Horse Mr. X at the Olympic Games. Merkulova: if the entire team had been suspended, they would not have competed under a neutral flag. – Does the rider have any age restrictions?
And Nessa Merkulova - the best horsewoman in Russia, a unique athlete who began equestrian sports at the age of 11 during the USSR and is still in the saddle - fighting for the honor of the state. There are many unusual and surprising events in her life.
Titles: multiple winner and medalist of championships and cups Soviet Union and Russia, winner of international competitions, World Cup stages, multiple finalist of World Cups, World and European Championships, participant of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Master of Sports of international class, coach of the highest category, senior coach of the Russian national dressage team since 2012.
At 52 years old, the titled rider combines two positions: she is the main athlete of the national team and at the same time the senior coach. As Inessa Viktorovna herself admits, this is not easy for her. Independent performances require maximum concentration on yourself, and coaching work makes you switch to the team and competitors.
Inessa Merkulova’s sports career began at the Urozhay community center in Rostov-on-Don, where there was the strongest equestrian school in the Union.
At the age of 13, Inessa took part in her first national competitions, 27 - in international ones.
Inessa chose equestrian sport because she loves animals very much, and in general she loves horses. Considers them much smarter than dogs. “Aerobatics in dressage is when the horse guesses what command will come from the rider.” Inessa Merkulova describes the relationship between rider and horse with the word “cooperation”.
One of the most memorable things in Inessa Merkulova’s life is a horse named Zaporozhets. Inessa saved the lame Zaporozhets from death at the last moment, took him for herself, and three years later won the title on him absolute champion Russia. The dramatic fate of Zaporozhets did not end there. One day, while unloading from a car, the horse suffered a severe leg injury, lost a lot of blood and lost consciousness. Everyone advised sending Zaporozhets to the slaughterhouse, but Inessa, who had only 3 rubles in her pocket at that time, bought bandages and powder, found a healer and pulled Zaporozhets out of the other world for the second time. The horse recovered and Inessa reached the World Championship with him. Years later, Zaporozhets died of a myocardial infarction during training. He fell in front of Inessa, buried his head in her knees and neighed pitifully for the last time...
In the life of Inessa Merkulova there are many stories related to animals, and not only horses. One day she brought a circus poodle, Yuppi, from Germany and gave it to her friend, lawyer Kantemir Karamzin, into good hands. The dog’s career had ended by that time and it is unknown what future would await him.
Now Inessa Merkulova has 6 horses. The absolute favorite and favorite is Mr. X, who is today among the TOP 10 sports horses in the world. Mr. X is a Russian horse, a half-breed, born in the Kursk region from a working mare and a Trakehner stallion. It was bought for little money and raised to the level of a “star”. He received his nickname in honor of the hero of the series of the same name, which was on TV at that moment. For his amazing combination of talent and intelligence, the hostess calls Mr. X a “horse-man” and considers him great horse born for exploits.
Mr. X's signature move, the piaffe, is considered the best in the world.
In 2016, Inessa Merkulova and Mr. X took part in the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. The Russian woman showed 14th result in the Grand Prix competition and was among the semi-finalists.
On the eve of the Olympics, Mister X and Vosk, another famous horse of Inessa, were offered to be sold for a lot of money. We were talking about millions of euros. However, Inessa Merkulova’s husband decided to keep the horses. “When a couple changes, the results can be unpredictable. So, finding the perfect match in dressage may be more difficult than in figure skating.”
Shortly before the Games, an emergency occurred. The dress rehearsal was planned for the competition in Sweden. After a long journey and a 12-hour wait at customs in the heat, the horses became ill and had to be pumped out with IVs. The decision was made to remove Mr. X from the start. There was only time left to get the horse in order and go to Rio. Because of this gap, according to I. Merkulova, she made a mistake in the second stage of the Olympics.
Inessa Merkulova’s husband is Anatoly Tikhonovich Merkulov, founder, president and owner of the New Age equestrian club, friend, idol and sponsor.
Inessa Merkulova manages to combine sports with administrative work. She is the general director of the New Age sports complex.
In 1994, Inessa Merkulova worked in Germany as a trainer with a salary of 3,000 marks per month. She was invited to work abroad constantly, so Russian coaches very high reputation, but Inessa remained in her homeland.
Inessa Viktorovna recalls how in Germany children were brought to equestrian centers for wheelchairs. Thanks to communication with horses, they rose to their feet within six months. The point of this therapy is that horses have special energy.
A few numbers. Maintaining a thoroughbred dressage horse costs approximately 50 thousand rubles. If the horse is of a high sports class - up to 100 thousand rubles. For example: each horse shoeing costs €250 every month and a half, and a good saddle costs €5 thousand. An Olympic horse needs a massage and special feeding. You also need to pay wages to the groomer and coach. By the way, a good horse carriage with all amenities and air conditioning, in which horses go to competitions, costs €500 thousand.
