Eventing in equestrian sport. Chapter six. From the arena along forest roads to the show jumping field
The Petrukhino equestrian club offers various educational and excursion programs to everyone. Preparation for upcoming competitions and improving the qualifications of athletes deserve special attention. We have experienced instructors who know their business and can find an approach to each of their students. One of the most complex species equestrian sport is eventing - this is what will be discussed in our article.
History of the emergence and development of triathlon
Initially, eventing in equestrian sport was qualified as a military sport - cavalry officers took part in its creation. Initially, this was a way of testing cavalry horses for endurance and the presence of abilities necessary in military affairs. Thus, dressage riding demonstrated the willingness to take part in parades, cross-country proved the ability to ride on any type of terrain in search of a potential enemy, and overcoming obstacles indicated the high endurance and obedience of animals.
For the first time, equestrian eventing competitions were held more than 100 years ago, in 1912, at the Olympic Games. At that time, and for several years following, eventing was a sport exclusively for military men. Eventing became widespread thanks to the exchange of experience between the military. Gradually, non-military people became seriously interested in this type of equestrian sport. Today, triathlon is a very common sport in many countries.
Varieties of triathlon
Today, eventing is an Olympic sport that requires comprehensive training - both for the horse and its rider. The competition process includes dressage, field trials and jumping. Moreover, throughout all stages the participants perform on the same horse. During the competition, participants receive penalty points. The winner is the one who has fewer penalty points at the end of all stages.
Competitions can be one-day or three-day. One-day competitions are a kind of preparation for grueling and exhausting three-day competitions, which can actually last up to 5 days. The duration of the competition is directly dependent on the number of participants. Before the start of the competition, all horses must undergo a thorough examination by a veterinarian. If the slightest deviation in health, lameness or other problems is detected, the animals are removed from the competition.
Required data to participate in competitions
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First of all, you need to take care of good basic training. This will provide good conditions for excellent performance in competitions. Basic training begins in the arena - there the horse and rider learn to work together and develop endurance. Another type of exercise, jumping over obstacles, requires the horse and rider to have certain abilities and developed technique. To develop the necessary skills in a horse, we offer various types of obstacles that will help the animal quickly get used to it and overcome them correctly.
There can be a variety of obstacles in competitions - the main problem riders face is leading the horse incorrectly. During the training process, our instructors focus on building mutual trust between the animal and the rider, as well as the ability to instantly make the right decisions.
Perhaps the most dangerous looking obstacles are water. The main task of the rider at this stage is to teach the horse not to be afraid of water. It is important to check the natural types of obstacles and avoid uneven and traumatic bottoms and mud. Otherwise, the horse will be scared and will not follow the rider’s lead next time. It is necessary to create good conditions for overcoming the obstacle for the first time, to correctly calculate the trajectory of the jump and the landing place of the horse.
The most important trait that both riders and horses need is endurance. Most animals are walked throughout the day, allowing horses to take part in one-day competitions.
Necessary equipment to participate in triathlon
Eventing involves participation in three different disciplines - for maximum comfort and practicality, the rider may require additional details. So, the rider must be dressed in full accordance with the requirements - boots, breeches, tailcoat; for the korkur, a riding coat will be required, as well as a protective helmet. A protective vest must be worn during cross-country competitions. When participating in difficult class competitions, the rider must wear a top hat and tails.
When it comes to horses, trainers note that some animals perform better in different disciplines with the right equipment. You need to take care of purchasing a saddle for each type of competition, or purchase a universal saddle with adjustment - this will help create good contact with the animal and make the training process as convenient and comfortable as possible. You will also need different types of bridles and other important details - our instructors will tell you about this better.
Athletes who take part in various competitions often have their own horses. They inevitably face the challenge of providing excellent conditions for their pets. Our equestrian club “Petrukhino” will help you solve this problem, which offers horse riding in comfortable and cozy conditions. The club has beautiful spacious stalls, which are equipped with drinking bowls; the animals always have fresh hay and sawdust at their disposal. Spacious levadas are provided for walking animals during daylight hours; there is a special barrel and an arena for exercise. All animals receive a balanced diet enriched with vitamins and minerals and are regularly examined by a veterinarian. The Petrukhino Equestrian Club is an excellent place for learning horse riding and organizing excursions in the picturesque surroundings.
Equestrian eventing- Olympic equestrian sport, which includes three disciplines: dressage riding, cross-country and jumping. There are the following categories of competitions - CCI (international competitions), CIC (national competitions), CCIO (official international competitions) and CH (championships). In addition, competitions vary in skill and experience levels and are designated by stars (maximum 4 stars).
The International Equestrian Federation (French Federation Equestre Internationale, FEI) is an organization that is involved in the development of equestrian sports around the world and the holding of international competitions.
History of the emergence and development of equestrian eventing
The impetus for the emergence of equestrian all-around was the need to test cavalry horses for the necessary abilities. Dressage riding tested the readiness of horses to participate in parades; based on the results of the cross-country race, it was possible to conclude that the horse was ready to overcome any terrain, and overcoming obstacles showed how well the horse felt after previous tests.
In 1912, equestrian eventing made its debut at the Olympic Games in Stockholm (Sweden).
Eventing Rules
Eventing competitions are held over 1-3 days (individual competitions or team championships). On the first day, riders show their skills in dressage riding, each exercise is graded on a ten-point scale.
On the second day, field tests are carried out. The distance consists of four segments:
A - roads and paths;
B - steeplechase course (a segment with obstacles that do not collapse when a horse hits it);
C - roads and paths;
At each segment, athletes must adhere to a specific route and not exceed the control time. For exceeding the control time, falling or disobedience of the horse, the rider is awarded penalty points.
On the third day of the competition, competitions are held to overcome obstacles (collapsed when touched by a horse).
The winner in triathlon is the athlete who scores the fewest penalty points over three days of competition. In one-day eventing, athletes must complete the program on the same day.
Ammunition
- A bridle is a piece of equipment that is placed on a horse’s head and makes it easier to control.
- Mouthpiece (mouthpiece headband) - an iron bit with a lifting spacer at the palate, also used to facilitate control.
- A hackamore is a type of headband that consists of two leather straps that go around the horse's face.
- Saddle.
- Boots are devices for protecting the limbs of a horse.
- A saddle pad is a piece of equipment that is placed under the saddle and serves to absorb sweat and protect the horse’s back from damage.
- Blanket - a blanket for a horse.
- A girth is a device for holding a saddle.
- A halter is a bridle without a bit.
- Chombur is a rope for tying a horse.
Equipment
- Amazon
- Breeches
- Redingote
- Jockey
- Leggings are linings made of leather, suede or tarpaulin in the shape of the lower leg. Serve to protect the rider's legs. Worn with boots.
- Spurs
- Cylinder
- Gloves
- Whip
- Protective vest
The cavalry left the battlefields long ago. But some rules and requirements for a war horse were adopted by equestrian eventing. It is not for nothing that in England, France, and Germany this sport is called “military” - military. Dressage riding, field trials, overcoming obstacles - an eventer and his horse must go to the start line three times within three days. He needs strength, courage, courage, endurance...
Majestic and beautiful Pinery seemed rather gloomy to the twenty-seven-year-old Soviet horseman Valerian Kuibyshev. Here, in the forest suburbs of Helsinki, the cross-country route for eventing at the Games of the XV Olympiad was laid out. There were thirty-two obstacles to overcome, each more difficult than the other. Huge ravines, steep descents, a series of various banquets, a stream with parallel bars and, finally, the famous “Russian trench” - a zigzag ditch with a pole fence.
Kuibyshev started at 8.30 in the morning and covered the so-called small roads well. But something unexpected happened at the steeplechase. While jumping over an obstacle, Perekop knocked a horseshoe off his foot. In order to save the horse for cross-country, the triathlete decided not to ride on the “high roads” in the saddle, but to run, holding Perekop on the reins. This plan was a success. They covered more than 10 kilometers in an hour and arrived on time at the checkpoint, where Kuibyshev’s teammates were already waiting. Blacksmith Georgy Egorov quickly shod Perekop. Now, sitting back in the saddle, the athlete peered into the forest thicket. What other surprises does today have in store for him? But then the judge gave a signal, and Kuibyshev energetically raised the stallion into a gallop. Ahead of him was the main part of field testing - cross...
Kuibyshev Valerian Nikanorovich, master of sports of the USSR (1949), judge of the all-Union category (1966), participant in the Olympic games (1952, 1956) and international competitions, champion of the USSR (1953, 1956), multiple winner of all-Union competitions in triathlon. Born in 1925 in Kyiv into a family of employees. He began equestrian sports in 1941 at the Osoaviakhim cavalry school in the city of Kuibyshev. In 1943 he was drafted into the army and sent to a cavalry school. In 1944 he graduated from college and was left there as the commander of a cadet platoon. In 1946 he was transferred as a teacher to the Red Banner Higher Officer Cavalry School. From 1954 to 1971 he was a member of the CSKA equestrian team. He retired to the reserves with the rank of major. From 1971 to 1980 he worked as a coach at the equestrian schools of the VSE "Urozhay" and "Dynamo". Since 1981 he has worked as a coach, then as a senior coach at the school of higher sports excellence (Moscow). He began competing in national championships in 1951, from then until 1957 he was a member of the USSR national triathlon team. From 1959 to 1967 he was the national team coach. Author of the book “Eventing in Equestrian Sports” (M., 1954) and the script for the educational film “Manege Riding in Eventing” (Sportfilm, 1986). Awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor (1957) and medals. In the photo: V. N. Kuibyshev in 1967
Of course, I will not forget the 1952 Olympics,” says Valerian Nikanorovich Kuibyshev. “Despite this story with the horseshoe, I still completed the field tests, the next day I jumped in show jumping and overall took 10th place among 59 participants in Olympic eventing. Our other athletes: Yuri Andreev on Lugovoy and Boris Lilov on Zagiba - took off. Andreev - at the beginning of the cross-country, Lilov - in the middle, in that very “Russian trench”, which Lilov then called, and, in my opinion, very accurately, “the devil’s lair”.
I think I was lucky with my horse at these competitions. My Perekop, a brown thoroughbred stallion raised at the Essentuki stud farm, was only five years old. However, he possessed all the advantages of a proven eventing horse: courage, endurance, intelligence. Maybe he was a little hot-tempered and sometimes “dragged” towards an obstacle, but on the whole he obeyed the rider. We had mutual understanding with him - this is the main thing. Cross near Helsinki that answered everyone international rules and standards, Perekop turned out to be up to the task, as they say. He completed the route perfectly...
The results of the performances of our first Olympic team in dressage (19th, 24th and 25th places) and show jumping (43rd, 46th and 47th places) could be assessed quite clearly. In triathlon everything was more complicated. Two athletes were removed from the competition, but the third, the only one of all Soviet riders, entered the top ten strongest equestrians in the world, and in those conditions this was a considerable achievement.
