Shake Up at the Top! Egor Shchibrik of Palestine Claims Individual Gold at the FEI Asian Championships

By Jumper News on 11 11America/Sao_Paulo December 11America/Sao_Paulo 2025

Pattaya, Thailand – December 07, 2025 – The Jumping discipline at the 2025 FEI Asian Championships Pattaya concluded with a significant shake up at the top. After testing talent over four days of competition, it came down to the final round on the final day. It was Egor Shchibrik (PLE) of Palestine, in his first Championship, and his 10-year-old Holsteiner stallion Crack HV (Cornet Obolensky x Candillo) that concluded the Championship fault-free to earn the gold medal. Kuwait’s Ali Al Khorafi and I (Dantos HBC x Veneur) moved into the silver spot on the podium and Yun-Chi Lin of Chinese Taipei rode Driss de Kerglenn (Mylord Carthago Hn x Cap Kennedy*bois Margot) to the bronze medal.

The final day story unfolded with several surprises. As Round A began there were six horse and rider combinations who had not dropped a rail and were within four penalty-points of one another. Over the course of the two rounds, all but one added faults to their score. Sitting in sixth was Shchibrik with a score of 2.93 penalty points. Giving credit to his talented equine partner, they finished the final day as the only pair to ride completely fault free and keeping their original score after day one.

“He’s pretty new to me, we bought him mid-summer. But I’ve known of him since he was a five-year-old,” Shchibrik noted. “He proved himself today. I couldn’t wish for more.”

Starting with 1.65 penalty points and in the fifth spot, Shk. Ali Jmal Nasr Al Nuami (UAE) and Cobalt Vd Bisschop Z had a rail in Round A and added two time faults in Round B, which landed the pair just out of the medal contention, finishing fourth overall. Khorafi and I, coming into today in the fourth spot with 1.5 penalty points, also had a single rail
in Round A, but finished fault free in Round B to move into silver with 5.5 penalty points. Having played a role in Team Kuwait earning a silver medal on Friday, Khorafi finished with double silver in the championships. Credit went to I. “He has a really big heart. He tries really hard. We had an unlucky rail in the first round. I’m proud of my horse and proud of what this medal means for Kuwait.”

The top three positions going into the two challenging 1.50m rounds included Lin, who was sitting second with 1.04 penalty points and Team Japan Gold Medalists Kazuki Takizawa (JPN) with Crn Digger, who started the day in bronze position, and Taizo Sugitani (JPN) with Quincy 194, who at zero points led the championship from day one.

Fault free in Round A, Lin picked up five faults in Round B, dropping him to bronze. An admirable finish, considering that he’s only been riding the horse for three months. With four rails dropping in Round A, Takizawa stayed in the top twelve but moved out of medal contention. Sugitani finished Round A without a fault. Still sitting on zero going into Round B, the pair galloped into the final round unexpectedly lowering the height of the first two jumps on course. The close to perfect partnership finished with a score of 8 penalty points and moved into fifth overall. When asked, Sagitani thought potentially shadows on the jumps played a role.

The Olaf Petersen Jr (GER) course designs were set at 1.50m, resulting in faults across the board. Plus in Round B he added another challenging element, a tight time allowed. Nine of the final twelve to compete in Round B incurred time faults on course. Each of the medalists, if not all involved, expressed gratitude towards the organizers and the venue. “I was happily surprised with the venue,” Shchibrik noted. “Big credit to the organizers, they helped with everything. The place is super.” Al Khorafi agreed. “An amazing venue. I came in 2019 as well. Top organizers, I wish to return here.”

As the sun set over the Thai Polo & Equestrian Club, the FEI Asian Championships Pattaya 2025 closing ceremony welcomed Amanda Bond, FEI Para Equestrian Chair, and Harald Link, Thailand Equestrian Federation (TEF) President, to speak.

As well as honoring the organizers, the athletes and the grooms, Bond thanked those who worked tirelessly throughout these championships, the horses. Link noted that although American and European Championships started in the 1950’s, the Asian Championships began in 2019, and this year, 2025, is only the second event of this level to be held in Asia. He noted the hard work is always remembered and also thanked the FEI for its support of top equestrian sport in Asia. A fireworks display and reception wrapped up the fabulous event.

The 2025 FEI Asian Championships Pattaya were hosted at the beautiful B.Grimm Country Club, also known as Thai Polo & Equestrian Club Pattaya, with the support of B. Grimm.