Tekes Tally-Ho! Barefoot Eventing, Natural Horsemanship, and the Amazing Akhal-Teke Breed!

Friends Of The Akhal-Teke Award (FOTATA) 2011 ~ Results!

2012-02-14T20:52:00.000-08:00

The 2011 Friends Of The Akhal-Teke Award (FOTATA) Results have been posted!

Coming in first place with 100 points and winning the grand prize is Carolyn VanDyke and her fabulous Akhal-Teke Sport Horse gelding, Tazym!

Tazym is a 2004 gelding sired by Akhal-Teke stallion Gindarkh 13, and out of a Quarter Horse mare, Tab’s Fire. He was bred by Allegra Steck. We are CRAZY about Tazym's STELLAR form over fences... and extremely excited that he is continuing to take the Jumper world by storm!

You can read more about Tazym in the following posts:

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2010/08/tazym-terrific-takes-jumpers-by-storm.html

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/02/tazym-video-akhal-teke-sporthorse-show.html

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/04/tazym-update-akhal-teke-sport-horse.html

2nd Place ~ With 40 Points... Cathy Leddy of Cascade Gold Akhal-Tekes with her purebred Akhal-Teke gelding, Galen.

3rd Place ~ With 39 Points... Kerri-Jo Stewert of Akhal-Teke Canada and her purebred Akhal-Teke mare, Darginka.

4th Place ~ With 35 Points... Monica Bretherton, author of HorseBytes, A Blog for Seattle-Area Horse Folks, with the purebred Akhal-Teke gelding, Magdan.

5th Place ~ With 30 Points... Jas Shearer-McMahon of Magic Valley Akhal-Tekes, with her purebred Akhal-Teke gelding, Patrikhan. You can read about Jas and Patrikhan in the following posts:

Akhal-Teke Auditioning for America's Favorite Trail Horse

Tekes in the Tevis

6th Place ~ With 25 Points... Monica Bennett and her Akhal-Teke Sport Horse gelding, Inde. You can read about Monica and Inde endurance rides in the following posts:

Success for Monica Bennett and Inde at the 20 Mule Team 100

Monica and Inde at the Death Valley Warm-Up

Tekes in the Tevis

7th Place ~ With 5 Points... Alice Chapman, for her invaluable help volunteering as part of Jas Shearer McMahon's CREW at Tevis 2011.

8th Place ~ With 4 Points Each... for three entrants who have submitted photos of their artwork to the Friends of the Akhal-Teke Art Pages: Nicole Weber, Katja Contu, and Sharon Dunning.

