The Rolex One to Watch for October 2011 is, Oleg Krasyuk

The Rolex One to Watch for October 2011 is Ukrainian rider, Oleg Krasyuk. Based at Magna Racino near Vienna, Austria, the 34-year-old jumped from number 399 to 185 during September – a move up the Rolex Rankings of 214 places.

The Rolex One to Watch is an initiative which identifies the rider who has made the biggest jump within or into the Top 250 of the Rolex Rankings the previous month.

Born on 19 April 1977, and brought up in a small town near Dnepropetrovsk, (USSR), Krasyuk’s first trainer was Alexandr Kuvichko, who has now sadly passed away. Krasyuk has also been trained by Viktor Poganovsky, one of the most decorated Soviet riders and a team Olympic champion at the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games.

After his gold medal at the Ukrainian Championships in 1997, and at the age of 20, Oleksandr Onischenko – a wealthy businessman and philanthropist – offered Krasyuk the opportunity to travel to Germany and train with three-time European champion Paul Schockemöhle – and Norbert Nuxoll – ex Show Jumper and colleague of Schockemöhle. Training with Schockemöhle and Nuxoll turned out to be a pivotal moment in Krasyuk’s career. Under their leadership, Krasyuk competed in Grands Prix, European and World Championships.

To this day Krasyuk considers Nuxoll to be one of the most influential people in his life.

During 2011, Krasyuk’s horse, Caligula, has been consistently excellent in the ring, taking first place in the Grand Prix of Donetsk (UKR) in September. Krasyuk’s other horses – Shalimar and Captain Nemo – were also outstanding in Donetsk, and have given him crucial points to help his rise up the Rolex Rankings. Krasyuk describes Shalimar as an exceptional horse; a real workaholic with an excellent character. Caligula and Captain Nemo, on the other hand, are two very promising stallions and he believes that they have a very bright future ahead of them.

Over the last few years Krasyuk has been sponsored by his owner, Svitlana Vinnichenko, whom he met in 2005 when Svitlana was starting her career as a horse owner. Since then, the number of horses that Svitlana owns and the time she spends at the stables has grown considerably. Svitlana’s daughter, Marina, now rides as well, and Krasyuk believes his team’s incredible partnership will bring many successes in the future.

Krasyuk admires Marco Kutscher, Ludger Beerbaum and, in particular, Marcus Ehning. He also likes the style of Michel Robert and Rolf-Gӧran Bengtsson. Krasyuk dreams of one day winning at the FEI World Equestrian Games and the Olympic Games.