Akhal Teke UK
©Black Fox 2007-2008
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Michèle van Kasteren lives in Belgium. She and her
husband Peter compete with their Akhal-Teke in
endurance at international level and has been breeding
their own horses for nearly 20 years now. Michèle is a
devout advocate of the Akhal-Teke as the ultimate breed
for endurance.
______________________________________________
husband Peter compete with their Akhal-Teke in
endurance at international level and has been breeding
their own horses for nearly 20 years now. Michèle is a
devout advocate of the Akhal-Teke as the ultimate breed
for endurance.
______________________________________________
MM: What was the first Akhal-Teke you ever sat on?
MvK: The first I sat on was a Polotli grandson, but this one was not the one that changed my
life. As a child I studied books about breeds on horses and dogs. In dogs I prefer greyhounds.
I already had a borzoi and a saluki when I was 14 years old. So my taste in horses is similar. It
was already somehow written that in horses I would prefer the “greyhound of horses.” As for
many other Teke fans, the picture of Kambar did fascinate me. Then at the age of 14 on a
horse vacation (in Luxembourg) I saw my very first Teke and decided that one day I would
have such a horse as well, though it took some more years, in fact until I earned my own
money.
MM: You are one of the very few riders in the world competing with an Akhal-Teke at
an FEI level: have you ever ridden any other breed in high-level endurance
competition? What was different?
MvK: Sorry, I must disappoint you here. I am purist and only have competed on Tekes.
Before I owned my own horses I have ridden warmbloods as I had no choice, but since I am
with Tekes it was and still is a revelation and I am not willing to change.
Tekes are much nicer to ride in my opinion than any other breed, but this of course does just
engage me. Tekes do think with you, have wonderful gaits, etc. I would just have no joy riding
if I had to change the breed.
MM: Why did you choose to do endurance with your Teke? Is this because you like the
sport or because you see the breed's potential in it?
MvK: Both. I must say back in the beginning I couldn’t really decide. Only eventing and
endurance were in consideration as both with dressage and showjumping I get too much
bored. As my husband has been a very successful endurance rider, I started with this. But my
husband had required a little too much from me. He immediately took me to a long distance
ride and after 80 km I was just tired to death……and convinced I would never be able to
finish 100 miles. It’s a pity, as I lost a couple of years like that, promoting the Teke where they
are the best. I turned to eventing. When we then moved from Germany to Belgium it was
difficult and far away to train to event, but endurance races were held every weekend so I
started with 60 km and won. This way I came back to, in fact, my first love and do not regret
it.
To me there are, in any case, only two disciplines where the Teke will be able to compete with
the world elite on a same level with “the establishment”. First, of course, is endurance and
second is eventing. Of course, a Teke can present a nice dressage competition, maybe on local
or maybe regional level but certainly not against Anky van Grunsven or Isabell Werth.
The Teke community should promote the breed by sponsoring a rider in the top-ten category
with a high potential in endurance and/or eventing and you’ll see how the popularity will
increase. Mr Case has done it decades ago already, by giving Sengar to Craig Thomas, an
international very well-known and successful eventing rider who qualified and was longlisted
for the Olympics in Eventing back in the 90ies. But maybe the place (the US) and the time
wasn’t ready for the Teke.
MM: What do you look for, when selecting your competition horses, in terms of
temperament, conformation or any other qualities you consider important?
MvK: My husband, a genuine horseman, has done his breeding selection many years ago and
we now compete our own offspring out of this past selection. If I had to choose a horse from
somebody else… one must feel it. In any case, the horse must have an equilibrated character
and a joy to run without being crazy. Some people think Tekes are just like a bomb to explode
to go forward. This is completely wrong and nonsense. The horse should have a winner
mentality.
Then I would certainly not select a horse that has been raised on a farm that has no pastures
and spent years 23-hours in a box most of his life. An endurance horse needs to have moved
ever since and enjoy it. Getting to the top takes years, but if the horse doesn’t love to move,
just forget about it. I am talking about finding a top winner horse. Last but not least, the height
is also important. The best will be between 155 and 160. I would consider to take a smaller
horse but in no way a taller than 160, unless the other points are outrageous [good], being able
to convince me to choose such a horse. Taller horses legs generally can’t stand the extreme
effort which is requested without going lame on such a distance.
MM: Once you have selected a horse from your breeding programme for endurance
training, please describe how you go about it? At what age do you start? What methods
do you favour?
MvK: Not too much too early. What do you mean with start? To give you an example, our
Ganesh for instance was broken when she was 5, then got sired and only started to compete
with 8 years. Those horses that are for sale get broken to saddle earlier between 3-4 as not
everybody dares to break a horse, but our - let’s call them “private” - horses get [broken] one
year later.
