We cross the Dneistr

Monday 31st October
Since leaving Uman, we have left the high road and have been following some quieter rural roads and tracks. Not a welcome sight in the morning.......
......little Zorbee slightly the worse for wear after a rollicking night at an Ukrainian fiesta? No - he has been rooting around in the weeds again, and acquired a liberal coating of these pesky burrs, which are a nightmare at this time of year. Hua spent a considerable time trying to rid him of this little lot, but eventually gave up in exasperation and cut off part of his mane.

A lady driver with a smart set of hooves.

Brrrrr .... icy autumn mornings are setting in.

Ukrainian women delivering pails of milk to a milk tanker. Surprisingly it is often quite difficult to find milk in rural shops, presumably as most people already have their own cow or a neighbour who does.

Riding through the autumn mists. The colours of the trees are often quite spectacular, but my little camera does not do them justice.

Michael, who came with his tractor to put me and little Zorbee on the right cross country track ..........

...over hill and dale....

.....to reach the second great river in Ukraine, the Dneistr .... .....and here are Bolashak and me about to cross the great dam at Novodnistrovsk today - it acts to create electricity from the river. On the left is the road across the top of the dam, and one can just catch a small glint from the reservoir dammed back behind it.

We visit the River Styx ...

Thursday 27th October
I was feeling so rotten after my tooth ache and extraction that it was an enormous relief to have the use of Colai's flat to crash out in, and I decided to stay another day in Uman to recuperate. It also meant we could make the obligatory visit to the 'world renowned' Sofiyivka Park which was only 5 minutes stroll from the block of flats, shown below. Notice the amazing graffiti art on the wall.
Sofiyivka Park is laid out in the Romantic style round a series of lakes and waterfalls.


It was designed in the late 18th century by Polish count Pototsky for his new wife Sofia, a noted beauty and socialite who rose from humble origins as a Greek slave girl. This accounts for the Greek theme, with statues of various Greek mythological figures - here is Hua clinging onto a statue of Orpheus ........

...... and by the tunnel entrance to the Styx, as the underground stream in the background is called! Apparently it is sometimes possible to have boat tours through the tunnel to the lake beyond.


No self respecting Ukrainian girl can have their photo taken without some serious posing, but sadly my inexperienced attempts do not really pass muster.

Today we set off again, and it was sad to say goodbye to all our new friends.

On the far left is Hala who interpreted so competently, 3rd from left is Colai who lent us his flat, and in the stripey shirt in the middle is our delightful host Andrei. Many, many thanks!

I become a dental tourist

Tuesday 25th October
Now that Rowena has left me, the photos on the road will be mainly of ears again. Here I am riding along one of the amazing cobbled roads that I increasingly seem to encounter. Sometimes they have been tarmaced over, which I am shamefully grateful for as the cobbles are incredibly slippery for the horses, and I either have to ride at the side of the road, or get off and lead.

I am also now encountering the occasional horse and cart, and almost always stop for chat in halting Russian - generally ' What a beautiful horse' which is usually true and makes everyone happy. The horses are always driven in open bridles, in other words without blinkers as horses generally are in Britain. The cart shown here is very typical.


We have continued to have problems with our map book which is only indicative of what to expect - here is Hua asking the way at the edge of a village when a road marked on the map has mysteriously disappeared on the ground.....

I had planned to take a more cross country route to Uman, but partly due to these map quirks, and also dire warnings from locals about the state of the road ahead - Kaput!! we were firmly told at one point - we decided to follow the main road via Kirovograd.

In fact this proved to be a good decision, not only because there was a wide verge almost all the way ... ...... but because I developed tooth ache, and was able to go the dentist in Kirovograd, one of the few large towns in the area. It was a little worrying that the dentist just happened to be an old classmate of my taxi driver, particularly when we arrived at a rather unprepossessing block of flats. But the surgery was well equipped, though the skull in the middle of the floor was a bit unnerving, as was the way the dentist leant across my chest to examine my mouth. However he soon had a filling in, and all for a bargain £13!

Then it was off towards Uman, but not without a further delay. This time it was Hua - who managed to get stuck in a village while fetching water. After being towed out by tractor, he was so overexhilerated that he ran straight into a rock and damaged almost the whole of one side of the lorry. Luckily nothing too serious, but it necessitated a detour to a nearby town where the dents were hammered out at a repair shop - the photo below with a shame-faced Hua is taken after some of the hammering ..
...... and they fitted a new accumulator whatever that is and removed the cracked water container for the windscreen washers. But we can no longer open the passenger door. Heigh Ho.

On the road from Kirovograd to Uman

A roadside 'cafe' selling a sort of rural Ukrainian version of pizza slices, and packet coffee - hence the thermos of hot water. Not very enticing, but hey one has to make a living somehow.

I have now arrived at Uman to a warm welcome from Andrei and crew at the showjumping stables. The outfit is very plush as you can see from the photo above of the indoor riding school.

One of the 'team' here, Nicolai, or Colai for short, has very kindly given us the use of his flat. This has been highly appreciated in the circumstances as my toothache problem did not go away, and today I went to the dentist again - this time recommended by our Uman hosts and infinitely more professional. Extraction was advised and efficiently done, again for a ridiculous fee - this time for about £12 including injection, so I am now an official dental tourist.

