The season starts soon at Strzegom, Poland Photo by Mariusz Chmieliński
Poland has been in the news for very different reasons in recent times and is a strategic point for the assistance of horses caught in the conflict in Ukraine, but that doesn’t mean that equestrian competition can’t continue.
Strzegom, in the south-west of Poland near the German border, has just one month until their many international competitions start. So, what can the riders expect in the coming season?
There are five international Eventing shows scheduled including a leg of the FEI Nations Cup and the much anticipated event for pony riders – the FEI European Championships for Ponies in Eventing, Jumping and Dressage.
As a warm-up, the Strzegom Spring Open competitions will be held in two rounds, on the second and fourth weekend of April. The first event will feature five international classes in short format from two to four stars, an Intro class and a CCIP2-S competition.
Long format classes will be added to the second round of competitions and national classes will also be held at all events including a CNC100, CNC100-18 and CNC80.
For many European riders it will be the first CCI4* competition of the year so the cross country courses are designed to give the riders and horses an opportunity to start their season smoothly.
“In April the fences always meet the requirements of the level of the competition, but the technical combinations are definitely easier than at the Nations Cup in June” says Marcin Konarski, Course Designer “Everything is ready for the event in April including lots of new ideas and questions not seen in Strzegom yet. It will be interesting to see riders’ reaction”
The Strzegom Horse Trials, during which the third leg of the 10th anniversary of the FEI Nations Cup competition will be held, will take place at the last weekend of June and this competition will see the cross country designed to demand the most from combinations competing for their country.
Germany took the win in the FEI Nations Cup leg at Strzegom in 2021
There will be seven classes from CCI2* to CCI4* in short and long formations and there will be competitions for Juniors, Young Riders and Ponies at CCIJ2*-S, CCI3*YR-S, CCIP2-S levels. The Polish Senior, Young Riders and Junior Champions will also be crowned during this event
The first weekend of August will see the start of the European Pony Championships in three disciplines: Jumping, Dressage and Eventing, and the Strzegom Summer Tour event will take place over the last weekend of August. Riders will compete in the Intro class and short format competitions fromCCI2* to CCI4*.
“This event is particularly good for combinations making their debut at a higher level than they have competed so far in the season” say the organisers
The season finale will be the Strzegom October Festival, incorporating competitions from CCI1* to CCI4* in both formats will be contested. At the same time, the European Youth Eventing Masters tournament will be held, which will determine individual and team winners in the youth categories. The event will take place in mid-October
Let’s hope that by then the world will have recovered some sanity and Poland is on the map only for its great eventing competitions!
