CAVALIADA Tour has a champion. Neretnieks wins the prestigious series.

More than 180 riders from 17 countries, almost 300 horses, nearly 20,000 spectators, 11 competitions of the prestigious CSI4*W-LF rank, 6 final ranking prizegiving ceremonies and more than 70 exhibitors - the Krakow event was worthy of the finale of the entire CAVALIADA Tour 2023/2024 series. It was not only the final of the Tour, where the athletes were fighting for valuable points from the first event in Warsaw, in as many as six rankings, but it was also the final of the FEI Jumping World Cup Central European League. The event in Krakow has selected three riders of the League who have secured their tickets for the World Cup Final, which will be held in Riyadh in April. They are: Kristaps Neretnieks from Latvia, who will thus compete in this prestigious competition for the fourth time in his career, as well as Sara Vingralkova from the Czech Republic and Angelos Touloupis from Greece.

And it was the Latvian, Kristaps Neretnieks, who also stood on the top podium of the CAVALIADA Tour 2023/2024. The rider has visited every location this season - from Warsaw, through Poznań and Sopot, to Krakow.

- I would like to say a big thank you to the CAVALIADA organiser for all the competitions held this winter. Each arena has something special about it. It's a great feeling to win the CAVALIADA ranking and to qualify for the World Cup Final. Thank you very much for the opportunity to compete in this wonderful arena, the atmosphere of the event in Krakow was amazing,' - said Kristaps Neretnieks.

The show jumping competition was a definite highlight of CAVALIADA Krakow. The program included as many as 11 exciting classes of the CSI4*W-LF rank, in which home riders shone on the international stage. Such a high rank and prize pool of 239,000 euros was a novelty in Krakow.

- The CAVALIADA Tour finals were held in Krakow for the third time, but for the first time at such a high level of competition with a record-breaking prize pool of over one million PLN. We have never had such high prizes before. Heartfelt thanks are due to our sponsors, without whom the CAVALIADA could not have taken place. Thanks to the City of Krakow, PKO Bank Polski, Totalizator Sportowy, Sports Infrastructure Management Board in Krakow and the Małopolska Region Local Authority. We would also like to thank the fans who visited TAURON Arena Krakow in such great numbers to admire the best athletes of the season and their fierce fight in the rankings - said Jakub Patelka, CAVALIADA Tour Director.

In the 11 CSI4*W-LF classes, the Polish representatives had the chance to face more difficult courses and rivals from as many as 17 nations. Nevertheless, to the delight of the fans, the Polish national anthem ranged out as many as six times in the arena. Among the winners were: the phenomenal Aleksandra Kierznowska and Badorette (the Medium Tour Final 145 cm ranking class), Hubert Polowczyk with K'Ermitage Premices Z and Dawid Skiba riding 9-year-old gelding Kasper (the Medium Tour), Maciej Handzlik and the 10-year-old Fiora Sunrise (Speed & Music), Andrzej Głoskowski and Olza (the Small Tour) and Antonina Kucharska on Chicha Mint (the Small Tour Final).

Polish riders also showed their skill and talent in the most important classes. Marek Wacławik, who scored a double clear in the PKO Bank Polski with the 12-year-old Kathmandau, celebrated the biggest success of his career so far, placing second. Other home athletes who fought in the jump-off are also worth mentioning. Those were: Dawid Skiba and Odilon Van Het Bevrijdthof, Mściwoj Kiecoń and Cicero, Julia Jaglarz and Groenaannemer Vd Lentamel and Michał Ziębicki riding O’Lord DB. The winner was Germany’s Patrick Bölle with Caramba De Janeiro. The second most important class was the Friday's Big Tour. It ended with a victory of Kristaps Neretnieks with Quintes, and third place went to Jarosław Skrzyczyński riding Komboy – a horse debuting in such a difficult competition.

As part of the final of the CAVALIADA Tour, the organisers prepared a special prizegiving ceremony in an elegant setting, with podiums and cups for the best of the season. Fierce competition, especially in the final, determined the definite rankings. The show jumping competition also featured the final of CAVALIADA Future divided into two categories – MINI and MIDI, where the first place on the podium was taken by Amelia Marszałek and Aleksandra Lewicka, as well as, for the first time, the final of CAVALIADA Open Tour, an international competition for Amateurs. Here the winners were: in the Silver category - Zofia Trela, and in Gold - Julia Koszuta.

The much-loved TRAF Eventing Tour and the Polish Indoor Eventing Cup did not disappoint the fans in Krakow. The fight for the last valuable points, which could shuffle the situation in the ranking and ultimately help secure a place on the podium, lasted until the very end. The leader Jakub Wiraszka maintained his pole position until the very end and thus ended up with the gold medal of the Polish Indoor Eventing Cup and the cup of the best rider of TRAF Eventing Tour. The second place and silver medal went to Daria Kobiernik and third to Joanna Pawlak.

In the CAVALIADA Dressage Tour, Sandra Sysojeva from Lithuania already enjoyed a big lead before the final. However, there was a threat as a new rider visited Kraków – Germany’s Lena Hassmann, who won the two classes and has already announced her presence in the next Tour. Nevertheless, Sandra kept her lead and the first place on the podium. Second went to Karolina Mazurek and third to Marcin Woldanski.

The final ORLEN Driving Tour was full of extreme emotions, marked by fierce competition and a fantastic atmosphere. The rivalry ended with Aleksander Fularczyk's triumph. The pair driving kept the spectators at the edge of their seats until the very end. Here, the top three in the ranking were so strong, and the point differences so tight, that no one could be sure of victory. The final ORLEN Driving Tour class was won in phenomenal style by Aleksander Fularczyk. Thus, he became the winner of the entire Tour, taking the highest place on the podium. The second place in the class and in the ranking, after a fierce fight, was taken by Bartłomiej Kwiatek. Third went to Weronika Kwiatek.

- There is very little margin for error in the pairs, and there was a very strong field of athletes competing in all locations. Before Krakow I felt that I had managed to get both the horses and myself into top shape. In the end, everything worked out as it was supposed to - that was the plan from the very beginning, to win. I hope we will meet at the next Tour as well, see you there," said Aleksander Fularczyk.

The organisers are already including an invitation to the CAVALIADA Tour 2024/2025.

- I encourage you to save the dates of the next CAVALIADA Tour events in your calendars now. We will meet on 14-17.11.2024 in Warsaw, 05-08.12.2024 in Poznań, 23-26.01.2025 in Sopot and again at the finals in Krakow on 20-23.02.2025. As a whole team, we would like to once again thank everyone who contributed to the creation of this unique event and we hope that the next editions will bring even an even greater sporting spectacle. See you there," concluded Jakub Patelka, CAVALIADA Tour Director.

Full results – https://livejumping.com/ap/event/9753/competitions

Rankings - https://krakow.cavaliada.pl/pl/zawodnicy/rankingi/

Re-live - https://live.cavaliada.pl/

The organiser of CAVALIADA Krakow is the Grupa MTP. The main sponsor is PKO Bank Polski, the strategic sponsors are ORLEN and LOTTO, the host city is Kraków, and the partners are Małopolskie Voivodeship and Sports Infrastructure Management Board in Kraków.