On September 20, 2009, the Russian Troika Championship of Russia will be held at the Tver Hippodrome. Ten troikas from around the country will participate.

Sergey Kiselev, director of the Tver Hippodrome, told the TIA “The last Russian Troika Championship was held in Tver five years ago. We want to revive that tradition. On September 20, Tver will host troikas from Yaroslavl, Moscow, Kostroma, Vologda and other Russian cities. The famous elite troika from the Moscow Stud Farm (the troika that everyone sees before the Vesti news programme) also take part in the Championship. Unfortunately, there won’t be any troikas from Tver this year.”

Participants will compete in figure riding and racing. The harnessing of each troika and the quality of the individual horses will also be assessed. The top three troikas will receive cups and cash prizes.

The Championship is being supported by the Tver regional administration, which is working to quickly reconstruct the hippodrome. According to Kiselev, Tver will soon be home to show jumping classes, a new riding hall and competitive equestrian events.

tvernews.ru (website)
August 26, 2009