Thursday’s featured event was the 1.40 m CSI 2* Big Tour, which attracted the largest field of the day.
In this Grand Prix qualifier, thirty of the seventy rider and horse pairs completed the track with a clear round. Course designer László Karádi set up a parkour with 12 obstacles and 14 efforts. Gábor Szabó Jr. once again excelled in the saddle of Genius Conference, owned by Ferenc Koncz, and took first place.
Finishing almost four seconds behind the winning pair, Szabolcs Krucsó on Uripoint took second place.
György Fekete and Larsson fell just a few tenths of a second short, slipping into third place.
Dorottya Stróbl and Dóra Juhász, a member of the jury congratulated the podium finishers and placed riders.
An exciting 1.20 m competition against the clock closed the first day. In this VIP Tour competition, the technically demanding course required speed from the riders, with the Horse Trans Cargo combination proving to be the greatest challenge. In a field of 61 riders, the victory went to Austrian Elisabeth Knaus on Zavalli D, with a lead of just three-tenths of a second.
Lili Dominika Sallai on Irisz took silver, and Lili Villás, representing the BLK Horse Club, earned bronze medal on Cantona.
Robert Fekar, the member of the jury, congratulated the riders.
On Friday the program begins at 9 AM. The highlight of the day will be the 1.45 m CSI2* Big Tour, starting at 5:15 PM, with a prizemoney of € 28,200. Admission is free every day.
Photo: CSIO Budapest / Petronella Kovács