Time doesn’t stand still. Before we knew it, over two weeks had passed since the 40th edition of the All Nations Cup. Have the emotions subsided? Not necessarily – appetite comes with eating, and since the Polish Nationals in Janów Podlaski, we have already been to the Interup show in Prague and the All Nations Cup in Aachen. This means that the European Championships are fast approaching, this year in Lier, Belgium, but ere we visit Flanders, let’s stop for a moment in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Let’s NOT start with horses though
Each of us encountered the name Aquisgranum quite early in primary school during history lessons while discussing the early Middle Ages. Every child well prepared for a quiz knows that this was the capital of Regnum Francorum, the Kingdom of the Franks, where Charlemagne performed a miracle, legally resurrecting the Roman Empire. However, before Pepin the Short, the son of the most outstanding European majordomo Charles Martel and the ambitious father of Charlemagne, fell in love with the local thermal springs and whose son was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III, a lot happened in the territory of the current state of Nordrhein-Westfallen…
The first settlement in these areas dates back to times of the Celts. Local Celtic tribes left numerous burial mounds here, several dozen of which were discovered at the beginning of the last century. It is possible that already then, at the turn of the Bronze and Iron Ages, the locals were able to appreciate the health properties of hot sulfur springs. Perhaps they even worshiped their god of health, Granos (or Granus), to which the ancient Romans referred when they named their newly founded colony Aquae Granni. The spa properties of local springs are still popular today, and some older Germans call their city Bad Aachen, which means nothing less than Aachen-Spa.
Anyone who comes to Aachen and does not devote even a moment to the city, limiting themselves only to their hotel and the show, will miss a lot. Cathedral of St. Saint Mary, Mother of God is the burial place not only of Charlemagne himself, but also of Otto III, “a friend to the Polanian State”, who in the year 1000 came to Gniezno on a pilgrimage to the grave of St. Adalbert of Prague, martyr and missionary to the Prussians. In the neoclassical Elisenbrunnen pavilion you can taste sulfuric curative water, while a bike ride aroudn the city will also allow you to discover two preserved medieval city gates, of which there were originally four. The city can also boast a very interesting offer of pubs and restaurants.
Despite such a rich history and tradition, Aachen is increasingly associated with horses, not Carolingians. No wonder, considering the fact that horse shows and equestrian competitions under the banner of CHIO, i.e. Concours Hippique International Officiel, have been organized here for exactly 100 years. These four letters hide an extremely prestigious event combining jumping, dressage, driving, eventing and even vaulting… For over four decades, one of the most recognizable purebred Arabian horse shows has been held here – the stage on which Polish horses have won the some of the most important titles more than once.
Now about horses
At the end of September, the weather this year was not too kind to those visiting Aachen. For three days we were accompanied by unpleasant, strong winds, passing rains and even one powerful cloudburst with hail. There were as many as 27 horses out of 118 entered in this year’s All Nations Cup catalog with the suffix PL attached to them. All you need to do is perform a simple mathematical operation to know that horses of Polish breeding, Polish ownership or our breeding and ownership accounted for as much as 23% of the all those entered. Ultimately, as happens at every show, fewer of them danced in front of the judges, but they still formed a large group. In the stables you could meet another Polish mare, who, together with her owner, took part in sports competitions co-creating the Arabian horse festival, which is undoubtedly the All Nations Cup.
Aachen for beginners
As at almost every major European show, we didn’t have to wait long for Polish-bred horses. The third to perform in front of the gathered audience, in the first of two classes of yearling fillies, was the bay Ghaila AO (Morion – Ginevra / AJ Mardan), bred and owned by Adam Ochman (Polia Arabians), shown by Paweł Kozikowski. It was only the third show of this young, extremely charming filly, and after a successful performance in Prague at the end of August, where she won the bronze medal in the European Yearling Mare Championships, the stress of showing in a loud arena could have affected her here. After all, events organized at the Chuchle Arena hippodrome have a calmer atmosphere and take place outdoors, which means that many horses look completely different. Ultimately, the filly took fifth place in the class and did not enter the championship competition.
