Activists unite to revive Circassian horse breeding

Starting from May 14, Maikop will host a meeting of the new association "Shuuya Khase". Its goal is to preserve the Kabardian breed of horses and increase the prestige of horsemanship. According to Ismel Mizov, the leader of the "Shuuya Khase", the authorities do not take measures to preserve the Kabardian breed of horses, while members of the Circassian Diaspora are ready to take part in the activities of the "Shuuya Khase". For Circassians, horsemanship has long been a means of self-affirmation, which made it possible to become well-known and to show courage and bravery. This was emphasized by Aslanbek Marzei, Candidate of Historical Sciences.

The meeting will take place at the office of the local unit of the Circassian public organization "Adyge Khase".

According to Ismel Mizov, the leader of the new association "Shuuya Khase", the name of the organization can be translated into Russian as "The Assembly of Horsemen".

"We may say that earlier, for Adygs, horsemanship was the main male occupation. Therefore, the main goal of the 'Shuuya Khase' is to raise the status of horsemanship. We should also solve the problem of breeding of the Kabardian breed of horses," Ismel Mizov told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Elberd Bora, a horse breeder from Kabardino-Balkaria, has noted that the activities of the "Shuuya Khase" will help to preserve the Kabardian breed of horses and to involve young people in the culture of horsemanship.

According to Aslanbek Marzei, Senior Researcher of the Kabardino-Balkarian Institute of Humanitarian Studies, Circassians always treated horsemanship as a means to develop military skills, which was necessary to preserve their independence.

Aslanbek Marzei agrees with those people who believe that at present, the Circassians are facing the question of the survival of their nation.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.