30.08.2011
The third item on the agenda of the press tour for Russian journalists devoted to tourist potential of the Union State was a visit to the National Center for Olympic Training in Equestrian Sport and Horse Breeding.
According to the Head of Rental Service at the National Center for Olympic Training in Equestrian Sport and Horse Breeding Oksana Hamulyak, today Ratomka is a leading educational center of the country training not only athletes but also coaches, riders, blacksmiths, horse breeders and other professionals involved in equestrian sport. Ratomka is known far beyond our borders.
The equestrian center in Ratomka traces its history back to 1962. That year the national horse-riding school was set up 35 km away from Minsk in village Koroliovo. In 1965 the horse-riding school was moved to village Ratomka. During the preparations for Moscow Summer Olympics in 1980, Ratomka became a training base for the Soviet national team.
Today in Ratomka they do not only prepare sportsmen and coaches, but also breed horses. This activity was initiated in 1969. Originally they purchased horses stemming from the forefathers brought from Trakehnen and performing successfully in equestrian sport. Thus, by the end of 1969, the farm had 34 mares and two stallions of Trakehner breed that had a number of champions in several different kinds of equestrian sport in their pedigree. According to O. Hamulyak, currently 500 horses are kept at the centre, as well as 8 mares and 7 studs.
Having lost with the collapse of the Soviet Union the status of an All-Union sports base, Ratomka has not only preserved the achievements of the Soviet sports school, but is also actively multiplying them. Children study at school free of charge when they reach the age of 10-12. The centre is upgrading its sports facilities and building a new arena.
But how is it possible to ensure that future and current champions as well as their coaches have decent sports facilities? The thing is that the sports centre in Ratomka long ago turned into a real production complex. The center owns a veterinary clinic which provides paid services; a rental agency reasonably priced even according to Belarusian standards; a private hotel; woodworking; a caf?; and a saddlery. The Centre also grows oats, sugar beet and oilseed rape on the 1,860 hectares belonging to it. O. Hamulyak gave an example of the thrift: “We don’t throw away any used horseshoes; we coat them with decorative cover and sell them as souvenirs”. All this makes it possible not only to save money but to withdraw gradually to self-sufficiency.