From an All Nations Cup perspective, it was a short day. It started just after 2 p.m., and by 5 p.m. it was all over. We saw two classes of yearling fillies, two classes of junior Straight Egyptian mares as part of the 5th edition of the ANC Straight Egyptians Specific Origin Show, and finally two classes of yearling colts. And the last of the classes held that day was the most spectacular from a purely Polish perspective.
Mateusz Tokarski and Comoros (HL El Ganador – Cedora / Kahil Al Shaqab), bred and owned by Janów Podlaski Stud, participated in this class. Mateusz left the warm-up arena calm and focused, unlike his playful companion, who was clearly in a good mood. Only after a while did he gain the presenter’s focus, which did not leave him until the end of the class. When they returned to the ring after a few minutes to make an individual presentation, Comoros showed a beautiful trot with a high-set tail. A subtle gesture from the Emirati ringmaster was enough for the pair to return to the preparation ring after the standing presentation. The judges assessed their performance very well, even awarding four 20s for movement, which gave him 91.83 points and first place in class, and therefore participation in Sunday’s championship. We couldn’t have dreamed of a better ending to the first of three days in Albert-Vahle-Halle.
Youth is a gift of nature…
Saturday morning brought another great portion of emotions. The first class of the day, i.e. two-year-old fillies, began with Artur Łojowski entering the ring, leading the grey Wildonara (Paris – Wildona / Shanghai E.A.) from Michałów Stud with a steady step. She is this year’s Polish National Junior Champion Mare. After a while, Mateusz Tokarski and the bay Ebonita (Haash OSB – Etruzja / Pogrom) from Janów Podlaski Stud, last year’s Junior Spring Show Yearling Champion from Białka, were the second to appear before the judges on the ring. Also absent from the class was Janów’s Wencedora (Haash OSB – Wiga / Om El Bellissimo), this year’s Junior Champion Mare from Białka. How did the first two fare?
Wildonara was extremely calm even when trotting and had a delicate aura of aristocratic haughtiness around her. Although this is probably only the impression of a viewer standing to the side. Undoubtedly well prepared, she was fully focused on following the presenter’s instructions. He was so focused on his work that he didn’t even notice when, at the beginning of the presentation, one of the judges stood half a step behind him, carefully looking at the front legs of the presented mare. The Dutch judge, Robbie den Hartog, was not disturbed by even the presenter’s whip, which hung in the air less than 30 cm from his ear. Wildonara finished the class with 91.42 points and advanced to the championship from second place. It is worth adding that the class winner, Dubai’s D Aserah (AJ Nofan – D Shihanah / FA El Rasheem), a young Middle Eastern multi-medalist, had only 0.04 points more.
The judges were less generous when assessing Ebonita, whose performance, although successful and scored 90.21 points, did not show all her assets or beauty in movement. Remembering her from other shows, for example last year’s European Championships, where she even received a twenty for type, or this year’s trip to Białka for the Junior Mare bronze, where she finished with a score of 91.63 points, one can assume that it was not her day. She finished her debut at the All Nations Cup as fifth in her class.
There was also a Polish accent in the next class: the two-year-old colts. Here we saw the colt Monarchio (RFI Farid – Minerwina / Kahil Al Shaqab), bred by Wojciech Parczewski and owned by Bogdan Maślanka, who is also his trainer and handler. The young Monarchio has managed to get us used to the fact that he usually performs better abroad than on the domestic arena. The bronze medal for junior stallions at the Dutch Eurozone Cup show and the gold medal won at the Czech episode of the Emirates Arabian Horse Global Cup in Prague gave hope for a place in the top five in the class. However, as his guardians said: he had other plans for that day and took a high sixth place. However, there are rumors from the Primastella Stable that the bay two-year-old has not yet said his last word.
In the three-year-old mares class, we again saw two competitors in red and white colors. First, the bay Bianca of Sinus (Fadi Al Shaqab – Ballena / Kahil Al Shaqab), bred in the Swedish Sinus Arabian Stud, currently owned by Polia Arabians, won the hearts of the judges and the audience, shown by Paweł Kozikowski. Her efforts brought the expected result and she received even two 20s from the judges for movement, but it was not enough to enter the championship and she finished the class in 4th place with 91.96 points.
