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WE KNOW THE POLISH TEAM FOR THE LONGINES EEF SERIES FINAL

22 August 2022

Konopacki, Lewicki, Opłatek, Skrzyczyński and Wechta – this is the Polish team that will compete in the highly prestigious 2022 Longines EEF Series finals at the CSIO4* Warsaw Jumping on September 11, which will see teams from 11 European countries face each other.

Looking at the latest roster of the Polish Equestrian Federation, it is safe to say that the team is made up of the best Polish riders. As many as four of the riders selected to start have won gold medals at the Polish Championships in the past, and two have recently returned from the World Championships, the most prestigious competition of the season. The Polish team has a strong lineup and a unique chance to fight for the victory in the European Nations Cup finals at home. Let’s take a closer look at the profiles of our representatives.

Przemyslaw Konopacki, currently the 243rd rider in the Longines Ranking, lives and trains in the Netherlands on a daily basis. The 2022 season has been extremely successful for him. In July he was 5th in the CSIO3* Deauville Grand Prix. Earlier in Drammen, Norway, he took 4th place with the Polish team in the Nations Cup competition, part of the EEF Series, and he also took 2nd place in the CSI3* Opglabbeek Grand Prix in May. The rider achieved all the aforementioned successes riding the valiant mare Home-Run (Spartacus TN x Concorde).

Marek Lewicki, currently number 393 in the world ranking, who together with his wife, Małgorzata Ciszek-Lewicki, runs an equestrian center in the seaside town of Pogorzelica. This very experienced rider, 2013 Polish Champion, is currently enjoying his greatest successes with the 9-year-old Oldenburg La Pezi (Lord Pezi Junior x Ludwig von Bayern), with which he has already claimed victory at the Warsaw Jumping arena. In the 2022 season, the pair won a CSI2* Grand Prix competition in Biskupiec and finished fourth in the extremely difficult CSI4* Poznań Grand Prix.

Andrzej Opłatek, 225th in the Longines Ranking, is one of the best Polish horse jumping athletes of the young generation. In his career, he has won, among others, the gold medal of the Junior Polish Championships and took the 12th place in the final of the European Championships in the same age category. For several seasons he has been training abroad, competing at the most prestigious competitions around the world. This year he took the 4th place in the 145 cm competition at the CSI5* Dinard, won the 145 cm competition of the CSI4* Valkenswaard, and came 4th in the 145 cm competition at the CSIO5* Rome at the Piazza di Siena.

Jaroslaw Skrzyczynski, number 221 in the world ranking, is a multiple Polish Championships medalist and one of the most successful Polish riders. Together with his wife, Katarzyna, and their two sons, who are also competitors, he runs a center in Krzepielów. His number 1 horse is the Polish-bred Jerico (Wieland x Ever For Pleasure) that the rider competed with at the World Championships this season. In the 2022 season he won the CSI2* Grand Prix in Zielona Góra and the CSI2* Grand Prix Lier.

Maksymilian Wechta, is currently 295th in the Longines Ranking. In the past, he was the Polish Champion of Young Riders and 2nd Vice-Champion in the senior category. He has nearly 2,300 appearances in international competitions to his credit. In the 2021 season-closing CSI3* Grand Prix of Cavaliada Poznań, he left no chance to his rivals and claimed victory. In 2022 he competed in the World Championships in Herning and before that he won, among others, one competition at the very prestigious CSIO5* Falsterbo. His primary horse is Holsteiner Chepettano (Chepetto x Calido I), which his brother, Aleksander, spotted when he was 2.5 years old.