July 5, 1975
В Ordzhonikidze (now Vladikavkaz) 93-year-old died Alibek Kantemirov — Soviet circus performer, animal trainer, and equestrian. Founder of the trick riding school in the USSR and a dynasty of circus performers.
Born in 1882 Terek region Russian Empire (the modern territory of several Caucasian republics).
The Ossetian name is Khantemyraty Tuzary firt Alybeg. The surname “Kantemirov” translates as “iron-blooded”.
He finished two years of school. As a teenager, he worked as a cart driver in a brick factory. One day, he approached the owner of a local stable and convinced him to give him a horse. He began racing as a jockey, and later found work as a laborer at a circus.
At 25 he made a brilliant debut in Batumi with solo horse riding.
After this, he began receiving invitations from Russian and international circuses, hippodromes, and major theaters (if the stage had an arena). He was the first to introduce Europeans to the equestrian genre of trick riding.
He received recognition in his homeland even before the revolution – Baron Wrangell handed him a gilded saber with the initials of Emperor Nicholas II.
In 1919, during the Civil War, he was noticed Budyonny. Untempted by a military career and training riders for the First Cavalry, he turned down the offer to become a future marshal. He had no enthusiasm for Soviet power and never joined the party.
Our party is horses
In 1924, he created his first troupe of horsemen, "Ali-bek" ("Dzhigits of Ossetia"), and set out with them on a multi-year tour of Europe. For their performances in local parks, sets in the Caucasian style were specially constructed. Audiences were touched by the young horsemen in their Circassian coats and papakhas—Ali-bek had been taking his three sons to see them perform since the age of five.
He paid a lot of attention to the education of his children (and later his grandchildren: his granddaughter Kadzhana, a circus actress, attended 54 schools in 10 years of schooling).
It's not enough to be born the son of a horseman; you have to become one yourself.
A bad son is one who doesn't want to go further than his father. He will remain in his shadow and wither.
Despite his success abroad, he answered any questions about emigration succinctly, pointing to his homeland:
Ossetia is there
In 1947, following Stalin's order to film domestic films with elements of horse riding, he developed a technique for equestrian stunts, thus laying the foundation for stuntmanship in the USSR.
In the film "Brave People" (1950), the first Soviet western, a war drama featuring the wonders of trick riding, all the stunts were performed by Kantemirov's troupe. This included the famous "undercut"—a flip of horse and rider alike. According to the contract, the Kantemirovs were allowed to kill seven or eight horses during filming, but they spared them all—the animals suffered no injuries. "Brave People" was seen by over 40 million people, and the directors received a Stalin Prize for it.
Kantemirov's troupe starred in more than 60 films—all Soviet westerns, including "Mountain Outpost" and "The Elusive Avengers."
Alibek Kantemirov mastered all the tricks to perfection. One of the most difficult was "Alan riding," which involved standing upright on two horses at once.
First the horse takes a running start,
Then Ali-Bek shoots
And he rears up the Hot Horse.
But the thunder of gunfire doesn't scare me
Neither dad nor me
(Sergey Mikhalkov)
In his mature years, he went into coaching and trained more than 150 horse riders.
The last time he rode out onto the arena was on his 90th birthday.
His work is continued by his descendants: his grandson Mairbek is known for his circus shows "Avaia" and "Oracle" with trick riding, gymnastics and choreography.
The Kantemirovs tour all over the world and win awards at famous circus festivals.