After all, V.N. Kuibyshev, just like all his teammates on the national team, had never participated in international competitions before. The cross also stunned him with its complexity, unusual construction and location of obstacles. But with courage and firmness worthy of the highest praise, he entered into an argument with experienced opponents and was ahead of many. The Swedes won the team competition in eventing at the Games of the XV Olympiad: Hans von Blixen-Finecke, Nils Stare and Karl Frelen. The second were riders from Germany, the third were athletes from the USA. The champion in the individual competition was Hans von Blixen-Finecke, the Frenchman Guy Lefran won the silver medal, and Willy Büsing from Germany won the bronze medal.
Our horsemen returned from Helsinki to Moscow with a heavy feeling. There was something to remember, something to think about. Everyone was worried about one question: how to overcome the backlog and reach new milestones in the training of riders and horses? This was discussed a lot at the meeting following the Olympics, which took place with Marshal S. M. Budyonny. They decided to start by revising the standards and conditions for holding all-Union competitions.
Just like the show jumping route at the All-Union competitions in 1952 (“Revenge of the Olympians”), the cross-country for eventing was modeled after the Helsinki one. Kuibyshev found a suitable location in the vicinity of Moscow (a forest near the village of Cherkizovo) and reproduced the most difficult obstacles, in particular the “Russian trench,” there with special care.
When the competition participants were first led along the route of this cross-country, they say that I. Ya. Kovriga was initially optimistic and said: “Ten percent will be taken off.” At the “Russian trench” he increased the “percentage of those who withdrew” to fifty, and at the finish line summed up a disappointing result: “Probably fifteen percent will reach the end.” And it should be noted that the famous coach and athlete was not mistaken in his assumptions.
At that time, 32 riders took part in the field trials of eventing. These were quite experienced and skilled athletes who came to Moscow from different cities and republics. But only... four completed the cross-country successfully, of which were officers N.M. Sova and N.I. Kabanov, V.V. Mishin (Air Force) and G.M. Jafarov (DSO "Pishchevik"). The 1952 national champion in eventing on older horses was Nikolai Sova, who competed in Dagestan, and on young horses - Valentin Mishin on Variant (Olympians did not participate in the competition).
Thus, by the mid-50s, there were only five triathletes in our country (Kuibyshev, Sova, Kabanov, Mishin and Jafarov), whose sportsmanship approached, so to speak, international standards.
What happened before that?
If tournaments on overcoming obstacles for cavalry officers in St. Petersburg in the Mikhailovsky Manege began to be held annually in 1889, then they became interested in eventing in Russia much later - in 1912, during preparations for the V Olympic Games in Stockholm.
It was during this period that this type of equestrian sport was included in the Olympic program. Only officers riding their combat horses were allowed to participate in the competition. Perhaps that is why the competitions received the name “military” (military). They lasted for several days: first, a 55-kilometer run, the distance of which included a five-kilometer cross-country segment with field obstacles, then a 3.5-kilometer steeplechase, which had to be completed in a certain time, then overcoming obstacles on the show jumping field and finally, dressage riding. Russian horsemen considered that they were not ready for “military” and did not participate in these Olympic competitions.
To fill this gap in domestic equestrian sports, in 1913 the Russian army introduced the “Regulations on testing horses and riders of cavalry, Cossack cavalry units and horse artillery for prizes.” According to the Regulations, the first competitions in all military districts were held in the summer of 1914, during cavalry training. They lasted three days: endurance running, dressage riding, overcoming obstacles and steeplechase racing.
Here it is necessary to remember that approximately the same program was at the so-called Krasnoselsky races, the first of which was held in July 1872 and then organized more or less regularly (over 25 years, from 1872 to 1897, 23 competitions were held). The Krasnoselsky horse races were immortalized by Leo Tolstoy, describing them in the novel Anna Karenina. The episode with Vronsky, who rode the mare Frou-Frou, was based on the real incident with Prince Golitsyn, who, due to a fall with his horse at the last obstacle, lost 1st place.
Only officers of the guards and army cavalry regiments and horse artillery on their combat horses were allowed to participate in the Krasnoselsky races. They had to perform in ordinary military uniform, with weapons, on a horse under a combat saddle and with a mouthpiece bridle. Before the races, the horses were checked for readiness to perform. It was reminiscent of modern eventing riding. The participants lined up, one by one they were called into the arena, where they were asked to perform various elements of cavalry drill riding: standing, turning in place, voltes, changing directions, half-passing, settling, as well as all gaits - walk, trot, gallop. The assessment of riding in the arena was determined by points: 5 - excellent, 4 - very good, 3 - good, 2 - mediocre and 1 - weak.
After the arena ride, the horses were tested on a one-mile race with two obstacles: an earthen rampart 70 centimeters high and a ditch 1.5 meters wide. The time limit is 2 minutes. If a rider did not meet the time limit or could not overcome obstacles, then he was not allowed to participate in the main race.
This main race (it was called the Bolshoi Krasnoselsky steeplechase) had 12 obstacles over 4 versts (more than 4 km). The main ones are: a river, three ditches about 2 meters wide, a “fortification” (a combined obstacle reminiscent of a modern banquet), a plank fence, a “live” fence, a straw barrier, a rampart with a “live” hedge, and a wattle fence. The maximum height of the obstacles reached 140 centimeters, the width along the front was 20 meters.
32 officers signed up to participate in the first competition. 27 were admitted to the Bolshoy Krasnoselsky steeplechase. During the race, 18 participants fell from their horses, 8 of them continued to fight for the championship, 2 riders left the race. 15 people finished. The winner's result was 6 minutes 6 seconds, 2nd place - 6 minutes 10 seconds, 3rd place - 6 minutes 16 seconds.
True, subsequently the conditions for holding these competitions were simplified: dressage riding and one-verst racing were excluded, leaving only steeplechase, which noticeably reduced the sporting significance of the Krasnoselsky races.
In general, there were sports traditions in Russia, and, probably, “military” would have become quite widespread here if not for the first World War. Equestrian sport began to revive, as is known, in the late 20s in the red cavalry. Naturally, a lot of attention was paid to its military-applied orientation, and one of important species The competition became triathlon. But they called it, of course, not “military”, as in the program of the Olympic Games. For older horses - "all-around sport horse training" and for young horses - "young horse dressage". Then, already at the end of the 50s, the modern name of this classic equestrian sport appeared - “eventing”.
This word, perhaps, best reflects the features of the competition, because an athlete must ride the same horse for three days in a row, “fight three times”: in dressage riding, in field trials, in overcoming obstacles on the show jumping field.
The competition rules that were in force at the First All-Union Equestrian Competitions in 1938 and in the post-war years have survived to this day with some changes. Here is how they are described in the reference book "Equestrian Sports in the USSR", published in 1954:
“Tests in dressage riding are carried out on a flat, specially equipped and marked area measuring 60x20 meters... The time for completing the dressage program is 12 minutes. The dressage program consists of 33 exercises, each of which is scored separately with no more than 6 points.
The maximum total number of points that a participant can receive is 198. Anyone who receives less than 50 percent of this amount is excluded from the competition.
Field tests consist of driving on roads, driving over rough terrain and driving on a flat field. As a rule, two days before the start of the field tests, the competition participants receive a route map, and on the eve of the competition they become familiar with the route, driving along the entire route in a car.
The field test route should be laid over rough terrain and replete with natural obstacles (fences, rubble, abatis, earthen ramparts, plowing, ditches, descents, ascents, water barriers and swampy places). The route is marked with clearly visible flags...
On the third day, competitions are held to overcome obstacles. Participants must, using horses that have passed dressage riding and field tests, overcome 12 obstacles up to 120 centimeters in height...
At the end of the third day of competition, the overall result of the all-around competition is summed up. Definition occupied space in general is based on the sum of the results of three days of competition. The winner is the one who ultimately scores the least amount of penalty points."*
To this it must be added that during field tests, different sections of the route, their length and the time allotted to the riders to complete them, were subject to approximately the following ratios:
Errors when overcoming obstacles in cross-country were punished with penalty points: 1st run-out or rejection - 20 penalty points, 2nd - 40 penalty points, 3rd - 80 penalty points, 4th - removal from the competition, falling from a horse or both with a horse - 60 penalty points. When overcoming obstacles on the competition field, a different scale was in effect: 1st run-out or rejection - 10 penalty points, 2nd - 20, 3rd - removal from the competition, falling from a horse or with a horse - 30 penalty points.
In the second half of the 50s, some changes were made to the rules. For example, during the field tests after the cross-country, the jump on flat terrain, which was called a calming one, was canceled...
Before the war, in 1938, at the 1st All-Union competitions in equestrian sport in eventing on older horses, E. L. Levin excelled in Arab-Kazbek for men, and A. M. Levin on Bort for women. In 1946, at the II All-Union competition, the title of champion in this event was achieved by KVOKSH officer G. T. Anastasyev on the horse Tarkhan. The women's competition was won by T.D. Simakova at Zaboe.
Then the rider from the DOSARM cavalry school in the city of Ivanovo, A. A. Zhagorov, stood on the podium on a horse named Belka. He was twice champion in eventing (1947 and 1948), then switched to dressage and in 1950, working with the same Belka, won 3rd place* at the All-Union Higher School of Equestrian Competitions. Thus began a long period of brilliant performances by Zhagorov in this type of equestrian sport.
* ("Equestrian sport in the USSR". Directory, M., FiS, 1954, p. 143-145.)
In 1949, at the All-Union competitions in eventing on older horses, the strongest were the horsemen of the DSO "Pishchevik" Yu. Andreev and B. Lilov. Twenty-nine-year-old Yuri Andreev began equestrian sports only four years ago. Victory in the competition brought him the title of Master of Sports of the USSR. He performed on a bay stallion of a thoroughbred horse breed named Fidelio.
Connoisseurs and lovers of equestrian sports remembered this eventing horse of outstanding merit even earlier, under the saddle of a young rider from the DSO "Pishchevik" Nina Gromova. Fidelio was born in 1942 and belonged to the line of the famous hippodrome fighter Ferro in Europe. When he was three years old, he was taken by our troops, among other trophies in Germany. Fidelio entered the Pishchevika equestrian school very weak and sick - with a severe non-healing wound on the withers. At first they wanted to cull him, but the school trainer A.G. Tamanov saved this horse and took it into his care.
It took him a lot of work to get the stallion back into action. Gradually, the wound healed, Fidelio got stronger, and in 1946 they began to ride out and jump on him. A.G. Tamanov and N.G. Gromova worked with him. In 1947, she won the Moscow eventing championship at Fidelio, and was third at the All-Union competitions. Fidelio was then handed over to Yuri Andreev, who in 1949 not only became eventing champion on it, but also won the 6000-meter steeplechase.
Subsequently, after a new injury (rupture of the fetlock ligaments), Fidelio could no longer compete in eventing, he was transferred to show jumping. He became a partner of Tatyana Kulikovskaya, who won a silver medal at the All-Union obstacle jumping competition in 1952. In 1953, N.G. Gromova competed in international show jumping competitions in Bucharest, and quite successfully. In 1958, Fidelio's sports career ended, he was sent to the stud farm. S. M. Kirov, where he gave birth to numerous offspring who performed well in sports.
For many years, Fidelio graced the Pishevik DSO team. Brave, resilient and unusually sensitive to management, he required, as horsemen say, a “soft hand,” and therefore, probably, women worked most with Fidelio: N. Gromova, T. Kulikovskaya, N. Zhukova.