To a list of the results, go to the FOTATA Blog: http://fotata.webs.com/apps/blog/

~~~~

The FOTATA is an annual awards program designed for Akhal-Teke owners, breeders, competitors, and enthusiasts around the world! For more information, please refer to their website:

http://fotata.webs.com/

To participate, you can find the entry form here: http://fotata.webs.com/entryform.htm

Pictures of Pascha

2012-02-09T23:59:00.000-08:00

Amrita has been a very busy girl lately.... busting out multiple website make-overs as diligently as any web designer out there. In the process, she's been reviewing years and years worth of photos and stories that have been archived on Sweet Water Farm's "What's New" page.

I've spent hours pouring over photographs of Akhal-Tekes in Amrita's office. She has THOUSANDS. (From the distant past to the present day... of Akhal-Tekes all over the world!) Every once in while she still manages to procure images I have never seen before... or ones I am familiar with but can now admire with a different eye. I thought I'd share some (familiar) shots of a stallion previously owned by Sweet Water Farm: the late Pascha... whose metallic coat was nothing short of breathtaking!

Pascha's portraits are studies of sunlight on liquid gold.
And they don't do him justice.
An Akhal-Teke's sheen is extremely hard to capture on film.

(i.e. Pascha was even more stunning in real life!).

Pascha

("Nez Perce Dreamer")

El Line by Peitre ("Pieter") x Miranda (Gelishikli Line)

1998 - 2010

Pascha's Pedigree:

http://www.akhalteke.cc/pascha-pedigree.html

A tribute to Pascha's sire, Pieter, owned by Shah' Zadeh Akhal-Tekes:

http://www.shahzadehakhaltekes.com/Files/pieter_tribute.html

Announcing a Fresh New Website for the Akhal-Teke Association of America!

2012-02-06T22:57:00.000-08:00

Amrita Ibold of Sweet Water Farm Akhal-Teke is the new webmistress for the Akhal-Teke Association of America... and is pleased to announce that the site is now up and running and ready for review!

In much need of refreshment... Amrita gave the old site an overhaul and has completely rebuilt it using a different host. The domain name, however, has remained the same:

www.akhal-teke.org

Some of the original information regarding horse registration, breed characteristics, history of the association, and Akhal-Teke coat colors has been re-published... but there are also some exciting new topics underway, including:

Tekes In Sports

Traditional Tack

Kids and Akhal-Teke Horses

Resources

News

(And currently in the works... AKHAL-TEKES IN ART!!!)

The new ATAA website is swiftly becoming the ultimate all-around resource for information about the rare Akhal-Teke breed in North America. Save it to your Favorites and keep checking in for updates!

A Barrel For Zoe - VIDEO

2012-02-05T11:06:00.000-08:00

Zoe is one of our students at Sweet Water Farm Akhal-Teke.

She is 15 years old and has been riding with us for about three years.

Yesterday she schooled "skinnies" on Paktaly in a jump lesson with Amrita.

And we caught it on camera!

http://youtu.be/j_lNS0bOs5w

Paktaly is a 7 year old purebred Akhal-Teke gelding....
bred, born, raised, and trained at Sweet Water Farm!

Beach Ride!

2012-01-31T23:48:00.000-08:00

Sweet Water Farm is located on San Juan Island, WA... the land mass of which is approximately 55 square miles. So it should be no surprise that we are within riding distance of the ocean!

Every once in a while we trek to a small beach at San Juan County Park. It takes about half an hour to get there if we take our usual route, "by way the crow flies" (includes narrow deer trails and back-woods dirt roads). I'm a born-and-raised-islander... but I never get tired of going to the beach... especially on horseback.

Last Friday our students had the day off from school... so Amrita and I decided it was the perfect excuse for a miniature holiday!

Leaving the farm: Marina & Napoleon, Claire & Kegas, myself (Jenny) on Penta...

with Amrita on Paktaly in the lead.

Here we are navigating deer trails.... often the shortest short-cuts on the island:

Back Woods Roads... need I say more?

From woods... to meadows... to roads....

And before long... the OCEAN!

(From left to right: Myself on Penta, Marina on Napoleon, Claire on Kegas)

Paktaly... our fearless leader.... scanning the horizon.

It's a small beach... in a beautiful cove.

No room for galloping here... but plenty of fun to be had splashing in the water.

Penta... being a midwesterner.... had never seen the ocean!

He was highly suspicious at first:

But soon realized that it was just a GIANT trough of salty water...

The perfect size for strolling in!

The girls had a blast!

It was quite a treat to ride their ponies into the water...

Marina did a great job encouraging Napoleon to get his feet wet.

Kegas had been before... and true to his nature... acted like the ocean was old hat!

Puget Sound is mighty cold, and startlingly salty.

But it didn't stop the horses from having a splash and taking a taste (or two).

Refreshed from ocean air... the day seemed as sunny as a weekend in July!

But January afternoons are only slightly longer than December's...

so we kept our holiday short and sweet.

We all enjoyed listening to our horses' hooves clip-clopping along the paved road,

As we trotted... all the way home;

Photos (and VIDEO) from the Farm... it's green here again!

2012-01-29T23:02:00.000-08:00

This is what Sweet Water Farm looked like a week or so ago:

And just as I promised in the snow post...

the overnight-to-arctic-transformation didn't last long and we were back to normal within a few days.

Here's what it looks like now:

Our 2011 foals are growing and growing!

Here you can see that Talk of Turkoman looks nearly as big as his dam, Ayal Pikira:

Ayal Pikira ("Pika") has lots of metallic sheen in her coat (a trait unique to the Akhal-Teke breed), and in the sunshine, it shows up even with her winter fluff!

Sunny afternoons are perfect for conditioning the horses...

And our students have been putting in a lot of miles on the trails lately.

Notice anything funny about this picture?...

Addi and I played Pony-Swap!

From left to right: Addi on Pasabi, Siri on Kegas, and myself on Napoleon.

Napoleon was feeling fiesty after being cooped up during the snow storm... so I opted to ride him for a few days so I could put him through his paces. Despite the fact that he is all of 12 hands tall... and I stand a lanky 6 ft... this pony is super fun to ride and packs a powerful jump. He holds his own with the horses and can match their pace perfectly on the trail. In fact, he has such an incredible stride, he can lead the pack and leave the big boys in the dust!

Pony Power is Amazing!

Here's a video Amrita took of the mares & foals in action:

Exciting Progress for the Akhal-Teke Association of America

2012-01-27T23:27:00.000-08:00

Akhal-Teke owners, breeders, and enthusiasts may be interested to hear that there is exciting progress underway for the Akhal-Teke Association of America. The election of board members for 2012 created a team of influential professionals to represent the Akhal-Teke breed and rejuvenate the spirit of promotion throughout the entire association. I am excited to announce that Sweet Water Farm's Amrita Ibold was elected official Treasurer, and is also volunteering as Registration staff!

Coming soon... a refreshed version of the ATAA website... currently in the works.

ATAA Officers for 2012

President

Terri Fender
Shad 'Zadeh Akhal-Tekes LLC

Osakis, MN

www.shahzadehakhaltekes.com

Vice President

Cathy Leddy
Cascade Gold Akhal-Tekes
Snohomish, WA
www.cgakhaltekes.com

Secretary

Jas Shearer-McMahon
Magic Valley Akhal-Tekes
Livermore, CO
www.magicvalleyakhal-tekes.info/

Treasurer

Amrita Ibold

Sweet Water Farm Akhal-Teke
Friday Harbor, WA
www.akhalteke.cc

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/

Registration Staff

Lucille E. Kester
elkester@aol.com

Amrita Ibold

www.akhalteke.cc

ibolds@rockisland.com

Director-At-Large

Ann Laux Tipps
Poway, CA
apl@fasterlink.com

Director-At-Large

William Bowles Rolla, MO

ataabill@gmail.com

Director-At-Large
April Pruente
Raymore, MO
silkroadat@gmail.com

Arctic-Tekes?!

2012-01-18T21:24:00.000-08:00

BRRRRRR!!!
This is what we woke up to this morning:

Are those Akhal-Tekes.... or Arctic-Tekes?

WHITE is not the norm for the Evergreen State.

And if I wrinkle my nose when you hope for snow... here's why:

This was me this morning... hauling buckets of water to top off a frozen trough... because of a frozen hose. Did I mention that everything is frozen?

(I swear... water is under there somewhere!)

Apparently, the snow was cause for much excitement.

When the horses saw us this morning... they came running and neighing...

I think they were hoping we would rescue them from this crazy weather!

(Can you even recognize Paelka?)

The geldings were suspicious and had to be led to their hay... then proceeded to turn tricks in the pasture until we were forced to shut them in the barn. Silly boys!

The mares, on the other hand (eh-em, as usual), were rather worldly and mature about it...

They strolled in for breakfast looking like they'd just come off the tundra:

School was cancelled.... much to Sam Ibold's delight!

He helped us with barn chores before heading off on his dirt bike to have fun with his friends:

The wind blew drifts far into the barn.

And our poor brush boxes were filled with snow.

But check out the cute door... complete with a horseshoe handle and latch that Amrita fashioned herself. And actually, she built the wall, too... which hints at how handy she is with a hammer!

Here's a view of the mill yard and greenhouse:

And the WIND...

Luckily, snow storms rarely last a week around here.

Just when we've adapted to Life With Snow... we go right back to Dealing With Mud.

The forecast states that by Friday things should be back to normal: temps in the 40s and raining.

Happy Winter!

Riding in Winter, Snow, and ICE! (Includes VIDEO)

2012-01-16T20:10:00.000-08:00

Winter is finally, fully, upon us here at Sweet Water Farm Akhal-Teke. Living on San Juan Island means we are royally spoiled by mostly-mild winters. But though they call our climate temperate... it doesn't mean we don't get our share of winter willies when we're due.

Currently... we have SNOW.

Yes, that's our normally-green front pasture and seasonal pond covered in fluffy white stuff. Admittedly, I am no snow bunny. Born and raised in honest-to-goodness mud... I can appreciate snow's beauty from the window of my living-room... but I cross-fingers that it miraculously disappears as I slip into my puddle boots and head to the barn.

The horses, on the other hand, don't seem to mind (so long as we keep the food coming). As you can see in the photo above... Padisha likes to roll in the snow almost as much as she likes to roll in the mud.

Our island roads are consistently steep and winding... and since we don't have a road crew equipped to deal with snow... operating a featherweight rear-wheel-drive Toyota pick-up on ice-and-snow-packed roads can be a hair-raising experience. Lucky for me... the Ibolds kindly loaned me part of their excavator:

(Complete with RED BOW. I think it makes my little truck look a bit more bad-ass... don't you think?)

The drop in temps may have changed our rain-drops to snow-flakes.... but it hasn't kept us from having fun! Yesterday we tossed some horses (and Pony) in the trailer and went riding someplace else. Just down the road from us is a large piece of land maintained by the world-famous Roche Harbor Resort, and home to San Juan Disc Golf. The trails and fields are open to the four-legged variety... and even include some joyous galloping lanes! (Which, given the cold-weather-conditions, we traversed at a rather responsible pace). Here's some photos and a video of our ride:

(Me on Pasabi... Amrita on Penta... overlooking the San Juan Disc Golf course)

(Marina on Napoleon... Sonja on Kegas)

(Penta... overlooking a marsh).

(It was frozen! In the summer this is a dry field with lovely grassy cantering lanes mowed throughout.)

And the video:

http://youtu.be/tXbKtMlFR6E

Marina's First Jump Lesson on Napoleon the Pony

2012-01-15T12:17:00.000-08:00

Marina is a student at Sweet Water Farm Akhal-Teke. She is 12 years old, and just started riding with us in August. She's a natural-born-horse-girl of the most dedicated kind... and if she continues to improve as quickly as she has been, we think she may be ready for some schooling shows this year. Last weekend she had her first jump lesson, with Linda Chatfield, on Napoleon the Pony. And did an amazing job! Here's some photos and a video of her stellar ride:

http://youtu.be/unnDMUmXJsA

Car Riding Horse (errr.... Pony) VIDEO

2012-01-15T10:08:00.000-08:00

Patches the Pony... riding in the car isn't the only thing he does!
I am sure many of you have seen this... but for some reason I felt the need to repost it.

http://youtu.be/PErFJsqbUqo

Sweet Water Farm Akhal-Tekes... in January Jump Lessons - VIDEO

2012-01-12T00:02:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we had jump lessons with our instructor, Linda Chatfield, from Whidbey Island, WA. We had a very fun line-up of participants from our barn:

Dagjeir - ridden by myself (Jenny)
Penta - Amrita
Paelka - our student, Zoe (15 years old)
Kegas - our good friend, Sonja
Paktaly - Amrita
Napoleon - our student, Marina (12 years old)

Below are some photos of Dagjeir and I. We had a challenging lesson with lots of tight turns, angled jumps, and no straight lines. It was just what I needed to clear away the cobwebs... after a month of trail riding and holiday vacation, I felt a bit rusty! We started with a canter pattern over poles with hair-pin turns, and progressed to a series of small jumps taken at odd angles with circles before and after. Lucky for me that Dagjeir is so catty and handy... this stuff was right up his alley!

I was able to get some short clips of everybody's lessons... and here's the first of two videos (the other one will be of Marina and Napoleon, it was Marina's first jump lesson and she did a stellar job, so stay tuned for the next post!).

http://youtu.be/nLao7a2Du1c

My Parakeets

2012-01-11T00:09:00.000-08:00

On Monday, a pair of Bald Eagles sat in the top of a dead tree, overlooking the horse pastures.

And sang songs to eachother all day...

Their banter was captivating...

So I snuck inside the Ibold's house and borrowed Amrita's camera to take these shots.

Jay told me that raptors have lots of leisure time because they eat large, sporadic meals of meat... and digest slowly. Without the constant need for doing... I guess eagles have a lot more time for just being.

Hmmmm....

Another lesson learned... and another day at Sweet Water Farm!

Interested in more eagle action?

Check out this post from 2010:

Eagles, Horses, Islands

Leap-Pony... and a Testament to the Temperament of Tekes

2012-01-06T22:36:00.000-08:00

Shortly before I left for Christmas in Colorado... Marina spent an afternoon playing with Napoleon.

Naughtiness aside... the little stinker can be remarkably amicable.

First, Marina learned how to LEAP-PONY:

Then.. she jumped bareback:

Marina is getting better and better at not taking any "Pony Lip!"

This is the key to riding Napoleon successfully.

If he knows you mean business... he's wiling to be all-business, too.