The country's best horsewoman's hobbies are swimming and landscaping.
Like many athletes, Inessa Merkulova is a little superstitious. He will never buy a new bridle or gloves before the start of a competition; he doesn’t like to make any guesses.
In 2016, Inessa Merkulova rose to fifth place in the world dressage rankings.
Inessa Merkulova’s dream is to participate in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo and win an Olympic medal in the team event. Personally, Inessa Viktorovna’s goal is to take two more Olympics. Keep it up!
Based on media materials
Among the Russian Olympians arriving in Rio de Janeiro, it turns out, there are not only people! Five horses made it through the difficult qualifying process. Doping scandals passed them by, although the horses prepared for important competitions quite humanly
The New Age equestrian club in the village of Nikolo-Uryupino near Moscow is a real horse sanatorium. Athletes from the Olympic dressage team train here. The club has everything for work and relaxation: a huge indoor arena and an open-air parade ground. The horse can undergo the necessary procedures at the veterinary clinic, and relax in the spacious stables with warm wash stations and even use the solarium.
TEAM
Tournament table
Under the Olympic equestrian selection system introduced in the early 1990s, in order for a country's team to go to the Games, athletes must compete in qualifying tournaments for two years and earn a rating sufficient to qualify for an Olympic license.
From Russia, a full-fledged eventing team went to the 2016 Olympics - three sports pairs (Alexander Markov - Kurfurstin, Andrei Mitin - Gyurza, Elnira Nabieva - Shabanak). But in dressage, riders compete exclusively in the individual competition: only two (and the team consists of at least three) managed to get a pass to the Olympics in Rio. This is Inessa Merkulova on the Trakehner stallion Mister X and Marina Aframeeva on the Hanoverian Vosk.
The human conditions for training horses were not created by chance. After all, in equestrian sports, a person and a horse are full-fledged partners, they perform in pairs (like figure skaters, for example), and in dressage they must show ideal interaction. Just like people sports uniform the animals are built up for the next tournament, after which the horse rests for about a week and then starts training again.
EQUIPMENT
Stay fit
When performing, the rider wears a dress coat in black, dark blue or dark gray, black boots, a black or dark blue top hat, white gloves and a white tie. A couple of years ago, innovators tried to introduce a fashion for bright colors in dressage competition clothing, but it did not catch on.
But the horses do not have formal clothing, with the exception of a white saddle cloth (a cloth blanket under the saddle), which is required at competitions. The horse trains and performs in the same equipment; it is carefully selected according to the individual parameters of the animal.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY: WORK LIKE A HORSE
The working day of tournament horses begins early - at six in the morning, when they have breakfast, and a couple of hours later the groom arrives. He cleans the horse thoroughly and then takes him for a walk. A horse handler is an almost invisible, but very important person in the life of any sports horse. high class. He is with her almost constantly, not only cleaning and saddling, but also constantly monitoring the horse’s well-being and appetite. This is especially important during travel and competitions - after all, it is the attentiveness and sensitivity of the horse handler that makes it possible to notice problems with the health and mood of the animal and largely ensures sporting success.
Having a horse handler makes life much easier for the athlete - he immediately starts training without wasting time preparing the horse. And this is especially valuable, since at the same time one master of sports in dressage can have several horses in his work: both the main one - a tournament one, and young ones who are just preparing for the big sport. For example, a member of the Russian national team, Marina Aframeeva, has up to 11 horses under saddle per day! It is impossible to imagine how she would have managed without the help of a horse handler.
Vosk and Mister X were preparing for the 2016 Olympics at the base in Nikolo-Uryupino. Vosk, a young horse, trained twice a day, in the morning and in the afternoon. This scheme allows you to correctly distribute the load to avoid overwork and injury. But Mr. X, who celebrated his 10th birthday, usually worked with a trainer in the afternoon. He's already experienced athlete and worked willingly and thoughtfully. Although 10 years is a young age for a dressage horse, many of them are just beginning to develop their sporting careers at this time.
Training is a lot like work. professional athletes. However, there are also significant differences. A dressage horse receives all major injuries - in most cases to the muscular-ligamentous apparatus - at the preparation stage, when elements need to be worked out repeatedly, day after day. Then the horse gradually turns into a professional, learns to control his body, and the necessary movements, in fact, are only honed, becoming more beautiful and freer. At the peak of his career, which usually occurs between 17 and 20 years of age, dressage horses are rarely injured.
