A conversation with the athlete: Vera Minaeva
https://www.traditionrolex.com/42
https://www.traditionrolex.com/42
The Moscow Region Governor's Cup was completed. The Master of Sports (international class), Vera Minayeva took the second place in the competition within the program of the Grand Prix Crossing. We asked her to tell us about her love for equestrian sports, activities and participation in domestic and European competitions.
horsetimes: Vera, since what age have you been practicing equestrian sports and how did it start? What exactly inspired you to engage in this activity?
Vera Minayeva: A desire among almost ninety percent of the riders is a love for horses. That love began almost from the cradle. I took up the sports when I was twelve. I came to the stables and offered to assist in cleaning so that in return I could ride. Next, it was buying my own horses and, of course, my development. I always want more and more. The sport is developing, too.
horsetimes: At the moment, you represent the Kaluga Club, right?
Vera Minayeva: I formally represent the youth athletic school, that is, a public school and am an employee of this school. My horse stands in my club which is in the territory of the Kaluga Region - the horse-breeding farm, Premium. We breed horses of the Russian riding breed and sport horses there and, of course, provide services for stand and training.
horsetimes: Why did you chose dressage as your discipline?
Vera Minayeva: Dressage was not my immediate choice. It was parallel to show jumping initially. The bought horses were trained for dressage, so I started to perform in this discipline and simultaneously in show jumping. In adolescence, you always want some drive: jumped up to the height of one hundred and thirty centimeters. Later I finally moved to dressage because I wanted intellectual work. And now I will probably try eventing.
horsetimes: They say dressage is a real math.
Vera Minayeva: I would even say not mathematics but chess.
horsetimes: That is, in any case, you have to have the makings of a mathematical knowledge?
Vera Minayeva: Yes, one should have such a mindset so that you could understand how it all works to section the tasks and riding in a rider’s head.
horsetimes: Do you remember your first competition?
Vera Minayeva: Yes, I remember. And the first dressage and show jumping. I was riding on two horses, and remember exactly that I was the last and next-to-last. (laughs).
horsetimes: Tell me please as a representative of a non-Moscow club, is it hard to develop this sport in the regions? How do people come to your club, how do they train?
Vera Minayeva: The regions are developing very rapidly now, probably because of high financial pressure on Moscow and the Moscow region. It is really expensive to keep a horse in Moscow and the Moscow region. Of course, there are rich people who can afford it but not the athletes who wish to have their own horse. So people go to the regions because it is much cheaper there. And the regional departments of sports are now very actively supporting riders.
horsetimes: So, are there any programs designed specifically for the riders?
Vera Minayeva: Specifically, in our region, we have invited several athletes for some types of work as formal employees for schools. They are given free housing, salary, they are given a place for their horse, and riders deliver the results for the regions.
horsetimes: That's it. Cool.
Vera Minayeva: I know that it's not only the Kaluga region. I know a girl who left the Moscow region for Oryol. They provide the same: pay starts and also give a strong support. Many regions are ready to cooperate with riders like this.
horsetimes: To take part in competitions, you need money to pay?
Vera Minayeva: Of course. And large amounts, too. When you arrive at a tournament for 4 days (typically, a tournament includes four days for dressage and five days for eventing), you have to pay 1.5-2 thousand rubles for a place at the stable per day. Plus from 7 up to 12 thousand rubles - entry fee per horse. That is, if a rider wants to perform not on one horse but on several - it is a very big financial burden.
horsetimes: So you cannot do it without sponsorship.
Vera Minayeva: No way. Plus, of course, a horse must be brought to the place of competitions. It is great if a rider has his/her own car and spends money on fuel only. If there is no own car, then he/she has to pay for a hired transport. In Moscow, it costs approximately 1-1.5 USD per kilometer.
horsetimes: Wow.
Vera Minayeva: That is, if you drive from a region 500-600 kilometers away...
horsetimes: That’s why regional competitions are held in the regions. Not everyone can reach Moscow.
Vera Minayeva: As a rule, if it is public school, then they have their own cars, this is easier.
horsetimes: Could you please tell, comparing equestrian sports twelve years ago and now, what has changed, what features may be singled out?
Vera Minayeva: Indeed, over time I can already address this issue. If the first five, seven, even 10 years, everything stood at one point, almost nothing had changed, at the moment there is a very dynamic development. There are a lot of new riders, many horses. Now many can afford to buy horses in Europe, bring them in Russia and start performing. This cycle of horses has recently become particularly noticeable. If before there were the same horses from start to start, now ...
horsetimes: But the European horses are very expensive?
Vera Minayeva: Sure, they are. There are people who can afford to buy these horses, that is the first option. There are sponsors who buy horses and give them to athletes, that is the second option. Another option is to find a good horse, in the course of careful selection, buy it for a reasonable amount and train it for dressage on your own. You may just be lucky, if you have been in the sports for a long time, it is really possible to find an inexpensive but a very good, high-quality horse.
horsetimes: You have performed abroad, right? What is the difference in organizing tournaments there and in Russia?
