| August in Moscow is marked by the horse The horse flu epidemic and the holiday season did not interfere with the work of the next, VI All-Russian Horse Exhibition “Equiros-2004” in Sokolniki. Tens of thousands of people took advantage of the opportunity to see up close, touch, stroke, try on, buy, try, ride, as in previous years. "Equiros" is the largest Russian exhibition of horses and everything connected with them. These are five exhibition pavilions, 100 stalls for large horses and 50 for small ones (ponies and American miniature horses) and a “shop” with a total area of 4 thousand square meters. meters. “For the first time this year, the exhibition will last two weeks - this is a Russian record for exhibitions,” says Lyubov Arkhipova, the initiator and organizer of Equiros, vice-president of the MVK exhibition holding. — Last year, 40 thousand people visited us over six days, and we decided to extend the exhibition’s opening hours. At first, at the first stage, draft breeds were “exhibited”, and now the time has come for riding ones. There were many more people wishing to show their horses than our stalls could accommodate. And we chose the best of the best, tried to ensure that traditional breeds were represented by the elite.” The horses will not only be shown, but also sold. For the first time, Equiros will become not only an exhibition, but also a fair. A breeding and sale of two-year-old horses is planned here.
As a Vremya Novostei correspondent was told at the exhibition press center, an event such as a horse show almost in the center of a metropolis requires completely unique preparation. For example, to set up stalls and arenas in Sokolniki, it was necessary to import tons of sand, several hundred cubic meters of sawdust, and also prepare hundreds of special bags for “horse apples” in advance. You can go to Equiros in the morning and not leave until the evening. The exhibition program includes demonstration performances by equestrians and evening shows “Under the Sign of the Horse.” Every day, specialists carry out the so-called horse inspection - that is, they show and evaluate the horse's characteristics. There are also some very rare things here. For example, horses with a unique pink “Isabella” color. Or miniature American horses the size of dogs. By the way, when breeders “reduced” them from ordinary animals, they developed their good-natured disposition as the main breed quality.
Every year August traditionally awaits a huge number of horse lovers and athletes, those who are interested in equestrian tourism and learn the basics of dressage or show jumping. It is for such visitors that the program includes seminars on “Fitting and Correcting a Saddle” or “Choosing Shoes for Equestrian Sports.” “The Russian commodity market related to the production and sale of equipment and ammunition is 25% saturated,” says Ms. Arkhipova. “Manufacturers and exporters have an incentive to invest in their production and import from abroad.” In the “ammunition” pavilion there is the smell of leather and a rainbow of colors of clothing and riding equipment. “By the way, this year the most fashionable color of vests, saddle pads and baseball caps for equestrians is orange,” noted Lyubov Arkhipova. Clothing and footwear, horse feed and horseshoes, stable projects and equestrian tourism routes, kumiss and horse carriages are presented here. For example, there is a representative office of an American company that produces saddles not just for “ladies” or “for riding,” but for a specific horse’s back and the corresponding part of the body and the corresponding fittings and wishes.
It is no coincidence that one of the first visitors to the exhibition were representatives of the German Embassy, who first went to the equipment pavilion: after all, the Germans have traditionally developed equestrian sports and equestrian tourism. Russia is also following this path: among the exhibitors, both private owners and famous Russian stud farms are equally represented. And a man with a saddle under his arm and a brand new bridle on his shoulder, walking with a contented look from the exhibition in the direction of the metro, in recent years in August in Moscow Sokolniki is no longer such an unusual sight. Irina BELASHEVA |
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