The grey Abellia (Magic Magnifique – Axara / Kahil Al Shaqab), bred by Janów and owned by Flaxman Arabians, had similar “bad luck”, and these are the rules governing shows. Mateusz Tokarski showed her, thanks to which the mare could boast easy movement. And although she did her best, her high marks, including 20 for movement, turned out to be insufficient. The total number of points of 91.25 gave her only sixth place. Moreover, in the later female classes, the competition was even more fierce…
… but age is a work of art
Saturday afternoon marked the beginning of the death classes and that is not an exaggerated description. In just one class of 4-6-year-old mares, the catalog included as many as five representatives of Poland, Polish breeding or ownership: Babetta, D Leen, Echo Anastazja, Mamma Mia and El Medida. This year’s bronze medalists of senior mares from the Global Champions Arabians Tour in Rome and the Polish National Show in Janów, i.e. D Leen (D Seraj – D Maha / Eden C), bred by Dubai Arabian Horse Stud and owned by Lubochnia Arabians, and El Medida (Morion – El Medara) / Shanghai E.A.) from Michałów, were, however, withdrawn, which still meant that three fourths of the class were Polish mares.
The first Polish mare to appear was Babetta (Emerald J – Belinda / Kahil Al Shaqab) from the Janów stables, currently owned by Flaxman Arabians, shown by Koen Hennekens. Like each of the eleven pairs in this class, they had a successful performance, for which they received 91.50 points from the judges. Unfortunately, this result gave them only 6th place, despite four 20s for movement and decently high other scores.
Immediately after them, Paweł Kozikowski and the divine Echo Anastazja (Psyche Keret – Echo Aurora / Eternity Ibn Navarrone-D), bred and owned by Chrcynno-Pałac Stud and the Poszepczyński Family, ran into the arena. And here it’s time for a tear of emotion, because none of the other horses received louder applause this weekend in Aachen. The deafening roar of the Polish part of the audience, whistles and cheers surprised everyone present, and spectators and VIP guests from other countries watched the enthusiastic crowd with a mixture of admiration and horror. The atmosphere also spread to the slightly surprised presenter, who at one point even encouraged Anastazja’s fans with his hand to cheer even louder, which clearly encouraged her and brought a wide smile to Paweł’s face. Anastazja performed equally well in terms of correct conformation in the walk and standing position, which encouraged the judges to give more generous marks. At the very end, probably out of surprise, the line got tangled for a moment around the mare’s front right leg, but the experienced handler quickly dealt with it. The whistles and applause continued as the couple made their way down to the warm-up area. What’s more, Christian Moschini, who was sitting out this class, congratulated the couple. Apparently the Italian judge regretted that he could not judge this amazing mare.
How did the judges rate this couple’s performance? Two 20s and three 19.5s for type, a minimum of 19 for head and neck, the highest score of the show for legs and… a set of 20s for movement! When Eric Blaak, the presenter at the show, read the marks for movement again in the Albert-Vahle-Halle, there was a loud but short cheer, which for a moment scared away the mare D Jooreyah, who was present in the ring, for which Paolo Capecci even apologized to the judges. Echo Anastazja received 93.33 points from the judges and no one was able to beat her score, although her competitors did try – to no avail. She was led to the decorations from the warm up arena by an emotional Joanna Wojtecka, and behind them was a slightly dazed – not without a good reason – Paweł, who bowed to the audience with a broad smile on his face.
What comes after delight?
One of those who wanted to catch up or perhaps overtake Echo Anastazja was Mamma Mia (E.S. Harir – VA Magnifica / Magic Magnifique), bred by Tomasz Tarczyński and owned by Hanaya Arabian Stud. Frank Spönle did his best to charm the judges with the multiple gold medalist of the show, but after an excellent performance, which resulted in twenty for type and movement, they had to settle for 3rd place in the class with 92.54 points. It was a really strong class, in which none of the eleven mares had less than 90 points.
