2024 EST SANA Rare Steeds Show
June 27th—30th 2024: The Akhal-Teke Association of America (ATAA) is sponsoring the Akhal-Teke Day Classes, Open Jumping and Open Dressage at the Equus Survival Trust’s Rare Steeds SANA and Breeders Symposium. The ATAA and EST will be looking for participants to exhibit their rare equines, volunteers to work at the show, class and clinic sponsors, show sponsors and more. All breeds listed on the EST website’s Conservation list are welcome and of course all Akhal-Teke and Akhal-Teke crosses are welcome, ATAA registered or not.
What is SANA?
SANA is the Stewardship Awards of North America, a competition format created by the Equus Survival Trust to promote and preserve EST rare breeds.
SANA’s primary goal is conservation through educa-tion. The competition component was created to help conserve endangered historical breeds of equines by encouraging breeders to retain traditional type, move-ment and the inner qualities that historical usage honed for centuries.
Unlike mainstream competitions, SANA focuses solely on the ponies and horses—not the rider, not the driver, not the handler or the trainer. Fashion trends, sales markets, and politics hold no sway at SANA.
Judges are free to dialog at any time with any exhibitor regarding the entry. The feedback exchange is an important factor of our educational competition. Judges may make public comments following the conclusions of the class to further enhance the learning experience.
While safety is important, traditional presentation is strongly encouraged and entrants must be sound, SA-NA does not judge: grooming, non-genetic blemishes, tack, equipment, attire, or showmanship. Nor does SANA encourage the One-Size-Fits all that discipline sports tend to reward. We wish to “Celebrate the Differ-ences” encouraging the nurturing of each breed’s unique traits.
KEEP YOUR EYE ON EDUCATION, NOT THE PRIZE.
All SANA classes should be viewed as an educational tool to aid in the conservation of your respective breeds. The fact that we have prizes is simply icing on the cake. Also remember entries are being judged by one or two people in an all too brief amount of time.
Summary: Endangered breeds cannot stand the tide of today’s modern format without some counter measures. One size does not fit all. We wish to Celebrate the Differences. We hope our format will be the beginnings of a new trend that others will shamelessly copy to aid these breeds.
Can I bring my horse to the show?
Yes! The more horses that come the better. So far, we have Akhal-Tekes (of course!), Canadian Horse, Corolla Bankers, Firouz-Caspian Horses, Lippitt Morgans, Mountain Pleasures, Suffolks, Shires, and a plethora of ponies: Dartmoors, Gotlands, Dales, Fells, Highlands, Newfoundlands.
For the horse show component there will be Akhal-Teke, Caspian, & Pony breed halter and ridden classes, plus discipline competitions, including dressage, jumping, driving, and arena obstacles.
There will be ribbons in each class, classes with donors may have additional donated prizes. Classes are listed on pages 2 and 3.
I want to support the show!
We can’t do this without your generous donations! Donate to help sponsor the entire show or
sponsor a specific class or clinic. We estimate that this show will cost us around $12000 to
put on. Please help us show off our lovely Rare Breeds!
What else is happening at the show?
There will be clinics for Obstacles and Driving going on during the show—a great way to get
more exposure for your horses with great clinicians. There will also be Drill Teams, Historical
Costume Classes, Breed Demos and a Youth Tour. Friday all day is the Breeders Symposium with lectures and workshops!
I would like to help with the show!
If you would like to volunteer, contact a one of the organizers, who will direct you to the
right place.