After training, the horses walk for a long time to cool down and catch their breath, then they are washed, dried and warmed in a solarium, which is completely different from the usual tanning machines from beauty salons. First, the solarium is lit from the ceiling so that the horse can stand underneath it. Secondly, in equestrian solariums, the effects of ultraviolet and infrared radiation are combined with a downward flow of slightly warm air. This allows the horse to relax and gradually cool down the heated muscles after work. You can adjust the air temperature or leave only ultraviolet lamps if the solarium is used for medicinal purposes.
A mandatory procedure for Wax and Mister X is massage using electric massagers. In addition, the horses have special blankets with sewn-in magnets, which further help relax the muscles after work.
PSYCHOLOGICAL PREPARATION: ANIMAL PASSIONS
Both during training and during rest, differences in the character of the two horses appear. X is smart, drawn to people more than to animals, a confident stallion and also very affectionate and sociable. But Vosk has a cheerful disposition, everything is terribly interesting to him, and he even has to restrain his constant curiosity. But the horse tries to insist on his own.
According to the coach of the Olympic dressage team, Yuri Fainstein, the main qualities of a top-class dressage horse are courage, the desire and ability to show oneself, courage and the ability to learn. In addition, the horse must be truly graceful. It is the combination of these qualities that makes a dressage horse a winner. Only a few of these are born all over the world. And the breed does not always play an important role (although modern riding horses with amplitude movements, highly valued in dressage, are the result of long-term targeted selection). The height of the animal is also not of decisive importance. Thus, the medium-sized Mr. X, whose height at the withers is only 164 centimeters, looks much more advantageous than his taller brothers due to his innate ability for light springy movements and excellent physical shape.
Both horses left the New Century in July, and the trip to Rio de Janeiro took a whole month. Mr. X is an experienced traveler; he has managed not only to travel many thousands of kilometers on roads, but also to fly on an airplane. But Vosk is sometimes capricious when loading - he doesn’t like to be the first to enter the horse trailer and the last to leave. Moreover, the horses become so accustomed to each other’s company that they get very worried when their neighbor disappears from sight. A real team.
SPORT
Partner dance
IN Olympic program Equestrian sport appeared in 1900 - at first horses competed in the purity and speed of overcoming obstacles (jumping), as well as in the power of long and high jumps. Twelve years later, eventing and dressage became Olympic disciplines, and it was decided not to hold jumping power competitions anymore. In dressage, horse and rider need to demonstrate perfect communication and the horse's ability to move correctly and efficiently in all gaits. At the Olympics, sports couples have the most difficult program - Grand Prize (Grand Prix).
Unlike other equestrian sports, in which the horse (and rider) demonstrates physical strength and endurance, dressage cannot be called spectacular and exciting. The question of excluding her from the list has already been raised several times Olympic disciplines: Some Olympic officials think that the dressage program is monotonous, boring and incomprehensible to the common viewer. However, in 1986 FEI(International Equestrian Federation) initiated the holding of a new type of competition - Freestyle Racing (from the German Kur), or freestyle, - free program to music consisting of elements of the same Grand Prize. Freestyle is a beautiful musical number, the effectiveness (and evaluation) of which depends not only on the technique of performing the elements, but also on the musical composition correctly selected for the characteristics of the horse’s movement.
Photo: Getty Images (x6), Legion-media
Big prize - small chance
Inessa Merkulova qualified for the Grand Prix, but did not make it to the Freestyle Competition, becoming 23rd. And the German riders won another Games gold.
The gaping chasm is no more
Among the fans Russian team Horse riding is generally not very popular. It’s understandable: in last years all our riders, for rare
with the exception, they came to the Games as extras, not competing for awards and just for high places. Now the situation is gradually changing for the better. It is still difficult to count on getting into the top three, but behind the battle Russian athletes It has become more interesting to observe with competitors: the yawning abyss is no longer there. And somewhere in my soul there is a glimmer of hope: maybe in four years our riders and our horses will be even closer to medals? The years of failure and stagnation are coming to an end, and this cannot but rejoice.
But equestrian sport in our country has not always been forgotten. Athletes from the Soviet Union won 15 awards of various denominations at the Olympics in this sport. The richest medal harvest was collected in dressage: ten awards, four of which were of the highest standard. Soviet traditions can still be remembered with aspiration: victory Sergei Filatov in Rome in 1960 may have seemed like an accident to some, but it was only the beginning of a magnificent series. Soviet riders achieved success in Tokyo, Mexico City, and Munich. Only at the Olympics in Montreal they were left without medals in dressage. But at the home Games in Moscow, a complete set was again assembled: Yuri Kovshov and Victor Ugryumov became second and third in the individual competition and, together with Vera Misevich, first in the team competition.
