PLN
Photo: Łukasz Kowalski
Last weekend, Radzionków was the capital of Polish dressage, hosting the Polish Indoor Championships for the second consecutive year. Over sixty pairs competed for titles in five categories: the Children's Indoor Championships, the Junior Indoor Championships, the Young Riders' Indoor Championships, the Polish Senior Cup – held in small-round competitions, and the Senior Indoor Championships – held in large-round competitions.
Photo: Wiktoria Rożnowska-Urbańczyk
HMP Children
In the Children's (12-14) age category, three of the four top riders who represented Poland last year at the European Championships in Kronberg have been Junior riders since January. Aleksandra Rozesłańska of SKJ Golden Dream, riding the seven-year-old gelding Fursten Spinne, comfortably won the competition. The pair won the Preliminary Competition with a score of 75.125%, topped the Team Competition with a score of 69.304%, and were second only to Julia Wójtowicz in the final Individual Competition.
Photo: Wiktoria Rożnowska-Urbańczyk
The silver medal in the HMP Dzieci competition was won by Julia Wójtowicz, a member of the Soymax Lublin Team, riding the gelding Shadow, well-known on the Polish arenas. He has won medals in the Polish Senior Cup under Anna Grygier-Wójtowicz in previous years. The bronze medal went to Aleksandra Machniewiecz and Baldessarini, the second pair representing Golden Dream. We're keeping our fingers crossed that, along with Liwia Strzeszewska, who was absent from Radzionków, our young riders will repeat last year's successes on the European arenas. Final standings:
- Aleksandra Rozesłańska / FURSTEN SPINNE (KJ Golden Dream) - 217.079%
- Julia Wójtowicz / SHADOW (Soymax Lublin Team) - 209.765%
- Aleksandra Machniewicz / BALDESSARINI (KJ Golden Dream) - 203.229%
HMP Juniors
The Junior competition was abuzz with excitement. Two experienced competitors, participants in last year's Junior European Championships in Kronberg, were the favorites: the current silver and bronze medalists at the Polish Championships, Nelly Solecka and Aleksandra Błachno. In the first semifinal, Nelly Solecka, riding for the Lider Radzionków club, atop High Bid VDT, did not disappoint, winning with a score of 69.461%. Zofia Kaczmarek, riding Lady Legende (LKJ Lewada), who was making her C-class debut in Radzionków, placed third. Aleksandra Błachno, riding Travenort's Diabolo (Silesia Dressage Club Tarnowskie Góry), took third place. Zofia Kaczmarek, capitalizing on her opponents' stumbles, won the second semifinal. Anna Błońska and James Grant were second, and Maja Kucharska, riding Iglesias Van Het Bevrijdthof, finished third.
Photo: Wiktoria Rożnowska-Urbańczyk
In the final Freestyle competition, the difference between the top three pairs was just over 0.1%, with Aleksandra Błachno winning (69.300%), Anna Błońska again second (69.233%), and Nelly Solecka third (69.183%). However, Zofia Kaczmarek was crowned Polish Indoor Champion, her "advance" from the previous days securing the gold medal. Final standings:
- Zofia Kaczmarek / LADY LEGENDE (LKJ Lewada) - 203.526%
- Nelly Solecka / HIGH BID VDT (KJ Lider Radzionków) - 203.058%
- Anna Błońska / JAMES GRANT (Varsovia Dressage Club) - 201.437%
HMP Young Riders
Just two weeks ago, Julia Jokiel and Natalia Plata competed in the CDIY BeckerSport competitions. The Varsovia Dressage rider won twice, and the JKS Barłomino rider won once. However, in Radzionków, the Young Riders category was dominated by Natalia Plata on Dolcetto, who won all three competitions in the round, gaining an 8% lead in the final standings. Natalia Plata's victory on Dolcetto is no surprise; this is a very experienced pair, who placed 9th at the 2019 Children's European Championships in San Giovanni in Marignano, 13th at the 2022 Junior European Championships in Hartpury, and began competing in CC-class competitions at Cavaliada over a year ago. Julia Jokiel's excellent form is also encouraging – both riders returned to the national team after competing at BeckerSport – this time in the young riders category. Third place went to Klaudia Hałeła on Chikoto, who lost a total of 6% to Julia Jokiel.
