Stars at CAVALIADA Warszawa 2018
Who we will see at Cavaliada in Warsaw?
Andrius Petrovas (Lithuania). For years the best Lithuanian rider, a multiple champion of Lithuania. Since 1998 he has been the member of the Lithuanian national team. The finalist of the 2014 World Cup in Lyon. He took the second position in the Cavaliada Tour 2013/14, losing to Ales Opatrny by just one point. Over the last years he has won many competitions included in the global ranking - Lyon, Celye, Moscow, and Kanakov. He owns his Horse Riding Center in Vilnius, which he runs together with his wife Daiva. His follows his life motto – “Do what you love, love what you do”
Ales Opatrny (Czech Republic). Undoubtedly, the best of the Czech riders of the last several years. He started his career by taking part in Eventing competitions, but soon turned to horse jumping. In 2000 he won the European Championship for Young Riders. He has been ranked among top 100 world riders a few times so far. In 2017 he proved victorious in 4 LR competitions including the Grand Prix of Cavaliada Lublin. He also triumphed in the Cavaliada Tour in the season 2013/14, where he won the Warsaw Grand Prix. The Opatrny family has bred horses ever since 1924. At present, Ales and his father Waclaw run their own stable JS Opatrny in Horovice. Ales is also a member of the professional Czech Equestrian Team, which takes part in the Global Champions Tour.
Angelique Hoorn (Holland). A two-time gold medalist of the national championships (2001 and 2007). The silver medalist at the European Youth Championship. She repeatedly represented Holland at various championships (European Championships 2001 and 2009, World Championships 2002, Olympic Games 2008). She finished in the 8th position as an individual and 4th together with the team at the Olympic Games in Beijing. Her latest success was to win the CSI2* Grand Prix in Kronenberg in November. As a tester for young horses, she cooperates with the Dutch breeding association KWPN.
Vladimir Beletskiy (Russia). He has succeeded in advancing to the World Cup Final three times in his career already. He participated in the competitions in Kuala Lumpur in 2006, Las Vegas in 2009 and Leipzig in 2011. He has participated twice in the European and World Championships. In 2014, he won 4 world-ranked competitions. He has been living and training in Germany for over a dozen years and his ambition is to win a 5* Grand Prix, where one has to compete with the world's best athletes. He is also an athlete who is loved by the audience. It was possible to see why he is admired so much in Warsaw during the Power of the Jump and Speed&Music competitions, where he turned out to be not only a good athlete, but also a real showman.
Jarosław Skrzyczyński. A representative of the Agro-Handel Śrem club. For the last five years, he has continually been the leader of the Polish Equestrian Association ranking. At the end of 2017, he was among the top 100 world's best jumpers, ranked 84th in the FEI ranking. In the previous season he won both the Polish Cup (for the fourth time) and the Polish Championships (for the third time). He runs his own horse training center in Krzepielów. Out of Polish athletes, he has by far the largest number of horses he can use in competitions included in the Longines ranking; nine of them won in 2017.
Krzysztof Ludwiczak. An athlete of HEAA Turek. The present second best in Poland and the holder of the second position in the Polish Equestrian Association ranking. In 2017, he won two contests which belong to the global ranking, one at CSI3* in Redefin and the CSI2* Grand Prix in Michałowice. He fulfils himself not only as a rider but also as a coach. Recently he led his club colleague Andrzej Opłatek to the top, first in the junior category and then in the young riders category.
Michał Kaźmierczak. A rider of KJ Leśna Wola, Głogów Małopolski. The bronze medalist of the Polish Championships 2017 and the only Polish jumper who took part in the European Senior Championships last year. Prior to that, he had won two silver medals in the Polish Championships. Having won the competitions in Tallinn and Leszno in the autumn, he is ranked ninth in the World Cup Central European League ranking, which is a very good starting point to compete for the top three places that guarantee participation in the final, which will take place in Paris in April. He already competed in the World Cup once in 2016 and took the 25th place.
Andrzej Opłatek. A rider of HAEE Turek. The current and already two-time champion of Polish Young Riders. Earlier in 2014 he was also the Polish Junior Champion. He has already competed four times in the European Championships, two of which were very successful. In 2015 he was ranked 8th amongst juniors and last season he took the 12th place amongst young riders. In December 2017 he won the Grand Prix at Cavaliada Poznań in an impressive style, leaving many of the world's best riders in behind.