It was no different in the 7-10-year-old mares class – each of the presented competitors had over 90 points, and we saw as many as four Polish mares. There would have been five of them, but Platyna NA (Shanghai E.A. – Pantera / Ekstern), bred by Alicja Najmowicz’s Nana Arabians and owned by Hanaya Arabian Stud, was withdrawn. So who showed up?
The first bay was Wieża Orientu (Ganges – Wieża Mocy / QR Marc), bred by Michałów and owned by Flaxman Arabians, shown by Peter Wilms. Despite her age, she is a mare with limited show experience, but she works beautifully with people and gave her neck to Peter even more beautifully, as if under a spell. However, she finished the class in 8th place with 90.04 points.
The Janów-bred dark bay mare Pila (Abyad AA – Piba / Gazal Al Shaqab) did better, finishing her class in 5th place with 91.50 points. Mateusz showed her on a loose rope, without losing control over her for even a second. She repaid him with good humor and unforced obedience, carrying out his orders without stress.
At the end of the class, two Polish mares fought again: Poganinka (El Omari – Pentra / Poganin), bred and owned by Michałów Stud, as the penultimate one, and Wildona (Shanghai E.A. – Wilda / Gazal Al Shaqab), bred by Michałów Stud and owned by Hanaya Arabian Stud, who closed the class. The first one, confidently led by Artur Łojowski, who signaled at the very beginning to limit the applause, showed what he has best: movement. She trotted along in her white socks, and Arthur ran alongside her, smiling. No one had any doubts that the chestnut was in her element. No wonder the first thing the presenter did when she stood still was to pat her tenderly. She gave no less of herself in the standing position, which the judges appreciated with four 20s for movement, 16.5 for legs and one 19.75 for head and neck. With 92.21 points, she finished her class third and entered the championship.
Wildona was the one who tried to take away the highest score of the show from Echo Anastazja, which was attempted by Frank Spönle, who was clearly motivated to ensure that the snow-white mare, wearing the Swiss red and white colors, exceeded the threshold of 93 points. She was also better prepared than a few months earlier in Bruges. The judges deservedly awarded her four 20s for type and movement, but she was exactly a quarter of a point behind her biggest competitor!
In the last class of 11-year-old and older mares, we again had someone to cheer for. Two distinguished ladies of Polish origin, currently playing for the Belgian team, met there: Pustynna Noc (WH Kaneko – Pustynna Rosa / Ekstern), from by the Nida River and owned by Budhen’s Stud, and Euzona (Om El Bellissimo – Euzetia / Etogram), from by the Bug River and jointly owned by Elizar Arabians and Sea Horse. At the end of the class, the Michałów-bred Emandilla (Om El Shahmaan – Espadrilla / Monogramm) appeared in front of Polish and international fans.
The successes of Pustynna Noc may still come as a surprise to many. When Michałów Stud sold her a few years ago at the Summer Sale auction to Flaxman Arabians, no one expected that she would be a show mare. But Nathalie de Haes and her family noticed that “something” in her, and this year Ekstern’s flea-bitten granddaughter caught the wind and is doing great at shows. Let two silver medals at the Bruges Arabian Horse Event and the Elran Arabian Cup and a gold medal at the West Coast Cup speak for themselves. In Aachen, she was shown by Tom Schoukens, thanks to which she was relaxed, although perhaps excited about performing in an indoor arena, something she had not experienced during previous performances. This had a small impact on the scores from the judges, who nevertheless assessed her very honestly, awarding her three 20s for lightness and freedom of movement, but the 91.67 points she scored gave her only 4th place in her class. Let’s remember that the result that allows you to be in the top five in an Aachen class is already a huge success.
Euzona has been absent from shows for several years. Unsold at the 2022 Pride of Poland Sale, she was sold a year ago in the Flemish Maldegem at the STC Auction to Belgium, therefore she stayed with the Schoukens family for a longer time. She was shown by the second of brothers, Glenn, with whom she managed to score 91.50 points in a difficult class. It was a successful performance, very correct and even – it’s a pity that she didn’t get at least one twenty for her move, but let’s remember that she hasn’t had contact with the ring and the judges examining her from every side and from every angle for a long time. She took 5th place in her class.