~~~

While I was away... Siri and Marina rode the Big Horses and practiced baby jump courses.

It was very exciting to get updates from Amrita, complete with photos of all the fun...

Here's Siri, who is 10 years old, doing a jump course for the first time on six-year old Kegas:

(2005 Purebred Akhal-Teke Gelding)

And Marina, who is 12 years old... riding 7-year old Paelka:

(2004 Purebred Akhal-Teke Gelding)

And a testament to the temperament of Tekes...

Some large bonfires were being burned... not far from the arena... and apparently, the boys didn't seem to think it was worth being bothered about:

What good horses!

Home... and Catching up on THINGS

2012-01-05T08:42:00.000-08:00

I am home from Colorado... and of course, super busy catching up on everything I missed while I was away. Amrita took over with all of the students (and the mucking.... and the feeding...) and they had a blast cantering through the woods and learning baby jump courses. It was really exciting to get her email updates. I was worried that all the extra work was making Amrita's holiday season a muddy, rainy, and itchy-hay-plastered-pain-in-the-lower-back... but as it turned out, she did all the chores with ease, and still had time to renovate the barn!! I came home to find a new-and-improved (and substantially larger) TACK ROOM. I was so surprised! Pics and details will be posted soon. In the meantime... and because no post is fun without photos... here's some shots of our darling, The DP, from last spring, showing off his lovely movement:

The Desert Prophet - 2010 Peren Line Akhal-Teke Colt

(Pan Tau x Pallas Athena)

The DP is growing fast and promising to be quite a tall boy someday.

As a long yearling, he stands 15.2 hands... so he will likely mature at 16+

More updates coming soon!

Colorado Part 3 - Trail Running, Hiking, Pool Parties, and fun with the kids.

2011-12-29T11:31:00.000-08:00

This is a continuation of:

Christmas in Colorado - Part 1

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-in-colorado-part-1.html

Colorado Part 2 - Hiking to the Old Homestead

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/12/this-is-continuation-of-christmas-in.html

I am now back in the Boulder-Denver area... and homeward-bound on the 1st!
Happy New Year!

~~~~~~~~

Early Wednesday morning I went trail running with my brother, Garr.

It was 13 degrees Fahrenheit when we arrived at the base of the mountain...

And after running switch-backs for 3 miles at 7,600 feet... my lungs were burning like never before.

But the cold and pain was a small price to pay for having this all to ourselves:

(That's my brother heading down to where I was standing on the "mushroom rocks").

Click "Read More" to see more photos!

I've done A LOT of hiking on this trip!

Here's some photos of my adventures along Cattle Creek RD in Carbondale, CO...

A farm which we walked past to get to the trails:

They had a lovely white mule, who seemed rather lonely as he didn't have a single friend!

The farm had a jumper on its sign... but this was the only equine on premises:

The jumpers may have moved to greener pastures...

But they did have a caboose... converted into a cute guest house:

On tracks!

A frozen creek... not far from the road:

A fat & fuzzy Paint... that quietly watched us walk by:

A neighbor's beautiful driveway... lined with Cottonwood Trees:

Water Cress! I was fascinated that it could grow in the icy water:

Can you see the old man in these rocks?

We spied an OLD cabin in a cow pasture, and tried to get a closer view...

I ended up climbing to the top of the gate to take these photos:

I was tempted to go exploring... but one of the residents gave me the hairy eyeball:

Even in remote areas... there's always something for sale!

Here's my dad picking up a real estate flyer:

Anybody for a piece of high desert paradise?

This parcel could have your name on it:

Lots of sunshine, plenty of building sites... easy access to trails:

And the neighbor's?

On one side... Colorado Eclectic:

And on the other... Classic Country:

At home... the kids were always having a blast!

Here's my niece, Elise, doing a puzzle:

Getting kisses from her Grandma:

And wearing my hat:

My youngest niece, Mya Jo:

The Pool!

(Lilah)

(Elise)

(Adeline)

(Liam)

(Simon)

And finally... our excursion to the tiny mountain town of Marble, CO...

home of one of the country's oldest marble mines:

(Those are huge blocks of white marble you see in the background)

(They had free souvenirs... shards of marble... but they were, of course, frozen in ice).

(Adeline & Liam)

(Simon... being his usual silly self).

(It was COLD... in the teens, in the middle of the afternoon... here's Simon, Lilah, Sophie, and Leah)

(My Dad!)

(Dad, Dale, and Simon)

(I don't know why... but I liked this old crumbling building).

And just in case I've succeeded in boring you with so many non-Tekes-Tally-Ho-related photos...

that's all for this year!

Next Post will be in 2012!

Colorado Part 2 - Hike to the Old Homestead

2011-12-26T23:58:00.000-08:00

This is a continuation of:

Christmas in Colorado - Part 1
http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/12/christmas-in-colorado-part-1.html

