Akhalt - Service: LTD.

     Approximately one hundered years ago, the Akhal Teke breed almost disappeared. Fortunately, the breed was preserved by the efforts and diligence of the Governor General of Zacaspian region, P. A. Kuropatkin, as well as that of the Kuban Cossack G. A. Mazan. Currently, the Akhal Teke breed is flourishing in Russia. The farm Akhalt Services was founded in 1990. It is located near the resort city of Eysk, on the Azov sea. Akhalt Services focuses specifically on breeding Akhal Tekes for sports. They have developed lines that make their horses suitable for classic equestrian disciplines such as dressage, show jumping, and endurance racing.

     Akhal Teke horses are energetic and very intelligent. At Akhalt Services, the horses receive individualized training that fits their conformation and temperament. Bold and impulsive horses often undergo training in jumping whereas horses with outstanding gliding movements undergo training in dressage. The horses we select specifically for endurance racing have a slow pulse rate, good lung capacity, and healthy strong feet. In the last five years, Akhalt Services has been strongly engaged in endurance competitions. Young horses participate in short endurance races of 30 to 40 km whereas older horses are trained to take part in races of 60 to 90 km. The training involved in endurance racing is long and strenuous for both horse and rider. Great care is taken so that this demanding training does not compromise the horses’ health. Our careful training has paid off. For instance, in August of 2001, our stallion Sogudzhack under rider M. Tarasenko won a difficult 60 km endurance ride twenty minutes ahead of other competitors.

     The General Director of Akhalt Services, A.V. Pochenchuk, has contributed greatly to make the stud farm’s Akhal Tekes known and respected in Russia and abroad. He strongly supports sportsmen and horses at Akhalt Services to take part in Russian and international competitions. A summary of our horses’ achievements are presented in the table at the end of this web section. In addition to achievements in sports, Akhalt Services produces horses with excellent pedigrees. Their Akhal Tekes have won prizes at several breed shows. In 2001, our mare Omelia became Champion of the Breed at the 2001 World Championship in Moscow. She competed against the horses of leading stud farms in Russia. These breed shows are crucial for meeting our breeding goals. We select the best foals shortly after birth. From six months onward, we work with these foals individually and prepare them to be show horses. They are taught to walk and trot in hand and to stand quietly for inspection.

     The staff at Akhalt Services welcomes everyone interested in Akhal Teke horses, from fine connoisseur and breeders to individuals wanting to learn about this unique breed. We will be glad to help you select a horse that suits your likings, goals, and discipline. Several of our horses belong to rare blood lines, have the sought after golden color, and display the exotic type that makes the Akhal Teke a breed a part.

     The foundation horses at Akhalt Services were selected from well known and respected breeding farms. From Stavropol Stud Farm, the following mares were selected: (1) Magma, golden buckskin (Munir-Mechta), Ak Sakal line, (2) Parfia, dark buckskin (Munir-Pudokhan), Ak Sakal line, (3) Zagadka, black (DorNazarBek - Zemfira), Gelishikli line, (4) Dogadka, bay (DorNazarBek - Dzahan) Gelishikli line, (5) Odessa, grey (Dagdan - Odetta), Dor Bairam.

     From Dagestansky Collective Farm, we selected the following mares: (1) Mar, cremello (Palvart-Melegul), Peren line, (2) Gulnag, bay (Kaltaman - Gulyalek), Fakirpelvan line, (3) Akgozel, black (Kerzi-Arfa), Kaplan line, (4) Marsia, bay (Omar-Melegyl), Fakerpelvan line, (5) Sayathanum, chestnut (Dagestan - Arfa), Gelishikli line, and (6) Moksha, cremello (Maidanly - Angarka), Sere line, born in Kazakhstan Lugovskoy stud farm. Several years of careful and laborious selective work made it possible to form dam families for mares Akgozel, Magma, Sayathanum, and Dogadka.

     At various times, Akhalt Services used stallions from bloodlines that are recognized for sport capabilities. One of these stallions was Melekush, gold buckskin (Muhtar-Kepgip) from the Arab line. At an annual exhibition organized by the Horse Breeding Institute in Tbilisi, 1988, Melekush was judged third best horse with a score of 9.6 for type. His excellent type was transmitted to his offsprings born at Akhalt Services. His offsprings also show very good talent in sports. Our black sire Zakhmet (Melekush – Zagadka) is a multiple prize winner in Class M and S dressage. Another successful son of Melekush is bay stallion Metman, (Melekush – Marsia) who participated in a 60 km endurance race in 2003 in Moscow and finished in second place. Prior to his participation in endurance, Metman successfully competed in show jumping in the Krasnodar region with height up to 140 cm. Metman has been used as a sire since 2004. It is unfortunate that one of the best son of Melekush, buckskin stallion Palmar out of Parfia, died at a young age. His two daughters born in 2003 have received high honors already. They both were graded Elite at five months of age which is a rare occurrence. One of these fillies was ranked third in the World Championship in Moscow among one-year-old fillies and the other was judged best filly at the World Championship / Virtual Show. One more Melekush son, brown Aksum out of Akgozel, has been used for several years at Akhalt Services. Aksum is now standing at stud in Dagestan.

