Sakhalin: Kristina, a highschool student, was standing near the Lenin statue in the center of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk on a recent Russian holiday offering people to ride a horse for a fee. She said she has been riding horses since age 9 and can race 80km/hour and do jumps.
Kristina said she rides with her dad on the weekend for two hours. I asked if he taught her to ride. “I taught him,” she said. “I said dad, why don’t I teach you. He said ‘why’? I told him so that we could ride together.” She said it took two months to teach him to ride confidently. Kristina said she would like to become a veterinarian.