Josef Vana, Pardubice, Czech Republic
Posted by: 
ToRo61
N 50° 01.181 E 015° 44.812
33U E 553503 N 5541086
Josef Vána is a Czech steeplechase jockey, horse breeder and trainer
Waymark Code: WMF66K
Location: Pardubický kraj, Czechia
Date Posted: 08/29/2012
Views: 59
"Josef Vána (born 20 October 1952 in Zlín) - as the eight-time winner of the Velká pardubická steeplechase (
visit link) he is considered one of the greatest personalities of the Czech horse racing sport.
Vána won his first Velká pardubická steeplechase in 1987, on a Czech racehorse Železník. He managed to finish the race in 9 minutes 56.13 sec. and became the first who finished the race inside 10 minutes. Vána, together with Železník, also won Velká pardubická in 1988, 1989, 1991. In 1997 he achieved his fifth victory on Vronsky. Vána won Velká pardubická on Tiumen three times in a row in 2009, in 2010 and in 2011 (at the age of 58). In addition to his eight wins in the saddle, he also won Velká pardubická nine times as a trainer.
According to the statistics of the Czech Jockey Club, Vána competed in 631 races with 183 wins. During his career, he suffered several serious injuries. According to his own words, he "broke almost every bone in his body". The most serious injury he suffered was in June 1994 in Germany Iffezheim, when he fell at the first fence. He managed to overcome the clinical death and two months after it he competed in his next race."
Source: Wikipedia
Description of the statue
The statue is located in front of grandstand of Horse Racing Pardubice.
The bronze statue, life size (jockeys are not too tall :-)), a figure in racing strip, in the right hand holds a horsewhip, the horsewhip pointing towards the race track.