Laima, 82, wouldn’t quit her beloved job – she feels better here than at home

When we arrive, we are greeted first by a four-legged guard from the territory, followed by the hostess, Ms. Laima. After greeting us, he immediately leads us to the stables.

“Here, my great-grandmother’s horse,” she says, opening the enclosure and inviting her like a girl, explaining that a total of 11 horses are kept here, four of them, although all the stables used to be filled with about 100 horses. .

“We had many riders, we transported horses from Russia, trained them and sold them to Germany. But it was in his youth. <...>

Now is not the age. We cut it down as much as we could, ”she adds, stroking her great-granddaughter’s horse named Volan.

In the area where the equestrian club is now located, the old pig farm they came to came from Belmont, and when the collective farms collapsed, Ms Laima tells her husband that the complex has been bought, despite that the family has had to sink into huge debts.

So, as they say, they were engaged in breeding mares, but they always trained and groomed young riders.

“Sports, sports, sports … As much as we could, we trade as much as we trade, we had to sell the house built, but we got out of debt,” he says.

Laima invites us to sit down and continue the conversation at her house, which is right next to the stables. Whenever the woman takes us up the stairs to the second floor, it shows her career achievements: the entire staircase is adorned with letters of appreciation and diplomas for Ms. Laima.

Going up the stairs, the view from the living room is even more impressive. The room is filled with various statuettes and other horse-related items, and women’s trophies are placed on the shelves – medals and goblets.

“Now we are dedicated to storing horses and preparing them for competitions, and people also sometimes come to ride horses.

I coach two athletes and we have one more person working for us. We do everything ourselves, we can still do it ”, he smiles.

Ms Laima herself says that her career has not been long, as she said, she has trained more motorcyclists and has not had much time for herself. Now the woman is no longer riding.

“The doctor forbade me. Four years have passed, so I would like to sit down and fix what my granddaughter is doing wrong. She is the one who is at war with me the most and does not allow me to ride a horse.

He had a lot of back injuries, ”he recalls.

True, the woman says that it takes a lot of work to raise a champion rider and horses, as well as exceptional animals, always feel good about the owner and his mood.

“They know the mood. If not, the horse is immediately disciplined. There used to be a point of love, but if I’m not in the mood it immediately stops like a downpour.

Or it happens, the granddaughter arrives and before entering the door, the horse hears the engine of the car and is already barking from the square towards the door. He knows it, ”he smiles.

Laima says that she still remembers the names of many her own and trained horses, but laughs not to name them.

“But attachment is great,” he adds.

When asked to tell her what Women’s Day is like today, she tells him that in the morning she first lets go of the geese in the pasture, then she bypasses the horses, then the students arrive, work with them and by the night he checks again to see if all the horses are okay.

“This is how I turn around, I go to the stables and I am better there than at home,” he says.

It is true that if there are still students, Laima says that she would be happy to receive training and says that she is only happy to be able to pass her knowledge on to someone.

“It just came to my knowledge then. This is my life, I have no idea and if I could go back in time, I wouldn’t change a thing,” he says.