Yelena
PETUSHKOVA

The first time I sat in the saddle, I felt a bit uncomfortable – too high above the ground, but it was all right in general. However, when I heard the at-the-trot command, I felt the strongest tremors. The saddle suddenly turned out to be extraordinarily slippery, and every following push made me slide to the right or to the left ... The coach looked at me, and I was sure that all he was thinking was: when will that girl finally fall? But I was wrong. The coach came to my mother and asked if I had ridden before. When my mother said that I never had, the coach shook his head in disbelief. *

I was an avid reader. When my parents turned off the light, I read under the blanket with a flashlight. I was keen on serious, "grown-up" books and at the same time, Mayne Reid, Fenimore Cooper, Dumas. I wanted to be able to shoot, fence and ride. The so-called purely feminine occupations – sewing, embroidery and knitting – never attracted me and still irritate me.

Horses are beautiful and noble creatures. Anyone capable of enjoying beauty cannot remain indifferent to them. Jack London wrote that a man would commit any crime for the sake of a woman, a horse or a dog. That may be taking it too far but it has a kernel of truth…

I feel no thirst for victory. It is not the ultimate goal for me, but a reward for hard work. I just strive to show off my work to its best advantage – everything I am capable of, and a little bit more. When I succeed, I can be happy even if I don’t get win, and victories – the biggest ones, of course – always contain an element of surprise.

I am puzzled by the fact that a horse does not associate punishment with the rider, when he or she is in the saddle. My horse Pepel took offense when I punished him standing on the ground. But if I punished him, even harshly, while riding, it did not affect our relationship in any way.

When I have to leave sport, I will stop watching competitions. I will not have anything to do with horses. I won’t even go to the circus anymore so as to avoid feeling the familiar and inviting sweet smell of the stables. It will be too painful, and there is no medicine, no antidote for that pain.

* The information is based on the accounts of the personas featuring in this section as well as accounts of their family members, acquaintances and colleagues