wlkp (Polarstern – Venus / NN), b. 15.05.1953/15.09.1982/XNUMX | died on September XNUMX, XNUMX

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When extraordinary individuals pass away, they deserve a few words of remembrance. Such was the outstanding horse-athlete, the gray Volt.

He was born at the Liski Stud on May 15, 1953, after the Trakehner stallion. polarstern. from East Prussian class Venus. Polarstern - black, massive, whose children moved well under the saddle. was matched with a small, gray Venus to increase mass and improve movement. From the mother, the foal was supposed to take over the dryness. Some of these intentions of the breeder actually found their way into the Volt. From his father he took over the exterior, the way of carrying his head and leaning on the bit, and from his mother the ointment, dryness and hardness in work.

The foal was initially a penalty, despite its late birth, it developed properly, but in its year of age it did not stand out with anything special. In this year, as it turned out later, there was also an excellent jumper - Bolgami. After turning 2,5 years old, Volt was brought to the Training Center in Kwidzyn in autumn 1955 as a stallion. He did not complete the test of bravery because of the clumsy part of the harness. Drawing was not his hobby in life. In the autumn of 1956, he was transferred to the State Stallion Stud in Braniewo, where he was used in sport; was ridden by Mr. Edward Perzyna. As a stallion, Volt didn't work out. He was sterile. Scrapped in the summer of 1957, he was transferred to sport horses. He suffered from castration very badly. Long after the operation, he dragged his hind legs. This way of moving stayed with him until old age.

The beginning of his career was not brilliant. Difficult to lead, he rarely passed the course cleanly, as pulling with his hind legs caused errors. The work put into it did not bring the expected results. Therefore, in the summer of 1958, he was transferred to a sports center in Wola in Poznań, intended for Marian Kowalczyk, under whom another son of Polarstern, Pregor, began to triumph internationally. Under M. Kowalczyk, as a jumper, he did not live up to the hopes placed in him. He was assigned to the eventing. In this way, in 1959, he met Marian Babirecki, with whom he did not part until the end of his sports career.

The choice turned out to be correct. Pulling the hind legs harmful on the show jumping course turned out to be helpful in the cross-country test, when overcoming obstacles on the landing. Tough, combative, he endured all the training loads imposed on him with great ease. The effects of this work did not keep us waiting long. From that moment on, the series of successes of this pair began, crowned with the 1960th place at the Olympic Games in Rome in XNUMX, where they lost the XNUMXth place with a small number of points. This year they also won the Polish championship in dressage.

However, since the Roman Olympics, Volt's iron health has broken down. It turned out that the given effort led to the almost complete loss of sight. From a magnificent sportsman, he soon became a horse that was almost groping in the dark, and its value was calculated only in the price of kilograms of meat. However, it was not abandoned. The exceptional care he received and time allowed his body to restore his weakened eyesight. Unfortunately, similar ailments, albeit to a lesser extent, occurred after any major effort. It took almost three years to return to the sports arena in full splendor. At that time, the club's colors changed from the Poznań center to the equestrian section at the PSO in Kwidzyn.

As time has shown, the greatest successes were still ahead of him. In 1964 he wins the Polish championship in dressage and eventing. He entered the 1965 season in full strength, preparing for the European Championships in Moscow, which were considered very difficult due to the level presented by the Soviet players. Well conducted in the dressage test, very good but not very good in the cross-country test, he stood as a leader in the jumping competition. One mistake in the parkour would cost him a medal. It was a beautiful fight, from which the couple Volt - Babirecki came out victorious, beating the parkour flawlessly and winning the European Championship. In 1965, Volt also won the title of the 1966nd runner-up of Poland in dressage, and in 1967 - the 1958st runner-up. The victory in the C class eventing competition in 1967 in Sieraków was his swan song. In total, during his sports career in the years XNUMX-XNUMX, he won six prizes in dressage competitions (places from XNUMXst to XNUMXth), ten prizes in eventing above class N (XNUMXst - XNUMXth place), and in jumping competitions of class C and above (XNUMXst —VI place) two prizes.

The number of kilometers traveled made itself felt in the form of inflammation of the flexor tendons of both front limbs. He was no longer suitable for the feat, but he ended up as a recreational horse in Łącko, serving in the years 1968-1970 for field rides. Then, in 1971, he was transferred to his mother stud in Liski for horse riding lessons. Nothing was the best in this role. His battered legs did not allow him to ride intensively, the hives did not prevent him from making some step, as a result of which the novice rider became familiar with the hardness of the earth. Then he was assigned another job as a guide to a herd of two-year-old colts. However, the temperamental two-year-olds did not respect the titled pensioner and teased him a lot. Society changed from two-year-olds to weanlings. He nursed a few years, getting along with them and having a hard time moving to a younger class every year. In the role of "uncle" he felt great and lasted until the end of his days. He died on September 15, 1982 at the age of 29 years and 5 months. He was an example of a horse that for eight years was among the top national and even European leaders.

Author: Antoni Pacyński, former director of Liski Stud, horse breeder, horse riding trainer

Below you will find links to related materials in the Polish Digital Equestrian Library.