Three 20s for movement like those of Pustynna Noc also went to Emandilla, who ran into the main ring in high gear. Applause for Artur Łojowski, who sprinted her full circle, not slowing down even for a second, so that the bay mare could show her flawless trot. In her case, the scores awarded for head and neck might have been disappointing for us, the viewers, but the judges certainly saw more from up close than the VIP fans or the fans from the stands. Ultimately, with a score of 90.96 points, she was 7th in the class, and the viewers could feel a little dissatisfied.
More ladies, less men
Out of a total of 27 horses of Polish breeding and/or ownership, there were as many as 21 mares, including five that were withdrawn. The remaining six consisted of the three colts discussed, one of them absent, one gelding and two stallions. Let’s start with the middle category.
There was also a Polish competitor in the two gelding classes: 6-year-old Passar (Atius O – Perkilla / Al Maraam), bred by Dębno Stud (Adam Lachera) and owned by the Saudi Yas Stud. This year he triumphed at the Dutch Arabian Masters in Tarnów and Ströhen, winning gold, silver and gold again, each time with Paweł Kozikowski. However, the competition in Aachen turned out to be so strong that he finished his class fifth, less than one and a half points behind the winner.
In the first of two senior stallion classes, there were three gentlemen, none of whom scored below 92 points. In this small group of horses, we had the pleasure of seeing the chestnut Pinito (EKS Alihandro – Piniata / Eden C), who was transferred from the Janów stables to Flaxman Arabians a few years ago. He is a show veteran who started his career as a yearling in Białka, but had to wait five years for his first medal and finally caught the wind while working with Peter Wilms. Although he took 2nd place in the class with a score of 92.63 points, and did not win a medal in the championship, it must be given to him that among all ten adult stallions he had the best movement at the All Nations Cup this year – a set of twenties! What’s more, the judges scored his legs the best out of all the horses – five times 16 and one 16.5! And no one will take this away from him.
In the last class, the Janów-bred Paris (Kahil Al Shaqab – Palmeta / Ecaho), currently owned by Adam Ochman’s Polia Arabians, performed. There is something about the fact that Polish horses can boast movement and usually have better legs than their colleagues from other countries… Paris in Aachen scored better than recently in Prague, which was enough for silver there, but here he didn’t really want to show his long neck to the judges and finished 3rd in his class with 92 points, which is still a very good result. There was a chance for 2nd place, immediately after the stallion HL El Ganador, but maybe next time.
Championships for the 40th time in Aachen
A total of eight horses of Polish breeding and/or ownership advanced to the final competition: Comoros, Wildonara, Echo Anastazja, Mamma Mia, Poganinka, Wildona, Pinito and Paris. The titles of champions went to two of them: Wildona and Echo Anastazja in the Senior Mare Championships, both of which first advanced to the finals after very good performances in their classes, which might’ve as well be called “deadly”… If you were there, you saw it!
Maybe it’s not quite a standard solution, but I’ll start with the Senior Mare Championship. Nine mares met there, four of which were Polish-bred. The judges needed the most time in this championship, and a careful observer could have noticed how some of the judges were wandering among the horses with a confused look, trying to choose the best three in their opinion. The fact that the bronze medal for Echo Anastazja was decided by Robbie den Hertog’s single vote for gold shows how incredibly divided their opinions were! Two judges chose Wildona for gold, but she also received two silver and one bronze, so she won silver in the championship. The gold went to the grey D Shahla (Marajj – FT Shaella / Shael Dream Desert), bred and owned by Dubai Arabian Horse Stud.
Now let’s go back to the beginning. The Yearling Mare Championships were dominated by fillies from the Arabian Peninsula. The gold went to the gold medalist of the Global Champions Arabians Tour from Cannes, Durrat Albidayer (Jyar Meia Lua – A Vision MI / Allegiance MI), bred and owned by Albidayer Stud. The silver went to Royal Futurista (AJ Radman – HK Sweet Musique / HDF Lugano), bred by Royal Arabians and owned by Al Wajba Stud. Interestingly, she won bronze at GCAT Cannes. The bronze medal in Aachen went to D Thaw (D Seraj – D Fannanah / Excalibur E.A.) from Dubai Arabian Horse Stud, who was also bronze at the Intercup in Prague recently, and gold at the GCAT show in Rome.
