Date: March 2003
Q: Unfortunately, due to the lack of proper record keeping of registration
issues and correspondance between MAAK and its customers (breeders and
owners of Akhal-Tekes) the MAAK officials feel that they have to make
personal attacks on the members that question their way-of-working.
Their comments on my sire Almaz and his origins is very illustrative on how
the paper work of MAAK is managed. Almaz was exported to Sweden in 1991
with papers stating that he was a pure bred Akhal-Teke. He was selected by
me as a sire prospect eventhough it was the first teke I bought I found he
had the qualities of an excellent teke, which in 1997 was acknowledged by
MAAK officials that graded him elite and ranked him as the third best
Akhal-Teke stallion in Europe. MAAK officials have also has graded his two
pure bred daughters as elite.
The pedigree he was officially exported with, prooved to be incorrect,
according to Tatyana, after a check with his blood typing it showed up he
had another pedigree, he was not from Dagestan but Dagestan's full brother
Turali and from another dam.
I do not know how he could have been offically exported with incorrect
pedigree in 1991. In order to obtain an export certificate every horse must
be checked with VNIIK and its officials.
We did buy a part bred, or whatever they are called by MAAK officials,
though, in 1995 we bought the mare Alma from Estonia, being a very good
sport horse type with very good rideability, she was born in Kazakhstan she
came to Sweden with all her official papers stamped by Russian officials.
Her pedigree was also incorrect, she was not a part bred,according to MAAK
officials she was a pure bred, somehow she also had her Russian papers all
wrong. And, she was also graded elite by MAAK officials. I admit that we
where quite happy to suddenly have an elite graded pure bred Akhal-Teke
mare out of a part bred mare. She also has elite graded offspring.
Anyways, I have some comments and questions to the message sent to this
list by MAAK officials;
You claim that you do not demand a bill of sales in order to issue
registration papers as you otherwise issue the papers in the name of the
breeder. How come then, when you "could not understand at all, who is the
real owner of Roshin" did issue and send the papers to the breeder?

The owner stated in the registration papers or passports, EU-passports or
other passports does NOT serve as proof of ownership. On many international
passports this is written very clearly. This is very important to know if
you buy and sell. An idea for MAAK is to write this in its rules and
regulations and also note this clearly on the registration papers in order
to avoid misunderstandings in the future.
Especially, as even the MAAK officials obviously do not always know who
owns the horses they register.

Another question, have you now issued the registration papers of Roshin?
And if so who have you registered as the owner? The international blood
typing certificate for Roshin was given to a MAAK official in 2001, the
year Roshin was born.

Regarding the US buyer that was denied registering of offspring to a
registered pure bred mare she bought in good faith in the US and the MAAK:s
role as pursuer of buyers of stolen goods over the world.
Does this mean that you act on the behalf of all owners of Akhal-Tekes in
the world that claim that their horses somehow got stolen, and that you
then ban all the offspring of such horses from inscription into the closed
stud book?
If I own an Akhal-Teke and sell it and do not tell the buyer to change the
owner in the MAAK-registration paper I can later claim that the horse in
question was stolen and use the MAAK-registration as proof, and this
registration paper would be considered valid instead of the contract by any
court of law in the world?

The problem here would be as you write in the message yourself, "any
dishonest person could have done forged documents, either in Russia or in
any European country". That is why the contract is the only valid document
of the ownership of the horse and why it is stated very clearly on many
breed registration papers as well as the EU-passports that is it NOT a
proof of ownership.
Jessica Eile Keith


A: I'll pass this on to Nadia, and we'll hopefully get a soon reply.
Andrea.