Brigadier General of the Polish Army, head of the Military Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Poland, co-founder of Polish equestrian sports, participant of the 1912 Olympic Games in the Russian national team.
He was born on October 4, 1886 in Zhytomyr, Volyn Governorate. Father Antoni. Mother Helena née Hulanicka. A graduate of the Nikolaev Cavalry School in St. Petersburg and the Military Academy in Warsaw. Brigadier General of the Polish Army
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He was a great rider, soldier and great patriot. Poland did not exist on the map of Europe in the year he was born. He wanted to be a soldier, but he could only become one in the ranks of the Russian army, just like thousands of Poles in the Russian Empire. He began his education as a Cadet Corps midshipman at the Naval School, and eventually graduated from the Cavalry School. In 1912 he was a lieutenant, and from February 23, 1916, a captain.
He had been riding horses since he was a child, which influenced his choice of military specialty.
His greatest successes were both in the saddle, on horseback, and in creating conditions conducive to the development of Polish horse riding. This became possible only after the end of World War I. He fought there from August 12, 1914. He found himself in Poland in 1908 with the Ukrainian Hussar Regiment, which was stationed in Sierpc. There in the second lieutenant's quarters Sergiusz Zahorski the military police found a pro-independence blotter and accused him of helping an unknown fighter whom he hid in the attic. He avoided a court-martial, but in 1909 he was transferred to a reserve regiment in Novgorod. He used this time to improve his horse riding, which took him to the Olympic Games in Stockholm.
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On May 19, 1919, he was sent to America to collect horses. A short period of relative peace in the Eastern Borderlands of the Republic of Poland, colonel Sergiusz Zahorski also uses for sports. In April 1919, he was a member of the authorities of the Preparatory Committee for the Olympic Games, which were to be held in Antwerp from August 14 to September 12, 1920. And they did, but without Polish riders. Poland was fighting for its life against Russia.
On April 1, 1920, the Olympic Equestrian Group was established under the direction of lieutenant colonel Sergiusz Zahorski, deputy commander of the 1st Krechowiecki Uhlan Regiment. The management includes Major Karol Rómmel and Lieutenant Tadeusz Daszewski. Selected horses and riders were transported from Grudziądz to Warsaw. The riders were: lieutenant colonel Sergiusz Zahorski, Captain Stefan Dembiński, Captain Marek Mysłakowski, Lieutenant Bolesław Peretiatkowicz, Józef Trenkwald, Ignacy Sołtan, Trzasko-Jarzyński, Leśniewski, Adam Królikiewicz, Przewłocki, Adam Sokołowski, Ludwik Szwejcer, second lieutenants: Aleksander Bieliński, Stanisław Bukraba, Ryszard Bojankiewicz.
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Commander of the 1st Uhlan Regiment until the end of the war in 1920. From 1922 to 1923, deputy commander of the 16th Uhlan Regiment. In recognition of his achievements and knowledge, he goes to a training course at the Military Academy. Hard work in the army allows him to ride horses every day. In terms of riding technique, he was a supporter, together with Major Karol Rómmel, of natural cavalry fought by Polish officers serving in the former Austrian army, trained at the Militär Reit Lehrer Institut in Vienna.
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Colonel Sergiusz Zahorski, as an Olympian in 1912 in Stockholm (together with Karol Rómmel), in the colors of Russia. He dreamed of becoming a Polish Olympian. It is to his credit that two Olympic groups were created preparing for the Games in Paris in 1924. One was in Grudziądz at the Central Cavalry School, and the other in Warsaw near Łazienki, based on the 1st Light Cavalry Regiment. In Warsaw, Colonel Zahorski rode mainly on Zorza.
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In 1926, colonel Sergiusz Zahorski accomplished a great feat - he led to the creation of the Temporary Committee for International Horse Competitions, which were organized until 1939 in Warsaw, in Łazienki, under the name of the Society of International and National Horse Competitions in Poland. Thanks was launched in the same year Sergiusz Zahorski preparatory work for the construction of a beautiful equestrian stadium in Łazienki. After the winter break, the work gained momentum and on May 27, 1927, the horses could start racing. Colonel Sergiusz Zahorski was from June 20, 1926 to September 21, 1928, the head of the Military Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Poland, Professor Ignacy Mościcki. Thanks to this position, he was able to provide invaluable service to Polish horse riding.
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Author: Witold Duński
Source: “Zahorski Sergiusz” (2012) – Witold Duński
Entry updated: 02.05.2024/XNUMX/XNUMX
Sergiusz Zahorski died on June 4, 1962 at the age of 76. He was buried in Brompton Cemetery in London
Publications in the Polish Digital Equestrian Library:
Click on the links below to access related materials in the Polish Digital Equestrian Library (will open in a new tab):
“Hippodrome in Łazienki Królewskie” (2023) – Kamil Potrzuski
“Zahorski Sergiusz” (2012) – Witold Duński
“History of horse riding, part VII” (1990) – Witold Domański
“50th anniversary of the opening of the equestrian stadium in Łazienki” (1977) – Witold Pruski
“Impressions from Pignerolo and Tor di Quinto” (1922) – Sergiusz Zahorski
Photos from the collection of the Museum of Sport and Tourism - Warsaw
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Gallery:
Colonel Sergiusz Zahorski in 1926 after the return of the team from the United States of America, which won the Nations Cup. From the left - Colonel Sergiusz Zahorski, Captain Adam Królikiewicz, Major Michał Toczek and Lieutenant Kazimierz Szosland.
