Stajnia Pod Szybowcem, Toruń, Poland
Visited: February-June 2013
Visited: February-June 2013
Whilst working in Poland as and English language teacher I found a business card in a local cafe with an eye-catching juxtaposition in the image; a horse being encircled above by a light aircraft! Well, I was intrigued so I set off to Stajnia Pod Szybowcem or 'Stables Under Gliders' which is a small riding school forty-five minutes walk away west of Toruń's Old Town.
Although bewildered by a random Brit wandering into their stables with a handful of Polish phrases that I'd written down and practised the whole walk there the staff were very friendly. My instructor Ewa ("ehva") basically drew the short straw as she spoke the most English and agreed to give me a lesson that very afternoon. I was doubly looking forward to it as I was keen to try and learn as much Polish as I could in a setting that I might actually use it in.
I rode a dark bay mare named Platina, and she was a totally grumpy moody mare! She napped and bucked at every instruction and honestly wasn't that enjoyable to ride. However I liked the place and the chance to practise my Polish so I rebooked with the hope of more enjoyable riding. The next week I hopefully turned the corner only to be greeted with Platina again, but with my feeble Polish I decided to hop on and go with it... and she was wonderful! Smooth steady paces with a real turn of speed, and beautifully balanced on tight manoeuvres in the arena. Phew!
It was great to experience the Polish style of riding with three styles of trot, or kłus ("koos"), a word I learned very quickly after the amount of it in one hour. They have the usual sitting and rising trot, but then also the hover, where you have to stand up and over the saddle and something I'd never really had to do for an extended time. A personal favourite of my instructor, it was extremely tiring on the legs and first time I've walked the John Wayne walk in years.
Although bewildered by a random Brit wandering into their stables with a handful of Polish phrases that I'd written down and practised the whole walk there the staff were very friendly. My instructor Ewa ("ehva") basically drew the short straw as she spoke the most English and agreed to give me a lesson that very afternoon. I was doubly looking forward to it as I was keen to try and learn as much Polish as I could in a setting that I might actually use it in.
I rode a dark bay mare named Platina, and she was a totally grumpy moody mare! She napped and bucked at every instruction and honestly wasn't that enjoyable to ride. However I liked the place and the chance to practise my Polish so I rebooked with the hope of more enjoyable riding. The next week I hopefully turned the corner only to be greeted with Platina again, but with my feeble Polish I decided to hop on and go with it... and she was wonderful! Smooth steady paces with a real turn of speed, and beautifully balanced on tight manoeuvres in the arena. Phew!
It was great to experience the Polish style of riding with three styles of trot, or kłus ("koos"), a word I learned very quickly after the amount of it in one hour. They have the usual sitting and rising trot, but then also the hover, where you have to stand up and over the saddle and something I'd never really had to do for an extended time. A personal favourite of my instructor, it was extremely tiring on the legs and first time I've walked the John Wayne walk in years.
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