Author: Mirosław Kołodziej
The end of June, the Klikowa Polish Horses Refuge (Klikowska Ostoja Polskich Koni), hot tropical weather, guests from almost 20 countries around the world, great moods, floral dresses, silk ties, prosecco cooling the palates and most importantly – over a hundred purebred horses – this is how this year’s edition of the All-Polish Arabian Horse Championship could be briefly described. How about taking a closer look at the Klikowa show? Let’s take a closer look at the second edition of this show in Tarnów.
A year ago, the Polish Arabian Horse Breeders Association quite boldly undertook the task titled “Reactivation of the All-Polish Horse Show”, several successful editions of which took place before the COVID-19 pandemic. The coronavirus interrupted this new “secular tradition”, which breeders and owners of purebred horses took with sadness. However, the memory of the championships in Radom remained indelible and after a few years – as a surprise and an experiment at the same time – the idea was revived. The reaction of the community was unexpectedly enthusiastic, and the reception of the event exceeded the organizers’ wildest expectations.
How did they summarize the initial feedback while resting after two days of the show? Carola Santopaolo from Arabian Horse Magazine asked them two questions. Let me quote them along with the answers: “So what was it like this year?” – “Great!” – “And what will it be like next year?” – “Even better!!!”
In the joyful wave of elation associated with the success of the show, it is easy to allow ourselves to be so optimistic, but as is well known: it is easier said than done. Especially since the organizers set the bar very high in every respect – from the number and quality of horses to the experience of catering and the evening of the breeders. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that there were doubts whether the show would be as successful as last year. From my personal perspective, I could feel a growing interest in how far last year’s success could be repeated and to what extent the 2024 show would be different and better. And the interest was huge.
Changing the formula, redefining the show
Let’s break down the events in Tarnów into prime factors – first from last year, and then from this year’s June. A year ago, we met at the very beginning of July for two magical days. The organizers of the show, together with the hosts of the event, the Klikowska Ostoja Polskich Koni Foundation, hosted Arabian horse lovers at the historic stud farm of the Sanguszko Princes with great grandeur. A VIP tent decorated with horse-themed art, catering with overflowing tables, presentation of traditional Małopolska and Podhale horse-drawn carriages, spectacular classes and exciting championships… What more could you want? Do you even want anything more? Yes, yes.
This year we met for a total of four days, i.e. twice as long, although in subgroups.
New DCs wanted
The length of this year’s events in Tarnów may be surprising. What four days? After all, the broadcast on Arabian Essence included only two shows: Saturday and Sunday. For the momentary purposes of this article, let’s replace the word “show” with “festival”, because it better reflects the nature of the Klikowa event. Only now can we break down the 2024 edition.
The first part, although at first glance indirectly related to the later events in Klikowska Ostoja, began on Thursday morning. Anyone who closely follows matters in the Polish world of Thoroughbred horses probably noticed the spring announcements about a course for members of ECAHO disciplinary committees, which was to be conducted by instructors Janet Court (UK) and Nils Ismer (Germany). The response was almost immediate and, interestingly, international. People from several countries, including Denmark, Qatar and distant Australia, signed up for the Thursday-Friday course! After two days of an extremely intensive DC course – not for beginners – it was time for the practical part, which was not only a summary of the course, but also an exam. The students, under the supervision of both lecturers and Fahrang Fazeli (Iran), who accompanied them, had to use the acquired theoretical knowledge in the stables and warm-up arena during the weekend horse show. How did they do? They coped perfectly in the scorching heat and with almost 120 horses. Despite sweat, fatigue and locally red skin from standing in the sun for hours, Janet told the organizers with undisguised pride in her voice: “Everyone passed.”
However, we know from the participants themselves that the course was very demanding. Fluency in the Blue Book and professional jargon were essential. Therefore, our graduates deserve even more congratulations and words of appreciation.
It is also worth noting here that organizing courses for DC members, accompanying horse shows, is a good and proven learning method. Years ago, such theoretical and practical classes were organized on the occasion of prestigious Western European shows, e.g. in 2018 during the Belgian Elran Arabian Cup. The organization of such a course in Tarnów clearly proves that the show in Klikowska Ostoja was noticed by the international community, which is a reason to be proud.