It should be noted that during these years the women's triathlon team of the Children's Sports Society "Pishchevik" provided very strong competition to its rivals from other voluntary sports societies, and there was not a single all-Union competition where athletes from "Pishchevik" were not among the winners. In 1947 it was N. Gromova, in 1948 - A. Levina and Z. Tarasova, in 1949 - T. Kulikovskaya, in 1950 - Z. Tarasova, in 1951 - N. Gromova, in 1952 - T Kulikovskaya. Only in 1953, the leaders became N. Smyslova on Zheton (DOSAAF), G. Gvozdeva on Potash (DSO "Spartak") and L. Prudnikova on Gold-Kirsch (DSO "Spartak"). After this, separate classifications for men and women were no longer held, and its abolition was also partly caused by the restructuring of work after the 1952 Olympics - at the Olympic Games, women competed together with men in equestrian competitions.
In 1953-1954, we army horsemen had a lot of work,” says V.N. Kuibyshev. “The CSKA equestrian team was created. Young athletes came to it, the horse composition was updated, the training methods changed, and the competition conditions became more complicated. It happened that unjustified acceleration of loads led to accidents. So, during cross-country training, the talented triathlete Nikolai Sova crashed during an unsuccessful jump... There are no words, we were grieving the death of our comrade, but we could not help but think about the upcoming Olympic competitions in 1956. I wanted to take into account all the mistakes, anticipate all the difficulties, be prepared for anything in order to perform with dignity...
The question of the composition of the new Olympic eventing team was decided at the First Summer Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR and at the All-Union Equestrian Competitions in 1956. The laurels of the Spartakiad champion were then won by V. Kuibyshev, who competed at Perekop. The silver medal was received by the athlete from Armenia A. Skorokhod on the Mustang, and the bronze medal by the young army man from Moscow L. Baklyshkin on the Gymnast. These riders were positioned in exactly the same way on the podium of the all-Union competitions. In addition, such experienced craftsmen, like V. Mishin and N. Shelenkov.
V. Kuibyshev, L. Baklyshkin and N. Shelenkov went to Stockholm, who received a new horse that showed great promise in eventing - a seven-year-old Trakehner gelding named Satrap, bred at the stud farm named after. S. M. Kirov. This was the first Olympics for Satrap, and in total he participated in three Olympic games (1956, 1960 and 1964), showing an example of athletic longevity that is amazing for a horse.
Eventing competitions in Stockholm began at the Royal Stadium on June 11, 1956. As it should be according to the FEI rules, first they tried their hand at dressage riding. The debutant of our team, Lev Baklyshkin, was the first of the Soviet equestrians and received 119.2 penalty points, although equestrian experts who watched the competition argued that his riding deserved a higher score. Valerian Kuibyshev, familiar to the referees from the 1952 Olympics, was luckier - 110.8 penalty points, and the worst of all was Nikolai Shelenkov: 129.2 penalty points. His Satrap was too excited at the beginning of his speech. The rider did not immediately manage to calm the horse and force it to perform the exercises correctly.
The greatest difficulties, as always, awaited the athletes during field trials. "Small roads" - 7200 meters, steeplechase - 3600 meters with 12 obstacles up to 120 centimeters high, "big roads" - 14,400 meters, cross-country - 7650 meters with 33 obstacles placed in ravines, on descents, ascents, near waterways obstacles and, finally, a smooth race of 2000 meters - this was their program. The competition was complicated by the fact that soon after it began, heavy rain began and many sections of the cross-country became simply impassable.
Lev Baklyshkin was lucky: he started ninth, when rain clouds were just gathering over Phebuda, a suburb of Stockholm, where the field testing distance was marked. The twenty-three-year-old triathlete coped with the task brilliantly. He did not make a single mistake when jumping and completed the route with great time savings, scoring 42.55 positive points.
Valerian Kuibyshev was plagued by failures this time. He was driving along the route in the rain. Already at the third obstacle of the cross-country, Perekop slipped on the sodden ground, and they fell together - horse and rider. Then there were several more falls. Each time the athlete got back into the saddle and continued on his way, because otherwise the team would have been eliminated from the competition. Kuibyshev received 567.2 penalty points - a lot, but he fulfilled his duty.
Nikolai Shelenkov coped well with the field tests. He “earned” only 148.48 penalty points. Guided by a skillful hand, Satrap showed his best qualities on the cross-country.
On the hot sunny morning of June 14, the eventing competition ended at the Royal Stadium, where they competed in overcoming obstacles on a jumping field decorated with huge beds of bright red flowers. Here the leaders were finally determined. The champion of the previous Olympic Games, Blixen-Finecke, performed unsuccessfully: he fell along with his horse and received 37.5 penalty points. But Petrus Casteman, who did an excellent job in the field tests, took over the baton, as they say, from the hands of his compatriot and took 1st place in the individual competition.
In 2nd place was August Lütke from Germany, in 3rd place was Francis Weldon from England. Lev Baklyshkin remained in 4th place. Only chance helped the Englishman come forward. The judges deducted 20 penalties for him, allegedly incorrectly counted on the cross. Shelenkov took 26th place, Kuibyshev - 35th (57 participants in total).
The Englishmen won the team competition: Francis Weldon, Arthur Rook and Albert Hill. The second were athletes from Germany, the third were Canadians. Our team took 7th place (a total of 19 teams participated). Lev Baklyshkin's performance at the Gymnast became a sensation of sorts. He was the first of the Soviet equestrians, one might say, to come close to the Olympic podium, “riding” world-famous triathletes: the Swedes, the British, and the Canadians.
Triathlete of the DSO "Pishchevik" team Yu. Andreev performs on the famous Fidelio. All-Union competitions, 1948
The competitions showed that he has courage, skill in controlling a horse in any situation, and sober calculation, which is so necessary for a horseman to pass the field test distance well. Much, of course, also depended on Baklyshkin’s partner - the bay thoroughbred Gymnast, raised at the Voskhod stud farm. Baklyshkin met him at the Red Banner Higher Officer Cavalry School.
At first, the Gymnast was stubborn and unyielding. But the young soldier did not give up hope of getting along with this horse, which was very promising for eventing. With affection and perseverance, Baklyshkin achieved his goal. The gymnast, according to the athlete, became an honest and conscientious partner who could be relied on in difficult times.
However, the hero of the 1956 Olympics did not immediately manage to become the national champion in triathlon. Although the talented equestrians of the older generation V. Kuibyshev, N. Shelenkov, V. Mishin had already finished their performances, their successors shone in the sports arena: A. Aleutdinov, a student of the equestrian school of the DSO "Pishchevik", who later moved to CSKA, highly experienced athletes from Armenia V Rabchanov and A. Skorokhod. In 1957 and 1958, at the All-Union eventing competitions on older horses, twenty-year-old German Gazyumov and Boris Konkov were among the winners for the first time. The rider from Kyrgyzstan Saibotal Mursalimov also performed successfully.
Only in 1959, already working with a new horse - eight-year-old Basis, raised at the Urvan stud farm, Baklyshkin won a bronze medal. The next year he became the champion, thereby proving his right to participate in the Olympic team preparing for the trip to Rome.
At the Games of the XVII Olympiad, our triathletes were close to team silver like never before. S. Mursalimov, to whom the powerful Satrap moved, took 5th place, L. Baklyshkin on Basis - 7th. The third member of our team could carry 230 or 360 penalty points. This would be enough for a silver or bronze medal. But B. Konkov at the Opera and Yu. Smyslov at Registration performed far below their capabilities and withdrew from the field tests. It was especially offensive for the Leningrader Smyslov, the silver medalist of the Second Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR. He covered the entire cross-country distance well, and only at one of the last obstacles did his horse make three refusals in a row.
Field trials in Rome were difficult. The organizers of the Roman Olympiad seemed to be trying to surpass their predecessors from Stockholm in everything. Many horsemen withdrew at the 28th obstacle (parallel bars), at the 30th (a ditch 4 m wide and 1.8 m deep), where one of the horses even died. In total, of the 73 riders who started that day, 43 were able to reach the finish line, and only 35 athletes were lucky enough to successfully complete the competition on the third day.
In such conditions, the price of Olympic medals was especially high. Australian Lawrence Morgan became the champion. Unexpectedly for everyone, the Australians won the team competition. The Swiss were second, the French third. The British, recognized eventing masters, were content with 4th place this time. The Soviet team was left without a standings.
And yet, during these years, our country had one of the strongest triathlete teams on the continent. This became clear after the 1962 European Championships, where our athletes won team gold for the first time.
European championships began to be held in 1953. At first, the British were completely inaccessible to their rivals. Crowned with Olympic laurels, Francis Weldon, Albert Hill and Arthur Rooke took places on the podium in 1953, 1954 and 1955, achieving championship in the team competition. Soviet triathletes first participated in the championship in 1959, but only took 5th team place. Then Swede Hans Schwarzenbach became the champion, Francis Weldon received silver and Derek Alhusen from Germany received bronze. In 1960 and 1961 the European Championship was not held, but in 1962 our horsemen already became winners.
The foreign press regarded the success of Soviet athletes as a sensation. Only well-prepared and seasoned masters could beat the British, traditionally strong in this classic form of equestrian sport, performing at their home.
G. Gazyumov, P. Deev, B. Konkov, L. Baklyshkin went to England for the 1962 championship. The coach was V.N. Kuibyshev. The Soviet team's chances of winning were considered quite low by experts. Two English horsemen were considered the favorites of the competition: James Templer and Jane Wykeham-Musgrave, a young, promising athlete.
Unexpectedly for English fans of equestrian sports, our triathlete German Gazyumov intervened in their dispute on a horse of a thoroughbred riding breed named Gran, bred at the Essentuki stud farm. Gazyumov completed the field testing route cleanly: not a single refusal, fall or mistake when jumping - and “brought” 34 positive points. Wykeham-Musgrave picked up too many penalties. Templer became a champion, Gazyumov a silver medalist, and Jane Wykeham-Musgrave a bronze medalist.
Twenty-year-old Pavel Deev, a graduate of the Rostov equestrian school VSO "Urozhay", who took 5th place, successfully led the Satrap through all the tests. In 6th place was Lev Baklyshkin, who at that time had new horse- purebred bay six-year-old Surgeon. Boris Konkov was not so lucky on Rumba.
The victory in England pleased all experts and lovers of equestrian sports in our country and raised hopes for successful performances by eventers at the upcoming Olympics in Tokyo. In some ways, these hopes were justified: in the team competition, our riders took 5th place for the first time (out of 12 teams), but there were no special victories in the individual championship. Gazyumov on the Grani repeated the achievement of V.N. Kuibyshev at the 1952 Olympics, taking 10th place.
Unfortunately, this Olympiad was unsuccessful for Saibotal Mursalimov, who ended up in 26th place, although based on his experience and level of training he could well have counted on more. The same can be said about his younger teammates Boris Konkov and Pavel Deev. Perhaps the storm that hit the ship transporting horses to Tokyo was to blame for this.