~~~~~~~

This afternoon we took a hike into the mountains surrounding our rental house in Carbondale, CO... and discovered something fascinating. The owners told us there was a trail on public land we could access just up the road... so we set off to see where it would take us. It was a beautifully sunny Colorado day, and even though the temps were in the twenties, it wasn't long before we could take off our jackets and soak up some Vitamin D.

From left to right: my brother (Dale), sister (Sophie), and my mother (Debbo).

These are my youngest and eldest brothers: Dale (left) and Garr (right).

As we climbed higher, we went through tall scrub oak which encircled the trail like a tunnel.

And then... we knew we had found something interesting when we came to this high valley and noticed this bit of barbed wire fencing.

An old homestead!

~~~~

Click "Read More" to keep reading...

There were multiple structures... including a barn, at least two tiny cabins, and a root cellar.

Here's a loading shoot buit into the side of the barn.

The roofs were collapse... but the log walls were still holding strong.

A testament to their sturdy construction!

Here's a mysterious structure whose purpose eluded us. From afar it looked like the entrance to an old mine... but as we got closer, we discovered this wasn't the case.

Pieces of sheet metal and fencing were laid across wood beams to construct the roof, which appeared to have originally been covered in dirt. The structure itself was built into a large pit and the roof was level with the ground up above.

There was bark hanging from the beams... the trees that grow in these mountains are primarily junipers and small pines. This was the only building with the roof structure still intact... perhaps it was built more recently... or because it was fortified with scrap metal and protected with earth.

I took this photo from inside, looking up at my brother who was standing on the ground at the edge of the pit.

Here you can see how the roof was built... amazingly, with lumps of sod still in place!

This cabin had a hole in one wall for a chimney, and one tiny window. We noticed the walls had sheet metal lining the inside... and wondered if it was mainly to block the wind, or keep out rodents?

As we continued to explore... we found some old cans, shot up with bullet holes.

The one that Dale is holding in the photo above was very old...

Whereas this one was from the not-so-distant past... Pirouline cookies!

(Unidentifiable!)

And this looked like the cook stove that belonged to the cabin with sheet metal walls... a sacrificed for the "shooting range." This must have been an easy target... perhaps best for when they'd had a few too many beers!

We headed home just as the sun was slipping behind the mountains... a daily occurrence which turns the air cold and the light dim by 4:30 every afternoon.

Tomorrow we are headed to the tiny town of Marble, CO...

and hopefully, hot springs!

Seasons Greetings!

2011-12-25T10:51:00.000-08:00

Christmas in Colorado - Part 1

2011-12-25T00:13:00.000-08:00

If you are wondering why it's been a bit quiet here lately... it's because your humble author (me: Jenny) has been galavanting around Colorado with her family for the holidays! This post is slightly off-subject for this blog... but it does include a few photos of equines! I am not due back to Sweet Water Farm until after the New Year, so bear with me and before you know it I'll be back to talkin' 'bout Tekes.

~~~~~~

I have a rather dynamic family made up of full and half siblings, in-laws, and multiple nieces and nephews. Like many families, we've had a tumultuous past. And partially because of this, we've all grown up to follow very different paths. But the most important thing is that there has never been a shortage of love... we've always had each other and we all get along. And seriously, my family is a really fun.

My father, sister, niece, nephew, and I left Seattle on the 18th of December, spent one night in Denver with my younger sister, followed by one night in Boulder at my oldest brother's. On the 20th we all drove from Boulder to a vacation rental in Carbondale, CO... we being: my mother and father (divorced but amicable), two sisters, three brothers, two sister-in-laws, two nephews, four nieces, and three dogs. That makes 16 humans plus 3 canines in one house... making one hell-of-a (hectic-but-fun) on-going Christmas party.

Below are photos from our first two days in Carbondale, which is situated 20 minutes from Glenwood Springs and about 40 minutes from Aspen. The house we are renting is on a small valley ranch located between sage-speckled mountains with bright red dirt and twisted old juniper trees. It's high desert and the air is crisp and cold enough to freeze-dry the back of my throat. At night the temps are in the teens... during the day they creeps to mid-twenties. Not much snow where we are... but there's heaps of it up in the hills.

And guess what? This ranch has horses... and Falabella mini ponies!

AND the neighbors have MULES!

These photos are the horses that live on the ranch. I don't know a whole lot about them but I'm hoping to meet their owner while I'm here. Supposedly they are used for trail riding. They're pastures border the yard and driveway, and they whinny whenever they see someone come outside. I'm guessing that they are small quarter horses or crosses of some sort... though the grey one has a bit of a mustang look to him, too. In any case, they very quite friendly and well-fed. But they could use some serious grooming... they've accumulated masses of burls in their manes and tails!

(My nephew Liam saying hello).

(Here is my sister Leah... giving chin scratches. This horse's mane is FULL of burls. At this point I think the easiest thing would be to cut it all off. It can't be comfortable to have that many thorny things tangled up in your hair).

(My dad!)

Here are their adorable Falabella ponies...

they have two of them and apparently they are trained to drive as a team. I would be ecstatic at the chance of a cart-ride with this two cutie-pies... but so far I haven't' seen any sign of driving apparatus, so it may have been a while since they've been employed!

Click "Read More" to continue!

(The Pony Trailer!)

(This hairy ape is carved from wood and guards the garage).

Below are photos of the play house, built on top of an ancient tree stump... the detailed craftsmanship is nothing short of amazing:

The owner has a small collection of old cars...

(My sister's dog, Copper)

(A relic from the past... a miner's rail car).

(The neighbor's long-ears!)

My brother, sister, dad, and I went exploring in the red-dirt hills surrounding the ranch. It was our first morning in the area and we hadn't yet located trails... but the trees are sparse and "off-road" hiking is relatively easy. (As long as you wear a good pair of shoes...)

Another neighbor has this uniquely-carved gate:

A horse with many monkeys upon its back...

