The Gróf Széchenyi István Memorial, held for the 32nd time this year, kicked off on Thursday at the National Riding Hall. Despite the special pandemic circumstances the number of entries exceeded last year’s due to an increased interest in the Budapest event – also from international riders. On the opening day, however, it was the home heroes that ruled. 

More than 110 horse-and-rider combinations competed in the 1.50m competition against the clock for the Prize of the Hungarian Equestrian Federation. Following up on his victory in the 1.40m earlier in the day, Gábor Szabó Jr. (HUN) once again went off with the top honours when riding Lord Classic 2 (Lord Z x Coronado) to victory with a margin of more than two seconds. Szabó Jr. also placed third with Chabal TH (Chacco-Blue x Balou du Rouet), with Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida (POR) squeezing in between in second place with Edgar (Warrant x Purioso).