Endurance
Another novelty at the festival in Klikowa were endurance competitions – a sport for which purebred horses are born, and which is clearly gaining popularity between the Odra and Vistula rivers. This is also visible in the results of Polish competitors in foreign competitions, from which they always return with medals. However, unlike other ultrasports, such as enduro cycling or mountain trail running, in endurance you are not alone – but with a horse that must be properly taken care of.
But let’s start from the beginning. A total of 18 pairs took part in the Klikowa endurance competition. Four over 20 km and seven over 40 and 80 km. The temperature on Friday before the show fluctuated around 28 degrees in the shade, but in the open space, devoid of the shade of the surrounding trees, it was scorching hot, which the competitors returning after the 20-kilometer loop spoke openly about. Ultimately, none of the distances was completed by the full group of horses, which reported to the judges and veterinary commission in the morning for a pre-start inspection. Three out of four pairs completed the one-loop distance, five out of seven pairs completed two loops, and the longest four-loop distance was completed by six out of seven pairs.
However, everyone deserves applause. Over the distance of 20 km, the best pair was Justyna Kryca and Perfekcja, whose ride lasted one hour and 37 minutes (excluding 8 seconds). The second pair, Zofia Szczepańska and Elegiusz, had a time slower by only 4 seconds. The third to reach the finish line were Artur Chrzanowski and Echaron, whom we saw during the show and who performed in the colors of the 1st Mounted Rifle Regiment Riding Club from Michałów.
The fastest distance of 40 km was covered by Michał Bochenek and Farilla from the Volunteer Cavalry Association of the Cracow Cavalry Brigade – Riding Club of the 5th Horse Artillery Division. The double loop took them just under two hours and 36 minutes. Andrzej Korabik and Malto, representing the same team, were second, and Matylda Kowalik and California Dream from the Świętokrzyskie Horse Riding Club in Brzezinki were third at the finish line.
In turn, Piotr Mądel and his charge Wiraż z Gór, representing the Interregio Foundation, were the best over a distance for the toughest of the tough. It took them over five hours and 12 minutes to complete four loops. As a reminder, we are talking about a distance of 80 km in heat and unbearable sun.
The remaining two medal places went to two pairs who reached the finish line after almost five hours and three quarters of an hour: Magdalena Nowak and Olimp, and Diana Kozyra and Saint Bomer – all four in the colors of the Provincial Riding Club in Lublin.
The question remains whether the endurance competitions were successful. Judging by the satisfaction of the riders, their excellent moods, as well as the satisfaction of the entire team creating this part of the festival, judges, veterinarians, stable staff, endurance coordinators and the blacksmith, “there is no problem.” Repeat next year!
Let’s hope the weather is a little less excessive, because this is the only factor over which the organizers have no, even the slightest, control. This year’s competition was nationwide, organized under the aegis of the Polish Equestrian Association.
Under sadle classes
It’s not just endurance that’s gaining popularity. Thanks to, among other things, the efforts of the creators of the Polish Arabian Horse Sports League, centered around the Primastella Stable, as well as the Polish Arabian Horse Breeders Association, which co-organizes sports workshops, the use of purebred horses under saddle is becoming more and more popular. No matter how you look at it, the Arabian horse is not only for show, but also versatile. Arabian horses race on racetracks around the globe, and some races attract racing enthusiasts from all over the world to their computer screens.
It is therefore not surprising that since last year, the program of the All-Polish Arabian Horse Championship show also includes classes under saddle. Last year they were Classic Pleasure and Traditional Arabian Costume, and this year the first class was Traditional Polish Costume, a typically Polish competition, which will have its next edition as a prelude to this year’s Polish National Arabian Horse Show in Janów. In Tarnów, both classes were judged by Weronika Sosnowska and Graham Smith, an experienced sports and horse judge who came to Poland from the antipodes.