With lots of family to help care for their two young tots... my brother David and his wife Gina were hoping for the chance to have a nice lunch to themselves, and an afternoon in Aspen seemed the perfect opportunity. Little Elise stayed home with her cousins while baby Mya Jo took a nap on her Auntie Sophie's back as we strolled through the streets... peeking in the doorways of posh shops and amusing ourselves with people-watching (we saw some hilarious outfits). The tree-lined streets glittered with christmas lights and sparkles of sunlight through ice...

(My brother Dale and sister Sophie... with baby niece Mya Jo on board)

We checked out a tiny natural foods market... where my 12-year-old nephew Simon was fascinated by their rather eclectic, and extremely expensive, organic produce:

(Can't remember what exotic thing he's holding in this photo but I can assure you it wasn't cheap).

(These tiny baby zucchini's were oh-so-cute and about the length of my pinky finger!)

(Simon LOVES to eat raw garlic... here he is asking his mom if she'll buy him a head of it. He proceeded to devour each and every clove throughout the afternoon. He especially likes it sprinkled with salt. When he eats it he stinks up all the air in his vicinity! But how can we complain? Everybody knows garlic is good for you).

In the spirit of Christmas... and because, after all, it's Aspen... there were two little reindeer on display in a tiny pen not far from the base of the ski resort. They totally ignored their human onlookers, but they were obviously very tame because the height of the their pen panels was no more than 4 feet. Is there such a thing as dwarf reindeer? Because these two seemed very small:

We were surprised to discover The Thrift Shop of Aspen down a side street not far from all the glitz. We figured it was bound to be nothing more than an over-priced vintage clothing store, but it turned out to be a real thrift store with real thrift store prices. The boys were bored.... but Sophie and I had a great time sifting through their selection of clothes:

Not long after we left the thrift shop... Baby Mya Jo woke up from her long nap on Sophie's back. As soon as she realized not a single one of us was one of her parents... she started protesting. Loudly. Luckily David & Gina were only a cell phone call and two blocks away. We had cruised the streets of Aspen by foot for over two hours while they enjoyed a quiet meal together at a small local pub. It was around 3:30 when the sun slipped behind the mountains and the wind felt blisteringly cold... a sharp reminder to head for home.

----

And that's all for now!

More reports on my adventures in Colorado are coming soon...

Merry Christmas!

KANDAR - Akhal-Teke - USEF 1998 Int. Horse of the Year

2011-12-17T00:06:00.000-08:00

"Kandar"

Purebred Buckskin Akhal-Teke Gelding

1985 - 2005

(Senetir x Kushka)

Kandar is described as "A Horse of a Lifetime" by owner and rider Karen Yates of Copper Top Farm in Gurley, Alabama. A flashy metallic gold purebred Akhal-Teke, standing approx.15 hands, Kandar's list of accomplishments are nothing short of incredible:

USEF 1998 Int. Horse of the Year

3 Classic Format CCI*'s

6 Classic Format CCI**'s

Long-listed for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games

Kandar was bred by Phil and Margot Case of The Akhal-Teke Stud in Staunton, Virginia, and was co-owned by Cynthia Hill of Huntover farm in Millwood, Virginia. He was an athlete with uncannily cat-like finesse. And even now, nearly 7 years since his death, Kandar lives on through his legacy as an unarguably heroic ambassador for the breed.

(See that adorable style? Jumpers take note... this is classic Teke form over fences!)

I promised to post Kandar's video, which we watched the other day at our holiday get-together... and here it is, recently uploaded on YouTube! This inspiring tribute is a compilation of footage from the following events & facilities:

Radnor CCI* (PA), Essex CCI** (NJ), Kentucky Horse Park (KY), Farewell Farm (SC), Southern Pines (SC), Chatsworth (GA), and River Glen Park (TN).

http://youtu.be/AnGOsJDeM3A

Holiday Get-Together 2011

2011-12-14T19:26:00.000-08:00

On Sunday afternoon we had a holiday get-together for our young students and their families. It was a beautiful sunny day (we've had a phenomenal fall!), which normally would have been spent outside (riding!).... but the Ibolds' house was sooooo cozy... and the snacks were sooooo delicious... everybody enjoyed the chance to stay inside (and eat!).

Aside from good food and lively conversation... we also played a game and watched a movie. We gave each student a bag containing one full bridle... in pieces. The girls had to figure out how to put their bridles back together.... correctly. Seasoned equestrians know the many parts of a bridle... but for youngsters just learning the ropes, constructing one from memory can be a challenging endeavor.

For entertainment we watched a short-feature tribute to an amazing Akhal-Teke named "Kandar," who competed through Advanced level eventing and was long-listed for the Olympics. (Stay Tuned on this blog to view it for yourself... because I just discovered the same video has been uploaded to YouTube!). It was the perfect thing for the party because it showed parents the two most important aspects of our program: Akhal-Tekes & Eventing. Plus it's incredibly inspiring, and Kandar was... gorgeous.

Amrita and I received some lovely surprise gifts...

And handed out Christmas cards and chocolate.

It goes without saying... we had a blast.

Many thanks to all!

Paelka Collage

2011-12-13T18:42:00.000-08:00

Amrita created this photo collage of Paelka...

And I think he looks down-right darling!

Paelka has improved in leaps and bounds since he first arrived at our farm last November. This summer I started referring to him as "Paelka the Wonder Horse" when he confidently schooled Training level trakehners & coffin lines, as well as Preliminary water combinations, before he had even completed his 2nd Novice event. With no exaggeration, we are frequently stunned at what he has to offer.... and as of lately this includes: taking excellent care of the tiniest of tots, packing beginners around jump courses in after-school lessons, being one of our best "Steady-Eddies" on trail rides, and playing schoolmaster for students in weekend jump clinics.

Go Paelka!

Volunteering for The Parks

2011-12-10T21:08:00.001-08:00

Today we volunteered for The Parks! Our local San Juan Island Trails Committee put together a work party (in collaboration with the National Parks Service) to build a small boardwalk over a muddy area on one of our public trails. We are extremely fortunate to be neighbors with a large sanctuary of DNR land. It's easy to access from, literally, the end of the driveway... and we ride the trails here on a regular basis. Not all public land is open to horseback riders, so it's extremely important that equestrians like us continue to volunteer our time. By simply showing up to help, we are helping to secure Teke Trekking on San Juan Island trails for many years to come.

The work today consisted of three main activities:

1. Filling Wheelbarrow with Gravel

2. Pushing/Pulling Wheelbarrow of Gravel UP & DOWN a Trail through the Woods.

3. Dumping Gravel at Work Site & Hiking back for more Gravel.

Here's Amrita eyeballing her first load:

We worked in teams, with one person pushing and the other person pulling via rope...

A system we call 4WD Wheelbarrow:

(That's a load of gravel... plus a large rock that Amrita picked up along the way. She's good at that.)

This friendly volunteer is Eric Kessler, a photographer & tour guide, as well as the father of one of our students... taking a photo of me taking a photo of him:

Here you can see the boardwalk (or punchet... spelling?) and the gravel we were depositing on either end to create "ramps."