By all accounts, the field tests, staged near the Japanese capital, in the resort area of Karuizawa, were not particularly difficult. The competition was complicated only by constant heavy rains. Despite this, 10 riders withdrew from the cross-country race, the rest finished safely.
All Olympic gold in triathlon (team and individual) was won by Italians. Neither the heroes of the Roman Olympiad, the Australians, nor the British, whom everyone predicted 1st place, could provide them with worthy competition. After the Olympics in Tokyo, they started talking about the fact that English triathletes had noticeably lost their ground. At the European Championships in 1965, the British again performed poorly.
Baklyshkin Lev Pavlovich, master of sports of international class (1965), honored coach of the RSFSR (1972), judge of the all-Union category (1980), participant of the XVI and XVII Olympic Games, European champion in the team competition (1962, 1965). ), silver medalist in the individual competition (1965), champion of the USSR (1960, 1961), multiple winner of all-Union eventing competitions. Born in the village of Silino, Moscow region in 1933 into a family of employees. He began to engage in equestrian sports in 1945 at the equestrian school of the Spartak Children's Sports Society. In 1953 he was drafted into the army and served as a rider in the KVOKSH, then as part of the CSKA equestrian team. In 1965, he graduated as an external student from the Higher Command and Combined Arms School named after. Supreme Council of the RSFSR. In 1985 he retired to the reserve with the rank of lieutenant colonel. Since 1985 he has been working at CSKA as a trainer-selectionist. He began competing in national championships in 1955, and from 1956 to 1966 he was a member of the USSR national triathlon team. From 1967 to 1976 he was the national team coach. Awarded medals. In the photo: L.P. Baklyshkin in 1965
The championship took place in Moscow in September 1965. Competitions in dressage and show jumping were organized at the Central Moscow Hippodrome. For field testing, we chose an area in the vicinity of Moscow, near the village of Cherkizovo. In 1952, a course was laid out here for triathletes at all-Union competitions, and then for participants in the First Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR. This route fully complied with international rules. Now the participants of the European Championship were supposed to get acquainted with it: Poles, British, French, Swiss, athletes from Germany.
The tournament took place after the 1965 All-Union competitions. The winners were V. Sysoev on Mak and P. Deev on Packet (1st place in eventing on older horses and young horses), V. Dorofeev on Profile and B. Konkov on Relief (2nd place), L. Baklyshkin on Rulon and E. Kaloev on Iceberg (3rd place). The coaching council discussed these and other candidates for athletes included in the national triathlon team. Preference was given to two of our triathletes - Lev Baklyshkin and Saibotal Mursalimov and two younger ones - twenty-eight-year-old Rostovite Valentin Gorelkin and eighteen-year-old Alexander Evdokimov.
The Polish rider Marian Baberecki became the European champion in the individual competition. The silver medal went to Lev Baklyshkin, who rode the tall purebred (166 cm at the withers) bay Rulona. The rest of our athletes: V. Gorelkin on Prikhod, Evdokimov on Podarka, Mursalimov on Dzhigit - entered the top ten. As a result, the Soviet team won team gold for the second time.
This was not the first time I met Maryan Baberetsky,” says Lev Pavlovich Baklyshkin. “He was a strong-willed and well-prepared athlete. At the championship in Moscow we were on par with him. Both had a good dressage ride and jumped cleanly in show jumping. But in field tests I lost to him by only 0.25 seconds. You could say that Rulon was one gallop pace too late. It was a great shame!.. For all that, he was an excellent horse. He had a soft, pliable character, always trusted the rider and fearlessly went where I directed him. Then we performed with him in Ireland. We were very unlucky there. I ended up on the operating table, he was also injured...
Both victories at the European championships were associated with the name of V. N. Kuibyshev, who from 1959 to 1967 was the coach of the USSR national eventing team and worked fruitfully at that time together with the state equestrian trainer G. T. Anastasyev.
Kuibyshev, who himself competed at the start of the 1952 Olympic Games, was perhaps more aware than anyone else that the system of training athletes and horses needed restructuring. They began to change this system after 1952, but they did not immediately find its optimal options.
In 1953 in Soviet army There was still cavalry. In its units, when working with young repair horses, they were guided by the “Manual on dressage of a combat cavalry horse,” which made it possible to prepare a young horse for combat service within 18 months, that is, to achieve its complete subordination to the rider, teach a little of everything: dressage riding, jumping, pulling to work on the march and in the field.
We decided to take the main principles of the “Manual” as a basis when working with young eventing horses. In the course of further “sports education,” they improved their technical training (dressage and jumping), strengthened their endurance, and tried to match the rider and horse so that a real duet would be obtained.
For example, when jumping, the horse was taught to calculate the jump, shorten or increase the gallop swing, depending on how it approaches the obstacle. In field trials, these obstacles, as is known, are firmly dug into the ground, and therefore the horse’s ability to jump carefully is of particular importance here. For carelessly jumping horses, the so-called tamping was done: manually, with a light aluminum tube, or by placing a heavy pipe over the obstacle on additional stands, against which the horse “tipped” itself.
We reasoned like this,” recalls V.N. Kuibyshev. “Field tests are too difficult and serious an exam, and the rider is simply not able to take on everything. Therefore, an eventing horse must be able to “get into the calculation” completely independently, even during difficult jumps. But the person directs her movement along the route, since he knows this route, got acquainted with it before the competition. For example, before a long climb uphill, he can give the horse a rest, reduce the pace of the gallop or even switch to a trot, and on some short and straight section, on the contrary, speed it up. The horse, with all its courage, endurance and strength, must be sensitive to control, must completely obey the rider...
Eventing competitions, unlike dressage and show jumping, require a lot of endurance from the athlete and his horse. For triathletes, gymnastics, running, swimming, and playing ball are required. In horses, endurance is developed by gradually increasing the trot and canter reprises, so that the horses are under saddle for 2.5-3 hours a day and can easily withstand three canter reprises of 5, 10 and 12 minutes with walk and trot reprises between them. They usually start at a gallop on flat and soft ground.
In triathlon there is such a thing as speed endurance of a horse. It is developed while covering short sections of cross-country and steeplechase distances at a speed greater than is necessary in competitions. They begin such training two to three weeks after entering the field from a distance of no more than 500 meters. Gradually, the distance for fast work increases to 1000 meters.
However, after a trip to the European Championships in 1959, our triathletes saw that their foreign colleagues were able to significantly increase the speed of movement along the field test route and, for example, on segment “B” (steeple chase) they covered a kilometer in no more than 1 minute 26 seconds . Consequently, the Soviet team also had to look for ways to quickly increase the endurance and agility of horses.
Gazyumov German Borisovich, master of sports of international class (1962), participant in the XVIII and XIX Olympic Games, European champion in the team event and silver medalist in the individual competition (1962), multiple winner of international and all-Union eventing competitions. Born in 1936 in Moscow into a family of employees. He began equestrian sports in 1948 at the equestrian school of the community center "Pishchevik", then moved to the community center "Burevestnik". Since 1964 he was a member of the CSKA equestrian team. Since 1955, he competed in national championships and was a member of the USSR national eventing team from 1961 to 1970. From 1970 to 1976, he worked as a coach in various equestrian schools. In 1976 he retired from equestrian sport. In the photo: G. B. Gazyumov in 1965
There was no doubt that the new loads, so to speak, were not up to every horse and preference should be given to representatives of a thoroughbred riding breed or high-blooded horses. On the other hand, there was a need to make training more intense.
When training triathletes, the method of so-called “hill work” was previously used, when the rider at a brisk gallop climbed a slope of 15-20 degrees and a length of 150-200 meters two or three times with a break of 5-8 minutes. Now we decided to pay more attention to these workouts, which were also called interval training, and increase the number of repetitions to 4-5. Before rising, horses were given a good warm-up to prepare their muscles and tendons for high voltage and load.
In organizing his work with triathletes at training camps, V.N. Kuibyshev relied to a large extent on the help of the team veterinarian A.A. Laskov, who also had experience in sports performances. Being a young specialist in those years, Arnold Laskov not only kept each horse under constant medical supervision and advised Kuibyshev on the optimal training regimens, but also collected research material. Subsequently, the data obtained during the preparation of eventing horses for competitions formed the basis of Laskov’s Ph.D. thesis.
We can say that the courage and skill of the athletes, the experience and intuition of the coach, and the observations and knowledge of the scientist helped the Soviet team climb to the podium of European tournaments. However, the Olympic peaks remained unconquered...
G. Gazyumov, A. Evdokimov, P. Deev, S. Glushkov, experienced fighters proven in many sports battles, went to the Olympics in Mexico City in 1968. The Soviet triathlon team started off well, but in the end they were left... without a standings. What happened on the green hills near the capital of Mexico, where the Olympic triathlon routes ran?
In the dressage riding, our riders were in the lead in the team competition. The best result was shown by Alexander Evdokimov, who rode a horse named Fat, the son of the once famous Fidelio. In 2nd place was German Gazyumov on a Land mine, in 3rd place was Pavel Deev on a Packet.
The first trouble occurred during field tests, the route of which ran along the Valle de Bravo valley. The day of the competition started with heavy rain. A small river crossing the valley overflowed its banks and became swift and stormy. Storming this water barrier, Svetozar Glushkov's horse Ballerina died. The athlete was removed from the competition. But overall, our team’s position remained strong: 3rd place after the British and Americans. The difficult route of field testing was completed best by the French rider J. Guyon, followed by the US horseman D. Wofford. The third place was taken by P. Deev.
Events last day Eventing competitions took place on the competition field. Here the unexpected happened: Pavel Deev mixed up the “scheme”, overcame the obstacles in the wrong order, as it should have, and was removed from the competition. The Soviet team, which after two days of competition had a strong chance of winning team bronze, was deprived of this well-deserved award.
"This happens once every hundred years!" - wrote Mexican newspapers.
Deev, who was the first Soviet rider to receive a silver or bronze medal in the individual competition at the Olympics, took it hard. However, the unfortunate failure in show jumping was not entirely his fault. The team coach should help the athlete understand the “scheme”, learn it by heart, and find the best way to move according to it. On Games XIX During the Olympics, this position was held by N.F. Shelenkov.
A coincidence of circumstances, a mistake in the current preparation for the competition, and again the long-awaited Olympic awards passed our riders by. But this did not mean that the Soviet school of eventing, which had so successfully declared itself on the international stage in the early 60s, weakened its position. A year after the Olympics in Mexico City, competing at the European Championships held in Charas du Pinay (France), our team won silver medals, behind only the British. Moreover, representatives of the new generation came to the start of the European tournament together with the experienced Alexander Evdokimov: Yuri Solos from Rostov-on-Don, Kamo Zakarian from Armenia and Yulo Koepp from Estonia.
The 1969 European champion in the individual competition was the Englishwoman Mary Gordon-Watson. Her compatriot Richard Walker received the silver medal, and Bernard Nessmann from Germany received the bronze medal. Eighteen-year-old Yuri Solos, who competed on Fata, took 4th place, Alexander Evdokimov - 5th. His partner this time was Farhad, one of Fidelio’s sons, who, like Fat, was raised at the stud farm. S. M. Kirov.
