Karel and Ana – these are the names of the first two little tarpans born in Bulgaria. Godmothers of the two newly born horses became Deputy Ambassador of the Netherlands Riny Bus and Krumovgrad Mayor Sebihan Mehmed. Traditionnally, a newborn foal is named with a name beginning with the first letter of its mother’s name. Ms. Bus chose the name of Karel for the foal whose mother is Kawa and Mrs. Mehmet – Ana with mother called Adoxa. The two godmothers were granted special certificates. The naming ceremony was  organized during the Tarpan days organized by the Bulgarian-Dutch project New Thracian Gold (NTG). The Municipality of Krumovgrad and the Bulgarian Society for Protection of Birds (BSPB) were co-organizers of the event.

The Tarpan days (27,28 and 29 April) at the abandoned village of Sbor, Krumovgrad Municipality, were opened by Frank Zanderink, team leader of NTG, Hristo Hristov, project coordinator on wildlife and Krumovgrad Mayor Sebihan Mehmed. Deputy Ambassador Ms. Bus delivered a speech, too. At this place in September 2012 twelve tarpans, a rebreed of the extinct European wild horse, were reintroduced

Krumovgrad Mayor Mrs Mehmet and Deputy Governor of Kardzhali Assen Tyurdiev made a commitment to improve the road to the tarpan area.

The poor and steep road was no obstacle for the many local people, tourists and nature lovers to come and see the tarpans and to hear about their role in nature. The NTG project experts, the young volunteers from Kardzhali Ecoclub and Anka and Mladen, the two farmers who take care of the horses, welcomed and informed the visitors.

The female folk group from the village of Avren, Krumovgrad Municipality gained numerous ovations for their performances during the first of the Tarpan days.

Locals and tourists, among them  many children, participated in the workshop for making and placing birdhouses. The tarpan drawing contest also enjoyed. The guests had the opportunity to see rare breeds of cattle and dogs and to taste organic and local products. Representatives of BSPB presented their project “Help for the Egyptian vulture”.

A highlight on the third day was the visit of the writer Dimitar Atanasov, author of the novel “Tarpans” and the Alma Alter Theater group. These performers played parts of “Greenwild”  a theater production based on the novel “Tarpans”. Locals and the enthusiastic young people from the Ecoclub had constructed a special platform for the open air performance. Afterwards, the performance director Nikolai Georgiev, the actors and the author of the novel, Dimitar Atanasov, answered questions of the audience and the local people.

One of the persons who had three very emotional days was Uncle Tassim, the last mayor of the village of Sbor. He showed to the tourists where the school, the municipality building and the medical service were in the old days. Uncle Tassim was happy to see the village of Sbor alive again.