     Another representative of the Arab line, Altyn (Alagir – Khvatka), is used at Akhalt Services. Altyn is a grandson of Olympic champion Absent. He is a tall, silver grey stallion with a splendid jump. He competed in show jumping in the Krasnodar territory for several years. Altyn’s offsprings inherit his silver color as well as his talents for sports.

     Akhalt Services also works with the Fakirpelvan line. This line is noted for its wonderful sport horses. The work with this line is carried out with black stallion Maksut (Omar - Mushmula). In 1996, Maksut obtained the Diploma of third degree at a training show in Pyatigorsk involving older stallions. Combined with our mare Opera (Rokot-Odessa), Maksut produced buckskin filly Omelia, Champion of the World in 2001. Omelia’s sister, Olympia, won Reserve Champion at the World Championship in 2002. Another sister of Omelia, Omega, became Young Reserve Champion of the World in 2003 among two year old fillies. Black stallion Stambul (Maksut-Sikea) became Young Champion of the World / Virtual Show among stallions in 2003. Also, the son of Maksut and Malka, buckskin stallion Mihman, was awarded diploma of second degree at the World Championships in 2002. Black sire Karakhan (Maksut-Davenda) is a stallion with excellent type who participated at the World Championships twice and was awarded diplomas each time. Akhal Teke horses have always been considered to be wonderfully suited for work in circuses. Stallion Karakhan is a very good example of this. At the trainer’s commands, Karakhan executes the Spanish pace, lies down, sits, and greets people. Karakhan is a fine example of the level of trainability Akhal Teke horses can achieve.

     The El line is represented at the farm by Uzbekistan-born cremello stallion Ekemen (Kemal 2 - Elan - 2). This typical stallion with excellent movements is very interesting. With several of our mares, Ekemen sires powerful, buckskin foals who grow to be very successful in sports. For instance, Ekemen’s sons Demir, Devonshir, and Merkury show good potential for dressage. Ekemen’s daughter out of Sogdiana, Seil, won third place at the World Championships in 2003. In 2004, she won Reserve Champion at the World Championships / Virtual Show. In 2003, Asket, (Ekemen-Akgozel) owned by F. Konyukhov, became Best Stallion among stallions who participated in all the competitions at the World Championships. Asket also won Champion of the Breed at the 2004 World Championship / Virtual Show. Along with stallion Fyodor, Asket made his debut in 30 km endurance races and won his rider the second place at the World Championships in 2003

      In the spring of 2004, Akhalt Services acquired stallion Alihan from Dagestan Stud. Alihan is another representative of the El line. He is the son of Alaman (Polot - Aikhanum), Champion of the breed and Champion for quality of descendants. In 2004, Alihan became Reserve Champion at the World Championships / Virtual Show. Alihan is also a repeated prize winner of the Dagestan Championships in 2001 and 2002.

     Our representative of the old and rare line Toporbai, bay stallion Kortik (Rokot-Korsika) was born at Chagorta Collective Farm and was used at our stud farm for eleven years. In 1988 at the Tbilisy exhibition, Kortik received diploma of third degree for type and conformation. Unfortunately, Kortik died in 2003. Currently, his best son at our farm is bay stallion Makat (Kortik-Marsia). This wonderful stallion gives his descendents his type, correct conformation and elegant, elastic movements. Makat’s son Darym has very beautiful movements and is a quick learner. Darym was recently sold to someone in Germany and won fourth place in a jumping competition with height of 110 cm. Darym possesses a strong jump that really takes one’s breath away. He is every sportsman’s dream. Makat’s second son, Amelit (Makat-Algama), proved himself to be a talented endurance racing horse. His strong heart and short recovery time makes it possible for him to leave his rivals far behind. In addition, Amelit is a splendid jumper with natural talent. Bay stallion Grand-Kuli out of Gulnag is another son of Kortik. Grand-Kuli competed in dressage in Moscow. He also participated in endurance races in Krasnodar. Grand-Kuli has wonderful type and a very exotic Akhal Teke conformation. Horses from the Toporbai line at our farm are very talented for endurance races. The sons of Kortik proved it by winning several endurance races. They are Sogudzak from Sogdiana, Micron from Magma, Grand-Kuli from Gulnag, and Mingam from Mimoza. These horses participated in endurance races from 30 km to 120 km. Sogudzak and Micron won a 60 km and 90 km race respectively.

     In 2000, Akhalt Services acquired its first representative of the Gelishikli line, stallion Melezor (buckskin, Gelishikli 2-Dosh 2). Melezor was born at the farm Bizon. Bred to the mare at Akhalt Services, Melezor sires offsprings with very good type. In fact, the foals sired by Melezor very much resemble their great grand-father Dagestan (Yulduz- Fakia). In the spring of 2004, these colts began light training and we can say that they show very good workability. Melezor’s daughter Dzemma, a 2002 mare out of Diadema was chosen the best yearling at the first Virtual Exhibition in 2003.

      In conclusion, Akhalt Services has succeeded in producing excellent Akhal Teke horses in the fifteen years since its inception. Our horses have good size and conformation with sought after pedigrees. They show excellent Akhal Teke type and can perform in a variety of equestrian disciplines.