Under the eyes of the professionals of this sport from three countries, but also of the horsemen curious to see the skills of the horses and their drivers, the International Harness Competition is held in Oșorhei, which in this edition, the sixth, recorded a record participation of 165 horses.
On the Berkes pasture on the edge of the commune, spectators could see, starting on Thursday, teams of two or four horses and, for the first time, even ponies.
“It is the biggest edition so far, the sixth national and the third international. There are 54 teams and 165 horses, we have qualifying trials for four horses for the world championship which will be in September in Hungary and qualifications for two horses, the championship which will be in Germany next year. For the first time, we have ponies with child competitors, because we want to develop the competition from one year to the next”, declared the mayor of Oșorhei, Ioan Gligor, for Bihor.
(photo: Gabriela Perianu)
Competitors to the rescue
The contestants are from Romania, Serbia and Hungary, including athletes with an impressive track record, so the show is perfect for the audience. After the dressage tests, which took place on Thursday and Friday, the most difficult marathon test took place on Saturday, in which the teams had to complete several obstacle courses on a winding course. One of the obstacles involved entering a puddle of water.
(photo: Ovi D. Pop)
As always happens in performance sports, there have been incidents. For example, a team of four horses in Hungary overturned during a race, and dozens of other athletes quickly jumped to the aid of the athletes and the horses, especially when one of the animals was lying on the ground. Fortunately, not a single member of the crew, human or non-speaking, was injured, and they exited the route to the applause of the audience, who breathed a sigh of relief that they were all safe.
(photo: Adriana Totorean)
Federation plans
The organizers of the contest, Oșorhei City Hall and the Romanian Equestrian Federation, also gave good news to the Bihoreans: in two years, they could be the host of the world harness championship!
“It’s one of the biggest harness competitions we’ve ever held, with a huge number of participants, horses and athletes, which is a great achievement. Year by year, it is growing, and we want to organize the World Harness Championship here in 2026, which will be a very big event”, he told Bihor the president of the federation, Marilena Mladin (photo).
The international federation will choose the venue of the world championship, through an evaluation of the offers made by the national federations. “Even if it doesn’t happen, we will definitely have other big competitions in Osorhei,” Mladin said, stressing that the federation enjoys the support of the local authorities.
The Romanian Equestrian Federation also aimed to reduce the gap with Hungary, a country where harness sports are much more widespread and which generate performance. “We are trying to organize some new clinics, that’s what we call some training for our athletes to do with world champions in this discipline,” the president also said. She praised the Romanian team participating in the Oșorhei competition, stating that its preparation and results are increasing.
The people of Bihor can still watch the equestrian show from Oșorhei on Sunday, starting at 11 a.m., when the steeplechase will start.
(photo: Ovi D. Pop)
Tags: Horse show Osorhei international harness competition ..
-
