“You bird of a troika, who invented you? You could only have been born among a high-spirited people…” wrote Nikolay Gogol, the famous 19th century Russian author.

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No matter what Gogol thought, the high spirits of the Russian people apparently had little to do with the invention of the troika. Rather, the country’s huge distances and poor roads played their part and where the European two-horse carriage failed, the troika did not.

“This is a typically Russian way of harnessing horses: it doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world. It doesn’t hamper horses, so they can run very efficiently for a long time,” Leonid Smagly, troika driver, told RT.

The troika’s middle horse – the leader – has to trot while the wing horses gallop. This produces the harmony of movement and the speeds of up to 50 kilometers an hour.

While initially speed was all-important, looks soon came to matter, too, with the harness richly decorated and the horses themselves carefully picked. Orlov trotters, Russia’s oldest native breed, are thought to be the best for troikas.

“Even those who don’t know anything about horses won’t fail to notice their beauty. It’s all there: the good looks, the perfect movements. Sometimes they’ve got a temper though – but if you work with them you’re sure to get a result,” Yury Prokhorov, Director General of Moscow Stud Farm No 1, said.

The result, however, may require as much as ten years of training from the horses and special skills from the driver.

“It’s hard and easy at the same time,” Leonid Smagly explains. “I’m basically driving just one horse – the middle one. But the secret is – you have to love these horses. A Russian horse runs with all its heart and soul. And you have to feel it. It only comes with experience.”

Over the years, troikas have became a must-have at festivities, turned into a popular cultural staple. Even the Russian Santa, Father Frost, has one.

Having made their international debut in London in 1911, troikas have been a hit at worldwide exhibitions ever since.

Sport could not do without them either. Their first races were held in Moscow in 1840, gathering massive crowds. Troika competitions, which faced an uncertain future after the fall of the USSR, are also making a comeback.

“The hardest thing is staying calm,” Andrey Korchagin, Troika Championship participant, told RT. “You spend a whole year preparing and then if a small strap breaks – that’s it, that’s the end. Putting three horses together is no problem. But it’s not just three horses running next to each other, it’s a team.”

Championships at the Moscow Hippodrome gather troikas from across Russia. First, each one has to show off its beauty and demonstrate good team work by doing different turns and stops. Then, they have to race each other.

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