It was good honest work... and we got our workouts in for the day hauling gravel up and down a steep slippery slope, over roots and around rocks.

In the woods near the main trail is the fascinating remnants of an old truck:

I like anything old, rusty, abandoned in the woods and covered in moss.

(With the exception of anything scary).

From this angle... I think it looks rather like the skeleton of a beached baleen whale:

And in other news...

Thanks to our loyal readers.... we've hit 1,000 Likes on our Facebook Page!!

Kindest regards to everyone who visits it... we appreciate each and every click.

1,000 Likes

2011-12-08T12:49:00.001-08:00

We are only 25 clicks away from having 1,000 Likes on our Sweet Water Farm Akhal-Teke Facebook Page! Our goal is to reach 1,000 by the end of the year. If you haven't already done so... go to Facebook and check out our page! We have over 1,000 photos Akhal-Teke horses currently posted.... and counting! (That in itself is worth a Like or two, don't you think?!)

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sweet-Water-Farm-Akhal-Teke/167244119957164?ref=ts

End of November Jump Lesson Photos

2011-12-03T21:45:00.001-08:00

Last Friday we had jump lessons with our instructor, Linda Chatfield, from Whidbey Island, WA. (They were super fun, as usual. We LOVE our "Linda-Lessons").

And it's a good thing we have 'em.... because let's face it, when it's dark every day at 4pm, we can sure use the motivation! For the past few weeks the horses have been on a rigorous regimen (ha ha) of eating, hacking, trail riding... lunge-lessons, trail riding, hacking... eating... and trail riding. It's the off-season after all, and our horses deserve a holiday as much as we do. We do, however, need to maintain what we have... but for this time of the year it only makes sense that the grids stay close to the ground and the courses progressive but easy.

Penta was the greenest green-bean of the day, skillfully piloted by Amrita, with Napoleon to help show him how it's done! Kegas & Paelka played the schoolmasters for Sonja & Zoe. Paktaly and Amrita did gymnastics to improve adjustability... while Dagjeir and I worked on tight turns and lead-changes over fences. (No pics of D this time though... I was the photographer for the day and froze my fingers for the sake of Art. It was ch-ch-ch-chilly!).

Napoleon & Zoe

Paelka & Sonja

Kegas & Zoe

Penta & Amrita

Paktaly & Amrita

More photos after the break!

Paelka & Sonja

Paktaly & Amrita

Kegas & Zoe

Napoleon the Pony & Zoe

Penta & Amrita

www.akhalteke.cc

New Horse - Penta! (VIDEO)

2011-11-30T18:35:00.001-08:00

We have a new horse!

"Penta"

2003 Akhal-Teke Gelding

16.1 hands

by Pan Tau x Etoscha

Penta was an embryo-transfer foal born at Ots Sunrise Farm in De Pere, Wisconsin. He sold as a youngster to Barbara Weber of Solstice Farm in Random Lake, Wisconsin, and from there he was purchased by a professional farrier in the midwest. As of last month... he's officially a Washingtonian! Penta now resides at Sweet Water Farm Akhal-Teke. We are very happy to have this tall handsome fellow. Especially since we also happen to have both his parents!

Penta's sire is our stallion Pan Tau:

And Penta's dam is our mare, Etoscha:

Penta settled in brilliantly, acclimatized seamlessly, and has already begun jump training! He's great on the trails... but green in the arena. Fortunately, we have an entire winter ahead of us to school. Click "Read More" to see photos and a video of his first ever jump lesson at Sweet Water Farm.

Amrita rode Penta in his first jump lesson last weekend... he was a good boy!

The first couple of times through the grid... he used those lllllooooonnnngggg legs of his to trot the cross-rails like they were just a bunch of funny-looking trotting poles.

But before long he was picking up his feet and having fun...

We've never met an Akhal-Teke who doesn't love to jump!

Doesn't he have a sweet face?!

We're looking forward to more lessons on Saturday... but until next time, here's a video to go along with all these photos:

http://youtu.be/-NI4cxU-IX4

(Not bad for his first time, eh?!)

Paktaly Does His Gymnastics - Video

2011-11-27T13:24:00.001-08:00

http://youtu.be/22WinWVppWs

Happy Thanksgiving! 2011

2011-11-24T06:46:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving

From Sweet Water Farm Akhal-Teke!

www.akhalteke.cc

Handsome Foals & Blogger Woes...

2011-11-20T11:18:00.001-08:00

I love this photo of True Turk, our 2011 colt by Pan Tau x Pallas Athena.

He was 4 months old... and I think he looks very handsome:

Blogger woes...

For a couple of weeks now I haven't been able to access pretty much anything on this blog other than posts & pages. For example... elements such as Design, Layout, Stats, Template, etc., etc, etc... are non-existent! And the little "hammer & nail" icons under the gadgets in the sidebar are no longer there. The only things I am able to do are publish & edit posts and pages. I have tried signing into Blogger from multiple computers, gone back and forth between the new system & the older version, read & re-read their instructions for using the new version, posted my problem on their "help forum,"... and sent reports to Blogger on the issue, but of course, no response as of yet. I am curious if anybody else out there experiencing this problem... or am I missing something obvious?

Motivation

2011-11-17T23:27:00.001-08:00

'Tis the season when day-light savings puts a damper on our daytime!
During the winter months... we spend the mornings feeding, mucking, trimming, and working around the farm. Mid-day we hide from the rain and wind and do business. And weekday afternoons are spent with students... trying to cram in as much riding as possible before it gets too dark to see. Today the sun set at 4:30 pm... tomorrow it will depart even earlier.

Northern folks like us have to constantly over-ride the urge to hibernate, deeply.
Even our ponies take on the wooly appearance of something to cuddle with rather than ride. If we don't monitor our motivation, we can find ourselves slipping into the comfortable monotony of poop-scooping and trail-riding. So what keeps us going?
Visualizations of next summer and a strong dose of... Show-Jump Lessons!!

On Sunday our favorite jump instructor is coming from Whidbey Island.
And just in time... because I was starting to get very, very sleepy.

Here are some previously-un-posted photos from about 2 lessons ago. Looking at them makes me want to get out and ride! Since these were taken: Teddy has gone to Ohio, Amrita and I have gone to Turkmenistan... and the weather has taken a steep plunge into winter. We certainly won't be wearing tee shirts this weekend!

Paelka & Amrita

Zoe & Napoleon... Check out this pony's FANCY jump form!!!

Sonja with Kegas, exhibiting his typical Super-Man style.

More photos after the break, click the "Read More" button in the lower left corner of this post...

Zoe took this picture of me taking pictures...

Zoe

Amrita & Teddy

We miss Teddy! Before he left for Ohio his training was progressing in leaps and bounds... we hope his new owner is enjoying him as much as we have and experiencing as much success.

Sonja & Kegas

Silly Pony.

Me & Dagjeir

Teke -Trekking on San Juan Island (VIDEO)

2011-11-15T12:06:00.001-08:00

This is what we've been up to lately:

http://youtu.be/ZzYH1B2oZgY

Courtesy of myself & Paktaly... starring Sonja & Paelka, Marina & Napoleon, Amrita & Penta. (Notice something NEW in in this video??)

Akhal-Teke Artwork

2011-11-11T10:58:00.000-08:00

For those who've enjoyed the Akhal-Teke artwork... here's some more of it!

These photos were taken at two different art exhibits in Turkmenistan, April 2011 and October 2011.

The collections were similar and represented a variety of medias. Oil and acrylic paintings... bronze, marble, and gold-plated statues/sculptures... as well as Amrita's favorite: gold, silver, and jeweled traditional Turkmen horse tack. My only criticism for the shows was that there was no information provided regarding the artists. It would have been fascinating to know more about the creators of these magnificent works of art.

More artwork after the jump...

~~~

Weekend in Ashgabad

2011-11-06T11:32:00.000-08:00

On October 26th we boarded a tiny plane at the Friday Harbor Airport and began a 27-hour commute half-way around the world for... the weekend.

Crazy, right? Well one thing I can say about weekend trips to 12-hour-difference-time-zones is that by the time your brain has become really truly confused, you're due to go home anyways.

This is what Ashgabad looked like when we arrived the night of October 27th:

See those clouds? It was a warning to us of what would come.... brrrrrrrr!!!!

The weather in Turkmenistan was cold.

October 27th - 29th, 2011 was the 20th anniversary celebration of Turkmenistan's independence from the Soviet Union, and the opening of the President's newest hippodrome... which we had visited in April when it was still in the works:

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/05/turkmenistan-day-3-part-2-bigger-than.html

During this trip we were guests of the Turkmen Atlary, which is Turkmenistan's national ministry of horses, and our room was on the 10th floor. We had a great view of the city... its many fountains laid out like a wiggling display of geometric art. Some interesting quirks about touristing Ashgabad--taking photos in public is still widely discouraged and in some places strictly forbidden. People rarely eat out, bars as we know them are nearly non-existent, and tipping is illegal. You can, however, buy liquor by the bottle at the local outdoor market... and guests might expect to be served cognac before breakfast, and vodka with lunch.

Here's a view of the main entrance to the Turkmen Atlary:

In attendance was a group of approximately 20 breeders, professors, and association representatives from various countries. It was exciting to see familiar faces and exchange stories from the past six months. We were delighted to see a woman we remembered from the HORFA expo in Shanghai, who is an executive at the China Horse Industry Association... and she recognized us, too! And there were also a few whom we hadn't met before, including a fascinating European geneticist, and the vice president of The Equestrian Federation of Kyrgyzstan, who is a breeder of Akhal-Tekes himself. In contrast to our experience at the conference in April, this smaller crowd was more or less a gathering of minds... with the Akhal-Teke breed at the forefront of every conversation.

(Read more...)

We ate most of our meals at the Turkmen Atlary... here is an example of a usual lunch:

The rice was cooked with carrots and mutton. It usually came with mutton soup, and sometimes sides of sausage or pastries filled with cheese or meat. Being a vegetarian.. I ate a lot of vegetable and fruit dishes like you see on the right. There was always some seasonal salads with cucumber, tomatoes, and platters of fresh herbs. They also served fresh fruit and some of the most succulent melon I have ever tasted. The flesh was the color of very ripe honeydew, but the rind was more like a cantaloupe... and it had a taste that I just couldn't get enough of. The bread was all hand baked and very tasty, too. In the mornings we had rice or wheat porridge, always with lots of coffee and tea.

But on this trip.... no vodka!

On the afternoon of our first day we had an "open program," so Amrita and I took the opportunity to have a walk around Ashgabad. We first went to the Russian bazaar since we had been there before and knew the way. But on the way back, we were stopped by a soldier and came to understand that we were not allowed to continue walking up that street. He pointed in the direction he wanted us to go... so we followed orders and took the scenic route home! Less than a block from the magnificent marble palaces, lushly green parks, and effervescent fountains of the new Ashgabad, was a run-down neighborhood from its recent past.... tucked just out of view from the main avenue.
And on these streets... no soldiers!

These funny trees were everywhere, spilling their hairy fruit all over the ground. They must have tasted even worse than they looked... because not even the birds were bothering with them!

Peeking over walls was like gazing into another world... not far from the fancy 5-star hotel we stayed at in April was this scrap-yard of poorly animals:

The next day was the grand opening of the new hippodrome. We had a wake-up knock on our door at 5:00... which was amusing as Amrita and I had already been up for over an hour (jet lag... the only occasion when I voluntarily get out of bed before 5AM!). We boarded a bus at 6:00... and since it was too early for breakfast, we left without eating. After an hour and a half on the bus and another two hours of waiting in our seats at the hippodrome... we were starting to get very, very hungry. We were grateful for the granola bars I had packed in my purse, because aside from some meat-filled pastries and soda pop... no food was served until late that afternoon. (Travel tip for vegetarians... skimp on clothing so you can stuff your suitcase with protein bars. If there's nothing for you to eat, at least you won't starve!).

The opening celebrations included the presentation of three Akhal-Tekes (buckskin, palomino, and grey) as gifts to the president by their breeders. We were seated high in the bleachers, behind huge glass windows... so taking photos proved to be a challenging endeavor. I never got a good one of the grey, but to the right & below are the other two...

And then, of course, was the races!

We had fun trying to get good shots of individual horses. There were many different colors and body styles. Even as breeders ourselves, it's only in Turkmenistan that we get to see this many Akhal-Tekes in the same place and time...

The winning jockeys of each race rode their horses to the winners circles so that they could be presented to the crowds...

We felt sorry for the horses, who had to stand in the rain and wind, sweaty from galloping, without coolers or blankets. We were told that only a week before we came it was sunny and in the high 80s!

For the second time in one year... I was interviewed on Turkmenistan National TV. The reporter asked me to talk about where I was from and what I thought about the new hippodrome. I never had the chance to watch it air on TV, but some of the other guests said they saw it in the official broadcast of the event.

Inside the main building was an art exhibition:

We took lots of pictures of the paintings...

This was one of my favorites.... I love how the people are so tall and narrow looking:

This horse has a blue eye:

When the races were over... it was finally time to eat. We were soooo hungry. And much to our surprise... the kitchen was outside! The cooks prepared the food using traditional clay ovens and a brick fire pit. Buried in the hot ashes there was meat roasting and bread baking. The bread is shaped like a very large pizza crust, but much thicker and very dense. They poked holes in the dough with a big skewer so that it baked evenly.

Lunch at the hippodrome was 3 meals combined into one... the dishes just kept coming and coming... soon everybody was stuffed but couldn't stop eating. Afterwards we wandered around the grounds for an hour or so before returning to the Turkmen Atlary. In a bus full of exhausted travelers... myself and the driver were the only ones awake on the drive back to Ashgabad. And by 6:30 pm Amrita and I were already asleep in our beds!

The next morning a group of us took taxis outside the city to a big open-air market. We divided ourselves into three groups... making sure our Russian-speaking friends were dispersed equally! In Turkmenistan, anybody with a vehicle can act as your taxi if they chose to do so. So all we had to do was stand on the side of the street in the direction we needed to go, and wait for someone to pick us up. It's like hitch-hiking... only it's not free. And the driver can charge you whatever he chooses! Luckily, the exchange rate for USD is very good, so even with an inflated price... it was still far cheaper than you could ever hope to pay for a taxi in the States.

Everywhere you go near Ashgabad... you can expect to see fountains:

And statues...

Believe it or not... this was our 3rd and final day in Turkmenistan! We arrived back from the market just in time for lunch, after which we were taken for another visit to the hippodrome to see some Akhal-Tekes. To the right is what the main stadium (where we watched the races) looks like from the side.

The hippodrome is near the mountains, and that afternoon the rain was turning to snow...

We were not expecting it to be this cold and unfortunately did not bring appropriate clothing!

Had I known it was going to be colder than at home in Washington, I would have brought an entire arsenal of winter woolies. We shivered in the bleachers of an indoor jumping arena while they brought in a series of horses. Amrita and I packed light for this trip, which meant no fancy cameras. My little camera didn't like dim indoor lighting... so I was only able to get a few good shots:

Afterwards we took a walk through the grounds. It was very interesting to see all the work they had completed in the short six months since our first visit. We were eager to take take a look inside the horse barns... but it was only after we had been shown literally everything but the actual horses in their stalls did our hosts allow us to (briefly) enter one of them. Inside were half a dozen horses, and empty stalls for at least ten more. These were different horses than the ones they'd just shown us, and all were very high-quality... but with an alarming percentage of injuries. We we were happy to see they wore stable sheets, since the weather was so unusually cold and none of them had winter coats. The barn had vaulted ceilings, spacious box stalls, and thick bedding. The horses were fed on a diet of oats and alfalfa... and interestingly, free-choice water was not provided in the stalls but rather rationed out like feed. Buckets of water sat outside each stall door, which (I assume) were poured into built-in troughs at intervals.

Maria Motsar, of Ghurtbil Stud Farm (Russia), found a friend:

Outside the barn was this 6-horse Mercedes camper van... on a whim I snapped a shot of it as we were ushered from the stables:

Before long we were departing from the hippodrome for the last time (on this journey, anyways!).

We took one more photo of a statue in the desert...

And soon we were on our way home!

Our flight left Ashgabad at 3:15 AM on October 31st.

Twenty-seven hours of traveling and a twelve-hour time difference later, Amrita and I touched down safely in Friday Harbor just in time for Halloween.

