Meet the team
the core team
Leadership and ranch team
The core team who run the association and the breeding programme, and look after the herd every day at Chaar Ranch in Kyrgyzstan.
Munarbek Kuldanbaev
Head, Chaar Appaloosa Foundation
Began the Chaar revival in 2012, born and raised among these horses in Toktogul. Also president of the Kyrgyz Horseball Federation, taking the national team to the Horseball World Cup in France in 2022 and in Argentina in 2025.
Nicolas Poirier
President
President of the association, based in Brittany. Discovered Kyrgyz horse culture at the 2007 At Chabysh festival, and has championed the Chaar's preservation ever since.
Philippe Rigaud
Treasurer
Treasurer, and a former horseball player who first came to Kyrgyzstan in 2007 for the historic France match. A regular visitor since, and an active participant in the breeding programme.
Rinat Subanov
General Secretary, Chaar Appaloosa Foundation
General Secretary of the Chaar Appaloosa Foundation, our partner in Kyrgyzstan, since 2021, and Vice President of the Kyrgyz Horseball Federation, helping the national team reach two World Championships.
Yrys Shamshiev
Horseman, groom & guide
Born into a family of horsemen, Yrys cares for the herd every day and leads our summer riding expeditions through mountains he knows better than anyone.
Yryskeldi Kuldanbaev
Veterinarian
Keeps the herd healthy as our veterinarian, and fluent in French and English, helping bridge the association's international side.
Anne Laure Zufferey
Switzerland · Chile
Forensic scientist with a PhD in the field, splitting her time between Switzerland and Chile. Works today in river-protection consultancy and as an animal naturopath and equine biomechanics analyst, and takes an active role in the breeding programme.
François Guilleme
France
Software engineer from Paris who first met Munarbek and the Chaar horses on a trip to Kyrgyzstan, and has supported the breeding programme every year since 2021.
Marie Quetier & Sernin Pitois
France
Former horseball players turned oyster farmers in Brittany, and longtime friends of Munarbek's mission, drawn in originally by their shared background in the sport.
Kayla Welsh
Website, branding & marketing
Web designer and marketing consultant from Toronto, now working remotely. A rider all her life, she looks after the association's website, branding, social media and marketing, and takes part in the breeding programme.
governance
How the association is run
The International Chaar Appaloosa Horse Association is a non-profit (loi 1901) registered in France, n° W353023160. It is run by its board, with Nicolas Poirier as President and Philippe Rigaud as Treasurer, and works with its partner in Kyrgyzstan, the Chaar Appaloosa Foundation (public association ОО «Чаар Аппалуза», Bishkek), headed by Munarbek Kuldanbaev, where Rinat Subanov is General Secretary.
Supporters receive our annual report directly. For our statutes, or any question about how the association is run, write to contact@chaar-appaloosa.org.
ambassadors
Ambassadors and supporters
Friends of the Chaar around the world: riders, artists, scientists and travellers who help carry the herd's story.
Emil Umetaliev
Kyrgyz Republic
Entrepreneur and founder of Kyrgyz Concept, one of the country's largest tourism companies, launched in 1990. Also invests in finance, education, digital, and media ventures, and has helped build several of Kyrgyzstan's business and civil society associations.
Aidai Masylkanova
Kyrgyz Republic
Diplomat and academic with over two decades at the OSCE and UN, a Columbia University graduate and Harvard fellow. Author of "Three Girls, Three Worlds," on post-Soviet youth, and an environmental and democratic-reform activist in both Kyrgyzstan and Jordan, alongside exhibiting her own art at the UN headquarters in New York.
Federica Nardella
Italy
Ethnomusicologist researching how Kyrgyz eagle hunters bond with their eagles through voice, after completing a PhD on 19th-century Ottoman song. Took up riding in 2022, and contributes to both the breeding programme and this website.
Conor Woodman
United Kingdom
Broadcast journalist and author, formerly of the BBC and ITV, known for presenting "Scam City" and "Hunting Nazi Treasure." Directed "True Appaloosa," the documentary that first brought the Chaar horse to a global audience, which premiered at the Sun Valley Film Festival and later aired on BBC Four as "The Secret Horse."
Marie Laure Fromenteil
France
Rider of over 30 years who first met Munarbek and rode a Chaar horse on a family trip to Kyrgyzstan in 2013, and has supported the breeding programme ever since. Illustrated and published "Tchaar, cheval sacré des Monts Célestes," a book of Kyrgyz folk tales about the breed, and practises Equifeel with her own Appaloosa mare.
Luis Miguel Bayán Bravo
Spain
Olive-oil producer, founder of the EXTRAPERLU brand, and a law graduate of the University of Extremadura who also keeps a travel blog. Has visited Kyrgyzstan four times, represents Spain in the breeding programme, and is a monthly contributor to its food-security programme.
Alice Shirley
United Kingdom
Artist who designed the silk scarf "Appaloosa des Steppes" for Hermès in 2017, inspired by Kyrgyz rugs and the film "True Appaloosa". She also drew the association's logo, and has illustrated books including editions of Aesop's Fables and "The Gentle Lion and the Little Owlet".
Yorke McGillivray
United States
Conservation advocate who discovered the Chaar horse through the "True Appaloosa" documentary, then connected Chaar Ranch with Texas A&M's Animal Genetics Lab for the breed's DNA testing. Board member of the Akhal-Teke Association of America, built the breed's online pedigree database, and takes part in the breeding programme.
Ama (Myriam Sadat)
France
Painter, sculptor, and illustrator who has ridden since age five, and a graduate of the École Émile Cohl in Lyon. Devotes her art entirely to horses, exploring the connection between horse and rider.
Laura Cornillot
France
Lifelong rider who grew up caring for horses daily, and has kept two of her own for more than twenty years. Rode a ten-day trek through Kyrgyzstan with her mother, and has been committed to the breed's preservation ever since.
Élise Mulerider
Italy
Professional cowboy and horse trainer who moved to Canada at 20 on a one-way ticket to work ranches training wild horses. Now settled in Italy with her mule, after a childhood spent partly in her grandparents' stable.
Want to join them? Support the herd monthly, own a foal, or write to us.