Hope backed by results
Alas, after the Moscow Olympics, representatives of our country did not win medals in equestrian sports at the Games. And, of course, all Russian fans
Olympic Games. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Horseback Riding. Triathlon.
Team competition
1. Germany – 82,577.
2. Great Britain - 77,951.
3. USA – 76,363.
Individual competition, Grand Prize transfer
1. Isabel Werth (Germany) – 83,711.
2. Charlotte Dujardin (Great Britain) – 83,025.
3. Dorothy Schneider (Germany) – 82,619
… 23. Inessa Merkulova (Russia) – 73.154
This sport, somewhere in the depths of their souls, every four years they believe in a miracle and hope for success. At the Rio de Janeiro Games there were rational grounds for these hopes. In dressage, our country was represented by a classy rider on an outstanding horse - Inessa Merkulova on Mister X. This couple took part in World Cup finals and achieved success in international competitions and, according to experts, could well show high result at the Olympics. Also represented Russia Marina Aframeeva on Vosk. But this couple objectively could not fight on equal terms with the favorites and went to the Games to gain experience - with an eye to future Olympics.
All participants in the first stage of the competition, of which there were 60 pairs, were divided into two equal groups. In the interests of television, which wanted to make the Grand Prize more spectacular and attractive to spectators, it was decided to give athletes with lower ratings the opportunity to perform on the first day, and on the second to release the favorites and contenders for high places under the lenses of television cameras and the few Brazilian spectators. It was gratifying that both of our riders competed on the second day - it was an excellent opportunity to test their strength against the background of world leaders in dressage.
Merkulova is on the move, Aframeeva is one step away
And this test turned out to be very worthy. They didn’t expect much from Aframeeva and Vosk, but they performed quite confidently. The pair showed a calm, smooth ride, although there were some mistakes. Nevertheless, the percentage turned out to be quite high - 71.343 - a personal record. And everything would have been absolutely great for the Olympic debut, if not for the most offensive 31st place and some one and a half tenths of a point that separated Marina from moving on to the Grand Prize. But, as expected, Inessa Merkulova and Mister X calmly passed the crossing - 75.800%. The horse was nervous at first, but in the end everything went well: Inessa advanced to the next round with a large margin.
Based on the results of the Grand Prize, not only the participants in the individual competition qualifying for the transfer were determined, but also six teams that continue to fight for medals. Before the start of the Olympics, almost all experts agreed that the main favorites to win the team competitions there will be Germans, and they were not mistaken. The Fab Four from Germany scored a stunning 81.295%. At the same time, Sonke Rothenberger’s 77.329%, which many riders only dream of, simply did not count, since the other three scores were even higher. In second place largely due to excellent ratings Olympic champion four years ago Charlotte Dujardin(85,071) the British were located. And the US team took third place. The fight for silver promised to be intense.
Germany turned silver into gold
The third day of dressage competition was to determine the medal winners in the team competition and allow Russian fans equestrian sport, once again admire the performance of Inessa Merkulova and Mr. X, competing for the Freestyle Championship. The transfer of the Grand Prize for the leader of the Russian team turned out to be good, but the score was lower than the day before. – 73.154?.. This was not enough to get into the Freestyle Jury. Inessa and Mr. X finished their fight at the Olympics only in 23rd place in standings. We've probably all been waiting best result, but it is hardly possible to say that the athlete disappointed the fans.
And the Germans definitely pleased their fans. They were as good in carrying the Grand Prize as they were in the first stage of the competition. Both Werth, Schneider, and Broring-Sprehe unanimously showed a result of 81% and secured first place with a significant lead over the competitors. For the Germans, London silver turned into unconditional Brazilian gold. But the British followed in the opposite direction: Dujardin's teammates did not support him, and the British team ended up in second place with an average score of 77.951. The Americans took the bronze medal in the team competition. The team battles of dressage masters at the Olympics are over. The decisive battle in the individual competition remains ahead.
“I was brought into the big sport by a horse that was written off for slaughter.” The story of the best horsewoman in Russia
How many millions of euros does a champion horse cost, why is there a solarium in a stable, and what kind of doping is allowed in equestrian sport? Match TV spoke with rider Inessa Merkulova, who will compete for a medal in dressage in Rio 2016.
At the Games in Brazil, the Russian equestrian team will be represented by a record number of athletes in its history. They will compete in two out of three disciplines: Inessa Merkulova and Marina Aframeeva will compete for medals in dressage, and Alexander Markov and Andrey Mitin in eventing. Another athlete will be named a little later. Together they will form a team that will also be eligible to compete for awards.