Five pairs took part in Saturday’s under saddle class, Polish Historical Costume, and the best turned out to be Artur Chrzanowski and Echaron (Ontario HF – Echara), bred and owned by the Michałów Stud. This is an even greater feat because the day before they had covered 20 km as part of the endurance competitions, and on Saturday the weather was equally extreme. The second best rated pair was Lena Zgórska and Cekin z Gór (Portel – Cirilla z Gór), bred and owned by Wacław Sajdak, and the third place was taken by Adam Dębiński and Paristan (Psytadel – Parsua), bred by Józef Pietrzak and owned by his rider. The entire competition lasted only 24 minutes.
It was no different the next day during the Native Costumes class, with the difference that there were eight pairs and ten entries. Just like the day before, the audience was delighted with the show of equestrian skills and costumes, richly decorated costumes of riders and horsewomen, and horse riding. It cannot be denied that these are always extremely spectacular competitions.
The best that day were Karolina Ziobro and Purytanin (Kabsztad – Pustynna Malwa), bred by Michałów Stud and owned by Marcin Ziobro. The second place went to Hanna Dziża and Cygarro z Gór (Portel – Cirilla z Gór), bred and owned by Wacław Sajdak, and the third place went to Marta Jaros and Złoty Medal (QR Mar – Złota Orda), bred and owned by the Michałów Stud . The fourth pair in this competition was interesting: Lena Dębińska and Paristan. Amazonka received a special prize for the youngest participant. She was under 10 years old on the day of the competition.
What has changed is the lack of special shows. This type of attractions at shows are part of the regularity. Before the pandemic in Radom, these included: shows of Katarzyna Stawiska-Semeryło and the stallion Barbarossa (Gazal Al Shaqab – Barka), bred by Janów Podlaski Stud, and her students from the For Pleasure Riding Club, last year we watched Oliwia Kowal and the stallion Elgoriusz (Medalion – Elgora), bred by Michałów Stud, who showed the gathered guests what a burning garrocha is during Saturday’s Breeders’ Evening. This year, with such a huge number of horses, it would probably be impossible.
Charity event
Last year, the Polish Arabian Horse Breeders Association opened a new chapter of its activities – charity for children from orphanages. The first institution supported by PAHBA was the “Przyjazny Dom” Care and Education Facility in Tarnów. During three breeding auctions, we managed to raise as much as €17,250 for children. A month after the show, the Association transferred almost PLN 76,500 to the “Przyjaźny Dom” account.
This year there were six breedings – four Middle Eastern, one by Albert Sorroca and one by the Klikowa Arabians stud: Madin Al Baydaa, E.S. Harir, D Nayel, Adwan Al Sheikh, Zeus E.A. and Lyric E.A. – and in addition, two paintings were donated to the auction. The first was the original watercolor decorating the cover of the show catalog, painted by Małgorzata Świertok, purchased by PAHBA and donated to the auction by the Association, the second was slightly unorthodox. Francesco “FORCE” Girardi began painting a three-dimensional painting during the Friday dumplings and liqueurs festival – in front of guests. He finished the painting the next day and donated it to the judge’s tent as one of the auction items.
Ultimately, during the auction, the amount of €21,000 was collected for another local orphanage, the “Słoneczny Dom” Care and Education Facility in Tarnów, which is the equivalent of approximately PLN 90,000. The most expensive breeding was the stallion D Nayel, which was auctioned by Bogdan Maślanka for €4,250. Interestingly, Małgorzata Świertok’s work was also very popular, for which Farhang Fazeli paid €3,500 – the same amount as Szymon Głowacki for a breeding to the stallion E.S. Harir! After the auction, the clearly surprised artist joined the delighted DC member from Iran for a group photo. The painting in a new frame (the old one had to remain in Poland) already hangs on the wall in Farhang’s house in Tehran. In turn, for €750, the avant-garde 3D painting painted by FORCE was purchased by Petroniusz Frejlich, who also bought one of the breedinds. The rest went to Paweł Lis and Beata and Marek Błaszkiewicz.
The highlight of the program
The main part of the festival in Klikowa was, of course, the purebred Arabian horse show. And there were a record number of them, also taking into account the times of the show before the pandemic and moving it from Radom to the princely residence of the Sanguszko family. It was therefore the most heavily attended Arabian horse show in Poland in recent years. Why am I mentioning the local aristocracy again?