Koepp's horse Hobot, belonging to the Ukrainian breed group, became lame after a steeplechase. That year, Khobot performed excellently at the All-Union eventing competitions for older horses. Koepp became the champion of the USSR. But in France he was unlucky: due to the sudden lameness of Trunks, he was withdrawn from the competition. Kamo Zakarian, who worked with a thoroughbred horse named Fugas, fell twice in the cross-country distance and “brought” 205.70 penalty points. In a situation where Koepp withdrew, the main thing for him was to reach the finish line and not let the team down. The athlete completed this task.
The European Championship showed that Soviet masters triathletes are in excellent shape and ready for new meetings with rivals. However, the coaches' attention was not only focused on them. At this time, a lot of thought was given to the young shift, and the shift grew worthy.
In 1969, the first eventing championship for juniors was held in Germany. Our country was represented there by seventeen-year-old horsemen - Muscovites Vladimir Tishkin and Vladimir Mironov and Vladimir Bondarenko from Nalchik. They won team gold, ahead of their peers from England, Germany, USA, France, Italy, Sweden.
At the end of the 60s, Soviet eventers performed well at other international equestrian tournaments, for example at the traditional steeplechase competition in Pardubice (Czechoslovakia), considered one of the most difficult in Europe.
These competitions began to be held for the first time in 1874. The distance of the Wielka Pardubicka steeplechase route is 6900 meters and in some places it goes through plowed land. Participants must make three dozen jumps over a variety of obstacles, including the “big taxis” (an almost two-meter wide aperture in front of a five-meter ditch), the “snake ditch” (a wide ditch with water behind the banquet), the “Irish bench” (a huge earthen rampart surrounded by ditches). The history of this tournament knows cases when only two or three riders came to the finish line out of 15-20 who took the start.
Soviet athletes first came to competitions in Pardubice in 1955. The first to win the Greater Pardubice Steeplechase was V. Fedin, who rode the purebred eight-year-old Epigraph. This happened in 1957. But the next decade was especially productive for our triathletes. Four times they took away from Czechoslovakia the main award of the tournament - a half-meter crystal cup and a cash prize of 100 thousand crowns.
In 1961, “Velka Pardubicka” was won by I. Avdeev on Griffel, in 1962 - the prize-winner of the all-Union competitions R. Makarov on Oboe, in 1964 - Rostovite V. Gorelkin, famous for his victories, on Priboj, in 1967 - an equestrian from Lvov, member Olympic team, bronze medalist of the IV Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR A. Sokolov in Dresden. At this time, the team traveling to Pardubice was led by A. A. Laskov, who was awarded the Order of the Red Banner of Labor for successful coaching work...
In the early 70s, those riders whose sports careers had developed in previous years still performed consistently at all-Union eventing competitions: Alexander Evdokimov, Valentin Gorelkin, Svetozar Glushkov, Kamo Zakaryan. But a new generation was already taking over. The equestrian traditions of CSKA were worthily continued by Vladimir Tishkin and Vladimir Lanyugin, students of L.P. Baklyshkin. The representative of the equestrian school of the DSO "Kolkhoznikul" of Chisinau was Sergei Mukhin. Viktor Kalinin started playing sports with E.L. Levin at the Urozhay children's school.
A team went to the XX Olympic Games in Munich, which included mature masters, and talented youth. The best performance of our athletes (12th place) was young Sergei Mukhin, who worked with Reisfeder, a thoroughbred stallion bred at the Beslan stud farm. Thirty-five-year-old Valentin Gorelkin became the champion of the USSR on Rock in 1972, but in Munich he could not be among the ten strongest triathletes.
Vladimir Lanyugin had to compete on a completely new horse - the thoroughbred Zimar. Zimar quickly covered the cross-country distance, but suffered two falls: when diving and on the double “system”. As a result, the Muscovite took 39th place. Mamatdzhan Ismailov, an athlete from Tashkent, was removed from the competition because his horse named Trest threw himself three times on one of the cross-country obstacles.
Compared to the results of the Olympic Games in Mexico City, where the Soviet team was left without a standings, there was clear progress in Munich: 7th place out of 18 teams, but at the same time “a repeat of what had been accomplished.” In Stockholm in 1956, our triathletes also took 7th place, but out of 19 teams. And again it turned out that literally the next year, hosting participants in the European Championship in Kiev, the Soviet athletes seemed to take revenge for the Olympics, winning the team “silver” and leaving the British, the team that won the XX Olympic Games, in 3rd place.
The summer of 1973 in Kyiv turned out to be hot and dry. There was no rain this time, which often turns the cross-country route into a washed-out, difficult-to-pass road. On the contrary, the ground remained hard, too hard for the hooves of eventing horses. Probably, the Germans and the British, who had heavy, massive horses, felt this especially well. In Kyiv, the gold medal of the European champion in the individual competition was won for the first time by our equestrian - Alexander Evdokimov on Eger. Riders from Germany Herbert Blöcker and Horst Karsten received silver and bronze.
My main rival was Blöcker,” says Alexander Mikhailovich Evdokimov. “In dressage riding and show jumping, he and I performed equally well. But in field tests I was a little ahead of him. This circumstance was taken into account by the judges when they decided who should be the champion... My partner, the thoroughbred Eger, actually belonged to the Khrenovsky stud farm, and our equestrian school of the Spartak Children's Sports Society received it, so to speak, for temporary use. I won’t say that he actually flew over obstacles. However, Eger was very technical, careful, and diligent, that’s for sure. Unfortunately, after a year and a half he became lame. He was found to have thrombosis. For an eventing horse, such an illness is the end of his career. Eger was sent to the stud farm...
Together with Evdokimov, Valentin Gorelkin on Rock, an athlete from the Kolkhoznik community center in the city of Nikolaev, a student of coach A.L. Zozulya Vladimir Soroka on Obzor and twenty-year-old Yuri Salnikov from Rostov-on-Don on Baggage took part in the competition...
In 1975, for the first time, Sergei Rogozhin (2nd place) and Pyotr Gornushko (3rd place) became prize-winners of the All-Union eventing competitions on older horses, and Vladimir Mironov (1st place), Mikhail Gubarev (2nd place) on young horses. -th place) and Alexey Solodyakhin (3rd place). It was as if there was a complete change of leaders. Although Vladimir Lanyugin, Vladimir Tishkin, Sergei Mukhin, and Viktor Kalinin still performed well.
When Soviet triathletes received an invitation to the 1975 European Championships, which was to be held in the city of Lümölen (Germany), team coaches L.P. Baklyshkin and A.M. Evdokimov were faced with the task: who would form the team? Usually in such cases, not only the technical preparedness of the athlete, but also the shape of his horse is rather meticulously assessed. This time, more experienced athletes received tickets to the European Championship: V. Lanyugin on Reflex, V. Tishkin on Fleet, V. Kalinin on Araks, S. Mukhin on Reisfeder, V. Dvoryaninov on Shoal. Of the debutants, only P. Gornushko and Hussar went to Lumölen.
Probably, the success of the twenty-two-year-old horseman from Rostov-on-Don, Pyotr Gornushko, was unexpected for many. He won a bronze medal in the individual competition. Participating in an international tournament for the first time, Gornushko showed skill, willpower, and composure. He lost only to two representatives English school eventing: Lucinda Prior-Palmer and Princess Anne.
When we were introduced to the cross-country route, I was a little confused,” says Pyotr Gornushko. “Never before have I seen such combinations in the placement of obstacles and such obstacles, for example, banquets with such a difference in heights, double “systems”... Psychologically and tactically Trainers Lev Pavlovich Baklyshkin and Alexander Mikhailovich Evdokimov helped prepare for the field tests. I could say a lot of kind words about Hussar. He was a great horse. There was, because in 1977, at the national championship, Hussar died from a myocardial infarction, not having reached the finish line of field trials 100 meters...
The tournament in Lümölen brought our equestrians victory in the team competition. The British received 2nd place, riders from Germany - 3rd. This success revived the hope that the performance of the Soviet team in 1976 at the Olympic Games in Montreal could be just as successful. But the picturesque surroundings of Bromont (a town 60 km from Montreal), where all equestrian competitions took place, did not become a victory field for Soviet eventers. Their results were average: 5th place in the team competition (out of 12 teams).
Evdokimov Alexander Mikhailovich, master of sports of international class (1965), honored coach of the USSR (1980), judge of the all-Union category (1982), participant of the XIX Olympic Games, European champion in individual competition (1973), multiple winner international competitions, champion of the USSR (1964, 1966, 1968, 1972) and multiple winner of all-Union eventing competitions. Born in 1947 in the city of Mary, Turkmen SSR, into the family of a military man. He began equestrian sports in 1957 at the equestrian school at the Khrenovsky stud farm. In 1972-1973 served in the equestrian division of CSKA. In 1972 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physical Education. He began participating in national championships in 1963, and was a member of the USSR national eventing team from 1963 to 1975. Since 1983, he has been working as an eventing coach at the Spartak equestrian school. Awarded the medal "For Labor Valor" (1980). In the photo: A. M. Evdokimov in 1973
Yuri Salnikov, who performed well in dressage and show jumping, completed the cross-country race cleanly, but not quickly enough. He took 8th place. Valery Dvoryaninov, an equestrian from the Tashkent DSO "Pakhtakor", had one refusal in the cross-country at an obstacle of medium difficulty, but overall he could have shown a higher result (17th place). Viktor Kalinin could have claimed 2nd or 3rd place if not for an error when jumping over a double “system” - the penultimate obstacle on the cross-country route. The athlete fell along with his horse and received a slight injury, but reached the finish line (25th place). The hero of the 1975 European Championship, Petr Gornushko, was completely removed from the competition, since Hussar made three refusals in a row at the 2nd cross-country obstacle.
Assessing the results of the competition, the senior coach of the USSR Olympic equestrian team N.F. Shelenkov subsequently wrote: “Our athletes performed unsatisfactorily at the XXI Olympic Games in Montreal. There are many subjective and objective reasons, the leaders and coaches of equestrian sports made the appropriate conclusions... "("Horse breeding and equestrian sport" No. 7, 1980).
It was necessary to draw these conclusions. At the 1980 Olympics in Moscow, eventers had to finally prove that the Soviet school of eventing deserved Olympic awards.
In the years preceding the world sports festival in Moscow, Vladimir Tishkin, Yuri Salnikov, Valery Dvoryaninov, Mikhail Gubarev, Vladimir Lanyugin were among the strongest at all-Union competitions. In 1979, Boris Gorchakov, an equestrian from the Moscow DSO "Spartak", and Alexander Bury from the Kyiv DSO "Dynamo" became prize-winners for the first time. In 1980, Valery Volkov from Yaroslavl won the title of USSR champion in eventing on older horses.
At the beginning of 1980, the seven best eventers were named candidates for the Olympic team. These were five masters of sports of international class: Vladimir Tishkin, Yuri Salnikov, Sergei Rogozhin, Mikhail Gubarev and Valery Dvoryaninov. Master of Sports from Kyrgyzstan Alexander Blinov was sixth and Boris Gorchakov was seventh. Subsequently, Valery Volkov was included in the list of candidates. Almost all candidates for the Olympic team had two or three horses that fully met the requirements of international competitions.
