• Horse riding has been practiced in Georgia since ancient times. It is confirmed that the Georgian tribes had no equal in horse breeding and training in the whole of Urartu. According to the Roman historian Dion Cassius, at the festival dedicated to the god of war, King Pharasmanes of Iberia and his dignitaries came to Rome (II century) and held an equestrian competition. Roman Emperor was impressed by the skill of Georgians, as a sign of special respect, a statue of Pharasmanes on a horse was erected on Field of Mars square in Rome.

• The great rise of horse riding began after the USSR-German war. Tbilisi has become the equestrian center of Georgia. Since 1948, in the area of Saburtalo-Vake, a large equestrian competition was held, which included both national and classical species. In 1947, the riders of the equestrian squadron of the Tbilisi held the first demonstration match in horseball, after which the Georgian national games became established in the equestrian sports calendar of Georgia.

• The development of horse riding in Georgia was determined, first of all, by living in mountainous conditions, by frequent wars with enemies inside and outside the country, and by agricultural activities in peacetime. To this day, two varieties of the horse breed have been preserved: Tushuri and Megrelian horses. In addition to them, a Javakhuri breed group was also formed in Georgia.

The ancient Megrelian horse was bred as a result of folk selection in the lowlands of Western Georgia, mainly in the areas surrounding the Black Sea. The natural climatic conditions of Kolkheti played an important role in the formation of the Megrelian horse. It is characterized by high adaptability to mountain conditions.

The Javakhuri horse is gentle and beautiful in appearance, has energetic temperament and endurance of hard work.

Tushuri horse is one of the oldest breeds of the Caucasus, which was bred in the natural climatic conditions of the mountainous area of Georgia as a result of folk selection. It is characterized by good endurance, courage, good orientation, adaptability to temperature changes. All these features are necessary for movement in the mountains.

• From Lanchkhuti to New York – Gurian horsemen, who were considered the best showmen of the 19th century USA

In 1892, the representative of the famous American showman, Buffalo Bill, impresario Thomas Oliver arrived in Georgia, specifically in Batumi. He was tasked with selecting horses for the Wild West Show. Oliver met his resident and secretary Kirile Jorbenadze. With the help of Jorbenadze, he gathered a team of 10 people in Guria under the leadership of Ivane Makharadze.

Since 1892, a total of 150 Georgian horsemen have participated in the Wild West Shows held in the USA. Gurian riders performed rare show while riding and enjoyed great popularity. Dances, songs and beautiful clothes were essential attributes of their show. The American newspapers also wrote about the unique riding style of the Georgians: “They riding the horses standing on their hands and feet on the saddle”. They had a great influence on the local cowboy. US Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt were active viewers of these shows, Roosevelt gave ring as a present to Giorgi Chkhaidze. Returning to his homeland, Chkhaidze was threatened with imprisonment by the Soviet authorities and was forced to sell the ring.

A small group that returned to their homeland became victims of Soviet repression. The last group returned to Georgia in 1924.

 Riders who visited America were accused of being American spies and arrested, and many of them were forced to destroy all evidence of their presence abroad. Ivane Makharadze, Pavle Makharadze, Ivane Baramidze became victims of repression. The Soviet authorities confiscated the things they had brought from America. Many of the returnees committed suicide.

• Ride therapy is also very popular direction in horse riding and medicine. A horse is one degree warmer than a human. This unusual warmth acts on its rider like a medicine. Because of this, during ride therapy, the patient is placed on a horse without a saddle (although the rider can feel the heat of the horse’s body from the saddle as well) – heat impulses massage the body naturally, warm the muscles and relieve spasm.

In addition to thermal energy, the horse transmits 110 impulses per minute and a whole series of movements to the rider: forward, backward, up, down, right, left… This means that all the muscles of a person work when riding. None of gym simulator can load the body in such a complex way.

This method helps patients to get rid of some diseases such as muscular dystrophy, schizophrenia, neurosis.