HEALTH & FITNESS 
TEACH ME 
HORSE & HUMAN 
MY EQUESTRIAN LIFE 
Young Adam Grzegorzewski can't quite believe what his country has achieved this year...
Poland will have teams in every equestrian discipline at the Olympics for the first time since 1980 after a stunning few weeks of qualification success!
The Jumping team made it three out of three after they progressed from the hotly contested Prague qualifier in late July. With 10 nations from Central & Eastern Europe and Central Asia on the start list, Poland joined Israel in clinching the Paris 2024 places on offer.
The strong performance in Prague came soon after Poland’s Eventing and Dressage teams also made it to the Olympics.
Adam Grzegorzewski was one of Poland’s heroes in Prague, along with Maksymilian Wechta, Przemyslaw Konopacki and Wojciech Wojcianiec. Poland last qualified for Team Jumping at the Moscow Olympics in 1980 when they won silver and the late Jan Kowalczyk secured Individual gold!
Grzegorzewski said: “The last time Poland was competing on the Olympics in Jumping I wasn’t even alive, so it is a great feeling to secure this ticket for our country. Such shows as the Olympics and major championships were always my dream so I will prepare and work as best as I can to be selected for this show. To be honest, I still cannot believe it happened!”
Here, 25-year-old Grzegorzewski takes us through the Prague success, explains why he believes Poland is enjoying so much success and looks forward to the Euros…
How did you feel ahead of the qualifier?
AG: “We had enjoyed a super season this year and my horse felt great at every show. The qualifier in Prague was one of the main goals so I was quite well prepared and felt confident and extremely motivated.”
Tell us about how the event went for you, your horse and the team?
AG: “On the first day, each horse from our team jumped really well and we felt ready for the Nations Cup. We proved on Friday that we were all well prepared. After the Nations Cup we were all super happy and I kept the good form with Issem to jump clear in the Grand Prix. Overall, the event was great and I’m really happy that I could be part of it.
“The Nations Cup was extremely exciting until the last riders. When we knew we had taken the second place, which gave us the qualification, we all were super happy, proud and I cannot even describe what we were feeling.
“Issem is, of course, my best horse and I really have a special bond with him. I bought him as a foal 10 years ago and I’m really lucky that I chose him. He’s an absolute crack! He has a great mind, he’s very scopy and careful but also very brave. To be honest, I think he’s got it all and while I produced him from a youngster, now it’s my turn to learn from him and not the other way around!”
Can you tell us about the feeling within Polish equestrian at present, and can you also tell us why you think the teams have been so successful in 2023?
AG: “I think that overall, in all equestrian disciplines, everyone is super happy and knowing that the Eventing and Dressage teams had qualified gave us a little boost to join them for the Olympics.
“The quality of riders and horses is really growing in Poland and because of our super chef d’Equipe Jan Vinckier who manages us very well we become more and more successful.”
We are just a few weeks from the European Championships – you and Poland must go into this with lots of confidence?
AG: “For this kind of show, it’s quite hard to be really confident because as a country we don’t have too much experience in those kinds of classes. It’s my first championships as a senior rider so I’m going there with a mindset to learn and to try and do my best. It’s also a great opportunity for us to get verified at this level before the Olympics next year and to know what the things are we have to work on.”
Poland will be among the nations participating in this summer's ENIT FEI Jumping European Championship 2023 in Milan later this month. Watch it all on FEI TV from August 29 - September 3...
