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PARTICIPANTS
The Horse
Atamekan (Kaan) is an Akhal-Teke, a little-known breed of horse dating back nearly three millennia - the warhorse of ancient history and the incentive for establishing the Silk Road. The most versatile of all sporting horses, the Akhal-Teke excels in long-distance riding. Kaan's usual passenger is Gill Suttle, a former British modern pentathlon team member, event rider and athlete, who found her life altered drastically by the disabling condition ME. Several years into her illness, her legs still weak but determined to break free, she returned to the open air on horseback and subsequently rode in countries as far afield as Mongolia, Syria and Turkmenistan. It was in the latter country that she found Kaan.
"I formed a close bond with ex-racehorse Kaan when I travelled with him in this remote part of Central Asia. But he was more than just a travelling companion. For, having ME, I have very limited mobility. Quite simply, Kaan was my legs - and he carried me for long distances, unshod and with little food other than grass."
Kaan faced starvation in Turkmenistan, but bringing him to the UK was no easy option and it called on his iron-hard constitution to carry him through the three-year trauma; he finally arrived in 1999.
Kaan after his arrival in Herefordshire, July 1999
The Riders
Riders have included volunteers from endurance riding clubs, people with M.E. who have recovered sufficiently to ride a few miles a day for a day or more, and Gill Suttle, Kaan's owner. Celebrities have also ridden short sections of the route or ridden Kaan at his racecourse appearances.
Clubs and Organisations
Various clubs and organisations arranged fundraising and awareness events. Further can be found in the Odyssey Log.
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