Inessa Merkulova has been involved in equestrian sports for about 40 years and successfully combines her work as a senior coach of the national team and her career as an athlete. But the Olympic Games in Rio will be her first. Inessa and her horse Mister X will take part in a dressage tournament, where they will perform various elements high school horse riding - pirouettes, passages, plie. Everything is like in ballet, only the horse is dancing. And the Russian team has every chance to compete for a medal. For the first time since the 1980 Olympics. Match TV talked to Inessa Merkulova and found out if it’s possible to win olympic gold after 50, why do you need a solarium in a stable and how much does an Olympic champion cost?
– You have been in equestrian sport for more than 40 years, and the Olympics in Rio are your first. Why did this happen?
- Many reasons. I could have qualified for the Games back in the early 90s. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, a nightmare began. The entire livestock was sold for literally three kopecks. Horses that cost millions of dollars went for 12-15 thousand. There weren’t even prices like these on the world market. I will never forget how the Germans came to our show jumper to buy a horse. We talked to him literally the day before the sale, and he said that he wanted to ask 15 thousand marks for the horse in order to get at least 12 if the Germans started bargaining. In German, the words "fifteen" and "fifty" are very similar. The translator, apparently, did not pronounce it very clearly, the German heard “fifty”, they began to bargain and eventually agreed on 40 thousand. Our people were happy then, of course, that everything had turned out so profitably. And the horse eventually became the champion of Germany. This is just one story. It took almost 20 years to recover from such a blow. In 1998, the first horse was brought to our base – “New Century”. We reached a good level for the Games in London. There was every chance of qualifying, but my horse Slavyansk caught an infection and died, and the other horses were still too young. Mr. X is now 12 years old. This is also not enough. At this year's World Cup final he was the youngest competitor. IN perfect shape he will be towards Tokyo. He will turn 16 years old. This is the peak for a horse; at this age it knows everything and responds adequately to all commands. True, X started performing early, so he already looks very good.
– Do the riders have any age restrictions?
- No. Equestrian sport without age. A Japanese rider who turns 75 this year has qualified for Rio. He eventually withdrew from the competition, but only because his horse got sick. German Josef Neckermann won Olympic medal(at the 1972 Games - “Match TV”), when he was 60 years old. Olympic champion 2004 Hubertus Schmidt is now 57. He will compete in Rio. By the way, this applies not only to dressage. Competitors also jump after 60. My first trainer, Anton Afanasyevich Zhagorov, was in the saddle until he was 84 years old, and not just rode, but trained horses for athletes. He always told me that equestrian sport prevents you from aging. And it is true. The horse fuels the man. Sometimes I don’t have the strength, I have a fever, I’m in a depressed state, but I got on the horse, 10 minutes passed, and everything was fine.
– So, for example, I still have a chance to qualify for the Olympic Games if I start training just now?
– There are definitely no questions about age. Anything is possible, even if you first saw a live horse only at the age of 25. But there are many other nuances. To feel confident in the saddle, you need to ride horses for at least 5 years. This is serious exercise stress. Even trained people the next day after training cannot go down the stairs - their muscles hurt so much. For example, I have internal muscles The hips are so developed that I can give any man a head start in a compression exercise. I spend 5-6 hours a day in the saddle - no gym No need.
There is, of course, a financial side. Need your own horse. Not necessarily the most expensive, but well-trained - a must. I always say: if you put two first-graders at school at the same desk and give them time for one to teach the other the multiplication table, nothing will come of it. For anything to happen, one of the two must know exactly what needs to be done. So it is here. When an inexperienced rider gives the horse the wrong command, it will not do what he wants. In addition, a person remembers faster and faster. And in addition to the trainer, the horse also trains him, if it is experienced.
- What is the price good horse?
– Very different prices on the market. From 5 thousand dollars to 5 million euros. Horses that take part in international competitions rarely cost less than 100-150 thousand euros. Horses that have won the Olympic Games are rarely sold. But if you suddenly decide to bargain, you don’t have to offer less than 10 million euros.
– How much does the maintenance cost?
– In Moscow, in order to provide a horse with everything necessary, you need to spend from 60 to 100 thousand rubles every month.
- It's getting expensive.
- Yes. Not everyone can afford it. During the Soviet years, all this was paid for by the state. And there were a lot of people who wanted to study. For example, my parents were simple engineers. We lived in Rostov-on-Don, and my dad took me to the hippodrome when I was 11 years old. There were 75 people in our group. And there were three or four such groups. True, after a year there were four of us left, but not because of money. There was no financial question at all. Everything was just very strict with us - not everyone could stand it. Some were afraid of animals, others did not want to clean up after them: clean stalls, bathe horses. We were trained by real officers, we walked in formation, wearing heavy tarpaulin boots - not the way they march now. In essence, we had a real military school.
– Have you ever wanted to quit?
