Georgian riders in London, 1892
(click to see larger picture)
GEORGIAN TRICK RIDERS AND BUFFALO BILL SHOW. In 1893 the Georgians went to the United States where for more than 30 years they performed under the name of "Russian Cossacks" in Buffalo Bill's Wild West as well as other American circuses and shows. The Georgian riders were called "Cossacks" for different reasons, perhaps, the most important of which was the fact that Georgia was part of the Russian empire at that time and so each Georgian was referred to as Russian (Georgia annexed by Czar's Russia in 1801 and by the Soviet Russia in 1921). They won widespread recognition and, in fact, influenced cowboy riding. Dee Brown, the noted western historian wrote, "Trick riding came to rodeo by way of a troupe of Cossack daredevils imported by the 101 Ranch. Intrigued by the Cossacks stunts on their galloping horses, western cowboys soon introduced variations to American rodeo. Colorful costumes seem to be a necessary part of trick riding, and it is quite possible that the outlandish western garb which has invaded rodeo area can be blamed directly on Cossacks and trick riders."
For more details,
The usual performance of Georgians began with the riders, all dressed in national outfit (chokha in Georgian), taking the stage while carrying their weapons and singing. First they marched around the arena, then stopped and dismounted on mid-stage, broke into a new song and started to perform one of Georgian native dances to the accompaniment of handclaps. Sometimes this dance was executed upon a wooden platform. This act usually followed by stunt riding. It represented the perfection of man and horse and the Georgians did the most unbelievable stunts while galloping The riders performed a series of maneuvers (they were standing on their heads up, standing straight in the saddle, riding three horses simultaneously, jumping to the ground and then back, picking up small objects from the ground; one of the tricks that was very popular with the spectators was, the rider at full gallop standing on horseback and shooting) including the most risky tricks, carried out only by a chosen few. One of these tricks was when a rider removed his saddle and dismounted while riding at a full gallop and then remounted again fixing the saddle back on a horse. This trick riding style called dzhigitovka (a Turkic word taken to mean skilful and courageous rider) or jiriti in Georgian.
Among the riders were Ivane Makharadze, Luka Chkhartishvili, Serapion
Imnadze, Ivane Baramidze, Nikoloz Surguladze, Irakli, Tsintsadze, Polta
Tsintsadze, and others. In Britain, Queen Victoria arranged a private
performance by the Georgians led by Ivane Makharadze and in the U.S.,
Presidents Woodrow Wilson and Theodore Roosevelt enjoyed the shows as
well; Roosevelt presented one of the riders, Giorgi Chkhaidze, with a
golden ring and a tray as a token of his respect. The Georgian riders
were not males alone and included several women, including Barbale
Imnadze, Kristine Tsintsadze, Maro Zakareishvili-Kvitaishvili, and Frida
Mgaloblishvili. The start of World War I and subsequent turmoil in
Georgia put an end to the Georgian participation in the Wild West shows.
Irakli Makharadze