This year, the All-Polish Arabian Horse Championship show was held under the honorary patronage of the heir of the Sanguszko Family, honorary citizen of the city of Tarnów, Prince Paweł Franciszek Roman Sanguszko. Moreover, the third name refers to his grandfather, Prince Roman Władysław Sanguszko – a philanthropist, motorist and passionate breeder of Arabian horses, for whom Bogdan Ziętarski brought horses from the Arabian Peninsula by land and sea. The heritage of the breeding of the Sanguszko princes is still visible in the pedigrees of currently bred Arabian horses.
Moreover, the show was held under the patronage of the Mayor of Tarnów, Jakub Kwaśny, and the Marshal of the Małopolska Voivodeship, Witold Kozłowski. This is not the end, because 3 weeks before the show, PAHBA signed a strategic partnership agreement with Global Champions Arabians Tour. Under this agreement, Polish breeders and owners of horses with the first two places in classes received a free voucher to participate in GCAT in Valkenswaard in the Netherlands.
Individual classes of horses aroused considerable emotions among the guests gathered in Ostoja from Saturday morning. The judges included Claudia Darius, Gideon Reisel, Paula Böhmer, Cristian Moschini, Abdulaziz Al Marzooqi, Janice McCrea and Graham Smith. And no wonder, because we started with a high C. The first yearling we had the pleasure of seeing, Michałów’s Partes (Dominic M – Protekcja), received the first “20” from the judges for head and neck of the day! Despite the early time, because it was only 9:45 in the morning, Artur Łojowski asked not to do the honorary round. In fact, the weather was taking its toll and we only had rounds the next day and only in the championships, to which the first three horses in each age class qualified.
Champions from Tarnów – Anno Domini 2024
The championships evoked even greater emotions, and everyone had their favorites, also in the strongest competition for senior mares. When asked about the level of the horses, the judges said openly: “I became a judge for such great championships” – these are Graham’s words, “I would like to see these horses in my stable” – this is how Abdulaziz assessed them. Interestingly, the choice of champions turned out to be such a hard nut to crack that the judges were never unanimous! Even when choosing both Best in Show…
Finally, in the Yearling Female Championships, Monserat (EKS Farajj – Magnumka), bred and owned by Wojciech Parczewski, won the gold. The day before, she scored two 20s in the class and won the class hands down. It was a pure pleasure to watch her free movement and lightness in the ring, as well as the trust in her trainer and presenter Marek Demczuk. In the honorary round she was led by his son Kacper. The judges awarded the silver medal to Doris Star (D Zeidan – Doris Fame), bred and owned by Grabów nad Pilicą Arabian Horse Stud by Tomasz and Elżbieta Tarczyński, and the bronze medal went to the filly Elzoya (Prometeusz – Euzona) from the Janów stables, who received one “20” in class for movement.
In the Yearling Stallion Championships, the gold was won by the above-mentioned Partes. This time, Artur did not refuse the round of honor and did a quick circle with the winning colt to the cheers of the audience. The silver went to his neighbor from Michałów, Egner (Prometeusz – Emdrona), and the bronze to the bronze champion from Białka, Poker Move KL (RFI Unique – Plivia), for whom Klikowa Arabians has high hopes and you can’t blame them, because the colt has a big potential.
With each subsequent championship, emotions grew, although some of the results could be predicted if you carefully followed the competitions in the classes the day before. The Golden Junior Champion Mare went to Antyfona (Haash OSB – Anima), who received five out of six 20s for movement. The two-year-old from Janów Podlaski looked and moved phenomenally, which was appreciated not only by the judges, but also by the audience. Wildonara (Paris – Wildona), bred in the green Ponidzie region in the Michałów stables, returned home with silver, and Pretina (Haash OSB – Paterna) with bronze.
