Stanisław Szurik

One of leading contemporary Polish breeders of sports horses (stallion MJT Nevados), an active businessman, a superb farmer.

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Born on January 19, 1951. He died on November 14, 2016.

In 2016, we said goodbye for ever to many outstanding figures of Polish breeding and horsemanship; Stanisław Szurik joined them in November; he was one of the most outstanding Polish contemporary sports horse breeders, the active businessman, the superb farmer honoured with the title of Farmer of Pomerania & Kuyaves; he was stuck on hunting. The steeds bred at his stud farm in Liszkowo have decided on quality of Kuyavian-Pomeranian breeding of noble horses for years – they were the object of admiration and the unattainable example for all of us.

Stanisław started interesting in horse breeding in mid-nineties when he started farming at Liszkowo in Krajno; it was a place of over centennial tradition of noble horse breeding. With his great experience in agriculture and breeding farm animals of other species, he put on quality first of all. He organized a stud farm with mares coming from the renowned national and foreign stud farms and stallions of the best lines. From the beginning, he paid particular attention to selection of the bred horses as regards their performance and exterior. This concept was superbly adapted to the developing breeding events (mare performance tests, shows and breeding exhibitions) organized by Kuyavian-Pomeranian Horse Breeders’ Union where the horses from Liszkowo played leading roles from the beginning.

In parallel, the breeding and training infrastructure was developed in a form of adaptation of stylish nineteenth century stables, a riding school as well as new pastures. In noble horse breeding, competence and commitment of people who work with animals is of paramount importance. Stanisław was a good manager in this field as well – the following people worked at stables in Liszkowo: Jakub Kaczmarek, Rafał Narloch, Anita Raszka, Jan Korczyński, Katarzyna Szczubiał and, first of all, Krzysztof Kierzek – who administers ZT Bielice, one of the best training centres for young horses in Poland today.

At the beginning, two leading sires, Grand de la Cour and Concert, were light of Stanisław’s eye; they were provided with training and presentation up to the all-Poland level; this was the best advertising for their lineage that was born at the stables in Liszkowo.

He offered his stallions to breeders at preferential terms and, in consequence, the sires belonged to the most used stallions in Poland! Although he loved them passionately, he perceived soon that the real future belongs to new procreation techniques; at that time this was not such obvious at all for the most of our breeders. In the following years, procreation as a whole was based on insemination, mostly with frozen semen imported, at first, from Zangersheide (Calvados Z, Chicago Z and Crown Z) and then from French breeders (Leoville, Johnny Boy II and Top Gun Semilly) and German breeders (Cordess and Black Jack). The success was ensured by cooperation with Dr Przemysław Mazurek who dealt with the stud farm in
Liszkowo from the beginning. Soon, first successes occurred at breeding and sports arenas. We can mention the horses that won sports and breeding laurels at training centres and shows for the long time.

Granit S sp (Faust Z – Gracenta han by Graf Grannus han) – started at the level DR ZO (Hubert Kierznowski) and then, at the Canadian team, at Show Jumping World Cup. Quattro S sp (Romualdo kwpn – Quanta by Quamiro hol), noted at WBFSH ranking, started at the level DR ZO (Bartłomiej Włodarski); Mozart sp (Mywill kwpn – Morena wlkp by Mapnik wlkp) was a finalist of MPMK (Stanisław Marchwicki), and then Junior & Young Rider Champion of Poland (Piotr Sikorski). At last, the performance tests champions, the mares Fabreggia S sp, Federica S sp (also the MPMK-A finalist), Faworytka S sp, Donna Rosa S sp and many others…

However, all of these successes are unequal to triumphs achieved by the grey stallion Nevados S (Calvados Z – Nestia S by Romualdo). At first, it was Young Horses Championship of Poland for four and five years’ (under Jacek Zagor) and then the World Champion title for seven years’ in show jumping in 2015 (under Gregory Wathelet (BEL)). At that time, it seemed to be the top success of Polish breeding for many years. But seasons 2018-2019 were even more successful. After wins in Paris, Waregem, Liege and Prague, Nevados won the title of the Team Champion of Europe and his daughter Donna Neva S (Daria Kobiernik) was the best of four years’ at the Young Horses Championship of Poland. His next daughter, Capella sp was the champion at Polish Sports Horse Days. Nevados’s sons were not worse. Fabregas S sp was the best stallion of Polish breeding at the Field Performance Test; Why Not wlkp – the Great Poland Horse Champion; and Celynos sp – the North Poland Champion in jumping on its own. While taking into account that all of these horses represent the first two age groups (very few) of Nevados’s lineage, we can speak courageously this is a stallion of huge pre-potency as regards sports features and he follows Ramzes to join the legends of the worldwide breeding. Also, the list of successes of horses owned by other breeders who brought their animals from Liszkowo is spacious. Stanisław Szurik’s breeding philosophy was always characterized by patriotic attitude and affection for the domestic breeding organisation, i.e. Kuyavian-Pomeranian Horse Breeders’ Union. He never betrayed Polish breeding and did not decide to enter his horses into foreign Stud Books.

Crowds during his funeral testified best on influence exercised by this very good and modest breeder on his environment; the man who stuck to tradition and Kuyavian-Pomeranian Horse Breeders’ Union and made Polish horses famous worldwide…

Read more… (click to go to the Polish Digital Equestrian Library)

Author: Tomasz Bagniewski

We thank Polish Horse Breeders’ Union and the magazine ‘Hodowca i Jeździec’ for their consent to publish this material.