The 25-year-old rider, who just won individual gold at the FEI Asian Jumping Championships in Pattaya, Thailand, is hardly a household name.
Although Egor now represents Palestine, he competed for Russia until 2022. So did his wife, Aleksandra Maksakova, a dressage rider who also has switched from Russia to Palestine after riding for her homeland in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. The two run a stable in the Netherlands.
Egor has quite a competition record. In the last 15 years, he logged 2,329 starts and 101 victories. He has competed in multiple European Championships in junior and young rider categories, coming in fifth in the individual competition at the 2021 European Under 25 Championships. He is ranked number 445 in the Longines Rankings and number 70 in the FEI Jumping U25 Ranking. Egor attended the Young Riders Academy and has trained with German coach Johannes Rueben.
At the championships in Thailand, he rode Crack HV, a son of Cornet Obolensky, to faultless performances across all five-rounds to finish on a total of 2.93 penalties and take the title.
Egor Shchibrik, new Asian show jumping champion. (FEI photo)
“I don’t have the words,” Egor said after his win.
“This is my first (senior) championship. I came here wanting to learn, to gain experience. Crack HV jumped his heart out from the very first day. He felt like a lion today.”
Kuwait’s Ali Al Khorafi and impressive I delivered the only other clear in round two to rise from fourth to second place and claim the individual silver with a final score of 5.50 penalties. Yun-Chi Lin of Chinese Taipei, riding Driss de Kerglenn took bronze on 6.04 penalties.
Long-time championship leader Taizo Sugitani of Japan began the day carrying a total of zero penalties that kept him in the lead. He was the reigning Individual Asian Champion from Pattaya 2019, and a seven-time Olympian.But as Sugitani cantered into the sunlit arena for round two, the shadows cast by the afternoon light stretched across the opening line.
His mount, Quincy 194 clipped the back bar of the oxer at fence one on the course designed by Olaf Petersen Jr., and dislodged the top rail of fence two within seconds of entering the arena. Within a matter of moments, the favorite’s medal hopes evaporated.
“I’m still trying to understand what happened there,” Taizo said.
“The shadows were definitely playing a part today, and Quincy hesitated for a fraction of a second. That’s all it takes at this level. I’m proud of my team and my horse, but today wasn’t our day.”
His eight penalties in the final round saw him finish in fifth place on eight faults.