~~~

To read about our other adventures in Turkmenistan, please visit the following posts:

The International Akhal-Teke Horse Breeding Association

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/05/turkmenistan-day-1-first-meeting-of.html

The President Rides & An Akhal-Teke Beauty Contest

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/05/turkmenistan-day-2-president-rides.html

The Races

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/05/turkmenistan-day-3-part-1-races.html

A Bigger-Than-God-Himself Hippodrome-In-The-Works

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/05/turkmenistan-day-3-part-2-bigger-than.html

The Circus

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/05/turkmenistan-day-4-part-1-circus.html

The Stud Farms

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/06/turkmenistan-day-4-part-2-stud-farms.html

The Russian Bazaar

http://eventingakhaltekes.blogspot.com/2011/06/turkmenistan-day-5-russian-bazaar.html

Teke Mania ~ Issue No. 9 ~ Buy It Here!!

2011-11-03T22:18:00.000-07:00

Teke Mania

Issue No. 9

February 2011

~~~

BUY IT HERE!

$13.00 USD per issue

Shipping fees:

USA - $2.48

Canada - $3.94

Limited Stock Available!

To purchase, please email request to:

ibolds@rockisland.com

Mail Payment to:

Sweet Water Farm Akhal-Teke

2097 West Valley RD

Friday Harbor, WA 98250

~~~

Articles include:

~Dam Treasures From Kazakstan (Tatiana Ryabova)

~Tales From Turkmenistan... Akhal-Teke Horse Association Conference (Ulrike Ruppelt)

~Munir and Ak Sakal Line (Tito Pontecorvo)

~Moscow World Championships - Heavenly Argamak 2010 (Clara de Vos van Steenwijk)

~HORFA 2010 China International Horse Fair (Jenny Rice)

~Speed Records of Akhal-Teke Horses (Petra Maresova)

~Makka Shael, a promising dressage prospect & Other Tekes in Dressage (Maria Marquise Baverstock)

~Teke Goes Polo (Michele van Kasteren)

~Endurance Sport Through the Eyes of Veterinarians (Katlin Leisson & Kaido Puusepp)

...AND MUCH MORE!

Teke Mania is an annual magazine produced by the Akhal Teke Horse Association a.s.b.l.

www.akhaltekehorse.org

Ohio Marauder

2011-11-01T21:40:00.000-07:00

We are home from a crazy weekend whirlwind trip to Turkmenistan (Story coming soon!). But before we left... we said goodbye to one of our favorite horses: TEDDY!

On Sunday, October 23rd we hauled Teddy (Silk Road Marauder) to the mainland to meet the American Horse Transportation rig that would take him to his new home in Ohio.

From Day 1... Teddy has lived up to his nick-name.

(SNIFF... it was sad to say goodbye to such a sweetie pie!)

We sent him off with kisses and hugs... wished his new owner well... and requested many updates!

We will miss him!

Here are some past to present photos... from shortly after we purchased him in June 2010 (as an un-broke 5 year old), to jump lessons that took place only 2 weeks ago...

First trim:

First time in a bridle:

First trail ride:

His first schooling show in July 2010... he was ridiculously green, and it took him a few minutes to figure out what to do with the first jump:

But as soon as he saw how fun it was...

...the rest of the course was easy!

Looking handsome at his first clinic (with Don Sachey in Lake Stephens, WA):

First time schooling cross-country... summer 2010:

Free Jumping, winter 2010:

First jumper show, June 2011:

Schooling cross-country with our friend Orissa, August 2011:

Grids, August 2011:

Cross-country jump clinic at home, August 2011:

Show-jump lessons at home, September 2011:

October 2011:

xoxo

3 Foals Due for 2012

2011-10-24T22:54:00.000-07:00

They say 3 is a lucky number...

Does this mean 2012 will be an auspicious year?

We certainly hope so!

The following mares are in foal by Pan Tau for 2012 babies:

PIPI

Gelishikli line mare, cremello, born 2003 in Germany, by Mazan and Guldesse

CLICK HERE to view her pedigree

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ETOSCHA

Kaplan line mare, steel grey, born 1996 in Germany, by Karaburgut and Enegul

CLICK HERE to view her pedigree

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PALLAS ATHENA

Ak Sakal line mare, chestnut, born 2000 in USA, by Mamuk and Porgi

CLICK HERE to view her pedigree