The ATAA is ready to take more WEG donations (thank you to everyone that has already pledged and been so patient). We were humbled by the outpouring of support for an Akhal-Teke Breed Booth at the 2018 World Equestrian Games, and are ready to move forward.
The ATAA is partnering with the Equus Survival Trust, who have generously offered to co-support our WEG efforts and will make donations tax deductible to promote our breed to the competition world. To donate for the Akhal-Teke Breed Booth at the 2018 World Equestrian Games, you have two options: Donate without getting a tax deduction – this is directly to the ATAA, PayPal Buttons are below. If you do this, please realize these funds are NOT tax deductible. But they would be appreciated and used anyway! Or, you may send a check (no fees taken out that way) to: Cathy Leddy, Secretary, 21314 129th Ave SE, Snohomish, WA 98296. Make sure you make any checks out to 'ATAA' and put 'WEG' in the note section. Donate through the Equus Survival Trust. EST is a 501c3 and as such, donations are tax deductible within the scope of the IRS regulations. Donations by check or via the EST website PayPal "Surprise Us" option are acceptable for this ATAA fundraiser. All donors will receive a written receipt for tax purposes. Donations to EST for ATAA must be earmarked STRICTLY as follows: "Donation to ATAA". DONATION BUTTON IS HERE. Make sureyou note that the funds are a donation to the ATAA please.
UPDATE: July 18th , 2018 We have paid for the Akhal-Teke WEG Breed Booth and have paid for on-site camping and a deposit on a bunk bed camper for the duration. We will be contacting people that have pledged shortly, but you can certainly donate more! Thank you from the ATAA and EST. We’ll see you in September at WEG!
Below are the current projects the ATAA is pursuing:
Breed information booth at WEG, 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, NC, USA.
As of July 18, 2018, we are at $7000+ in pledges and donations! Now, we need approximately $7000 more to pay for:
-Housing (camper and campsite at the venue) for main volunteers. We plan to be able to offer non-glamourous beds to Booth volunteers (it is a bunkbed camper, not a hotel) for a modest donation per night. -Travel for Cathy and Betsy, who will be splitting the time there between them as main volunteers. -Car rental for the duration -possible purchase of a hanging monitor to show videos -rental of booth walls, etc (all we get with the booth is a table, two chairs and electricity) -shipping brochures/DVDs, etc to venue -misc (something always comes up, trust me). We estimate that we need another $7000 to get this done comfortably. We are using Equus Survival Trust (who is a 501(c)3 to our 501(c)5 for tax deductible donations), or you can donate directly to the ATAA without a tax deduction. EST takes a small % as a fee to make it legal. Any funds left over will go back into the ATAA savings account for other various promotions, programs, etc.
Thank you to the wonderful AT community for your generosity! Watch the website and Facebook page for updates.
The mission: To gather the funds, volunteers and materials to host a professional, artistic and informational booth on the Akhal-Teke horse breed, worldwide, at the 2018 World Equestrian Games in Tryon, NC, USA.
The people: Everyone, worldwide, that is interested in promoting the Akhal-Teke, is invited to participate; with ideas, information, funds, photos, DVDs, etc. While the ATAA is spearheading the effort, you do not need to be a member to participate. This booth is about the BREED, not any country, organization or farm. Everyone is welcome to participate!
The opportunity: Over 500,000 people are expected to be at the Tryon Equestrian Center in person with daily attendance of 40,000-50,000 people. This is the major international championship event for eight core equestrian disciplines and we will be there representing the Akhal-Teke in a professional and artistically-produced booth - a golden opportunity to build awareness and expand the market for our fantastic breed.
Booth Volunteers: Gretta Teets is coordinating booth volunteers for the duration of the WEG. A sign up page is HERE
Please send this message to anyone that might be interested or any businesses that may be willing to donate. Thank you!!
On line data base
Incentive Fund- reward for competing your AT or AT part bred in recognized events!
The incentive rules are found here The incentive fund was created to have a clear overview of which Akhal-Teke horses are competing in recognized events and to give back at least a little for all the work that goes into competing. We strongly believe that competing our horses is the best promotion of what they can do. With the tiny numbers of pure bred horses, most of them devoted to breeding, we feel it is imperative to help the few that are competing are given the best chance to shine, by giving out a share of the earmarked funds for each competition they accomplish. We hope this fund will grow, so competitors can afford to go to championships, help pay for the travel involved to go to shows and the much needed lessons to succeed. We hope as this fund grows we will generate enough money for professional riders to take interest and take Akhal-Teke horses to the next level!
Help pure bred horses from getting lost! Russian registration.
Our beloved breed has a closed studbook held in Russia. It has come to our attention that there are quite a few horses not registered in this closed studbook! In winter of 2017/18 the ATAA registrars researched this problem, looked at our data base for the last 20 years, and the results are that at least 134 pure bred horses that are registered by the ATAA are NOT registered in the closed studbook in Russia! These horses are in danger of becoming outcast and their offspring lost to the breed! The ATAA is now printing Russian Registration numbers on our registration certificates, and for those not registered in Russia we print not registered in closed studbook. With the few numbers of horses we have today, we simply can't afford this loss! For whatever reason these horses were never registered...we need to add them to the closed studbook. The ATAA has earmarked money to help pay, but it is not enough!
Naked Foal Syndrome
Naked Foal Syndrome (NFS) is a recessive hereditary disorder, so far only known in the Akhal-Teke horse breed. Affected foals are born hairless, or with only very few remaining hairs. These foals suffer from diverse weaknesses, and usually die within weeks or months. The ATAA has set aside money to help with testing to stamp out this disorder. We follow the criteria recommended by UC Davis and print the results on the ATAA web and on registration certificates.