- No. I wanted to train fanatically from the age of 4, when I first saw a horse in a picture in a book. When there was no horse yet, I rode cows, pigs, and even tried to ride a goat. But she kept throwing me off. I first sat on a horse at my grandmother's in the village. There was an old horse there that could barely move around the yard, but when I rode it, I was sure that I had conquered the unbroken mustang.
– Do you remember the first horse about which you could really say that?
– The horse’s name was Targim, very capricious. He destroyed everything. So huge. If an ordinary horse weighs 500 kg, then he is probably a ton. I've struggled with this all my life. When I was in the mood and going well, it was just amazing. But he got on my nerves a lot, of course. Once I broke my arm in two places with my neck. He jerked upward when I grabbed the reins. My hand crunched like chicken bones. This was in Germany. My friend and I drove to the hospital, they put me in a cast and told me that I couldn’t travel for at least two months. Two weeks later I was already in the saddle, holding the reins with two fingers. On another it is impossible. An animal should not show its fear, its weakness. And I forced Targim to respect me, although I weighed as much as his head alone.
– Was it difficult with Mr. X too?
- Mister X, of course, is different. He is very kind and humane. But I also had to tinker with him. There are elements that, due to their structure, are difficult for him. For example, lateral bending. He naturally has a very high stroke, so it’s hard for him to move to the side. And then you have to fight with him. But we have learned to negotiate. I understand that it’s difficult for him. He changes his every step for me. Imagine: you walk all your life. And suddenly someone tells you that you need to change your gait. At all. Even a person with whom you can communicate in the same language is not easy to teach something. And here is a horse. Of course, for this you need to have the brains to learn all the commands in order to remember them the next day. I still have the minutes from our first performance. There, the elements for which they were rated 8-9 points are highlighted in green. With such grades, of course, you can’t count on a medal. If you repeat that program now, there will be nothing to emphasize.
– How long does it take to understand that a horse has abilities?
– To understand how trainable a horse is, you need to work with it for two or three years, no less. I have had one stupid horse in my life – Chuck. Indescribable beauty. I saw him and practically fainted - I wanted this horse so much. I took it. And so every day began with us learning all the elements practically from scratch. In the evening he memorized them, and the next morning he could not repeat anything again. I suffered with him for two years and transferred him to a training group.
– What was your favorite horse?
- Yes. Zaporozhets. It was he who brought me into big sport. He had a very difficult story. The first time he came to me was when he was already decommissioned for slaughter. But his tests turned out to be bad and he was sent to quarantine. At that time I had just returned from maternity leave, saw this horse and asked him not to be slaughtered. I persuaded everyone for a long time, and we were given a chance. During a medical examination, it turned out that he also had a blockage in one of the main veins. They prescribed him to inject heparin, in huge doses, 6 times a day. And then he was in great short supply - she was running all over Rostov for ambulance teams. It was terrible. I practically lived in the stables. But Zaporozhets thanked me. It was with him that I made it into the Soviet Union national team, and then we were invited to work abroad. He was sold twice, he was again very badly injured and again he was written off for slaughter. I found it with great difficulty and barely persuaded him to give it to me. The Zaporozhets died in my arms; when he grew old, he laid his head on my lap and died. Doctors later said that a blood clot had broken off.
– Do horses live shorter lives in sports?
- Yes. Dressage horses rarely live past 30. Regular horses can live twice that long. The absolute record - 62 years - was lived by a horse that pulled a barge. It turns out that dragging a barge is easier than carrying it sports loads. Imagine: a ballerina retires at 36, an ordinary woman at 55. So, our horses are ballerinas.
“We can somehow make it easier for them.” sports life?
- We are trying. We bask in the solarium almost every day - this way lactic acid is eliminated faster, the muscles cool down more slowly after training - there is no risk of catching a cold. There are special magnetic blankets and vibrating massagers. For Mr. X, for example, before each saddle we give him a massage using such a device. This improves blood circulation and makes him less tired. And in general: the equipment that we use can be safely used on people. And some medicines and treatment methods are even more effective than traditional human ones.
– Is the doping list of horses very different from that of humans?
– It seems to me that horses have an even longer stop list. If a person can still rub some kind of ointment when he has pulled his back, then for a horse the only thing we can do is put a hot bag of salt on the sore spot. All anti-inflammatory ointments are strictly prohibited.
– Who controls?
– Also WADA. And this is always stressful for the horse. They can't pass required material when an officer looks at them. Horses are not used to such attention. This goes against their natural instincts. As a result, a horse can spend up to 4 hours in the doping room. And now, of course, we are being watched very closely. At the European Championships, out of five samples, four were taken from us. They took me, Mr. X, Marina (Aframeeva, another athlete from the Russian dressage team - Match TV) and her horse Vosk to the doping control.
