Preserve, Perpetuate, and Promote the Akhal-Teke Breed
“To establish, maintain and operate a non-profit Association comprised of owners, breeders and friends of the Akhal-Teke for the preservation, perpetuation and promotion of the Akhal-Teke and to provide educational activities regarding the Akhal-Teke in North America.”
In This Report
Overview | Registrations & Transfers | Membership | Online Trends | SANA West | Annual Conference | 2019 Promotions | 2020 Promotions
2019 was a good year!
The ATAA had another year with a growing Akhal-Teke population, an expanding and active membership, and exciting events. The year kicked off strong as the ATAA and Equus Survival Trust (EST) co-sponsored the Stewardship Awards of North America (SANA) during the Western States Horse Expo. The momentum carried on throughout the year in other events, including the ATAA Annual Conference.
We are growing!
We have seen another increase in Teke and Teke cross horse ownership and horses competing in 2019, and our Incentive Awards continue to be popular. The incentive fund grew from the original $350 to $5000 for 2019 and look forward to continued growth in 2020.
We have support!
The two WWW Foundation grants we received last year aided in preservation, promotion and perpetuation efforts for the Akhal-Teke by filming instructional registration videos with help from Jeannette Beranger from The Livestock Conservancy, Artur Baboev, and Nadja Tarasova. We received another grant from the WWW Foundation this year and are diligently working to best use these funds.
2020 will be bigger and better!
The ATAA is looking forward to the 2020 Akhal-Teke Winter Camp with the Dark Prince Equestrian, a VNIIK Grading Tour, AHA/ATAA National Distance Championships, and so much more!
Seeing Positive Trends Online
The Akhal-Teke's online presence has seen slow but positive growth over last 12 months according to Google. Below shows the original data represented with a linear trendline showing a growth multiplier of 0.0295. Data is derived from all search activity in the US related to the term "Akhal-Teke". We hope to see the trend grow further in 2020 with the upcoming new, online ATAA database and website, among other activities.
2019 SANA West
The 2019 SANA West Rare Breed Show was a huge success! Held during the Western States Horse Expo in Sacramento, CA, this event provided 40 horses of several different rare breeds, including the Akhal-Teke, a chance to exhibit in front of about 20,000 spectators. The ATAA and Equus Survival Trust co-sponsored awarding the highest scoring competitors with the titles of Most Versatile Akhal-Teke, Akhal-Teke Cross, Rare Breed Horse, Rare Breed Horse Cross, or Rare Breed Pony. We could not have done it without our many wonderful volunteers who donated their time, effort, and money to help manage the show barn, coordinate events and demos, and ensure all ran smoothly. This was the first time the ATAA has been at the helm of an entire show. The event ended with a multitude of thanks and hopes for it to be hosted again in the future.
2019 ATAA Annual Conference
The 2019 Akhal Teke Association of America Conference was hosted by Giles and Katrina Ardiel of Akhal Valley Farms in Clarksburg ON, Canada. The focus of this year’s conference was Akhal Tekes in Sport. The four day meeting included educational seminars, stud book registration education, filming for instructional registration videos, the ATAA Board Meeting, the ATAA Annual General Meeting, and the ATAA Awards Banquet. Some members even had the opportunity to ride Akhal-Tekes in a private clinic with Olympic Dressage Rider, Megan Lane. It was a wonderfully successful event and all who attended felt it was well worth the trip!
ATAA Awards and Incentive Awards
The ATAA gave out both volunteer and horse awards this year, per the membership’s requests. The ATAA Awards are by member nomination, with a new award debuting this year, the ‘Breed Preservation’ award--to be awarded to a person or organization that contributes to the preservation of the Akhal-Teke breed. Our ATAA Awards chair, Betsy Wandler, did her usual fabulous job and created lovely plaques for the volunteer awards and very nice embossed leather photo frames for the horse awards. Our ‘Horse of the Year’, MV Patrickhan, also got an original drawing to fit in his frame!
The Incentive Fund has grown from the original $350 to $5000 for 2019 and the BOD will be voting on its amount for 2020 to encourage more people to compete!
Census of North America Akhal-Tekes
The population of a closed purebred breed like the Akhal-Teke consists of the registered horses. Without being registered, a horse is not formally recognized as an Akhal-Teke. The recent census the ATAA conducted highlights the small numbers of Akhal-Tekes in North America, suggesting they might qualify as ‘critically’ endangered, rather than just threatened. The ATAA continues to combine preservation with promotion in our quest to preserve and protect our beloved breed.
ATAA Facebook Page
The ATAA Facebook page has over 1400 likes now, 200 more than 2018, and has new content almost daily. Member competitions, photos, links to breed related articles, videos, and announcements make it a great resource, so check in frequently.
ATAA Newsletter
The ATAA Newsletter is published 4 times a year and features articles, news, photos, competition results and member interviews. Scroll down on the link for previous year’s newsletters.
Annual Report
This is the fifth year we’ve produced an ‘Annual Report’ to recap the ATAA’s accomplishments for the year and what we plan to do the next year. We always welcome suggestions for other promotions, ideas, articles, etc. Just contact a BOD member and let them know your thoughts!
Opportunities to Get Involved
Volunteer for upcoming events. Write articles for the ATAA Newsletter. Donate money for specific events, such as the 2020 Grading Tour. Become a part of a positive Akhal-Teke community. Handle the Silent Auction in 2020. Previous online auctions have been a success! Translate articles for the ATAA newsletter and/or website. Whatever you can think of!
Contact the secretary at ATAA Secretary : secretary.ataa@gmail.com