Kazakh equestrian claims silver at international tournament in Poland

The competition is taking place from August 27 to 30. On August 28, athletes from the club competed in the CSI1 Dr Horse Cup* route with an obstacle height of 120 centimeters.

The competition consisted of two successive phases. In the first phase, athletes had to clear six obstacles with seven jumps, and in the second phase, five obstacles with six jumps. The obstacle height in both phases was 120 cm.

Raisa Sokolenko and Chevalier cleared both phases confidently without penalty points. In the decisive second phase, the Kazakhstani pair posted a time of 27.78 seconds, finishing second – just 0.09 seconds behind the winner.

The victory went to Germany's Silvio Weiss on Stella B, with zero penalty points and a time of 27.69 seconds. Third place went to Polish athlete Anna Klosowska on Eflim, with a time of 28.32 seconds.

Sokolenko also outpaced many experienced European riders. Germany's Simon Heineke finished fourth, Matthias Lucas fifth, and Austria's Christian Rhomberg seventh.

Another Kazakhstani rider, Oleg Sokolenko on Shenanigan, came in eighth. He cleared the first phase without penalties but picked up four penalty points in the second phase. However, he recorded the fastest time in the second phase of all competitors – 27.63 seconds.

Both athletes of Kazakhstan's national team (Prestige Horse Club) thus placed in the top eight of the international route.

The performance in Poland is part of the athletes' and horses' preparation for the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 in Japan. European events provide the riders with valuable international competition experience, helping to improve stability and refine speed on the course.

Earlier, Qazinform reported that Team Kazakhstan will compete in 35 sports at the Summer Asian Games in Japan.