Horse riding
and other wholesome countryside fun
at Uncle Pasha's Dacha
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horses | riding lessons | caves | getting here | about me | horse boarding | horse training | language exchange | accommodation ......
The village of [Dubrovki] on the Volga river, near [Staritsa], [Tver] region, [between Moscow & St. Petersburg], has but four permanent residents, and is surrounded by a lot of empty space, mostly hills, ravines, small streams, with lots of trails, making it ideal for horse riding.
The house itself is a typical Russian log cabin ("izba"). I hope a few improvements such as shower with hot water running some of the time as long as the pond has water and plumbing is not frozen (80% of the time) and an outhouse with a seat and an odour control system of my own invention don't disqualify it from the "authentic izba" status.
[house, toilet, shower, room over the shower, hobo hole, tree house, tents, wagon, hammock tent...]
Detaile instructions on getting to Staritsa from Moscow are HERE. If starting elsewhere just [write to me]. Once you find yourself in Staritsa....the rest of your way to Dubrovki is a classic last mile situation. Be prepared for a short car ride, then a walk, then a boat ride. Or a 7 mile horse ride. I can just meet you with horses in town. When the weather is good you can drive right to the house with a regular car but you'll need to travel around the hills, thus extra 17-18 miles. In the winter, when the Volga is frozen solid, it is a matter of 30-min. sleigh ride to retrieve you from the bus station.
Some of the "touristy" destination on your way from Moscow are [New Jerusalem] (a monument to Russia's ambition to become the center of Christian civilization, or The Third Rome), Volokolamsk, Zubtsov and Rzhev (the last three will be of interest to those interested in military history), Klin (the Tchaikovsky Museum), and of course Tver. See my [Moscow to St. Petersburg though small towns and villages] for more ideas of how you can plot your trip between the two capitals to see a cross-section of the country.
More about the place is HERE [move Volga, Izba living, Tver, and Staritsa here]. I tried to describe small towns and villages between Moscow & St. Petersburg in my www.staritsa.info project.
Map of the area between Moscow & Staritsa.
Click to enlarge.
[photos of boat ride and cart ride]
Your host is I, the famous Uncle Pasha, who holds his fingers in the many little pies listed or described at www.unclepasha.com A few years ago I was exiled from the polite society, and as my character continued to deteriorate I had to accept that voluntary self-imposed exile to the end of my days is the best option for both me and the rest of humanity. So I retired to the deserted village but, being accustomed to the level of consumption that includes good coffee, books, unlimited internet access, and a hired lawnmower operator I started this little rural hospitality/horse riding project that now seems to be evolving in several directions that include [language/cultural exchange], [errands in Staritsa and surrounding regions], [family tourism], and even [horse boarding] and [training],
His features include fangs, mushroom addiction,
THE POWER PARAGRAPH ABOUT HORSES HERE!!!!
Riding lessons
Horse boarding
Horse training
NO HORSE CRAP!!
No, horses are not the only attraction here. In fact, the purpose of these manure factories with the annual output of stuff 12 tons each, is to merely entice you to Pasha's small resort. Once here, he will, albeit subtly (eg. by feeding you too well if you are a VIP client, or telling you of injuries caused to humans by each of his little animals), reduce your motivation to ride. The line "no time limit on riding" is, while not technically false, was aired knowing full well that you will not be able to do more than two hours no matter what, and that a little discouragement will reduce or extinguish your interest in climbing on top of equines altogether. Partly he does it for your safety but the true reason is that his well trained horses quickly go out of tune if used as rental hags.
Old limestone mines are the attraction Staritsa is most famous for. If you insist on "activities" I'm all for caves if the alternative is horses. An average of one rider per year ends up in a local hospital with horse-related injuries but only one cave explorer of all my guests over all these years insisted on being seen by a doctor because of a small scratch on his forehead obtained when his slid on his bum down some tunnel and hit a stone protruding down from the top. As he requested, I drove him to the Staritsa Municipal Hospital where he was, quite expectedly, told by the nurse at the reception that he should indeed seek treatment for his head but that this hospital does not have a shrink on staff. So for me, who prefers not to stick out as the operator of a place where injuries happen regularly, caves are preferable to horses. Still, before taking VIP clients to the caves or giving detailed instructions to the economy-class guests I offer to lock them in my unfinished wet and dirty basement, with two chicken and a cockerel instead of bats.
Canoeing and rafting is another alternative to horses. A good inflatable boat able to accommodate two is available. It can be transported up the Volga or the small but picturesque Kholokholenka river before you float down. Or you can go all the way to Tver, which takes an average of two lazy days, and I will retrieve the boat there.Banya and mushroom-picking are two other standard local amusements. Lots of mushrooms and all of them are edible although one (Amanita .......) can be eaten only once in a lifetime. .
(put both on one page; add Riding for children and Riding for the disabled to the Horses page)
Boarding, training
Gypsy-style travel & camping
"Winter is the soul of Russia"
Examples of individual trips in the area between Moscow and St. Petersburg
Russian horse resources with at least some English content
Feedback, testimonials, stories, press articles..
E-MAIL
is preferable to telephone but if you really need to do call
Å 8-910-932-5546
(+7-910-932-5546 if calling from abroad)