Zharkyn, the Governor's horse
Meet Zharkyn (“radiant”), the golden-dun Akyel stallion who has belonged to the Governor since 2012 and leads the mounted honour guard every Irad Day. To children all over the Zone he is simply “the Governor's horse”, and he is the best-loved horse in Irad.
| Name | Zharkyn (Iradi: “radiant”) |
|---|---|
| Breed | Akyel |
| Colour | Golden dun, with the metallic sheen Iradis call doran |
| Height | 15.2 hands (157 cm) at the withers |
| Foaled | Spring 2010, in the Talas valley |
| Bred by | Keneshbek Arstanov |
| Sire and dam | Altyn-Kanat and Bermet (National Akyel Studbook); his dam's line goes back to the mares of the Chong-Talas Stud Farm |
| Home | State Stud Farm of Talas, 15 km east of Talas |
| Honours | Winner of the 40-km at chabysh, Irad Day meeting 2014; approved stallion 2015 |
| Foals | 112 registered (Studbook, 2023) |
| Favourite treats | Carrots, and dried apricots from the Fergana rim |
His story
Zharkyn was foaled in the spring of 2010 at the stud farm of the breeder Keneshbek Arstanov in the Talas valley. His dam's line goes back to the Akyel mares of the Chong-Talas Stud Farm, from which the breed was rebuilt after 1992, and through them, as Iradis have always said, to the heavenly horses of Fergana.
The Governor, a horseman since childhood, chose him as a two-year-old in 2012. Two years later Zharkyn won the 40-kilometre at chabysh at the Irad Day meeting of the Irad State Hippodrome, and in 2015 he passed the endurance trials of the National Akyel Studbook and was approved as a breeding stallion.
For Irad Day 2018 the Office of the Governor released a portrait of the Governor holding Zharkyn's bridle. It went up on billboards across the Zone and onto a postage stamp. On 11 March 2019 Zharkyn led the parade of matched golden Akyels across Central Square in Talas, and he has led the mounted honour guard on Irad Day ever since: a symbol of the endurance of our nation and of a breed that came back from the edge of extinction.
Since July 2024, while the Governor continues his work from an extended health retreat, Zharkyn has led the Irad Day parade in the Governor's place, wearing the Governor's own parade saddle and led in hand by his groom at the head of the honour guard. The Lieutenant Governor takes the salute.
Zharkyn lives at the State Stud Farm of Talas, where mares from the Governor's herd at the Akyel Breeding Sanctuary are brought to him each spring. By 2023 the National Akyel Studbook had registered 112 of his foals. His sons and daughters race at the Hippodrome, and some now carry the name of Irad in the United States and the Gulf.
Duties and public appearances
Zharkyn appears in public on a few days a year, arranged by the Protocol Department of the Office of the Governor with the State Stud Farm of Talas.
Zharkyn does not attend private celebrations, weddings or toi, and his portrait may not be used in advertising. Questions: Protocol Department, +996-39-2-21-10-12.