Hrubý Jeseník
Born in Zlín, Váňa spent his childhood is Slopné. He began his career as a horse breeder and keeper in Tlumačov. Later he moved to Hrubý Jeseník, where he worked as a construction worker at the Praděd TV tower and administrator of a ski center. He took part in his first horse race in 1979 in Boskovice with a mare "Kalina". It was also the first win of his career. At the age of 28 he resumed his horse racing activities in Czechoslovakia and Germany and soon after that, in 1985, he competed in his first "Velká pardubická" steeplechase with "Paramon". He finished second.