Equestrian dzhigitovka competitions are held all over Russia and in a few other countries, like the UK and Germany.  Each year there is a world championship, held in summer.  So far, all two world championships have taken place in the city of Lytkarino, Moscow Region, Russia.  But the sport is still young . . . soon they might be held in other countries, maybe even yours!

​

The basic format for an equestrian dzhigitovka competition is as follows.

​

There are two phases of competition, weapons and tricks.  The weapons are the Cossack sword (shashka), spear, gun (an air pistol, for safety), throwing knife, and bow.  The weapons phase has two rounds; one is the bow and arrow round, during which the competitor must aim at three targets, and the other round involves a course of targets for all four other weapons, all of which are carried at one time!

​

According to the Russian rules, the tricks phase has only one round: six tricks performed over three laps of the track.  International rules are different: six tricks are still performed, but over three one-lap rounds with two tricks each.