Photo: Wiktoria Rożnowska-Urbańczyk
Last year, three female riders competed in the Young Riders competition at the Polish Youth Championships, and this year there were eleven of them. Perhaps, after a long break of several years, we'll see a team competing at the European Championships in this category this year? Final standings:
- Natalia Plata / DOLCETTO (JKS Barłomino) - 214.240%
- Julia Jokiel / J'ADORE (Varsovia Dressage Club) - 206.118%
- Klaudia Hałeła / CHIKOTO (JKS Barłomino) - 199.950%
HPP Seniors
Nineteen pairs competed for medals in the Polish Indoor Senior Cup. After a close battle, the first semifinal went to the KJ Golden Dream pair – Agnieszka Wiśniewska on Tara (67.632%), closely followed by Ilona Janas on Ferrero Rocher 8 (67.132%) and Tomasz Jasiński and America (67.105%). In the Intermediate I competition, where the second semifinal took place on Saturday, the competition was equally fierce. This time, the KJ Facimiech pair – Marta Ginda and Dance For Me (66.737%) – won, with Agnieszka Wiśniewska on Tara (66.711%) in second place, and Marta Ginda again, this time on Diamond Star (66.053%) in third. The KJ Facimiech athlete also triumphed in Sunday's final, securing the gold medal in the Polish Indoor Cup. Final classification:
- Marta Ginda / DANCE FOR ME (KJ Facimiech) - 203.391%
- Agnieszka Wiśniewska / TARA (KJ Golden Dream) - 203.083%
- Tomasz Jasiński / AMERICA (KSJ Zagozd) - 200.971%
Photo: Wiktoria Rożnowska-Urbańczyk
Seniors' Hospital
The Polish Indoor Senior Championships at the Grand Prix level were held for the third time this year. The competition schedule forced many athletes competing for spots on the team that will represent Poland at the Paris Games to make difficult decisions. One of these decisions was the cancellation of the Polish Indoor Championships in Radzionków, which took place just two weeks after the CDI BeckerSport and one week before the CDI Motesice, even though the CDI in Partynice, Wrocław, awaits later this month. Despite this, nine pairs competed in the Grand Prix competition in Radzionków.
Karolina Mazurek, bronze medalist from last year's Polish Indoor Championships and Polish Championships, performed best on the Leader. The competitor, representing the HEAA National Athletics Club, received not only the highest score in the competition but also from all the judges. Ilona Janas and Dark Knight placed second, and Filip Poszumski and Raul took third. This order remained unchanged during Sunday's Grand Prix Freestyle final, and the podium of the Polish Indoor Senior Championships was as follows:
- Karolina Mazurek / LIDER (HEAA Riding Club) - 137.275%
- Ilona Janas / Dark Knight (LKJ at the Stud Farm in Ochaby) - 132.825%
- Filip Poszumski / RAUL (LKJ Lewada) - 131.030%
We asked national team coach Andrzej Sałacki and member of the judging panel Marlena Gruca-Rucińska for a short summary of the Polish Indoor Championships.
Andrzej Sałacki - Coach of the National Dressage Team:
Mr. Mateusz Cichoń and his team are proven organizers of equestrian events, and they didn't disappoint this time either. Radzionków is a very good choice for the Polish Indoor Championships.
All medalists deserve a round of applause, especially Natalia Plata, Julia Jokiel, and Zosia Kaczmarek, who demonstrated how to prepare for the new season after changing age categories. The first two have already joined the national team. The performance of the young riders in the Children's category is also encouraging.
Karolina Mazurek's good form on Lider is encouraging, with significant progress visible. The pair are currently performing at a level close to meeting the MER for the upcoming Games. Several new, very interesting horses have appeared, with particular attention drawn to Dark Knight, ridden by Ilona Janas, and Dance For Me, ridden by Marta Ginda.
Marlena Gruca-Rucińska - FEI 4* Judge
I would like to emphasize the exemplary organization of the competition and the commitment of the organizers, especially Mateusz Cichoń, who, despite participating in the HMP as a competitor, supervised the entire event.
The conditions in the Radzionków arena are demanding due to the distance of the judging stands from the arena. Some horses showed a lot of emotion and needed time and proper support from their rider to manage their stress and perform the elements and figure drawings correctly, especially on the first day of the competition.
Nine pairs competed in the Senior HMP, with eight qualifying for the final, primarily due to the above-mentioned reasoning. The HMP participants were a mix of debuting pairs and well-known GP-level combinations. Karolina Mazurek confidently won the championship on Lider, who has been performing the most challenging elements of the program with increasing confidence, avoiding mistakes that lowered her final score in previous GP runs.
The pairs making their debut at the Polish Horse Championships (HMP) performed well: Ilona Janas and Dark Knight, Dominika Kraśko and Twilight, and Filip Poszumski and Raul. The horses of these riders are of good quality and show considerable talent, but they still lack experience competing at the Grand Prix level. The improved performance of the remaining horses is noteworthy, especially the successful performances of Anna-Maria Gawłowska and Cardamona, and Agnieszka Domagała and Don Kennedy in the freestyle program.
Several pairs showed good performances in the youth categories, especially the riders who moved up to a higher age category: Natalia Plata and Dolcetto, Julia Jokiel and J'Adore, and Zosia Kaczmarek and Lady Legende.
Photo: Wiktoria Rożnowska-Urbańczyk
This coming weekend, CDI-W Motesice in Slovakia, and among the registered competitors are: Anna-Maria Gawłowska, Filip Kowalski, Susanne Krohn, Anna Paprocka-Campanella, Aleksandra Popławska and Żaneta Skowrońska-Kozubik, who will be fighting for the first results that will qualify them for the Olympic Games.
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