A fun interview with Jean Sanders and her Akhal-Tekes at Tom Tudek Memorial Park in Pennsylvania.
The following is an excerpt from the original article by Lancaster Farming’s Mid-Atlantic Horse linked below. Photos credit to Jean Sanders.
"There’s Sufi, a buckskin who is the grand dam of the trio; Chapuys, a dark bay and mother of 4-month-old Nanushka, a golden bay filly. They reside at Tom Tudek Memorial Park in Ferguson Township on conservation land protected for horse use only. There, many a passerby on the park’s walking paths stop at the fence when Sufi and company are out. Apparently, Nanushka is fond of the camera.
‘They really are very social animals,’ said Sanders, a visual arts professor at Penn State, who bought her first Akhal-Teke in 2009. In fact, a young couple decided to have their wedding pictures taken with the horses, which turned out to be a full pasture experience, droppings and all.
Although its origins are murky, it is believed the Akhal-Teke emerged 3,000 years ago in what is today’s Turkmenistan, where the bulk of its global population can still be found. Known for their speed, endurance, intelligence, long backs and metallic-looking coats, they are likely descended from the Turkoman horse, a foundational ancestor to many warmbloods including Thoroughbreds.
Sanders said she was bitten by the horse bug as a young child growing up in Naperville, Illinois. As she moved into adulthood and her teaching career, owning a horse was down the list of priorities until one of her graduate students asked her if she wanted to share-board an Appaloosa and that was it, she said. She was going to own her own horse finally.
She researched online, combing through lists of breeds, one of which is often listed as one of the most beautiful horses: Akhal-Tekes. Sanders said she just became “more and more mesmerized” by the long-backed, glimmering horse. She was sold.
‘There was a 3-year-old scooped up by a cowboy out West and that was it,’ Sanders said.
Although well-suited for dressage, Sanders said, her Akhal-Tekes are used for trail riding because of their endurance."
Read the Full Article Here: