By Agata Grosicka
The first ever Zangersheide Foal Championships in Poland took place at Agro Handel Srem Horse Stud on August 14, 2021. “It is your time – the time for Polish breeding to become one of Europe’s best,” is how judge Louis de Cleene summarized the results of Z Festival Polska.
The first ever Z Festival in Poland gathered over 40 great quality foals, which impressed the foreign judges, and the selection of the best in both categories, colts and fillies, was not so easy. The top five foals that qualified for the final relied on the judges’ intuition and expertise to decide which foal was the winner on that day. Judge Louis Lenarts said thathe’d spotted a lot of future approved stallions and mares.
The five finalists in order in each category were, for the colts:
1 Nemo del Sol Z (Nevados S x Glasgow van’t Merelsnest)
owned and bred by ParkAgro SP Ltd
2 L-Corigi Z (Luigi d’Eclipse x Capito) bred and owned by Iwona Kruszynska
3 El Paso Silva Z (Emerald van’t Ruytershof x Farfelu de Muze) bred by Rafal Kiernikowski and owned by Michal Przybecki
4 Aganix Junior OK Z (Aganix du Seigneur x Stolzenberg)
owned and bred by Krystian Ograbek
5 Sunrise ZW Z (Stakkatol x Emilion) owned and bred by Wojciech Zdebel
And for the fillies: Fillies
1 Chica Blue MZ (Chacoon Blue x Va Vite) bred and owned by Michal Zdebel
2 Comme l’Amour Maxx Z (Comme il faut x Darco) bred and owned by Wioletta Sipak
3 Querica VS Z (Querido VG Z x Caretano) bred and owned by Sylwia Lozowska
4 E’Cirilla Z (Epleaser van’t Heike Z x New Verdi de Kreisker Z) bred and owned by Michalina Szmytka
5 D’Jinni Z (Defender VDS Z x Big Star) bred and owned by Michalina Szmytka
According to Joanna Pawlik from Zangersheide Poland: “It was the first Z Festiwal in Poland and history in the making. I’m positively surprised with the quality of foals, just like the judges. It was a challenge for me to organize such an event because I work in Belgium on a daily basis. Now it’s the end of breeding season which does not mean that the season is over. I’m very proud of Polish breeders. Our vision in Zangersheide is to educate and talk a lot with our breeders. To advise and help them, which I think has worked out well. I look into the future with optimism. We had very good damlines. Both colts and fillies looked superb – in good shape and well prepared.”
Q Which lines dominated, and what stallions are now in fashion?
JP: It was a colt by Nevados S that won the colt category, from a very good damline. All five top foals come from very good damlines. We saw some foals by our Z stallions such as Querido, Casall, Emerald, the stallions licensed in Poland.
Q What about damline quality?
We have always talked with our clients about the value of a breeding mare. The quality that we saw at Z Festival in Poland came from a few year’s discussion on the subject. Back when we started our discussion, not everyone was aware of the importance of a mare. There are good broodmares in Poland. The mare that has not been successful in sport can produce a great foal, yet it requires a long sequence of cause and effect. With big money involved and a talented horse. We also talked a lot about statistics and genetics. If both a dam and a sire are horses with a great sport record, statistically they’re more likely to produce a talented horse. Mares should also be tested in sport, but not every breeder can afford it. It takes a long time to take a talented horse to the very top. They have to be tested in sport... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber
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