Marat Bakhramov & JS Dressage: Dressage Trainer & Training Barn in Barnesville, Maryland

Always the consummate horse professional, and well known by dressage cognoscenti, Marat is a USDF Gold Medalist who has competed on the international Grand Prix circuit since 1979.

Marat began his dressage career learning to ride on international-level Grand Prix schoolmasters in the riding schools of Tashkent, Uzbekistan, then a part of the former Soviet Union. There he trained from a young age with 1980 Olympic Gold Medalist, Yuri Kovshov. As part of his training, Kovshov was a cavalry officer in the Soviet military, and he handed down that training theory to Marat. Marat himself was an officer in the Soviet cavalry.

When he was 27, Marat earned the coveted "Master of Sport in Dressage", an honor the Soviet Union bestowed upon a select group of students who demonstrated superior dressage training ability.

In 1990, Marat was the Grand Prix Dressage Champion of the Asian Games (the Asian continent's equivalent of the Pan American Games). In 1991, Marat was invited to join the Soviet international dressage team with Eejarsk, a horse he trained to Grand Prix, with the intent to attend the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Unfortunately, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and the resulting sale of Eejarsk, prevented Marat from attending the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

In 1991, Marat was training in Moscow where he met one of the great masters of dressage, Dr. Reiner Klimke. After witnessing Marat's skill as a dressage trainer, the Olympic champion personally invited Marat to train at Dr. Klimke's facility in Germany. During his tenure in Germany, Marat quickly became valued as Dr. Klimke's head rider, assisting in the development of the many FEI-level horses populating Dr. Klimke's facility.

After immigrating to the United States, Marat built the well-known business, Dark Horse Dressage Stables, Inc. During his 17 years with that business, Marat continued to compete on the international Grand Prix circuit with the many Grand Prix horses he personally trained. In 2001 and 2002, Marat made his entrance on the FEI/BCM Dressage Rider's World Ranking List, guaranteeing his spot among dressage's elite. Marat became a US citizen in 2003, and now represents the United States in international competitions.

In 2008, Marat established Jotunheimens Staller, with the idea of creating a professional yet welcoming atmosphere for dressage riders of all levels to experience the teachings of one of the great masters of dressage.