The highlight of the weekend, the most prestigious event of the Count István Széchenyi Memorial, was the 145cm Grand Prix with jump-off presented by the Foundation for the National Riding Hall. The riders rode not only for €28,200 of prize money, but also for valuable Longines ranking points.
The audience had to wait until the 14th rider from a field of 39 to witness the first clear round. The first to achieve this was Austrian Bianca Babanitz on San Giovanni. Of the local competitors, András Kövy, Jnr. on Accoton PS completed the course perfectly, followed by Lizanna Kiss on Cabecco PS. Last but not least, Slovakian Bronislav Chudyba on Dali Van ‘T Prinsenveld Z managed to qualify for the second round.
In the jump-off, Bianca Babanitz rode a fast clear round but the following rider, András Kövy, Jnr. scored a time one second faster on Accoton PS.
Lizanna Kiss on Cabecco PS and Bronislav Chudyba on Dali Van ‘T Prinsenveld Z made one mistake each.
Thus the final order:
- 1. András Kövy, Jnr. – Accoton PS
- 2. Bianca Babanitz – San Giovanni
- 3. Lizanna Kiss – Cabecco PS
- 4. Bronislav Chudyba – Dali Van ‘T Prinsenveld Z
- 5. Gábor Szabó – H-Secret By Boris
- 6. Fanni Debreceni – Db Variette
- 7. Vince Jarmy – Carbon Girl Z
- 8. Gyula Szuhai – Perthy Jackson
The competitors were congratulated by Dorottya Stróbl, Event Director, Gábor Karig, founding member of the Foundation for the National Riding Hall, and Robert Fekar, member of the jury. Steward Gábor Bálint was responsible for the order of the results throughout the weekend.
Photo: CSIO Budapest / Krisztina Hajdu