By Anna Cuber / PZHK
Photography: Anna Cuber
The Polish Young Horse Championships in showjumping have been held in the country since the early 1990s. At that time, breeding was divided into two distinct categories: one included the national horse studs and stallion depots, while the other comprised the private breeders.
Currently, private sport horse breeders dominate, trying to keep up with modern horse trends by purchasing semen both from young, not-yet-proven stallions as well as the older recognised names. However, Polish sport horse breeding is still at the stage of developing a herd of quality broodmares. The MPMK is one of the reliable trials for mares and other horses holding Polish Horse Breeders Association (PZHK passports).
This year, the MPMK took place in a modified format. Horses were divided into age groups from four to seven years old, as in previous years. However, and on the first day, results of horses with Polish passports and the foreign horses competing in the Polish Young Horse Cup were separated.
A notable distinction between Polish competitions for young horses and those in other countries is that the final score is determined by averaging the scores for scope, technique, and rideability. This information is important not only for competitors, but also for breeders and owners. Therefore, judges who are able to approriately differentiate their evaluations are crucial. This year, the judging panel for four- and five-year-old horses included Heinz Meyer, long-time breeder Paul Schockemöhle, and Bogdan Sas-Jaworski a multiple representative of Poland, presently living in Germany.
A total of 140 horses competed in this year’s event, with the youngest age group also being the larges, counting 61 horses (27 with Polish passports and 34 without). In terms of numbers, this group was followed by 42 five-year-olds (28 with Polish passports and 11 without), 27 six-year-olds (11 with Polish passports and 16 without), and 10 seven-year-olds (six with Polish passports and four without).
Four year olds with Polish passports
Among the four-year-old horses with Polish passports, the stallion Ready for Mumbai (Mumbai van de Moerhoeve - Roxet P x Corianos Ass) was the best performer, receiving a very high score of 9.0 for scope, with only slightly lower scores for technique and rideability. Based on this result, Ready for Mumbai may be approved for breeding provided he meets the conformation requirements, and that the results of the OCD and laryngeal paralysis (RLN) tests are negative. The stallion was ridden by Szymon Stasiak, and is owned and bred by Łukasz Wylega.
In fact, Szymon Stasiak scored a double win as he also claimed victory in the category for four-year-olds with a foreign passported BWP mare, with a name extremely difficult to pronounce for Polish people: Vrouwke van de Haarter Hoeve (Pegase van’t Ruytershof - Rigoletta van de Haarte Hoeve x Diamant de Semilly). She was distnguished by her calmness and outstanding rideability. She is owned by Kubik Active - Janina Kubik Company...
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