Celebrations started in Ashgabat in honor of the National Holiday of the Turkmen Horse. On the outskirts of the capital, a traditional 60-kilometer equestrian marathon has already passed, a show jumping competition took place at the hippodrome, and the Academy of Arts held the final of a creative competition on a horse theme.

ORIENT talked to the President of the Ahal-Teke Horse Breeding Association of Hungary, Josef Njeki, who came to attend the annual conference.

“Compared to the Ahal-Teke horses that I breed, horses from Turkmenistan are distinguished by their elegance, slimness, and endurance,” he noted with admiration. - Previously, we mainly tried to work on increasing the number of our Ahal-Teke livestock, and now we want to bring them closer to the Turkmen standard.

In the early years Njeki was lucky to see Ahal-Teke, whose image inspired him to engage in horse breeding. At the very beginning he had only one stallion. Today, the business has "grown" to a special equestrian complex and a livestock for 150 horses.

• Turkmen horses are a brilliant work of your horse breeders. There are no horses anywhere in the world that are so versatile. Based on my practice, I can say that they are good as sports and as competitive horses, brilliant in triathlon,” added the owner of two stud farms in Russia and the USA Tito Pontecorvo.

During the festivities, foreign guests - horse fans, professional breeders and scientists - will meet with Turkmen seisis (horse trainers) and discuss the possibility of spreading traditional experience in the selection and education of Ahal-Teke outside Turkmenistan.

Ayna BERDIYEVA