The day’s final event featured the 1.45 m CSIO 3* Big Tour, a Grand Prix qualifier with an impressive field of 91 riders. In the competition presented by the Hungarian Equestrian Federation 34 pairs completed the course, consisting of 11 obstacles and 13 efforts, with a clear round. Most riders collected penalty points at the first part of the EEF combination.
The battle at the top was tight; riders finishing in second to sixth place crossed the finish line within one second of each other.
The event ended with a Brazilian victory, owed to the world-class pair of Marlon Modolo Zanotelli and High Hopes du Fleuve.
Austrian Lena Binder on Linus 455 took second place.
Third place went to the Dutch rider Jur Vrieling on Sydney Jeckson, currently 85th in the Longines world rankings.
The best-placed Hungarian rider was Gábor Szabó, Jnr., who finished ninth on Bizar VDL owned by László Gáncsos. Tamás Mráz placed 14th on Choral Symphony, dr. Zsuzsanna Pusztai’s gelding,
The competitors were congratulated by Kristóf Szotyori Nagy, president of the Hungarian Equestrian Federation, and Csaba Szabó, president of the jury.
The competition will continue on Friday morning at 8 AM. The highlighted event of the day will be the Nations Cup, starting at 3 PM. The day will conclude with the Rider’s Party, featuring music and dance.
Admission is free on every day of the tournament.
Fotó: CSIO Budapest / Krisztina Hajdu