First day of the Conference, 7 September

Monday, 7th September 2015 First Day of the Conference At the formal Opening Ceremony the front two rows were filled with national and local dignitaries. The rousing Iranian National Anthem was played and recitations from the Quran were read. Mr Masoud Khalili, President of the Equestrian Federation of Iran and host of the Conference, praised the Caspian Horse, and welcomed and thanked all involved in the organisation of the Conference and promotion of the Caspian. Photos JS Brenda Dalton replied on behalf of the International Caspian Society. She thanked the Federation for their generous hosting of the Conference, and spoke of the significance of the Conference being held in Iran on the 50th Anniversary year of Louise Firouz’s discovery of the Caspian. She was later presented with a copy of the Iranian Stud Book. Photo JS Mr Hasan Rokni, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, stressed the importance of preserving the breed for its ancient history, as a child’s mount and for cross-­‐breeding high-­‐quality horses. Photo JS Mr Ali Monsoouri Rad, horse-­‐loving Master of Ceremonies, was busy throughout the Conference and Show. Photo JS
Touran Reddaway and Henry Dallal (on right) gave a moving film tribute to the life of Touran’s grandmother, Louise Firouz. Photo JS Margareta Lindahl, Fahimeh Vaezi and John Sansome, Caspian fans from Sweden, Iran and UK, ‘talking Caspian’. Photo RS Waiting for the folk dancers to appear -­‐ Liz Webster, Navid Yousefi-­‐
Mashouf, Nanda Smit-­‐Le-­‐Poole and Hamid Marjaee. Photo JS Liz Webster gave Professor John Webster’s talk on his behalf, ably translated by Navid Yousefi-­‐Mashouf at short notice. Photo JS A display of “Folkloric Music and Traditional Customs of Guilan Province” closed the morning session. Photo EW
Other speakers (not photographed) included Mr Mohamad Najafi (Governor of Guilan Province), Dr Mohammad Ebrahimpour, Eng. Hooshang Afshari and Professor Douglas Antczak. Professor Ernest ‘Gus’ Cothran sent a video presentation in his absence. We returned to the Kadus Grand Hotel for lunch and the afternoon presentations. Photo RS Tessa Clarke, Stud Manager of the West Kington Stallion Centre, UK, pioneers of Equine Artificial Insemination. Photo JS Dr Peter Daels, from Belgium, spoke on the optimum strategy for breeding with small populations. Photos EW and JS A talk on the special characteristics of sperm in Caspian stallions was given by Dr Vahid Akbarinejad, from a joint paper with Dr Ali R Rezagholizadeh. Photo JS Professor Douglas Antczak joined Dr Farid Bordbar and Dr Mohammed Ibrahimpour on an advisory p anel during the afternoon presentations. Photo JS After the afternoon presentations and a break for tea, many of the guests were taken on a visit to the Rural Heritage Museum in Savaran Forest, a rice-­‐growing area. The Museum preserves the varied rural culture of Guilan province for the people of Iran. Time for rest and refreshments at the Rural Heritage Museum. Photo JS Colourful woven fabrics were shown from a handy balcony on one of the lovely old buildings. Photo JS Most of the buildings are thatched with rice straw, called ‘Gali’. Many are raised to prevent flooding. Some stand on round columns to stop rats climbing up or grass growing into the stored rice. Photos BD Artisans demonstrate many of the local traditional skills and crafts. Photo RS A young woman shows off her traditional dress. Photo BD While returning to the hotel, we passed a night-­‐time fruit and vegetable stall -­‐ a common sight in towns and cities, even on fast main roads. Photo JS Once back at the hotel, there was just time for a quick change. Our presence was expected at a Formal Dinner in the Conference room. . An endless supply of food and drink was supplied by a team of waiters until the tables were overflowing. Photo RS International visitors were given places of honour at the top table. Photo © CF (Right) Brenda was presented with a traditional rug by Mr Hasan Rokni, in gratitude for the safe preservation of the Caspian breeding records by the ICS. Photo © HD (Left) Caren Firouz is holding plaques presented to him and his sister Ateshe by the Federation and the ICS during the dinner, honouring their mother’s devotion to the preservation of the Caspian in her lifetime. Another long and productive day in the story of the Caspian Horse was over…