That Comoros had to return to Poland sans medal was indeed a disappointment, as he had the best scores among the yearlings in both male classes. Although five of the seven judges chose him for bronze, it was a few points too little, but for the Polish audience he was still the best yearling colt. The championship gold went to AB Bandar (D Seraj – Priscilla OS / Poseidon OS), bred and owned by Abhaa Arabians. Silver and bronze were won by the sons of the stallion Royal Asad: KH Habs (out of Dhma Alaainah by Wadee Al Shaqab) from Al Khawolid Stud and Ashgar Akmal (out of Akira AS by Titan AS) from Akmal Stud. Each of these three yearlings can boast similar “stage” experience as Comoros, having medals from the title show of the Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Arabian Horse Festival, the Belgian West Coast Cup or the Italian Montefalco in Tour, which makes the Polish Champion’s place off the podium even more painful.
In the Junior Mare Championships, the first gold during the All Nations Cup for Dubai Arabian Horse Stud was won by D Raseel (D Seraj – Elle Flamenca / Ajman Moniscione), a titled three-year-old who was silver in Aachen as a yearling mare. Last year, gold in Menton, this year silver in Aachen – this is how Alawiya Al Sheikh (Shanghai E.A. – Algamra / AJ Portofino) from Al Sheikh Stud ended her adventure in Albert-Vahle-Halle. The judges awarded the bronze to Reef AQ (Ghaith Al Zobair – Shikha Al Jbreen) owned by Hanaya Arabian Stud. As a consolation, we could say that young Wildonara’s honor was saved by her dam, Wildona.
The Junior Stallion Championships were quite exciting. Although no Polish colt appeared in it, the live view of the young and charismatic, already three-year-old Fajer AA (Shanghai E.A. – Fadwa AA / Fadi Al Shaqab), led to victory by the fearless Mussa Nijm, must have made an impression on everyone. And it was this young man from Ariela Arabians who received the noblest medal. He took the silver with him to the stable of RD Rajan (Polidoro FC – RD Quianna / Shanghai E.A.), bred by Rae-Dawn Arabians and owned by Hanaya Arabian Stud. He took gold with him in Valkenswaard, the Netherlands, in the summer. And the chestnut STA High Voltaj (Taj Raheem – Rose SME / Lark RCA) representing Al Wajba Stud won a bronze medal.
We have already discussed the senior mares, so let’s move on to the Senior Stallion Championships. It was no surprise that the gold medal went to Comoros’ sire, the stallion HL El Ganador (HP Shakir TE – Lonco Baby Maria / HP Emir) owned by Hanaya Arabian Stud. The USA-bred Pilatus PCF (Exxalt – Alexandria PCF / PCF Vision), performing in the colors of Amer Stud, took the silver, and the Emirati Sinmar Albidayer (Shanghai E.A. – Salwa Albidayer / Marwan Al Shaqab), currently owned by Xin Wang, won the bronze. The joy of the Chinese team, for whom it was their debut at the All Nations Cup, was enormous and uncontrollable, and it was nice to watch the riot of emotions, from excitement to tears, which they did not hide. This is the first time in the history of the All Nations Cup in Aachen that a horse owned by Chinese breeders won a medal.
Final remarks
The 40th edition of the All Nations Cup was different from the previous ones. The “Straight Egyptian” classes in the 5th edition of the specific origin show were intertwined with the classes of the title show, also in the championships. The German Championship had its final on Saturday between younger and older horses at the All Nations Cup. In the background there was an outdoor riding class that seemed to be known only to riders and horsewomen and their families and friends. One element had not changed for years. The music played at the opening of each class, and here the opinions are usually extremely divided: you either love this song or you hate it.
Looking at my notes from the show, I’d like to say one thing: a lot is bound to happen at the upcoming European and World Championships. This year we could take a closer look at hundreds of horses at a huge number of shows in Europe and beyond. Among the novelties we have the GCAT and EAHGC series, in which Polish horses also take part, and Poles are more willing to try their hand in what is unknown to them than ever before. Therefore it might get very interesting.