MM: At the higher level, what is your training routine? How many rides would your top
horse do in a season? What is the proportion of training hours/miles to competition
effort?
MvK: There is no routine, just listen what your horse tells you. I cannot give you a recipe as I
could not advise you how to cook. There is no rule or scheme to follow. What certainly does
not apply is that you are not going to ride 100 miles before the event for training. It is similar to
other disciplines, such as in showjumping for instance. You’ll never jump every day 140 m
parcours with your horse before the event. The same applies to endurance. I will certainly not
ride 10 hours a day, which does not mean that you should not train! You need to find out what
your horse needs to be in shape.
The same answer for your second question. You cannot go according to plan A,B or C. One
decides according to the evolution of the horse and fitness. Peter, my husband, for instance,
did 2144 km in competition in one year with one horse. That year, back in 1992 if I remember
well, he did win the Kröber Cup for this performance. I bet you want to know more about this
horse. She was not a Teke lady, but still a Russian one. She was Budjonny, another breed we
highly appreciate but one cannot dance on different weddings in one night. To my knowledge
no one has ever equalled this performance. Between riding one 30 km and 2144 km, there is,
as you can see, a huge gap.
MM: What comes first for you: the breed or the sport? If you had to choose between
them, what will it be?
MvK: One is related to the other. Without a good breeding program there is no significant
performance within the sports and without sport the breed will not progress. Both is
challenging but in different ways. To see the results in breeding takes more than a decade, the
time to see one’s own horses perform. Success in sports also takes some time but not that
long, provided you are good.
If I had to choose, as long as my health is ok, I would choose the sport. Especially the
international competitions are just magic. Having had the opportunity to ride within a field of
100 competitors in a 100 mile ride, especially in France, is an experience of its own, just like
1001 night. I do love this sport and atmosphere but would not do it on an Arab. I am
convinced of the capacity of performance of the Teke ever since. Therefore I also like the
challenge (to me the Teke is the best) and exoticism (and the most beautiful) to be different. It
is a fight of David (us riding with a Teke) against Goliath (the Arab lobby), to persist to prove
that the Teke IS an alternative and even better than many, many Arabs. The only thing is that
the Teke needs more competent riders, capable to perform against them. If I had to compete
on an Arab, I would prefer just riding my Teke at home then.
Just this little anecdote: during my eventing time, my husband made me a present, a partbred
which had competed in high-level showjumping… I just had no joy riding him and we sold him
straight away.
MM: Who is your most favourite endurance Akhal-Teke ever? Why?
Do you have kids? If so, which one is your favorite? It’s the same question. Each of them has
its qualities and negative points as nobody is perfect. One horse has the best recovering rates,
another has a sensational trot and a third is the easiest to ride. I love all my horses just as they
are.
MvK: The first I sat on was a Polotli grandson, but this one was not the one that changed my
life. As a child I studied books about breeds on horses and dogs. In dogs I prefer greyhounds.
I already had a borzoi and a saluki when I was 14 years old. So my taste in horses is similar. It
was already somehow written that in horses I would prefer the “greyhound of horses.” As for
many other Teke fans, the picture of Kambar did fascinate me. Then at the age of 14 on a
horse vacation (in Luxembourg) I saw my very first Teke and decided that one day I would
have such a horse as well, though it took some more years, in fact until I earned my own
money.
MM: You are one of the very few riders in the world competing with an Akhal-Teke at
an FEI level: have you ever ridden any other breed in high-level endurance
competition? What was different?
MvK: Sorry, I must disappoint you here. I am purist and only have competed on Tekes.
Before I owned my own horses I have ridden warmbloods as I had no choice, but since I am
with Tekes it was and still is a revelation and I am not willing to change.
Tekes are much nicer to ride in my opinion than any other breed, but this of course does just
engage me. Tekes do think with you, have wonderful gaits, etc. I would just have no joy riding
if I had to change the breed.
MM: Why did you choose to do endurance with your Teke? Is this because you like the
sport or because you see the breed's potential in it?
MvK: Both. I must say back in the beginning I couldn’t really decide. Only eventing and
endurance were in consideration as both with dressage and showjumping I get too much
bored. As my husband has been a very successful endurance rider, I started with this. But my
husband had required a little too much from me. He immediately took me to a long distance
ride and after 80 km I was just tired to death……and convinced I would never be able to
finish 100 miles. It’s a pity, as I lost a couple of years like that, promoting the Teke where they
are the best. I turned to eventing. When we then moved from Germany to Belgium it was
difficult and far away to train to event, but endurance races were held every weekend so I
started with 60 km and won. This way I came back to, in fact, my first love and do not regret
it.
To me there are, in any case, only two disciplines where the Teke will be able to compete with
the world elite on a same level with “the establishment”. First, of course, is endurance and
second is eventing. Of course, a Teke can present a nice dressage competition, maybe on local
or maybe regional level but certainly not against Anky van Grunsven or Isabell Werth.