– Will it be especially difficult to withstand such attention at the Olympics?
- Everything will be difficult at the Olympics. Long flight. High humidity. The temperature is around 28 degrees. One thing is good: everyone will be in the same conditions. We are given 10 days to acclimatize. I think enough. We flew with Mr. X to Las Vegas for just three days. He endured jet lag relatively calmly. With Rio the time difference is even smaller.
– What will Mr. X get for successful performance at the Olympics?
- Vacation. No matter what he did, he still deserved a vacation. With his appearance, people all over the world started talking about us again. He loves to swim – I’ll take him to the sea.
Text: Marina Krylova
Photo: from the FEI archive, facebook/marina.aframeeva
Magazine number: GM No. 3(160)/2016
Photo: Artem MAKEEV, KSK “New Century”
Since Rome applauded Sergei Filatov and Absinthe in 1960, several sports generations have changed. In each of them, our country had its own symbol in the world of dressage. Elena Petushkova and Ash, Nina Menkova and Dixon, then Alexandra Korelova and Balagur. Today the whole world once again applauds the brilliant couple from Russia. Inessa Merkulova and Mister X.
Darius of fate
The black Derby mare was a workhorse in the truest sense of the word. At the Traken farm, she harnessed the cart, transported hay and oats, and, possessing a calm disposition, was an excellent cart driver. Her father was a purebred riding Blank (ascending through the male line to Raufbold), born in Ukraine, and her mother was a black mongrel Darina, whose origins were forever lost in the vastness of Soviet “mass horse breeding”. In 2003, the 13-year-old half-bred Derby was mated to another descendant of the legendary Raufbold, the 100% Russian traken Aegeus. The pet from the Nyamunsky stud farm (Lithuania) came to the farm a year earlier in extremely poor condition. As Nadezhda Sokolova, a livestock breeder at the Traken farm, would later write: “They brought home a hungry, skinny horse that had lost all interest in life, but had intelligent behavior. He could not eat when people were staring at him and, just in case, went to the corner of the stall. In short, the stallion was depressed!”
The product of this adventurous crossbreeding was a bay foal who was named Darius. Perhaps the outstanding pedigree of Aegeus was able to more than compensate for the “blind spots” on the maternal side; perhaps the conditions of detention or something else had a favorable effect on the stallion... One way or another, he athletic ability began to appear already in the first years of life. “After weaning, he lived with foals of the same age,” recalls the breeder, “he was smart and affectionate in preparation, there were never any problems with him. They jumped him up to 120 cm in springarten. At two years old he was obedient, in general, an excellent student. We think that in the process of work, kind, warm-hearted craftsmen who knew how to value friendship had a hand in him, because he is a true partner.”
Well, so what? You never know in the vastness of our country there are such capable young horses that forever find themselves deprived of attention from athletes, lost and useless to anyone. Looking at a group of tall, impulsive, unintelligent three-year-olds who differ little from each other, it is always difficult to choose someone on the farm who, after years of work, will turn into a talented sports fighter. This affectionate, bay, 4-legged white-legged stallion is lucky. At the age of 3.5 years, he was acquired by amateur athlete Igor Goncharov, who brought the horse to the “New Century”.
The beginning of a legend
KSK "New Age" is, as you know, first of all a team of like-minded professionals focused on results. Therefore, if a talented horse ends up here, it becomes doomed to systematic and competent work. Darius made a mixed impression: it was clear that the horse clearly had good dressage abilities, although there were still a number of problems that required correction. On the other hand, no one could have imagined that the horse would be so intellectually gifted, capable of interacting so sensitively with the rider. After a year of his stay at the club, Inessa Poturaeva (Now Merkulova - Ed.) acquired Darius and took her to work. So, by the way, he received a new name and endless horizons for the sporting future. However, even under the tutelage of such a master, the horse did not immediately begin to open up. Up until the age of 6 he had several starts for young horses. In 2010, at the competition for the prizes of the Moscow Equestrian Federation at the Bitsa Sports Complex, the pair Poturaeva/Mr. X made their debut in the modest Preliminary Prize program. By that time, it had already become clear to the experienced athlete and coach that she had gotten a truly unique four-legged partner. From then until now, this horse has never changed rider.
Master of big starts
And then something happened that no one expected, including the main characters of this story. In 2013, Mr. X was only 9 years old, but this did not stop him from not only completing the Grand Prize program, but also starting to win in it. The Merkulova/Mr. X couple finished their first big-prize start at the Russian Diamond Sports Complex as part of the Memory Cup of Olympic champion Elena Petushkova as winners with a score of 69.468%.
