this the origin of the colour
in British Native breeds, or could the Romans have brought the dilution
gene much earlier? He finished by expressing the hope that palominos
should be shown and competed more widely under saddle, an opinion
supported strongly by members of the audience.
Next came Gill Suttle, representing the newly-formed Akhal-Teke group
Team Teke (on www.kyzyltekes.co.uk). She began with the adventures
of Chang Chien, envoy of the Chinese Emperor, who discovered the "Celestial
Horses" of the Ferghana Valley in Central Asia. Following the
history of these back to the tombs of Scythian nomads, she described
how skeletal measurements and skull shape identified the Scythian
horse with today's Akhal-Teke. She closed by noting the world records
achieved by the breed in the last half-century, particularly the multiple
Olympic Dressage champion Absent, and gave a brief overview of some
of the Tekes competing at high level today.
Maria Baverstock presented Akhal-Teke UK (www.akhaltekeuk.com), the
breed registration service which helps UK owners to register their
horses into the General Akhal-Teke Studbook, run by the Institute
of Horsebreeding in Russia, and maintains the UK national register.
She gave an account of how the Russians of the early USSR came to
set up a studbook for this Central Asian breed, brought a copy of
the latest - tenth - volume, and explained some of the statistical
analyses contained in it.
The last speaker was Ruth Staines for the Caspian Horse Society (www.caspianhorsesociety.org.uk),
who dedicated her talk to the memory of Louise Firouz. She told how
Louise, one of the outstanding personalities of the horse world, had
seen a tiny stallion pulling a cart in an Iranian village close to
the Caspian Sea and recognised its similarity to the horses of ancient
Persian friezes and artefacts. Buying the stallion, Louise soon discovered
that there were others like it and, collecting a number of these horses,
discovered that they bred true to type. Ruth described the difficulties
of breeding and exporting Caspian horses against the background of
political upheaval in Iran, contrasting with the extraordinary success
of establishing breeding populations around the world. A member of
the audience, who had been present during one of the shipments from
Teheran, added her own memories of a confiscated film and a furious
Police warning as there were military planes at the airport.
Display boards and breed information complemented the talks, and
a raffle raised over a hundred pounds for the breed organisations
involved.
Future Team Teke fixtures include participation in the Arab-Trakehner
event at Moreton Morrell on Saturday June 20th (www.arab-trakevent.com),
and a dedicated Breed Show at the Three Counties Showground, Malvern
on Saturday July 18th by kind invitation of the British Palomino Society.
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Lunch Meeting - 17th January, 2009
We held our first social event on Saturday January 17th,
meeting for lunch at the White Hart Inn, Wytham, just
outside Oxford. It was well attended, with people coming
from as far afield as East Sussex and Carmarthenshire.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable occasion, with the opportunity
to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. And the
White Hart gave us a rattling good meal! We hope to meet
there again some time.
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Jacqueline Bradbury
Bramley Cottage, Howle Hill, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 5SH. ajdarha1@btinternet.com.
Sue Evans
Rough End, Kilreague Farm, Llangarron, Ross-on-Wye, HR9
6PF. sue@kileq.co.uk.
Ruth Staines
31, The Leys, Chipping Norton, Oxon, OX7 5HJ. Ruth.Staines@dial.pipex.com.
Gill Suttle
Little Mascot, The Doward, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 6DZ.
.
David Webb
Midoak Stud, Bishop's Itchington, Southam, Warwicks,
CV47 2SL. (No email).
