An equestrian festival that delighted the audience with equestrian shows, live concerts and activities for the whole family
Spain is the big winner of the 4* category of the Karpatia Horse Show International Eventing Competition, which took place from September 22 to 24 on the Cantacuzino Estate in Floresti, Prahova. The winners are Carlos Diaz Ferandez and his horse Toraje. Second and third place went to Finland’s Sanna Siltakorpi and the horse Bofey Click, and the Czech Republic’s Miroslav Trunda and Shutterflycke.
There were three full days of elegant competitions and equestrian shows and lots of adrenaline. More than 150 horses and riders from Finland, Portugal, Ecuador, Austria, Spain, Czech Republic, Bulgaria and Romania competed in three arenas.
The Spanish Carlos Diaz Ferandez and his Toraje won first place in the CCI 4* International Eventing Competition after some spectacular dressage, cross-country and show jumping events, earning valuable points for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
“We ranked first in the dressage, and maintained our position in cross-country. I’m very happy that we got the win after the third show jumping event!” said Diaz Fernandez, originally from Chiclana de la Fronterra.
The 2* event was dominated by Finland with Sanna Siltakorpi and her horse St. Cashmere (1st place) and Elmo Jankari who won 2nd and 3rd places with his horses Jagellonica and Q With the Flow.
Romania won in the 1* category with Călin Nemeș (Cluj University ) and his horse Aiwan ranking first and Adrian Gândilă with his horse Helen, ranking second Bulgaria won 3rd place with Anna Angelova and Gidran XXXVI.
“This year’s event was a real success. I am glad that we managed to become true ambassadors of this sport for Romania, as both the athletes who came to the equestrian competition in record numbers in the 4* category, with the aim of collecting qualification points for the Summer Olympics, as well as the judges from all over the world (Venezuela, Germany, France, Great Britain, Holland, Finland) were extremely pleased with the Floresti experience. We have already received requests from all over the world for the next edition, both from riders and judges, which surprises and delights us! “, said Mihnea Vîrgolici, event director.
The National Competition, where pre-novice and novice riders participated, was won by Romania’s representative, Viorel Bubău, who was named Romania’s 2* category champion with his horse Korsinaa.
The Two and Four-in hand Grand Driving Masters, who came especially from Transylvania for Karpatia Horse Show, competed in the driving demonstration with the classic marathon and cones driving competitions and were applauded by the large audience who came to support them. Every year, the Romanian champions in these events, Eduard and Robert Bartha, stood out.
Karpatia Horse Show is also the promoter of a less known but fast growing discipline in Romania: Working Equitation. A record number, almost fifty horse-rider pairs, participated in this discipline and among the winners are Maia Terzi, Ștefan Neagu and Andreea Diaconu.
The public also witnessed exceptional moments of Spanish dressage with David Garcia Guerrero, representing Singureni Manor, and vaulting demonstrations – acrobatics on horseback with Equus Art, coming especially from Oradea.
“This is the best edition so far, we have made enormous progress, obviously there is still room for improvement, but we have reached the high quality that we have always wanted. We had an edition with more horses, a large number of riders, and we had a record number of participating countries. I was also happy to welcome tens of thousands of spectators on the estate. It was an edition with a civilized audience, who respected the place and the competition and this decency was a big plus.
I would also like to mention that all these efforts of the Karpatia Horse Show team are also made to manage to keep the ruin of The Petit Trianon Palace <<standing>>, as there is recent damage, so it is also a warning signal to the authorities to support us to continue to successfully preserve this ruin!“, said Irina Bossy Ghica, Ion Grigore Cantacuzino’s great-great-granddaughter.
Parades, live music and glamour
During the three days of the event, spectators enjoyed live music concerts, thanks to artists such as Laura Bretan and Mariano Castro, Dora Gaitanovici, Cristina Lupu and the Jurjak band.
The Parade of Elegance, a tradition for the equestrian event, rewarded the most elegant outfits. while animal lovers could admire rare greyhound specimens, driven in the main arena by elegantly dressed ladies and gentlemen, accompanied by retro cars and representatives of the Morgan Club, a regular partner of the event.
At the same time, riders, FER and FEI members enjoyed an Alice in Wonderland themed concept dinner by Bloom the World and Glamour Floors. Afterwards, the extravagantly decorated table turned into a riding obstacle.
Karpatia Horse Show was a great opportunity for participants to spend a few days out in nature, whether they preferred to relax in the camping area of the Cantacuzino Estate, in the gourmet area, the dedicated children’s areas or enjoyed the “equestrian festival” atmosphere with concerts and lifestyle activities or socialized in the VIP tent area with friends, family and business partners. The event has succeeded once again this year in setting new attendance records, with spectators enthusiastic about the beauty of the equestrian world.
Karpatia Horse Show 2023, 8th Edition, is an event organized by: Hipohouse Equestrian Association, Domeniul Cantacuzino, Rumor Consult in partnership with the International Equestrian Federation and the Romanian Equestrian Federation.
SPONSORS: Pluriva, Engie, Procema, Menatwork, Gonzales Group, Autoklass, Michelin, Glamour Floors, Bucovina, Zetea, Serve
Partners Scena Micul Trianon: CulturAll Incusive 21, Stage Media Expert
Partners: Pentru Cai, Simar, MSl Logistic
Main Media Partner: Magic FM
Media Partners: Euronews Romania, Eurosport, Adevărul, Dilema Veche, Historia, Newsweek, Biz, Wall Street, Business Review, Financial Intelligence, PRESShub, 9AM, IQads, Smark, AList, Haute Culture, Kudika, Garbo, Tuk Tuk Magazine, Transilvania Business, Observatorul Prahovean Group, Columna TV, SuntParinte.ro, Clopoțel
Photo: Ștefan Stoica, Bogdan Boeru, Antonio Pavăl