To Krivvy Rig

Monday 17th October
For the last few days we have been riding to Krinichki, just to the north of Krivvy Rig, where our next host Alexander was waiting.


With English teacher Irina who befriended us, and let us fill up all our depleted water containers from her well.


Why would anyone want to put a scarecrow on a dung heap?

These strange metal trap doors we saw outside former Soviet housing blocks in some towns are not the entrances to dungeons, but to root cellars for storing vegetables etc.

Rowena and Bolashak on the road to Kirove

Very small horses or very tall rushes?

A bread kiosk - bread is very important in Ukraine.

Nearing Krivvy Rig we came across this seemingly abandoned war memorial in the middle of nowhere.......

What better way to go than in the arms of a singularly well endowed lady soldier...

We had a tremendous welcome from all at the showjumping stables at Krinichki. They managed to clear out a couple of unused loose boxes for the horses, the faulty oil filter on the lorry has been changed, and we have been lavishly fed and watered. Here we are having another delicious meal washed down with Crimean wine. Left to right, Hua, Alexander who owns the stables, Lera, Hermann, Katya who produced the wonderful spread, Rowena who looks as though she has had a few glasses.

A demented looking Hua trying to appear fiercesome in Hermann's Cossack outfit..

Alexander took us home to his comfortable house to shower and sleep. Rowena has now left to return to Kazakhstan and I shall very much miss her company.

All Change in Zaporizhia

Wednesday 12th October
We have been taking a few days off in Zaporizhia on the great river Dneiper - the Cossacks had a former headquarters on Khortitsia island in the middle of the river here. Rowena and I rested at a hotel in the centre of town, while the horses have been very well looked after at a private showjumping yard in Malakaterinka to the south. The hospitality has been second to none, and nothing has been too much trouble.
On Sunday night we were treated to a most convivial barbecue at the stables with Victor who owns the outfit, family and friends. erAccompanied by much laughter and toasting. Below left to right - Rowena, Victor's son Andrei, girlfriend Tia, Victor, Alexander who showjumps, the showjumping trainer also called Victor just to be confusing, Igor? the vet, and Dasha, Victor's daughter, who is a mean little rider.
They have been immensely generous, welding the broken lorry ramp and thoughly washing down the outside and the horses area, and providing us with hay and oats. Victor the trainer spent time with us identifying stables across Ukraine where we can stay - he intends to warn them that we are on the way. Many, many thanks for all your help!

It has also been a time for an all change in drivers, as on Saturday Rupert returned home to work in London (thank you for all your hard work Rupert!) and on Tuesday evening we were joined by Hua, my former riding partner in China.
The following afternoon we set off on the next leg to Krivvy Rig, minus the cat who appeared keen to join us.
Dasha, Alexander and trainer Victor rode with us across the fields for the first couple of kilometres - here we all are about to head off.....
Left to right, Rowena on Bolashak, me like a little pony club girl on little Zorbee, Dasha, Alexander and Victor on their imposing showjumpers - they mainly keep Irish sport horses and Westphalians.

Today we rode up the river to Zaporizhia, and had a very civilised break for cappuchino at this riverside cafe facing Khortitsia island - you can see the marquee has Khortitsia inscribed at the top.

Rowena and Bolashak crossing the first bridge over the Dneiper to Khortitsia island
Me with the two horses on Khortitsia island. There is a large museum on the island dedicated to its history and Cossack occupation - we made sure we visited it on one of our days off.

Snapshots from the road

Another days ride through beautiful Ukrainian countryside.

It has been surprisingly difficult to find a convenient water supply for the horses. I had imagined there would be plenty of small streams now we have left the drier areas of Eurasia, but in fact this has not been so. Rupert has been kept busy trying to persuade locals to let him use the precious water from their wells when there is not an alternative supply. Here is an elderly babuschka giving him a lesson on how water should be raised from a well - a public one in this instance.

A typical little Ukrainian house in eastern Ukraine.

.......... and a typical sight outside one! Many people have benches by their front gates where they can sit and chat and watch the world go by.

Supper by the campfire

at it again ....... scrumping for walnuts this time.

Rowena Joins Us

Thursday 6th October

Rowena has joined us, and it is great to have some company through the superb open riding landscapes we are encountering. We have enjoyed cutting across country on little earth tracks through huge arable fields ...........

.....and through the villages Rowena has been able to indulge in some productive scrumping - here she is in Bacchus mode devouring some grapes which had 'gone wild' over the fence.

Her other favourites are walnuts from the many walnut trees which line the village lanes.

Asking the way from a bemused elderly local - neither he or Rowena were much wiser at the end of the conversation.

A meal at an extraordinary military brigade restaurant we came across.

Who is the dummy? Rupert is apparently held prisoner by one.

Little Zorbee doing his bit for British-Ukrainian relations - Giving pony rides to local infants .........

......and making friends with an Ukrainian goat........

A novel well!

We have seen surprisingly few horses, but many of them are very similar to our own Welsh Cob.