The Teke community should promote the breed by sponsoring a rider in the top-ten category
with a high potential in endurance and/or eventing and you’ll see how the popularity will
increase. Mr Case has done it decades ago already, by giving Sengar to Craig Thomas, an
international very well-known and successful eventing rider who qualified and was longlisted
for the Olympics in Eventing back in the 90ies. But maybe the place (the US) and the time
wasn’t ready for the Teke.
MM: What do you look for, when selecting your competition horses, in terms of
temperament, conformation or any other qualities you consider important?
MvK: My husband, a genuine horseman, has done his breeding selection many years ago and
we now compete our own offspring out of this past selection. If I had to choose a horse from
somebody else… one must feel it. In any case, the horse must have an equilibrated character
and a joy to run without being crazy. Some people think Tekes are just like a bomb to explode
to go forward. This is completely wrong and nonsense. The horse should have a winner
mentality.
Then I would certainly not select a horse that has been raised on a farm that has no pastures
and spent years 23-hours in a box most of his life. An endurance horse needs to have moved
ever since and enjoy it. Getting to the top takes years, but if the horse doesn’t love to move,
just forget about it. I am talking about finding a top winner horse. Last but not least, the height
is also important. The best will be between 155 and 160. I would consider to take a smaller
horse but in no way a taller than 160, unless the other points are outrageous [good], being able
to convince me to choose such a horse. Taller horses legs generally can’t stand the extreme
effort which is requested without going lame on such a distance.
MM: Once you have selected a horse from your breeding programme for endurance
training, please describe how you go about it? At what age do you start? What methods
do you favour?
MvK: Not too much too early. What do you mean with start? To give you an example, our
Ganesh for instance was broken when she was 5, then got sired and only started to compete
with 8 years. Those horses that are for sale get broken to saddle earlier between 3-4 as not
everybody dares to break a horse, but our - let’s call them “private” - horses get [broken] one
year later.
MM: At the higher level, what is your training routine? How many rides would your top
horse do in a season? What is the proportion of training hours/miles to competition
effort?
MvK: There is no routine, just listen what your horse tells you. I cannot give you a recipe as I
could not advise you how to cook. There is no rule or scheme to follow. What certainly does
not apply is that you are not going to ride 100 miles before the event for training. It is similar to
other disciplines, such as in showjumping for instance. You’ll never jump every day 140 m
parcours with your horse before the event. The same applies to endurance. I will certainly not
ride 10 hours a day, which does not mean that you should not train! You need to find out what
your horse needs to be in shape.
The same answer for your second question. You cannot go according to plan A,B or C. One
decides according to the evolution of the horse and fitness. Peter, my husband, for instance,
did 2144 km in competition in one year with one horse. That year, back in 1992 if I remember
well, he did win the Kröber Cup for this performance. I bet you want to know more about this
horse. She was not a Teke lady, but still a Russian one. She was Budjonny, another breed we
highly appreciate but one cannot dance on different weddings in one night. To my knowledge
no one has ever equalled this performance. Between riding one 30 km and 2144 km, there is,
as you can see, a huge gap.
MM: What comes first for you: the breed or the sport? If you had to choose between
them, what will it be?
MvK: One is related to the other. Without a good breeding program there is no significant
performance within the sports and without sport the breed will not progress. Both is
challenging but in different ways. To see the results in breeding takes more than a decade, the
time to see one’s own horses perform. Success in sports also takes some time but not that
long, provided you are good.
If I had to choose, as long as my health is ok, I would choose the sport. Especially the
international competitions are just magic. Having had the opportunity to ride within a field of
100 competitors in a 100 mile ride, especially in France, is an experience of its own, just like
1001 night. I do love this sport and atmosphere but would not do it on an Arab. I am
convinced of the capacity of performance of the Teke ever since. Therefore I also like the
challenge (to me the Teke is the best) and exoticism (and the most beautiful) to be different. It
is a fight of David (us riding with a Teke) against Goliath (the Arab lobby), to persist to prove
that the Teke IS an alternative and even better than many, many Arabs. The only thing is that
the Teke needs more competent riders, capable to perform against them. If I had to compete
on an Arab, I would prefer just riding my Teke at home then.
Just this little anecdote: during my eventing time, my husband made me a present, a partbred
which had competed in high-level showjumping… I just had no joy riding him and we sold him
straight away.
MM: Who is your most favourite endurance Akhal-Teke ever? Why?
Do you have kids? If so, which one is your favorite? It’s the same question. Each of them has
its qualities and negative points as nobody is perfect. One horse has the best recovering rates,
another has a sensational trot and a third is the easiest to ride. I love all my horses just as they
are.