Vera Minayeva: Many travel to Europe now, to take a look at how tournaments are being held. We have some tournaments which are conducted at even higher levels than the European ones. A lot of competitions are in fact very similar to those in Europe. The last 2-3 years we have had the tournaments no different from the European ones, absolutely. They were very good.
horsetimes: Let’s compare the organization of tournaments in Europe from the material point of view - participation in tournaments in Europe and at home. For example, someone from Volgograd has to come to Moscow, it's expensive. How much does it cost to go to Europe, Poland, for example, or to the Ukrainian Zhashkov or to Moscow tournaments?
Vera Minayeva: Well, in terms of entry fees, stables - it is not very much different. The issue is that going abroad is very problematic from the point of view of customs procedures. To prepare your custom documents correctly for the export of horses from Russia to Europe you’ll have to spend about 1,000 Euros. Plus, if a horse is taken out with re-importation, one needs to pay a certain deposit at the border.
horsetimes: And all veterinary documents required, I imagine?
Vera Minayeva: This 1,000 Euros is the price for preparing veterinary documents, blood tests. And then, the journey. Naturally, horse carriers have different prices in Russia and Europe. A Euro per kilometer. Not a dollar, not a dollar and half, it is a Euro per kilometer.
horsetimes: And what about the level of safety of horses and athletes? What could say about that?
Vera Minayeva: So, here is a human factor, there are a few features of our mentality, unfortunately, that Russian chance”. You can cite as an example the tragically famous Bulgaria: it took the death of a hundred people to start inspecting the state of these ships that travel along the river. In this case, the situation is the same, unfortunately. Why they don’t immediately think about the safety of people and horses and bring everything in line, so they don't have to blush and clutch their heads when something happened already, it is beyond my understanding. Unfortunately, such moments happen.
horsetimes: Tell us more about your students. How do you transmit your experience?
Vera Minayeva: Since our club is far from Moscow, it is not easy to reach us from there, so mainly we train those who live on site. At the moment, I’m training kids, 7-12 years. One girl trains on a pony. We performed at a competition with her and she won it with a score of 9.2%. The second girl is in show jumping. With her, we won a prize in this discipline. Kids come and start training from zero. I also help to those training for eventing.
horsetimes: Do you love horses very much?
Vera Minayeva: Over time, I have realized that I prefer not the competitions themselves but the communication with the horse, that is, I really like to work with them: cleaning them, hanging out, taking a walk. My boyfriend is also into equestrian sports, eventing, I drive with him to competitions as a horse-holder. And all I’m doing there is working with horses. It gives me a great pleasure to be able to simply communicate and deal with a horse. Teaching a horse from the beginning to the end. And the competition is already taken as a habit, so to say. Yes, of course, the results are pleasing but the process means more than that for me now.
horsetimes: In Europe, there are specialized schools in which students are first trained as riding masters and then, through the intricate steps, they are trained to be riders. Could you say that we lack such a system in Russia? Such specialized education system?
Vera Minayeva: The Timiryazev Academy prepares specialists in the horsemanship area, livestock experts and specialists involved in breeding. That is, it's not the specialists in equestrian sports, namely they are the specialists in breeding, selection. The only department that we have now is in GAFK (Academy of Physical Education). There is the department of equestrian sports. Students graduating from there are specialists in equestrian sports. They have diplomas of a trainers and coaches in equestrian sports. It is a part-time education, no serious knowledge or practice.
horsetimes: Tell us, please, a few words about a person who has influenced your development. In equestrian sports, who was your inspirer?
Vera Minayeva: All the foreign stars, naturally, are very interesting to me. I’m interested in their work, I want to look at them and maybe learn from them. As for an inspirer, such a person for me was at one time, Elena Vladimirovna Petushkova. Because I closely trained and communicated with her. She was a very educated person, creative and visionary. She helped me in making difficult decisions. And always gave the necessary advice. That's it, she played such a role in my life.
horsetimes: And among the foreigners?
Vera Minayeva: Foreign - I repeatedly went for training to Jan Bemelmans. He is a very good specialist, I gained a lot in terms of experience and knowledge. His training truly influenced my practice.
horsetimes: Many people say that it is necessary to travel to international competitions in order to simply learn from the experience. Then maybe we’ll see the lighting of a star such as Andreas lit?
Vera Minayeva: In general, I think yes. Because when you come to, say, Germany and begin to watch the tournaments, even because you're just watching as they ride, other riders at the European level, you start to work differently. Visual look is transmitted to the rider. It is exactly so, I assure you, a lot of people feel this, with whom I spoke to, who visited Europe. When you look at something shoddy, then you start to ride so yourself learning from other people's mistakes. And when you look at the high-end riders and horses performing at the top level, you motivate yourself to ride this way.
horsetimes: One more important question is the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016. What prospects do we have there? Could we can count on anything in the next 5-10 years?
Vera Minayeva: Within 10, perhaps. No one knows exactly when we have good horses and sponsors. But I think Rio will take place without us. Maybe it will be someone from individual riders, who will receive a personal license before the Olympics. This will probably be Lena Sidneva. She is in Europe all the time, of course, if she performs successfully. Maybe 1-2 riders. But, unfortunately, there is no sense to talk about a team and high results at the Olympics so far.
horsetimes: Well, we expect at least a 10-year perspective.
Vera Minayeva: Perhaps something will change within 10 years because a positive dynamic definitely takes place.
horsetimes: Thank you so much.
Author: Edition
https://www.traditionrolex.com/42
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