By Agata Grosicks
Photography: Oliwia Chmielewska

On August 1, 2020, at the Salio Equestrian Center right outside the city of Lodz in central Poland, Tyszko Horses together with Cichon Stallions organized the first ever Polish ‘Open’ Foal Championships for all Polish-bred foals registered with all studbook members of the WBFSH – thereby uniting a variety of bloodlines.

Although the timing was short, and only three weeks before the set date, the organizers finally decided to go ahead and open the list of entries. They were, therefore, spontaneously met with such huge interest from among local breeders which exceeded their expectations. Finally, during the one-day event, an international jury – including Katarzyna Wiszowaty, Georg Bruns, Bernard Demets and Joris van de Oetelaar (chairman of the Anglo European Studbook) evaluated 87 foals born this year in Poland.
Joanna Rosicka-Tyszko, one of the organizers of this Polish Open Foal Championships commented on the outcome and the success of the event: “It was a spontaneous decision, although we started discussing such event among breeders back in the beginning of the year. Then Covid-19 came on stage together with all the restrictions that followed, but many breeders were still making enquiries about foal shows and mare tests. We checked the sport calendar for the summer season and found a slot in it – the first weekend in August. So, we took a risk, decided to organize the first ever open foal championships and set up the date. We expected maybe 40 to 50 foals to turn, but the number of the entries went far beyong that. A total of 87 altogether, including 60% showjumping and 40% dressage foals, all judged by an independent international jury.
“We naturally invited representatives of all the WBFSH studbooks to participate in the show, suggesting that each one could create their own price for the best foal representing their stud book in the championships.
“Our goal is to organize such event every year in the future. The success of the show has motivated us to go with the flow and think that we could change it into a two-day festival which would gather breeders from all around Poland. Such a great spot on the map of Polish breeding. The breeders were very eager to come and see for themselves which bloodlines and which stallions are popular this year, so they can use this knowledge and this stallion for their mares. They want to know what types and horses are in fashion. And they simply want to ‘meet and greet’ and to exchange their opinions with other breeders and to compare their horses.”

Showjumping foals

Champion filly was Natielle (Emerald van’t Ruytershof - Giselle II x Levisto Z) bred and owned by Tomasz Olszewski. The filly is by a great showjumper and the popular breeding stallion, Emerald, ridden by Harry Smolders. Her granddam is a full sister of the legendary Cardento, while her half sister, Lady Cardenta (Cornet Obolensky), was the most expensive foal of the Flanders Aucton 2018.

• First vice champion filly: Easy White ‘G’ (Hickstead White - Electric Girl x Coupie) bred and owned by Pawel Gaszka.
• Second vice champion filly: Nil’Chi Greenhills (Ludwig As - Nanetta II x Calido I) bred and owned by Kamil Ogorek
• Champion colt: Nottingham II S (Glasgow van’t Merelsnest - Nestia S x Romualdo) bred and owned by Hubert Szurik, out of the same dam as Polish-bred stallion Nevados S, the current showjumping team champion of Europe. His full brother, a two-year-old stallion Nottingham S won the Jaruzyn Polish half-bred Foal Championships 2018.
• First vice champion colt: Chilly Chimi Z (Cicero Z - Cimba x Castillo), bred and owned by Iwona Kruszynska.
• Second vice champion colt: Call Me Blue (Chacoon Blue - Zenzi x Clarimo), bred and owned by Jakub Rawecki... To read the complete article you need to be a subscriber

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