175 riders with 265 horses from 22 countries are expected for the Count István Széchenyi Memorial Competition at the National Riding Hall, which is an Olympic Qualifier and a Jumping World Cup leg at the same time.
The participating nations are Austria, Bulgaria, China, Czechia, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Latvia, Great Britain, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, Northern Macedonia, Uzbekistan, and Palestine.
The public in Hungary will also find familiar names among the riders, such as Austrian team members Fritz Kögelnig, Christoph Obernauer and Gerfried Puck, who have seen several results ceremonies in Budapest.
Bulgarian Ivaylo Bonev, Latvian Kristaps Neretnieks and the Romanian Cojocariu brothers will also be back in the National Riding Hall after 2021. Greece will be represented this time by Angelos Touloupis, winner of the 2022 CSIO3* Grand Prix presented by the Hungarian Ministry of Defence.
During the four days, the largest number of competitors, totalling 34, will represent the hosting country. Riders selected for the Hungarian National Equestrian and Sport Horse Breeding Development (NLSF) Programme, namely Balázs Horváth, Vince Jármy, András Kövy, Jr., Zoltán Lázár, Jr., Gábor Szabó, Jnr., Ferenc Szentirmai and Péter Szuhai, are of course among them.
A total of 19 events and €138,400 in prize money will be shared among the winners during the four-day event. The most prestigious competitions are the World Cup and Olympic Qualifier event for the Prize of the Ministry of Defence starting at 3:30 P.M. on Saturday and the 155 cm CSI***-W Grand Prix presented by Szerencsejáték Zrt. The podium finishers in both events will be presented the famous Hungarian Zsolnay Porcelain Manufacture trophies.
The events start at 9 A.M., from Thursday to Saturday and at 8:30 A.M. on Sunday. Admission is free on all four days.
The main sponsor of the event is Szerencsejáték Zrt.
Photo: CSIO Budapest / Krisztina Hajdu