Jarosław Skrzyczyński to secure the first victory for Poland

As many as 48 individual competitors turned up this afternoon at the world-ranking CSIO4* for the prize of Totalizator Sportowy, with the obstacles up to 145 cm. The arena saw a truly impressive performance by Poles – as many as five of them have made it to the jump-off, battling it out with ten other pairs on the course again designed by Gregory Bodo.

Seven out of fifteen duos posted a clear one, the fastest being Skrzyczyński and the 8-year-old Loulou Mpsz – scooping up a round gratuity and, even more importantly, the precious world-ranking points.

My mare is still young. She went through two competitions, flawless at both. She clocked third in the Longines-ranking competition; now she finished on top – which seems like a great result for a relatively inexperienced horse. – concluded the rider.

The parkour was becoming harder and harder, due to late hours – it was getting dark, so the arena became also a battle place of light and shadow. Quite a few horses fear that a lot. – he added.

The second spot was seized by the Swiss Sasha Barthe and the 12-year-old stallion Essenar High Hopes, losing just 0,36 to the winner.

I had a few knockdowns over the last few days, so the double clear makes me feel much better. I am totally grateful for my horse. He was with me all the way and I think we could not run the course any faster. Normally, he can be a bit insecure and unpredictable, but today he was simply gorgeous. – commented the 29-year-old.

The podium came to completion with Sweden’s Erika Lickhammer-Van Helmond, who put her trust in the still inexperienced Koberline TN.

I am so satisfied, my mare is still so young. She is only eight now and one should not expect a flawless performance in an arena like this, despite her making a great horse. She has been perfect all over the weekend and deserved to round it up exactly like that. The first round saw quite a few clears, which I guess was not just eased by the quality of the parkour, but was a well-earned outcome of the riders’ experience. That is why so many have made it to the jump-off. The parkour was very fair, perhaps the time allowance was a bit generous. – she shared her remarks while off the arena.

CSIO4* for the prize of Totalizator Sportowy

1. Jarosław Skrzyczyński (Loulou Mpsz/KJ Agro-Handel/Poland)
2. Sasha Barthe (Essenar High Hopes/Switzerland)
3. Erika Lickhammer- Van Helmond (Koberlina TN/Sweden)

Full results HERE

Photograps by Łukasz Kowalski