And then came the day of the Olympic starts for triathletes - July 24, 1980.
28 athletes from six countries came to Moscow: Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Italy, Mexico, and India. The eventing jury included Marquis Fabio Mangilli (Italy), Zdenek Tepli-Widner (Poland) and V.V. Mishin (USSR).
The dressage competition did not turn out very well for our riders. Here the PPR team took the lead. But in triathlon, field trials are considered the main type of competition. They started on Saturday, July 26th. Their route was laid in the Bitsevsky forest park. Participants of the Olympic Games: both FEI representatives and athletes noted that the cross-country course is very well equipped, includes interesting, well-placed and skillfully constructed obstacles that require from riders and their horses not only high technical and tactical training, but also strong-willed qualities , courage, endurance.
Gornushko Petr Ilyich, master of sports of international class (1975), participant of the XXI Olympic Games, bronze medalist of the European Championship in the individual competition (1975) and medalist of the All-Union eventing competitions. Born in 1953 in the village of the grain state farm "Giant" in the Rostov region in a family of employees. He began to engage in equestrian sports in 1967 at the equestrian school at the stud farm named after. S. M. Budyonny. In 1971-1973 served in the army (SKA, Rostov-on-Don). In 1979 he graduated from a pedagogical school. Since 1969, he began to participate in national championships. He was a member of the USSR national eventing team from 1975 to 1978. From 1978 to 1980 he worked as a coach at an equestrian school in the city of Elista. Since 1981 he has been working as a coach at an equestrian school in Kostroma. In the photo: P. I. Gornushko with Hussar
“Everything that I saw was perfectly prepared and I was completely satisfied,” the captain of the Italian team, Federico Euro Roman, told reporters after inspecting the route. “There are no large differences in elevation on small and large roads, in the Bitsevsky forest park itself. The circle for steeplechase also looks good, where the soil is level and fairly dense...
Triathlete from India Dariao Singh was the first to enter the field testing route. He handled three areas well: small roads, steeplechase and big roads. But the cross had an unpleasant surprise in store for him. At the 30th obstacle ("boat landing"), his Thoroughbred horse Bobby made three refusals, and the athlete was removed from the competition. It should be noted that the Indian riders, who participated in the Olympic Games for the first time, did not manage to reach the finish line - all four were withdrawn for various reasons.
Explaining this situation, the coach of the Indian team, Sodhi Harinder Singh, said that eventing in India began to develop recently, and mainly in the army, that the Moscow Olympics is a debut for athletes on the international stage and the experience of these performances will help them improve their training...
Of the Soviet athletes, the first to go to the start was Yuri Salnikov on Tweezers. For Yuri, a seasoned and skilled triathlon master, cross-country, of course, did not present such insurmountable difficulties as for beginner athletes, but it still required exertion of strength and will. Salnikov missed the mark on the cross control time- 13 minutes... 30 seconds... However, none of the competition participants was able to do this. The closest to the result was the champion of the Games of the XXII Olympiad in eventing in the individual competition, Federico Euro Roman. He covered the distance in 15 minutes 31.08 seconds.
As already mentioned, the Polish team occupied a leading position after the arena riding. But at the cross-country event things developed dramatically for her. Two riders dropped out of the competition due to horse refusals. Besides them, two Bulgarian athletes, a Hungarian and a Mexican, did not reach the finish line. In general, out of 28 riders who started, 18 successfully completed the field tests.
As a rule, the field testing route for equestrian eventing is laid outside the city. When choosing a location for a route, special attention is paid to the soil and terrain. The track should consist of four sections, designated by letters: “A” - small roads, “B” - steeplechase, “C” - large roads, “D” - cross-country. Sections “A” and “B” are laid along dirt roads or along the sides of the highway. They can pass through rural settlements, but should not cross the railway track. Large ascents and descents on these sections are undesirable. Directional signs and turn marks are installed along the entire route of small and large roads. Section “B” is usually located on a flat area with sandy or grassy soil. The steeplechase route runs in a circle or in a figure eight. There are fixed obstacles along the route. When driving in a figure eight, no obstacles are installed on turns. Section "G" is laid off roads, over rough terrain with natural obstacles: descents, ascents, ravines, shallow rivers. For a comprehensive test of horses, cross-country often includes movement through water obstacles, plowing, bushes, clearings, and forest areas. Natural cross-country obstacles are complemented by specially built ones. The best soil for cross-country is sandy, with a durable grass surface. In cross-country, as in steeplechase, in accordance with the rules of the competition, penalty areas are marked, and numbers, limiters, and direction signs are installed at obstacles. The figure shows the route of field trials for eventing competitions at the XXII Olympic Games in Moscow, which was laid in the Bitsevsky forest park. Section “A” is 5500 m long, section “B” is 3795 m, section “C” is 12,100 m, section “D” is 7685 m
Artificial obstacles at a cross-country race are made immovable, firmly dug into the ground. Their width along the front must be at least 6 m, height - no more than 120 cm. Often artificial obstacles are combined with natural ones. For example, a barrier is built on the bank of a river or a ditch is dug in front of a natural hedge. The pictures show artificial obstacles for field trials at the Olympic Games in 1980: 1 - “table”
Artificial obstacles at a cross-country race are made immovable, firmly dug into the ground. Their width along the front must be at least 6 m, height - no more than 120 cm. Often artificial obstacles are combined with natural ones. For example, a barrier is built on the bank of a river or a ditch is dug in front of a natural hedge. The pictures show artificial obstacles for field trials at the Olympic Games in 1980: 2 - “rabbit hutch”
Artificial obstacles at a cross-country race are made immovable, firmly dug into the ground. Their width along the front must be at least 6 m, height - no more than 120 cm. Often artificial obstacles are combined with natural ones. For example, a barrier is built on the bank of a river or a ditch is dug in front of a natural hedge. The pictures show artificial obstacles for field trials at the Olympic Games in 1980: 4 - “boat pier”
Alexander Blinov cleared all the obstacles in show jumping. Yuri Salnikov and Valery Volkov "brought" 5 penalty points. Sergei Rogozhin performed less successfully: 15 penalty points. But, as you know, the results of the three best riders were taken into account. Thus, the team gold at the 1980 Olympics was won by Soviet triathletes for the first time. In 2nd place were the Italians, in 3rd place were the Mexicans.
Federico Euro Roman received the champion's gold medal in the individual competition. At a press conference, he told reporters about himself. Federico was born in the city of Trieste in 1952, he began equestrian sports at the age of 13, his father put him in the saddle, who now helps the athlete in training horses. Federico is a student at the University of Rome, studying economics, but is now thinking about switching to equestrian coaching. He began triathloning in 1967, was the champion of Italy three times, participated in the Olympic Games in Montreal and two European Championships.
Salnikov Yuri Grigorievich, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1980), champion of the XXII Olympic Games in the team event and bronze medalist in the individual competition, prize-winner of international competitions, champion of the USSR (1973, 1976,1978, 1981), multiple winner of all-Union competitions in triathlon. Born in 1950 in the city of Tavus, Azerbaijan SSR, into the family of a military man. He began to engage in equestrian sports at the equestrian school of the VSO "Urozhai" in Ratomka (BSSR). In 1969-1971 served in a cavalry regiment. In 1983 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physical Education. He began participating in national championships in 1973, and was a member of the USSR national eventing team from 1973 to 1985. Since 1985, he has been working as a coach at the equestrian school of the VSO "Urozhay" (Rostov-on-Don). Awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor (1980) and the badge of the Central Committee of the Komsomol "Sports Valor" (1980). In the photo: Yu. G. Salnikov in 1980
Roman began training with his horse named Rossinan in November 1979. Rossinan, like the second horse of the Fox Glove athlete, was purchased in England. Roman was preparing for the Olympics in Moscow with coach Lucio Manzini.
Silver medalist of the XXII Olympic Games in eventing in the individual competition, Alexander Blinov, came to Moscow from the capital of Kyrgyzstan, Frunze.
The beginning of the competition - dressage riding - was not very successful for me, - says Alexander Blinov. - I took 16th place. Of course, I was very upset. But I hoped for field tests. Galzun is an excellent field horse, brave and resilient, and he did not let me down. Although it rained on the day of the competition and the cross-country course was difficult, Galzun and I did not make a single mistake when jumping. True, they did not meet the target time, but showed the second result after Federico Roman. Show jumping, as they say, dotted the i’s. I remained in second place... My coach Saibotal Khabibulovich Mursalimov was with me in Moscow. I came to see him, a famous triathlete and Olympic participant, as a teenager at the equestrian school of the Kolkhozchi Children's Sports Society in Frunze. He gave me my first riding lessons and led me to the heights of sportsmanship...
For thirty-year-old Yuri Salnikov, the most experienced member of the Olympic eventing team, the bronze medal was an award that seemed to crown his long journey in equestrian sports. For the first time, he was among the prize-winners of all-Union competitions in 1974, but the country's leading eventing coaches noted his abilities even earlier, including him in the team for the European Championships in 1973. Here Salnikov performed well together with repeated USSR champions A. Evdokimov and V. Gorelkin. Year by year his skill grew, and he came to the Olympics in Moscow in excellent athletic shape.
One could also talk about the great success of the Soviet school of eventing. Veterans of equestrian sport, who watched the ups and downs of the fight for Olympic medals from the stands of the Bitsevsky complex, of course, recalled the debut in Helsinki in 1952. Then many foreign experts argued that our riders would hardly ever be able to climb the podium of the Olympic Games. The 1980 Olympics refuted these claims. But over the 28 years that separated these events, Soviet triathletes more than once came close to the cherished Olympic peaks, more than once at international tournaments they entered into disputes with representatives of the strongest schools: English and German - and emerged victorious. The traditions of the Soviet school were laid down by coaches G. T. Anastasyev and V. N. Kuibyshev, A. A. Zhagorov. These traditions were continued by their students, who switched to coaching: L.P. Baklyshkin, A.M. Evdokimov, S.Kh. Mursalimov...
A year has passed since the Moscow Olympics, and again its prize-winners A. Blinov and Yu. Salnikov proved that they continue to be the best triathletes in the country. Yu. Salnikov on Tweezers won the All-Union eventing competition on older horses, A. Blinov on Kholmik won on young horses.
Blinov Alexander Ivanovich, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1980). Champion of the XXII Olympic Games in the team event and silver medalist in the individual competition, champion of the USSR (1972, 1976, 1986) and multiple winner of all-Union eventing competitions. Born in 1954 in the city of Frunze into a family of workers. He began to engage in equestrian sports in 1966 at the equestrian school of the Kolkhozchi Children's Sports Society in the city of Frunze. In 1987 he graduated from the Moscow Institute of Physical Education. He began participating in national championships in 1972, and has been a member of the USSR national eventing team since 1976. Since 1983, he has been working as an equestrian instructor at the equestrian school of the Spartak Children's Sports Society (Moscow). Awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor (1980) and the badge of the Central Committee of the Komsomol "Sports Valor" (1980). In the photo: A.I. Blinov in 1980
But in 1982, at the All-Union competitions held in Ratomka near Minsk, Yu. Salnikov dropped out of the competition after falling in the cross-country. In the same way, another athlete from the Olympic team, V. Volkov, also “withdrew.” As a result of a persistent three-day struggle, 1st place and the title of champion of the USSR was won by a young horseman from the Vorozhay community center in the city of Pyatigorsk, V. Vitchak, who rode a Trakehner horse named Fellow Traveler. The experienced Moscow army player V. Tishkin lost to him at the Gram by just 0.3 penalty points. The third was also an athlete from CSKA S. Baklyshkin, the son of a famous triathlete and coach.
