Polina Shovkova is the only representative of Ukraine at CHIO Aachen this summer. From gymnastics to equestrian sports.

CHIO Aachen annually brings together, without exaggeration, representatives of the world’s equestrian elite. The best riders and horses, including those from as far away as the United States and Australia, travel great distances (and subjected to a lot of stress, I must say) just to take part in this outstanding competition. We saw most of the athletes who participated this year at the Olympics in Paris: Ingrid Klimke, Isabell Werth, Charlotte Fry, etc. Polina Shovkova is a young and talented rider who was the only representative from Ukraine at CHIO Aachen this year. How she came to equestrian sport, why she chose vaulting, what changes the full-scale war hasbrought, and, of course, about her native school in Poltava – all in this exclusive interview.

 

– This year, Ingrid Klimke, Isabell Werth, and Charlotte Fry participated in the CHIO Aachen Championships, and we saw them later at the Olympics in Paris. You are the only one who represented Ukraine at this championship. How did you manage it and how many years did you prepare for it?​

– This was my biggest competition, I’ve been preparing for it for about 3 months, it was a surprise from my coach. I was taking part in regular competitions, and they saw my progress and offered me to try myself in such more serious competitions. I had to prepare a completely new program in 3 months. Of course, it was very difficult for me, and everyone thought that I would perform average, not very convincingly. Probably, it became a motivation to prove that I can perform at the level of those people who have been practicing for 10 years, and I have only been practicing professionally for 3 years. But I don’t know how it happened that I was able to prepare so well. I practiced in the gym for 4 hours every day to show my best. I really wanted to show myself and the country in a good light. After my performance, everyone was amazed that a girl of 16 could perform at such a level. In fact, it was the first time that a junior competed, because these competitions are for seniors. I was incredibly happy when I saw my scores, because I made it to the top ten in vaulting.

– Let’s go back in time and tell us about the day when you first felt your love for horses?​

– I didn’t want to ride horses at all, it was something so unknown to me, and I was a little afraid of horses. But my friend had been riding since she was a little girl because her dad was a trainer and owned a stable in Poltava. She suggested me to try it, and they were organizing a summer camp. I didn’t want to go at first, but I decided to give it a try. I got on a horse for the first time, and I immediately started to do well and it was very easy. But it wasn’t vaulting, it was just riding. It was there that I mastered all the basic skills. It was almost 6 years ago, when I was 11. From that moment on, it all started.

 

– I know that your “home” club is located in the Poltava region, in the village of Mykhailivka. Can you tell us a little bit about your club and coach?

– This club is a 40-minute drive from Poltava. We have always traveled by bus, and it was especially difficult to get there in winter, because there is such a hill that the bus does not run in winter, and we had to walk this distance on snow and ice. We had and still have 4 horses for vaulting. At first, there was a trainer with whom we went to Slovakia and when the war started, she helped us with everything, took part in the seminars on vaulting. But then she left, and our trainer and lunger (a person who stands in the center of the circle and holds the horse on the cord to make it run in a circle) became my friend’s father, who owns the stable. There were 6 of us, we practiced on horses and in a hall with an iron horse and various accessories, which, of course, were not enough for professional training. We came on weekends and practiced all the time.

– Why did you decide to take up vaulting in the first place? Please tell us what were your first steps in the sport and what prompted you to make this choice?​

– I remember that we were offered to go to a seminar in Kyiv, where a new kind of equestrian sport would be presented to us, because before that we didn’t even know what vaultingwas. We went to Kyiv very spontaneously: I was offered the opportunity and left the same day. Anthony Bro-Petit from France (he is my coach now) came to Kyiv and held this seminar where we tried to do different tricks. My friend Katia and I were probably the only ones with experience in gymnastics, so it was very easy for us. And Anthony said that we were the ones who would be good at it if we kept doing it. We liked it, but we had nothing: no surcingle (a special ammunition for vaulting), no equipment, but we arrived and somehow started to strap on a horse and tried to do something. At first, it all looked like a hobby, and then we came to Kyiv for seminars 2-3 more times. After that, we finally bought our own surcingle, and it was a very memorable day for all of us, because at that time it was the first surcingle even in Ukraine. After that, we started practicing more seriously, but there were very few trainings. After the full-scale Russian invasion began, we went to Slovakia, where the Equestrian Federation helped us to train. We lived there for 4 months. And it was during this time that we made great progress. I think that this was the turning point, when there was this strong push and growth of vaulting in Ukraine. Then we also went to seminars in Slovakia every three months. Our first experience of a competition in the field of volleyball was also in Slovakia, and it was a bit of a nightmare, to be honest (laughs). At the last competition in Slovakia, we could see our progress, it was the 4th competition.

– In your kind of equestrian sport – vaulting – gymnastic training is very important. I read that the Poltava school is the best in Ukraine. Could you tell us more about how you are trained in this particular area, and how gymnastics classes are organized?

– In general, I have been doing gymnastics for a long time, from the age of 4 to 8. Then it happened that all six of us went to a circus studio. There is such a variety of sports combined there, which gives you the perfect preparation for vaulting. We also did strength exercises with our vaulting coach, but I think we got our main training in the circus studio. I don’t know how training is organized in Poltava now, because I haven’t trained there for a long time. But here now I go to the gym every day to do strength exercises, I also train on an equestrian movie for two hours, which is an iron horse that completely repeats the shape and movement of a real horse, and I train on a horse twice a week.

 

– In Aachen, you performed on a horse named Belasco. Did your sporting relationship with him develop in Germany or did you bring him from Ukraine?

– He is a German horse, from this stable in Munich, where I am now. My trainer, Anthony Bro-Petit, suggested this particular horse because he has very good scores, 8 out of 10. That is why I am here, because of this horse. The first time we performed with him was in Italy, and after that – at every competition. We have a very cool tandem.

– Please tell us in general how you get in touch with a sport horse. How long do you work together to perform successfully?​

– Each horse has a different character, and it may happen that there is no contact. My first competition on Belasco was in March, and it took me about 3 months to feel comfortable on him. I was very nervous during the first competition because I didn’t know how he would behave. In Aachen, I already trusted him 100 percent. But I think it takes 4-5 months to feel comfortable on a horse.

 

– What other horses in your sporting career do you particularly remember? Do you miss those who stayed in Ukraine?

​- Oh, yes… there are two of my favorite mares in Ukraine – Depesha and Taira. Depesha was my favorite horse at our stable in Poltava. She was my first horse on which I started vaulting, and of course she will remain special to me. Our horses learned vaulting with us.

 

– What element of vaulting do you find the most difficult? Which one do you think you do best? What would you like to achieve in terms of personal training and in terms of contact with the horse?

– For me, the most difficult thing is probably dismount, which is such a technically difficult jump off the horse. Very often I get injured at this moment, my heel hurts, or my knee hurts. It’s hard to come back to normal because you put a lot of pressure on your leg and can’t give yourself a rest. For me, handstands are the easiest to do, it’s my trick that I can do on a horse or on the floor, anywhere. I would like more training, not just twice a week. Of course, I understand that the horse needs rest, but if I trained every day (smiles)… I think I would achieve more if I trained more.

 

– I saw that you have returned to training. What performances are you preparing for now?

– My next competition will be in Italy this spring, around Easter. Usually, there are no competitions in winter, only training and training camps.

 

– Do you plan to compete at CHIO Aachen next year? I really hope to see you there next year.​

– I really want to, but this is my last year at school. And I have to pass my exams. I don’t know how I’m going to do it all. I really hope that I will be able to combine everything and will definitely go to Aachen.

 

Photos by @spacecat.photoart