One can hardly blame Inessa Viktorovna, the senior coach of the national dressage team, for unnecessarily forcing work with the horse. He just really clearly demonstrated the ability to ride big. In the 2013 season, it started literally before the end of the year - the rider was testing the program. It is clear that at first it was difficult for the debutant of the Grand Prize to qualify for medals, but he won them! 1st place in Moving to team championship Russia, 2nd place in the Crossing and first in the Freestyle at the personal championship of Russia, second place in the Freestyle in the Governor's Cup of the Moscow Region. Then there was a start at the World Cup stage in Ratomka (Belarus), where the couple for the first time overcame the 70 percent barrier in the main Grand Prix program, taking 1st place, and 2nd in Freestyle. Finally, at the end of the year, in the Winter Cup of the Moscow Equestrian Federation, another big prize gold.
If you follow the example of the famous Baron Munchausen, your exploits need to be planned in advance. This logic is quite applicable to big sport, where a series of qualifying starts takes place before a major tournament. The first planned feat of Inessa Merkulova and Mr. X was the 2014 World Cup final in Lyon. Already at the end of February, the couple went to France to properly prepare for a responsible start. First, the couple took 5th place in the Freestyle CDI3* in Vidauban, and three weeks later they won the CDI3* in Nice, receiving a record 74.875% for the Freestyle. And finally, the final in Lyon. Ten-year-old Mr. X is the youngest participant in the tournament.
On the battlefield there are all stars: Dujardin and Valegro, Langehanenberg and Dimon Hill, Gal and Glox Undercover and almost two dozen other world celebrities. Main program Russian couple finishes with a personal best - 71.057% and with 10th place receives admission to the Freestyle Jury. Here again the 10th result. This is a sensation for world dressage. After several years of silence, a couple appeared in Russia who were able to loudly declare themselves and enter the Top Ten strongest in the world. After that, at tournaments in Eastern Europe, Inessa Merkulova and Mr. X never lost first place, becoming the undisputed leaders of our region.
A year later, the World Cup finals took place in Las Vegas, and Mr. X set foot on American soil as a world dressage star. The result is even higher than in Lyon - 71.343% in the main program and 76.911 in Freestyle. This is 7th place! The couple is less than 1% behind the legendary Isabel Werth and El Santo. Here the horse owner faces a new challenge - there are too many offers to buy Mr. X from dozens of countries. Buyers are not interested in him in terms of breeding (from the age of 6 Mr. X has been a gelding), his advantages: movement, training, intelligence - and all this at the age of 11 years. However, Inessa Viktorovna categorically stated: “The horse is not for sale and will compete at the Olympics in Rio under the Russian flag!”
Hope for a medal
Inessa Merkulova admits that Mister X is the first horse in her career that really has every reason to qualify for an Olympic medal. To date, the pair has confidently overcome the 80 percent mark, and the dynamics of the results convincingly show that the horse is only improving every year. A clear confirmation is the next, already the third World Cup final in the career of this pair in Gothenburg, Sweden: 6th place in the main program and 7th place in Cure (78.232%), which really allows us to hope for a medal in Rio.
After a trip to Sweden, which was preceded by a victorious performance at the Maxima Park arena near Moscow, Mr. X received a very long vacation. Inessa Viktorovna is extremely careful in drawing up a schedule of performances during the Olympic season in order to bring her four-legged partner to peak form just in time for the Olympics. In Russia she plans to hold two starts: at international tournament in Maxima Park and at the World Cup stage in Nizhny Novgorod, after which the New Century team will head to Germany to focus on preparations for the Games.
Mr. X has proven to the whole world more than once that he is a special horse. Therefore, it is doubly valuable that the rider managed to find a common language with him and truly become friends. “Every time a couple of hours before an important start,” says Inessa Viktorovna, “I take a chair, sit down near his stall and read a book to him out loud. And he listens and calms down. Sometimes it seems to me that he even understands everything I tell him.”
In 1926, composer Imre Kalman wrote the operetta “The Circus Princess,” which in the 1958 Soviet film adaptation was remembered by viewers as the musical film drama “Mr. X.” The most famous fragment of this work is undoubtedly Mister X's aria, which has become a masterpiece of opera vocal art. This story tells us that behind the black mask of a circus performer, a jester, a second-class citizen, hides a truly noble heart. Perhaps Mr. X, who has now become a star in the dressage arena, has something in common with his namesake from the operetta. Firstly, it is also no longer new for him to go “to where there is a sea of lights”, where “the spotlight is shining and the fanfares are thundering.” And secondly, this real half-breed was able to outdo many of his rivals with much more aristocratic origins. You just had to discern in him the nobility and intelligence that a real dressage horse should have.
