Hungarian Dressage Championship 2023.

The 22-year old Jazmin Yom-Tov wrote history at the 2023 Hungarian Dressage Championships on 17 - 20 August 2023 by winning not one, but three major titles across the levels. The Dutch based Grand Prix riders scored an impressive hattrick winning the senior small tour, senior big tour and Under 25 division.

The 2023 edition of the Hungarian Championships were beautifully hosted at Aniko Losonczy's Dressage Centre in Mariakalnok (HUN) and included Championship classes from young horses level to the youth divisions all the way up to senior Grand Prix.  While the young horses opened the show with their tests first earlier in the week; the weekend was action packed with with some of Hungary's best dressage riders duelling for glory.

Hattrick for Yom-Tov

Since 2018 Yom Tov has been consistently scooping up titles at the National Dressage Championships in her home country, but already last year she accomplished an impressive feat by winning the Under 25 and senior Grand Prix division. This year she upped the ante by reclaiming those titles as well as adding the small tour victory to his list of achievements.

"First of all it’s an honour, I’ve enjoyed that weekend so so much," Jazmin explained about this impressive feat. "It was definitely my best Hungarian championships so far! It was my first championship without a trainer, but my father was there the whole time helping me with everything, also with warming up. And to be honest I didn’t really realise until very long that I won all three titles, it really was an honour and I enjoyed every single competition."

In the small tour she dominated a field of 6 competitors aboard the 8-year old KWPN bred Kaboom (by Johnson x OO Seven). She posted winning scores in all three rounds with  69.441% in the Prix St Georges, 69.294% in the Inter I, and 72.985% in the Kur to Music to win gold and title with a 10 percentage point advantage to silver medalist Rebeka Kis on Leopold (by Laudabilis). In the Under 25 tour there were four competitors and Jazmin piloted the 10-year old Westfalian gelding For Joy (by Feedback x Donnerbube II) to victory with 67.308% and 73.800%, ahead of Dorka Panka Makk on Fulrike Utica (by Van Gogh x Concorde).

"Kaboom was so good," said Jazmin. "It was a last minute decision to take him in small tour because I’m training him for Grand Prix for next year. He is a very very special boy, with extreme talent. He did all these tests for the first time ever and he amazed me day after day. For Joy was a sweetheart he always works with me throughout the test, he did super good clear tests, he definitely deserved to keep his title."

In the King's class - the senior Grand Prix division - five Grand Prix combinations lined up for the battle of Hungarian Champion and Yom-Tov again reigned supreme on the her European Under 25 Championship ride, the 12-year old KWPN gelding Hexagon's Grandville (by Louisville x Rubiquil). She scored 68.239% int he Grand Prix and 73.160% in the freestyle and referred Hungary's two team riders at the European Championships in Riesenbeck to silver and bronze: seasoned pair Nikolett Szalai and the 18-year old Hanoverian Willy the Hit (by Wolkenstein II x Brentano II) were the runners-up with 67.913% and 71.435%, while show host Anikó Komjáthy-Losonczy got bronze on her second Grand Prix horse Cristall, a 14-year old Oldenburg by Christ x Furst Heinrich, previously shown by Simone Pearce.  Aniko got 63.478% and  70.060% for bronze.

"Grandville hasn't feel this good in a long time," Jazmin admitted. "He felt super relaxed and all tests went smooth sailing, I came out smiling after all tests. In the freestyle he felt so good and easy I improvised my last line and complicated it with adding a two-tempi going in to the ones and from that the piaffe pirouette."

Sticking to U25

Jazmin was selected to ride the senior European Championships in Riesenbeck in September but declined a position on the team. After Hungary failed to qualify a team for the Paris Olympic Games at the Group C qualifier in Hungary last June, she saw her Olympic dream go up in smoke. She made the decision to continue riding in the Under 25 division in 2024, aiming for the European Under 25 Championships. The 22-year old still has three years left in the U25 division and from the moment she rides a senior championship, she can no longer drop down to Under 25.

When asked if the pressure at the Olympic qualifier got the better of her as the last rider on her team to go, Jazmin replied, "to be honest I think I had a healthy pressure. I definitely don’t regret going last. I also have to add that I had my appendix infected. The week before I also had to go to hospitals. You know I think I can always look back and think what if, but that would be useless. We chose as best we knew in the moment. I will do my best for next year to come out better and stronger with all my horses. My plan is to continue in U25, and make new goals there. Since I have very nice upcoming horses I’m very excited for it!"

Jazmin Yom-Tov split with her long-time trainer Sjef Janssen and has recently been working with Rieky Young from her base, Sport Pro Horses in Uden, The Netherlands.

- Photos © Anett Somogyvari  

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