Jighitovka
ne reads in European books
on cavalry history that the only mounted force that in battle used their destriers not
simply as means of locomotion but as fighting companions were Cossacks. A great admirer of
Cossack horsemanship was Napoleon.To be sure, Cossacks had their own system of schooling and training their chargers, but the other secret of their formidable fighting performance was jighitovka (stunt riding). The name comes from jighit, the Turkic for a dashing and skilled rider. Jighitovka is practiced by Cossacks, and the peoples of the Caucasus and Central Asia. Elements of jighitovka were used in training troopers of Russian regular cavalry regiments.
Jighitovka has always been an applied art. Here is one episode from the last war narrated by a participant:
"In autumn of 1943 our Fourth Kuban Cossack Corps was raiding behind the German lines in the Crimea. Our company was on an outriding mission in the steppe when we encountered a Hungarian cavalry regiment. We clashed head on. Our commander was very young and got carried away by fighting frenzy. In a moment he found himself caught up in a deadly ‘merry–go–round' by six Hungarian horsemen. Fierce fighting began. The Cossack was fencing and shooting using both hands, while controlling his horse with his body and legs. But he would not have never survived without jighitovka tricks. Several times he made an obryv (see below), shooting from under his horse's belly. Back in the saddle he would parry and cut right and left. Everything was being done automatically, on an impulse — were telling long hours of hard training.
In a couple of minutes two opponents were hit and disappeared — life became easier a bit. Soon the Hungarians fled having seen Cossacks galloping flat out to rescue their comrade. The commander emerged from that dog fight without his scabbards, dagger, and revolver holster — everything had been cut off by Hungarian sabers."
According to Byzantine
chronicles of the 6th century, beginnings of jighitovka were practiced by Slavic tribes
that lived on the border between the Steppe and the Forest and had to protect themselves
from aggressive steppe nomads. Mounted Slavs fought with two swords, a fact that so amazed
the Byzantians that they compared Slavic warriors to Centaurs.
To make this possible, Slavic boys at frontier outposts used to
hold heavy stones covered with bull leather clutched by their knees for hours on end. That
made their legs strong enough to enable them to control their horses in battle by legs
alone.
Jighitovka was a must with teenage Cossacks. Before joining what was called "active service" they normally took part in races, vine cutting (saber exercise) and jighitovka tournaments. Jighitovka awards were treasured in all Cossacks families.
Jighitovka exercises
Jighitovka is a martial art and a sport. The closest thing to jighitovka is vaulting. In addition to most vaulting exercises, jighitovka includes many tricks of its own and has its differences. To begin with, in jighitovka the horse is galloping very fast. Exercises require much strength. Some of them are quite dangerous. Ideally, jighitovka is performed in a Cossack or Caucasian saddle with stirrups tied up under the belly with a skashovka belt.
The easiest exercises are considered to be all sorts of vaults into the saddle and galloping standing on the saddle or on the croup.
Then come vaulting in one cycle over the horse (or two horses galloping alongside with their rains tied up) and picking up things from the ground, the latter exercise has various grades of difficulty, e.g., things can be collected alternately on either side, they can be put in holes, or even covered with small mounds of sand.
The obryv, referred to above, is "diving" backwards on either side, the rider's feet "stuck" in the stirrups tied under the horse's belly. The rider's head is near the hind hoofs and his arms on or near the ground, an exciting sensation in itself. This trick was used by Cossacks in battle to imitate the dead rider. It was employed to shake pursuit, to lure enemies into trying to catch the "runaway" horse, or to shoot from under the belly or along the horse's flank.
Among the most difficult and dangerous jighitovka tricks is diving under the horse's
belly and climbing up into the saddle on the other side. One unbelievable version of the
trick was performed by the circus jighit Alibek Kantemirov, who would from under the belly
squeeze through the horse's hind legs and climb onto the croup.
In competitions, tricks are done in combination, and assessed by their difficulty and
imagination.
There are also group jighitovka exercises, both on one or two horses.
Photos are coming soon.
How about organizing an American–Russian equestrian
festival,
with Americans showing their rodeo & Western events;
and Russians, jighitovka, Cossack saber work & equestrian games.