Джигитовка (dzhigitovka) means “the art of riding” performed by a джигит (dzhigit) — a skilful and brave equestrian. It is an art of bravery, skill and composure, and a proof of virility among the peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia. It shows the grace and agility of a horseman and his skill in training and mastering his horse.
What is dzhigitovka?
An inheritance of several centuries of tradition, dzhigitovka has a soul and cannot be learned as a simple technique. It is a special communion between a man and his horse, a choreography infused with the freedom of the vast windswept steppes — a wonderful dance where body and mind are one. This close bond with nature and animals is something you can also feel in our article about Altai, where Siberia opens into the mountains.
A Cossack military art
As a military art, dzhigitovka was first practised by the Cossacks in the regiments of the Don region and was soon adopted by all the Cossack armies. It became a warrior’s art: a way to surprise the enemy, to impress him and to show what the Cossacks were capable of. If you are interested in Russian military history, read also about army training under Peter the Great.
Competitions between regular army horsemen and Cossacks were established, and dzhigits would throw challenges to each other, showing their skills and strength. For the needs of the show, these prodigious horsemen made the usual army workouts harder by shortening the tracks and multiplying the acrobatic figures.
From childhood games to daring competitions
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger! In all of Central Asia, horses were the only way to travel across the immensity of the land. Children learned to ride before they could walk. By the age of ten, they already had enough experience and practice to perform the basic acrobatics required to become a real dzhigit. The exercises offered during army training had been their games since childhood. This is probably why experienced dzhigits were never short of ideas for creating more complicated figures and making competitions more spectacular.
The training was based on acrobatics at full gallop. Among the most common figures, a dzhigit had to be able to jump to the ground and back into the saddle, pick up a small object from the ground, and stand upright on his horse’s back. The best riders could shoot an apple off the head of a volunteer. Imagine the precision that required — and the trust between the rider and his horse!
Exile and the European stage
After the revolution of 1917 and the civil war that followed, the Cossack army was no longer needed, and the dzhigits had to take the road of exile. Most of them knew nothing but war logistics and horse riding. Dzhigitovka became their only way to survive. Cossack horsemen of that era can also be seen in the famous film The Barber of Siberia.
With the Russian emigration at the beginning of the 20th century, the Cossacks brought the art of riding with them. Europe simply fell in love with those fearless horsemen, and soon some of them created their own troupes and their own shows.
Dzhigitovka today
Over the years, military training gave way to more subtle and acrobatic performances. The very spirit of dzhigitovka, which allowed every young dzhigit to prove his supremacy on a horse, lost some of its essence and became the shadow of a centuries-old tradition.
Nowadays in Russia, the revival of dzhigitovka as a communion between man, horse and nature seems an almost impossible mission. But the shows that can be seen are no less impressive for it.
Words to remember: джигитовка — the art of trick horse riding; джигит — a skilful and brave horseman; верховая езда — horse riding. To check your level of Russian, see the five levels of Russian, join our Russian language courses in Moscow or book private Russian lessons online — and read more in our blog.
