PROSPECTS FOR USING OF ORLOVSKAYA TROTTING BREED IN CLASSIC EQUESTRIAN SPORTS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF MODERN SPORT PERFORMERS IN 2017-2020
Horse-breeders of many domestic breeds are experiencing difficulties with the sale of products. Against the background of growing support for the Orlovskaya trotter breed, the number of breeding stock has also increased. However, the share of horses tested at racetracks, as well as the amount of funding for closed prizes for representatives of this breed, remains unchanged, which makes it especially relevant to search for a new niche for the Orlovskaya trotter. Historically, horses of trotting breeds also fell into the classical disciplines of equestrian sports (dressage, show jumping, triathlon), and the development of dog sledding (driving) under the auspices of the Russian Equestrian Federation has opened up another potential market niche for them. Therefore, the question of the suitability of the modern population of the Orlovskaya trotter breed for use outside the hippodrome trials seems to be relevant. The paper analyzes the history of the use of Orlovskaya trotters in classical equestrian sports, taking into account the dynamics of the number of representatives of the breed, presents the characteristics of the population of sports horses of the Orlovskaya trotting breed, which performed in 2017-2020. in Russia, the analysis of the breed representation in different disciplines was carried out. It was found that the number of horses in classic equestrian sports has increased significantly over the past 30 years, a significant number of animals start not in one, but in several disciplines at once. However, the predominant direction of sports use of the Orlovskaya trotter is overcoming obstacles, where the representatives of the breed occupy the middle niche and fully meet the needs of amateur athletes. It was found that passing the cross-country tests does not provide any advantages for the subsequent use of trotters in the Olympic equestrian disciplines, and among sports horses, animals that have not entered the racetrack prevail.