“We can still laugh”
At the FEI European Championships the first half of the juniors in the individual competition is starting today at the Schafhof in Kronberg. Yeva Stolnikova and Danylo Konovalov from Ukraine will be there, tomorrow it will be teammate Viktoriia German's turn. No, for the riders from Ukraine it's not about medals, of course it's about sport, but for them the focus is on something completely different...
The Kronberg market square was full of cheers that never ended. The crowd waved blue and yellow flags and clapped as the Ukrainian team drove up in a carriage to greet the nations. As was the case for all teams, the national anthem was played on stage, and team boss Mariia Dzhumadzhuk was in tears. “It was a very emotional moment,” admits Mariia. “We felt the great support of the people. That was wonderful. I am very proud that we can be here and consider it a great honor.”
Many Ukrainian riders left the country when the war began in March 2022, including the three juniors competing at the European Championships in Kronberg: Viktoriia German, Danylo Konovalov and Yeva Stolnikova. It is very difficult to put together a team for the European Championships, explains Mariia. “Our riders are spread all over Europe.” 16-year-old Viktoriia German has lived in Portugal with her family since the beginning of the war. There she borrowed a horse, the now 15-year-old Dom Rico, who she also brought with her to the sheep farm. Danylo Konovalov has been living in Germany, near Osnabrück, with his two siblings and his family since March 2022. The 18-year-old was able to take his long-time successful partner with him from Ukraine. Danylo took part in the Children's European Championships with the eleven-year-old Holsteiner Concetti in 2018, when Concetti was six at the time. This year the pair will be competing at the European Championships for the sixth time and in the junior camp for the fourth time. When the war began, Yeva Stolnikova and her family ended up in southern Spain, near Valencia. Yeva also took her own horse with her from Ukraine and is competing at the sheep farm with the 13-year-old KWPN gelding, who is tellingly named Freedom. The two have been competing on the international junior stage for two years, but this year they are members of a championship team for the first time.
“We have a total of six riders who qualified for the Junior European Championships this year,” says Mariia, “but our best junior has final exams at school at the same time. She has also lived outside Ukraine since the war, in Belgium, and only traveled back to Ukraine for her exams.” For two of the six riders, the trip to Kronberg was not possible for various reasons, Mariia continues, so it boiled down to the three rider-horse pairs mentioned. “It’s not our three best juniors, but it’s the three who were able to get here.”
The head of the team herself stayed in Ukraine, she lives in Kyiv. “At the beginning of the war it was really terrible and dangerous, but now – a big thank you to our European friends – Kiev has become a safe city again. We have military equipment to protect ourselves.” For her, the days in Kronberg are like a different life, like an island where she can be happy.
In the months before the European Championships, Mariia either watched her protégés via Internet broadcasts of tournaments or had videos of training sent to her. “I know two of the three very well,” says Mariia. “I've known Yeva and Danylo for a long time, but Viktoriia was a 'wild card' for me. I only saw her ride as a child, so she was a big surprise for me at the preparatory exam, that was really good.”
The team only met directly at the Schafhof, one day before the start of the European Championships: the three riders came from their different parts of Europe, Mariia directly from Kiev. All three have their own trainers, who also traveled to Kronberg. Danylo trains with his mother, Yeva has her trainer who emigrated to Spain with her, and Viktoriia found a trainer in Portugal.
“The sport is of course important to us, but even more important at the moment is the message we send when we can compete here. A sign to the whole world: 'We are still alive, we can still laugh and we are still happy people.'
On Sunday, Mariia gets back on the plane and flies back to Kiev - the days in Kronberg and the carefree European Championship experiences in her luggage.
(KiK/pe&pa)