Two candidates for the national team were also among the strongest: B. Gorchakov on Odd and S. Rogozhin on the Hellespont. In 6th place was the young horseman from CSKA S. Irsetsky in Almak.
At the VIII Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR in 1983, the leadership was still held by the “old guard”. B. Gorchakov became the champion on Odd, and V. Tishkin on Flera received the silver medal. Both Y. Salnikov on Poplin and V. Dvoryaninov on Zubr performed well. In the team competition, the RSFSR team (Yu. Salnikov, V. Vitchak, V. Deev, G. Pyrkin) took 1st place.
At the 1984 national championship, the recognized leaders seemed to switch places: V. Tishkin won gold, B. Gorchakov won bronze. But the silver medal was awarded to V. Davidovich, few people famous master sports from Belarus. It must be said that the fate of the gold medal was decided almost in the last minutes of the competition on the show jumping field. Previously, in the arena riding and field trials, international master of sports A. Grishin, bronze medalist of the VIII Summer Spartakiad, was confidently ahead of everyone. While overcoming obstacles, his nerves let him down: at first he made one mistake when jumping, then he mixed up the “pattern” and instead of the ninth obstacle after the eighth, he unexpectedly jumped to the tenth, for which he was removed from the competition.
In the team championship top scores showed athletes from VSO "Harvest"-2: V. Dvoryaninov, V. Davidovich and M. Rybak. The last two were pupils of the Belarusian equestrian school DSO "Urozhai". They were prepared for the championship by S. Mukhin, a formerly famous triathlete who switched to coaching.
When in 1985 a team of Soviet equestrians went to the European Championships in England, it included precisely these two athletes from Belarus (V. Davidovich on Banitet and M. Rybak on Vek) and three representatives of Moscow equestrian schools (A. Blinov on Poplin, V. Tishkin in Khabarovsk and A. Grishin in Exaltation).
Almost a quarter of a century ago, in 1962, the start in England was very successful for our team; it won the team gold. We went there now, not without hopes of winning a prize. But these hopes were not realized. The British took first place at the tournament in the team competition, the French remained in 2nd place, and athletes from Germany took 3rd place.
Valery Davidovich performed best of all our riders. He showed himself well in the arena riding, covered the field test distance quite briskly, but suffered one refusal and one fall. However, of the 59 riders who started in the field, only the Englishwoman Virginia Holgate overcame all steeplechase and cross-country obstacles without penalties and became the leader. In addition to her, six more people passed the field tests cleanly, but did not meet the control time.
Volkov Valery Yakovlevich, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1980), judge of the republican category (1987), champion of the XXII Olympic Games in the team event, winner of international competitions, champion of the USSR (1977, 1980) and repeated winner of all-Union competitions in triathlon. Born in 1947 in the village of Sudischa, Yaroslavl region, into a working-class family. He began to engage in equestrian sports in 1958 at the equestrian school of the VSO "Urozhay" (Yaroslavl). In 1973-1975 served in the equestrian division of CSKA. In 1978 he graduated from the Institute of Textile and Light Industry. He began participating in national championships in 1966, and was a member of the USSR national eventing team from 1967-1976. and from 1979 to 1983. Since 1983, Art. trainer at the equestrian school DSO "Spartak" (Yaroslavl). Awarded the medal "For Labor Distinction" and the badge of the Komsomol Central Committee "Sports Valor" (1980). In the photo: V. Ya. Volkov in 1980
Soviet triathletes turned out to be unprepared for the difficulties of the competition. Blinov, Tishkin and Rybak were withdrawn for various reasons, Davidovich and Grishin scored too many penalty points in field trials and also made mistakes in jumping in show jumping.
At the IX Summer Spartakiad of the Peoples of the USSR in 1986, the struggle for first places took place between horsemen from Belarus, the RSFSR, Latvia, and Kyrgyzstan. The title of Spartakiad champion was first won by a twenty-three-year-old athlete from Latvia, Norm Kisnitz. The second was V. Vitchak, the third was N. Rabykin.
However, our triathletes still performed unsuccessfully at international competitions. In 1987, at the European Championships, the team was again left without a standings. There was no talk of competing for prizes.
Senior eventing coach of the USSR State Sports Committee A. Varnavsky honestly analyzed the reasons for past failures (“Horse breeding and equestrian sport” No. 8, 1988). He wrote that already on the first day of the competition, in the arena riding, our best riders lose to their rivals and take only 6-10th places. They are let down by poor fit. True, the athlete is given only one mark “for landing” in the riding protocol, but foreign judges never give high points for good performance of elements with a bad landing. Field testing also has its difficulties. IN last years At international competitions, a tendency has emerged to build more complex combinations of obstacles, the overcoming of which requires from the horse, in addition to strength, also high endurance, flexibility and coordination of movements. The organizers try to build the cross-country tracks of all-Union competitions similar to foreign ones, however, on these tracks, the best horses drop out due to high injuries. This is only partly explained by the not always ideal qualities of the soil at the competition sites. There are obvious miscalculations in the strength training of the horses' locomotor system.
No one can give advice on improving the positioning of triathletes in absentia. A. Varnavsky recommended that coaches not forget about this during training, place mirrors on the walls of arenas, film training sessions on a video recorder and then carefully analyze these recordings together with the athletes. Speaking about improving preparation for field tests, Varnavsky recalled that eventers once took part in steeplechases and this gave good results: riders and horses gained experience in high-speed jumps.
Veterinary inspection of horses after cross-country is no less important than any of the eventing disciplines. It was here that our athletes lost a lot in 1987, since abroad veterinary broods are carried out more strictly, with mandatory doping control, which in our country is imperfect and sometimes completely absent. Coaches who prepare triathletes for performances at international competitions also need to know about this...
Rogozhin Sergey Nikolaevich, Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1980), champion of the XXII Olympic Games in the team event, participant in international competitions, multiple winner of all-Union eventing competitions. Born in 1956 in Nalchik into a family of workers. He began to engage in equestrian sports in 1967 at the equestrian school of the VSO "Urozhay" (Nalchik). In 1974-1976 served in the equestrian division of CSKA. He began participating in national championships in 1975, and was a member of the USSR national eventing team since 1975. Since 1976, he worked as an equestrian instructor for the Sports Committee of the Kabardino-Balkarian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic. In 1983, while participating in the Spartakiad of the Peoples of Russia, he died during field tests. In the photo: S. N. Rogozhin (left) with coach M. Z. Kunizhev
The eventing team began preparing for the Olympic Games in Seoul in mid-March in Uzhgorod (Transcarpathia), where at that time it was already possible to work open ground. According to the new FEI rules, in order to participate in the Olympic Games, it is necessary to obtain the so-called certificates of ability, which are issued to sports pairs "rider-horse" who have completed an eventing competition of at least CCI class (eventing competitions of the second difficulty group) during the 1987/88 sports season According to the results of the 1987 European Championship, V. Tanas on Kozyra (Dynamo, Moldavian SSR) had such a certificate. M. Sabitov from Kyrgyzstan also finished at these competitions in Smalt. Thus, it was necessary to win certificates in Poland and at the USSR personal championship in June 1988 in Minsk.
In May 1988, competitions for the USSR Cup in eventing were held in Ratomka (Minsk region), where some obstacles of the course in White Bor (Poland) were reproduced. A group of leading riders (more than twenty) handled the cross-country with relative ease, and approximately the same number of athletes had individual technical errors. Only one rider, master of sports V. Konovalov (VDFSO trade unions, Voroshilovgrad) on Basurman, completed the cross-country without errors and in the required time.
At the same competitions, employees of the complex scientific group videotaped the performances of athletes in all types of programs. On the day of recording, in the evening, athletes and coaches looked through all the material and found, as they said, great benefit for themselves. We also approached veterinary control more strictly than usual. A total of 14 horses were removed for lameness in the brood.
According to the results of the competitions, the winner of the 1988 USSR Cup was the master of sports from Latvia V. Izotiev in Bobruisk with a result of 59.58 points. points. Second place went to V. Konovalov on Basurman (59.78 points) and third place to V. Davidovich on Banitet (59.80 points).
With great hopes, the USSR national team went to major international eventing competitions in Poland in June 1988. However, these hopes were not justified. After analyzing the results of the competitions both in Poland and in our country, the USSR State Sports Committee decided not to field an eventing team at the Olympic Games in Seoul.
05/15/2012 | Equestrian sports: Jumping, dressage, eventing, driving and other disciplines
After the domestication of the horse by man, its main function was transport, but with the development of civilization, other functions arose and developed, including sports.
The first mention of the participation of horse-drawn chariots in the Olympic Games dates back to 680 BC. e.; The first message about the inclusion of horse and mule racing in the Olympic program was in 648 BC. e.
In pre-revolutionary Russia, national horse games and horse racing were developed since ancient times - in Central Asia, Transcaucasia, the North Caucasus, as well as in areas inhabited by Cossacks (Don, Kuban, Ural, Terek). The first equestrian tournaments (on the European model) were held in St. Petersburg in 1766. Horse racing, which had the nature of official competitions, began to be held in Russia in 1826. In the second half of the 19th century. The four-mile steeplechase race, the Russian steeple chase, was very popular among the court nobility and officers (first in 1872 in Krasnoye Selo). The first sporting victories of Russian equestrians in the international arena were K. Avalov's winning the Liverpool Steeple Chase (Great Britain, 1912) and the three-time winning by a team of Russian cavalry officers of the King Edward's Gold Cup in obstacle overcoming competitions (London, 1911-13). (Great Soviet Encyclopedia)
Official equestrian competitions in our country can be held in disciplines included in the All-Russian Register of Sports.
In all equestrian competitions, horses and ponies can be used, regardless of breed, and in distance races, in addition, donkeys, zebras, Przewalski horses and their crosses can be used.
Modern consists of sports disciplines.
Three of them are Olympic, these are:
- overcoming obstacles or show jumping (French concours hippique - equestrian competitions);
- dressage;
- triathlon.
In addition to the Olympic disciplines, there are also non-Olympic disciplines in which international competitions and championships are held under the auspices of the FEI (International Equestrian Federation):
- driving;
- vaulting;
- distance runs;
- reining.
In addition, there are other types of equestrian competitions, such as:
- national species, such as baiga or goat fighting;
- horse riding;
- competitions of carts, triplets.
As part of zootechnical activities, horses are tested for performance:
- hippodrome smooth racing;
- racing of trotting horse breeds.
There is also Paralympic equestrianism.
Running
In my story, I will briefly talk only about the Olympic and non-Olympic disciplines recognized by the International Equestrian Federation.