In the Junior Stallion Championships, SQ Helal (FA El Rasheem – SQ Miss Enzo) won his third gold in his career – his third gold this year after the Dutch Arabian Masters in Deurne and the Junior Show in Białka. With 20s for type and head and neck, the handsome colt bred and owned by Al Saqran Arabian Horse Stud from the UAE confidently won the highest honor in the championship. Well-deserved silver and bronze medals, in turn, went to Fawoniusz (Wolare – Finga), bred and owned by Krzysztof Jagielski, and Palissander SW (Raud Albidayer – Pilarosa), bred by Suweco Stud from the Czech Republic and owned by Polia Arabians.
There was real pandemonium during the senior horse championships. The undisputed favorite among the mares, with eleven 20s in the class for type, head and movement, was Adelita (Kahil Al Shaqab – Altamira), bred and owned by Janów Podlaski Stud. The winner of the highest score in the show and the Special Award funded by Prince Paweł Sanguszko for the highest-rated horse in the show (94.08 points) became the Gold Medalist of the Senior Mare Championships. The winner of the first place in the 4-6-year-old mares class (section B) won the Silver Medal in the finals, El Medida (Morion – El Medara) bred and owned by the Michałów Stud, while the bronze medal went to the owner of “only” five 20s in their age class – Ascalona (E.S. Harir – Alsara) from Janów Podlaski.
The last one to be held was the Senior Stallion Championship, which was won by Wizard KL (FA El Rasheem – Wieża Czarów), who stood like a bronze sculpture, bred and owned by Klikowa Arabians. The Silver Medal was awarded to the stallion Paris (Kahil Al Shaqab – Palmeta), bred and owned by Polia Arabians in Janów, and the bronze medal went to the oldest horse in the show, the stallion Alert (Piaff – Andaluzja) born in 2005 from the Janów stables.
The titles of Best Horses in Show went – deservedly – to the mare Adelita and the stallion SQ Helal. Special prizes were also awarded. Echo Anastazja (Psyche Keret – Echo Aurora), bred and owned by Chrcynno-Pałac Stud, received the Award for the Best Head of Show. Adelita also received the Ganges Award for Best Show Horse with Racing Career.
Anything else?
Of course! The show in Tarnów once again fulfilled its social function as an environmental integrator. After the first day of the DC course, the organizers of the “Arabian horse festival” invited the students to visit Tarnów with a guide and for a pizza with a glass of wine. On Friday evening, a festival of homemade dumplings, regional delicacies and delicious homemade liqueurs took place in Hubertus in Klikowa. And on Saturday’s Breeders’ Evening, inspired by the evening games and entertainment in the Dutch Deurne after the EuroZone Cup in May this year, Natalia Ciman organized a trilogy of games that required, above all, physical fitness and good humor. Until recently, I doubted whether the mid-show fun model could be transferred from the Meuse to the Vistula. Today I know that I was simply wrong then.
At the very end of the show, Arabian Prometheuses were awarded – special PAHBA awards for those who made outstanding contributions to the breeding of Arabian horses in Poland. This year it was awarded to a unique character. The Management Board presented the Arabian Prometheus award to Michał Bogajewicz, a regular attendee of horse shows, whose great passion was carriages, which he built and reconstructed himself, and whose works are known throughout Europe. A few years ago, he was also a guest of honor at the Traditional Driving Competition of Princess Daisy von Pless in the Stallion Depot at Książ Castle. He is also the breeder of the stallion Girlan-Bey, which once made Polish breeding famous internationally, winning, among others, as the first private Polish horse in the history of Paris, a World Championship medal.
Also honored were Marek Rzepka, the creator of Klikowa Arabians, whose enthusiasm and optimism were one of the main driving forces thanks to which the show at Klikowa Ostoja achieved success and recognition on an international scale. This year, Klikowa Arabians received the Award for the best breeder of a show horse for 2023 for breeding the stallion Poker Face KL. The management board also thanked Marek Błaszkiewicz, owner of the Podlesie Arabians stud farm. His charisma and commitment are the organizational driving force thanks to which the All-Polish Arabian Horse Championship show develops at an excellent pace year by year.
Those present at the show will confirm that this year’s edition was spectacular. The bar was set very high. And now it’s even higher.
See you in Tarnów next year!
