“You have to increase your experience all the time” – Poland’s seventh place in Stutteri Ask

The Polish team finished seventh in the first Northern Region qualifier of the European Nations Cup. Norway won the competition in Stutteri Ask. They are now leading in the Longines EEF Series regional ranking.

Six teams competed for Northern ranking points in Denmark: Finland, Lithuania, Norway, Sweden, Poland and the hosts. In addition, teams from Ukraine, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany also appeared on the arena in Stutteri Ask. Dawid Skiba, Michał Ziębicki, Tomasz Miśkiewicz and Przemysław Konopacki were in the national team of Poland, with coach Jan Vinckier.

Dawid Skiba, making his debut in the Nations Cup, was the first of our representatives to enter the arena. The 38-year-old, starting on the gelding Odilon Van Het Bevrijdthof, completed his ride with eight penalty points. Przemysław Konopacki, who took Pure Passion From Second Life Z to Stutteri Ask, had the same number of points on his account. Also Michał Ziębicki with his gelding Balou’s Batman did not avoid a mistake – they scored four penalty points. Tomasz Miśkiewicz, who competed with the mare Velvet Lazar, completed the course faultlessly.

Jan Vinckier’s team had 12 penalty points and eighth place at the halfway stage. The Belgians were the only team in the lead with a clean sheet. They were closely followed by the Swedes, Norwegians and the Dutch, who had an identical number of penalty points (4 points).

In the second round, the Polish Team added more points to their tally. Both Skiba, Ziębicki and Konopacki made one mistake each in their runs. Once again, Miśkiewicz was happy with a fault-free ride, but he did not hide the fact that the parkour was not the easiest.

– There were a lot of technical traps. Mistakes appeared on the water ditch, in the first row, and a lot of horses did not cope well with the wide oxer. The triple row was problematic, as was the stationary afterwards. The horses’ behaviour was also affected by the wind, which made it hard for them to concentrate. It was a demanding parkour – he said after the competition.

The Polish champion also explained that the break between the first and second turn is the perfect time to talk to his coach and teammates. – Between the first and second round we talk and draw conclusions, so we can do better in the next round – I made some improvements in the second run, so I’m satisfied – he pointed out.

The White and Reds, with a final score of twenty penalty points, finished the competition in Denmark in seventh place. In the ranking of the northern region of the European Nations Cup, they are placed fourth.

– You have to keep doing your job and keep adding to your experience. I think that soon we will get those clear starts, because today we were just a little short of that – said Michał Ziębicki about the lessons learned after the competition.  

– Before the start I was afraid whether I would fit into the time limit, but it was not a problem today. The shadows played a big role in this competition, because between the first and second turn the sun changed its position. In the second round the sun was lower and there were shadows in front of the obstacles, which made the horses get a bit confused – he said about the biggest difficulties of the competition.

These difficulties were best tackled by the Norwegians, who finished the competition with four penalty points. In second place, with eight points, were the Swedes, and the leaders were rounded off by the representatives of the hosts, who had one point more.

Once again, we will see the Northern Region teams, including representatives from Poland, at the beginning of June in Drammen. However, before the Longines EEF Series comes to Norway, the Southern Region qualification awaits. These will take place in Athens at the end of May/beginning of June.

Full results HERE

photo: Dava Palej / Warsaw Jumping archive