In the first three competitions Hungarian riders gained the victory in the Gróf Széchenyi István Memorial on Saturday.
Gábor Szabó Jr. wins prize presented by Regale
The final of the Silver Tour was held on Saturday for the prize presented by Regale. In the 145 cm two-phase competition against the clock after the first phase only riders with a clear round could continue to the second phase. Here the time limit was very tight, as already in the first phase, so riders had to take risk, and choose the shortest paths. Most of them tried to do this at the phase limit, before fence number eight, so it was there that the most faults were registered.
Among the first starters, Gábor Szabó Jr. took the lead early after a brilliantly speedy ride on Timpex Fényév and he could keep his position until the end.
Only Peter Szentirmai on Express threatened him but at the end the clock showed Szentirmai was three hundredths of a second slower than his colleague, so he had to settle for second place.
Tamás Dömse, a member of the Hungarian national team for young riders, rode Conquistador just as well as the other day but with 4 penalty points. Today he rode a clear round which earned him third place.
Colombian Nicolas Toro finished fourth, ahead of Niklaus Schurtenberger from Switzerland and Petrick Lam from Hong Kong. Zoltán Lázár Jr. on Candide captured seventh place followed by Ádám Faluhelyi in the saddle of Filigra.
The awards were presented by Gabriella Somogyi on behalf of Regale Energy Zrt.
László Tóth Jr. is the absolute winner of the competition of young horses
In the final of the 125-130 cm competition of 6 to 7-year-old horses for the prize presented by the Hungarian Sport Horse Breeders’ Association, 56 competitors lined up. The final offered no surprises as no one could beat the winner of the two qualifiers, László Tóth Jr.
He succeeded in the saddle of his own-bred bay mare, Ching, ahead of Henri Kovács on Tambourino, who completed the course without penalty as well.
It is a special pleasure for the organisers that Hungarian bred horses are so successful in the competition, in addition, both horses are registered in the Hungarian Sport Horse Studbook.
Third place went to Swiss rider and horse pair, Alain Jufer and Navy Blue Van De Bandam.
Omer Karaevli Istinov from Turkey finished fourth followed by Thursday’s winner, Luka Zaloznik on Mark 19. Sixth place was taken by Christoph Obernauer on Kleons Renegade, ahead of István Fazekas on Jennifer and Vince Jármy on Valentina by Boris.
President of the Hungarian Sport Horse Breeders’ Association, Miklós Jármy, congratulated the competitors.
Loren Lukács rides fastest track in semi-finals of VIP Tour
In the 115 cm semi-final of the VIP Tour, 21 riders tested their skills and nine of them scored a clear round. The fastest of them was Loren Lukács on her ten-year-old mare, Best Now or Never.
Friday’s winner, Catalina Sfetea, finished in second place, ahead of Miklós Ungvári on Toll Forgó. Dalma Mercédesz Ferencz was fourth, Daria Kazakova from Russia closed fifth, and Vivien Nagy sixth.
Those interested can also follow the event from the comfort of their home. Major competition events will be broadcasted on the Hungarian television channel M4 Sport. The competition events are broadcast live by Riderline:
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Photo: CSIO Budapest / Hajdu Krisztina