Czech Republic‘s tenth annual year-end awards of the equestrian Olympic disciplines was held this month in the beautiful historical centre of Prague and drew attention to the bright future of Czech dressage. Ema Jancarova and her Grand Prix horse Athos were named 2012 Czech Rider and Horse of the Year.
The titles of Horse and Rider of the Year were awarded by the nation’s most influential equestrian magazine, Jezdectvi, in cooperation with the Czech Equestrian Federation.
"The night highlighted how far equestrian sport had come in our isolated country," says Ema Jancarova, who was named senior Dressage Rider of the Year. "The competition is getting tougher every year, as is the quality of horses and trainers. Consequently the riding is improving so much. We need to keep working hard to stay on top. But events like this really push the sport forward and that is a good thing."
The first senior rider from the Czech Republic to qualify for the European Championships, Ema was just one of many talented dressage riders being celebrated for their hard work and dedication to the sport.
The winner of the children’s dressage category was Michaela Pavlisova, the national gold medalist. The Junior Rider of the Year title went to Kamila Kotyzova, who stood out with her results at the European JR/YR Championships and with consistent high scores internationally. Winner of the Young Rider national championships Karolina Simackova claimed the title of Dressage Young Rider of the year
Kamila felt the whole night was not only a celebration of success but also magical. She was so prepared she even turned up a day early. "I had a wonderful time with family and friends, Zofin palace is beautiful and I love the panorama of the Prague castle in the evening. It actually was our second night in a row there. We actually arrived on the Friday, because my mom didn’t get the date right, so we had to come again on Saturday. But it was worth it anyway."
Ema's highlight of the evening was the ceremony for the Dressage Horse of Year Award, which her mount Athos clinched for the second consecutive year. Her Czech warmblood gelding Athos was just one of many amazing horses on display. "Really, the atmosphere of the whole equestrian gala was incredible with four Kladruber stallions regarded as national cultural heritage escorting the winner in front of Zofin palace," said Jancarova.
As part of the dressage awards, the annual Jezdectvi Pavo Cup winner and placed riders were announced as well as the small tour Belzet Cup, which was won by Hana Vasaryova. The Jezdectvi Pavo Cup monitors results from both small and big tour classes throughout the season. It was won by Fabrizio Sigismondi, the national champion, followed by sisters Ema and Ida Jancarova. The Young Horse of the Year title was awarded to Quäntchen Glück (ridden by Libuse Pulpanova), a five-year old stallion sired by Quaterback who competed at the World Young Horse Championships and Bundeschampionate.
Making its way onto prime time national TV news, the broadcast documented the growing popularity of the equestrian sport in the Czech Republic. "The house was packed! Finally getting to see top riders lose their breeches for once and dress up for the occasion," said Ema. "Definitely, there are several promising pairs for top sport at small tour level and also the junior and young rider base is increasing in both quality and quantity. Also the number of lower level riders is rapidly increasing."
Set to continue their dressage careers, each of the award winners hope to help the sport of dressage to grow and lift the profile of Czech dressage around the world. "I will try to repeat the gold medal success at the nationals, although this year several great riders are coming from the junior category, so it will be much harder. I also have many promising young horses to work with," said young rider Karolina Simackova.
Kamila Kotyzova hopes to first finish secondary vet school and prepare herself for college. "I would like to study equine physiotherapy and make it my job in the future. As far as sport is concerned, we have a number of talented young horses from our breeding farm, that I would like to show."
Michaela Pavlisova's dream is to qualify for the Czech national championship with her horse Baron Trenk in the junior division as well as with her pony Holsteins Dirigent in the national pony championship class.
The biggest award winner Ema Jancarova concluded that she "hope(s) to continue my training and competitive career and hope that with nights like this, we can shine a light on the talent and future of our dressage stars!"
by Sarah Warne for Eurodressage
Related Link
Ema Jancarova, Czech Her Out