COMPETITION
Overcoming obstacles, or - a relatively young type of equestrian sport. The first official hurdles competition took place in Dublin in 1864, but was included in the Olympic Games program in 1900. And USSR riders began to participate in the games only in 1952. The basics of the sport were developed by Frederico Caprilli (1861-1907), an Italian equestrian expert.
This is the most spectacular and objective sport from the point of view of judging. Classic show jumping is considered to be competition for the purity of overcoming obstacles and for cleanliness and agility. In the first type of show jumping, the time limit in which the athlete must fit is determined, and penalty points are awarded for overdue time. When two or more riders complete a route without penalties, jump-offs are assigned.
The winner of a show jumping competition is the athlete who, depending on the type of competition, either receives the minimum number of penalties, or completes the route in the shortest time, or receives the most a large number of positive points.
All obstacles in show jumping are easily destroyed; for the destruction of an obstacle, refusal or overstaying the time limit, penalty points are awarded.
In addition, there are competitions “by choice”, “until the first mistake”, “hunting parkour”, relay races, “pairs”, “mirror”, “strength and agility”, “jump power”, etc.
Jumping or overcoming obstacles
All over the world, jumping or overcoming obstacles is the most widespread and widespread form of equestrian sport.
DRESSAGE
Or training ( graduate School horse riding). The goal of dressage is to achieve complete understanding between the rider and his horse through the submission of the horse to the rider, while the horse demonstrates freedom and uniformity of gaits, harmony and ease of movement, acceptance of the reins without tension or resistance (from the Rules of Competition).
At dressage competitions, the rider and horse perform various elements of riding in a certain sequence, demonstrating stances, lateral bending-passes, changes of legs, passage, piaffe, transitions from one gait to another, complex turns, voltes and pirouettes. The difficulty of the elements depends on the riding level. The rider must demonstrate the horse's level of training, athletic ability and ability to perform correct and efficient movements at all gaits at varying tempos. At the same time, the rider’s control of the horse should be as little noticeable as possible from the outside. Judges evaluate each element on a ten-point scale, and prize places are determined based on the sum of points. From a refereeing point of view, the human factor plays a significant role in this sport. Very often the same element is assessed differently by judges.
Dressage - Higher School of Riding
Free program (FREE) is an artistic dressage competition performed to music. It includes all school gaits and basic movements, according to the basic riding test of the same level. At the same time, the rider is given absolute freedom to choose the form and manner of execution of the program within the specified time. These competitions must clearly demonstrate the unity of rider and horse, as well as the harmony of all movements and transitions.
Freestyle is the most spectacular type of dressage competition.
All dressage rides are divided according to difficulty into preliminary, small, medium and large prize. Horses can participate in a particular prize according to the age specified for each prize.
A standard dressage field of 20x60 m is marked in Latin letters, and the elements are performed in relation to the letters according to the riding program.
A dressage horse must have naturally beautiful movements and be stately.
TRIATHLON
Eventing is the most complete combined competition, requiring the athlete to have significant experience in all types of equestrian sports and a clear understanding of the capabilities of his horse, and for the horse to have an appropriate level of training obtained as a result of reasonable and consistent training.
Eventing is a discipline that consists of dressage riding (first day), field trials or cross-country (second day), jumping or jumping (third day).
All these three stages of the competition must be completed on one horse, this allows you to see its training and versatility. These competitions go back to the military art of horsemanship. Triathlon appeared in the Olympic Games program in 1912. At that time it was a sport exclusively for the military. However, thanks to international military competitions, over time it spread from country to country, and after 1924, civilian riders also began to take an interest in it.
The first day is dressage, or dressage riding, participation in which requires absolute obedience and submission. It is designed to show the horse's training and obedience while demonstrating the flexibility and athleticism required to perform all the details of a dressage program. Each exercise is scored on a ten-point system. The rider's overall score is determined as follows: the rider's total score is subtracted from the highest score that can be obtained in these competitions. Then penalty points for mistakes and overdue time are added to the resulting difference. This gives the total amount of penalty points - the fewer there are, the better the rider performed.
The second day is cross-country, this is the main competition, during which it is determined how trained, playful and resilient the horse is, and also assesses its ability to jump on rough terrain over fixed (dead) barriers. Height of obstacles: fixed part - 120 cm, notch - 145 cm. Distance length - up to 6270 m, speed - up to 570 m/min, this is a good, frisky gallop! The number of jumps is up to 45. For exceeding the control time, falling and disobedience of the horse, the rider is awarded penalty points. Until recently, field tests included two more road sections, and the total length of the route reached 34 km.
The third day - show jumping is designed to test the performance and energy of the horse after difficult field trials. Penalty points are awarded for exceeding the control time, disobedience of the horse, destruction of obstacles, or falling of the horse or rider.
The winner in triathlon is the athlete who accumulates the fewest penalty points over three days of competition.
DRIVING
These are competitions in carriages drawn by one, two (pair teams: two horses harnessed parallel to one another; tandem - two horses harnessed in a train one behind the other) or four horses (train), depending on the class of the harness. The crews are controlled by several people - the driver and one or more grooms, who help the driver maintain the balance of the crew, fit the rear wheels into turns, and also perform navigator functions.
Driving is a young equestrian sport; it was recognized by the International Equestrian Federation (FEI) in 1970, and appeared in Russia only in 1998. These competitions are very beautiful and attract a large number of spectators.
Driving - competitions on crews
Like eventing, driving competitions include three types:
competition A - dressage (dressage), competition B - marathon (cross-country) and competition C - parkour (overcoming cone obstacles). Most often, competitions are held over three days. Sometimes only two events are included in the competition, but in any case the marathon is mandatory.
Driving is one of the most expensive types of equestrian sports, this is due to expensive carriages, simultaneous transportation of horses and carriages to competition sites, and large training areas. Oryol trotters have proven themselves well in driving.
VAULTING
Vaulting is an equestrian discipline in which an athlete, pair or group of athletes performs gymnastic and acrobatic exercises on a horse moving in a circle. The horse is controlled by a cord (longer), located in the center of the arena.
Competitions can be held in individual, pair and group competitions.
This is the only equestrian discipline in which individual competitions must be divided into men's and women's. Men and women can perform in the same pair and in the same group.
HORSE RUN
Distance horse racing is an equestrian discipline in which the winner is determined by the best time for the athlete to complete the distance on a horse, provided that its physiological parameters are maintained at normal levels. As part of a mileage competition, a competition may be held for the best condition of the horse at the end of the competition (Best Condition).
International rules define the distances for which competitions are held: from 80-100 km in one or several days to 160 km in one day.
The competition consists of several stages, or phases, between which veterinary control is carried out, which includes measuring heart rate, trot control for lameness, inspection for external damage, checking for dehydration, etc.
Distance horse racing
To compete internationally, the rider and horse must complete several qualifying runs of 40 and 80 km at national level at speeds between 10 and 16 km/h: two of 40 km and two of 80 km, or one of 40 km and three of 80 km. The Russian Equestrian Federation usually calls such qualifying runs competitions with limited speed, a paradox! Timed competitions with a time limit! You will not find this in any other sport! It is also the only sport where it is not the chief judge of the competition, but the veterinarian who has the final say. From the point of view of judging, subjectivity dominates in this type. It is necessary to eliminate the competitor - please, the decision of the veterinarian - and that’s it, the competitor or leader is removed, and vice versa, the lameness of another horse may not be noticed. In order to somehow increase the objectivity of trot control, a horse can be examined by three veterinarians who anonymously write their opinions, as in the recent year 1937, and the chief judge is forced to agree with this, and his opinion is not asked. Therefore, this sport has very little chance of becoming an Olympic discipline, despite the fact that the main sponsors of this discipline in the world are Arab sheikhs, who themselves regularly participate in world championships. And the very idea of racing as a sport is very interesting, and if the rules are revised, this sport could become the most popular type of equestrian sport.
RAINING
Reining - western style horse riding is ubiquitous in the United States, and is now rapidly conquering the whole world. Western sports are becoming increasingly popular in Europe, and more recently in Russia.
This is a dynamic and spectacular competition; reining is often called dressage in the Western world. Reining is recognized by the FEI and is part of the World Equestrian Games program. Participants perform in the arena one at a time, in each tournament a riding pattern is specified (selected from those approved in the rules of the Reining Association). The scheme includes circles at a gallop (large at a fast gallop and small at a loupe), a change at a gallop, a spin (quick spinning in place, up to 4 turns in one direction or the other), a rollback (stopping from a gallop, an instant turn 180 degrees and rise to the loop) and, of course, the symbol of reining is a sliding stop (sliding stop, the horse gallops at maximum speed and, at the rider’s command, brakes with its hind legs, actually sliding).
The Quarter Mile horse is most popular among serious professionals in the sport due to its excellent agility and agility over short distances.
In the USA, the birthplace of this sport, the main official organization is the National Reining Horse Association (NRHA). Many reining competitions are held according to the rules of this association.
Text by Igor Skladanyuk, photo by Y. Kuznetsov, I. Bondarkov
At all times, in different countries, equestrian sport has been an activity for the elite. Even today it is one of the most beautiful and spectacular sports. His distinguishing feature- this is the coordinated work of a person and a horse, therefore equestrian sport is very popular among people who love animals and are ready to work selflessly to achieve a joint successful result.
Extreme lovers, as a rule, give preference to this type of equestrian sport, such as eventing. Equestrian eventing competitions attract a huge number of spectators who come to admire the unique combination of intellectual and physical work of the rider and horse, which makes you freeze with delight and pleasantly tickles your nerves.
Equestrian Eventing: Lifelong Training
Like any equestrian sport, eventing requires long and serious training. Even the most experienced coach will not be able to say exactly how long it will take to fully understand the essence of this sport and master all the necessary skills. Sometimes the most talented people with unique intuition take many years to practice equestrian eventing. And sometimes they devote their entire lives to it.
Eventing is a rather false discipline. Competitions in this sport take place over three days and consist of dressage, field cross-country and show jumping. Thus, every athlete must be fluent in all sports. In addition, he must be brave, strong and resilient, because among all types of equestrian sports, eventing is also considered the most difficult. Much depends on the horse: if it gets sick, injured or simply refuses to compete, the athlete is removed from the competition.
Training in equestrian eventing should begin with childhood. Many schools and riding sections in Moscow offer group and individual sessions both for beginners and for those who are already involved in equestrian sports. There are no particularly strict restrictions in equestrian eventing. The height and weight of the athlete practically do not play any role. For particularly obese and tall people, it is simply necessary to choose the appropriate horse.
Equestrian training: equestrian schools and sections in Moscow
Equestrian eventing is one of the most beneficial sports, both physically and intellectually. And communication with horses is an excellent therapy for sick people and prevention for healthy people. By engaging in any type of equestrian sport, both children and adults enrich their spiritual world and become stronger, more resilient and healthier. Their coordination of movements improves, their vision and hearing are restored, they become more dexterous and flexible.
Choose from a huge number of schools and sections in Moscow presented on the website glavsport.ru, the one closest to your home, sign up for classes and let communication with smart and beautiful animals make your life more interesting and eventful.
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