Jiří Kocman

"I cherish my greatest triumph, which was to be invited by the Queen of England to Windsor for quadruped carriage races. And that was just the invitation. I had the great pleasure to attain a tight second place in the whole competition. And Prince Philip was fourth, behind me, and for this success I was so invited by the Queen to Windsor Castle, into the blue salon to a dinner with the Queen of England, which not even Prince Philip attended. There were eight of us there, eight people at the round table, a truly wonderful experience. How we watch it in the old movies."

"But I was very lucky, because at that time during the 50s Count Radslav Kinský from Chlumec nad Cidlinou rode there with his horses; he convinced me and we worked out an agreement for me coming over to him at the castle in Chlumec and taking care if his racing horses. But that was already after the year 1948 and they probably or definitely nationalized all of the property of the sir count Kinský, even the horses of course. And so now he took care of those horses as an employee. He was basically the branch manager there, because at that time Chlumec was grouped under Slatiňany. I remember that it was the State Experimental Institute Slatiňany, riding department, Chlumec nad Cidlinou. It was this round, plate-iron badge and all of this was written on there and he, Radslav Kinský, worked as an administrator there. He was an amazingly brave person of a very good character. He was personally very hard-working and I understood him as a friend. Now that I think about it he basically offered me his friendship, because we both loved horses and so came together in this field in a very good, friendly manner. I think that he didn't let the expropriation get to him that much, but it definitely greatly disappointed him deep in his heart of hearts. Because that was his property, the Chlumec area was beautiful and the castle was too. And the surroundings, and especially the game preserve behind Chlumec, which he had also owned. There was a little castle there, it was a truly beautiful environment. And so it definitely disappointed, as it would any person."

"Opposite the stables, by the coach house, there were these four sheds. You could say they were carriage houses, that's what we called them. There were a few carriages there which belonged to the Strahov Monastery and there were carriages of all types there. The abbot let himself be driven around his properties, because as is well known, the Strahov Premonstrantensians owned a number of large farm estates and the farmland. It's true that a few smart guys came, who managed to get to the carriages and sold them off beyond the border, and some carriages weren't used at all."