Garai and Jochen Arl's Vitus to Spearhead Hungarian Team at 2025 European Dressage Championships

Dressage

Hungary

The 33-year old Mate Garai has been selected on the Hungarian team for the 2025 European Dressage Championships in Crozet, France. As highest scoring Hungarian this season, Mate is heading to his second Europeans in his career as a senior Grand Prix rider.

Garai will be saddling Jochen Arl's 12-year old Westfalian gelding Vitus (by Vitalis x Brentano II).

Building a Bond

Garai and Vitus have only been a pair since February but were able to rely on the horse's good training by Joanna Peterka and Johan Zagers who produced the horse to Grand Prix level.

The pair kicked off their international campaign at the Aachen Festival 4 Dressage to explore the buttons in a competition environment. From there they went to the Hungarian team selection trial in Mariakalnok where they won the Grand Prix (68.522%) and Special (68.787%). They further gained mileage in Wiesbaden before heading to Deauville, where they earned 69.522% in the Grand Prix. At their last CDI in Achleiten before the close-off date for team selection, Garai and Vitus posted 68.261% in the Grand Prix and got 72.260% to place third in their first ever freestyle together. In order to solidify their bond as a combination a bit more and as preparation for Crozet, Maté has ridden Vitus at a few national shows in Germany, scoring a 69.533% in Hamminkeln on 10 August.

Garai has been nominated on the Hungarian dressage team for the European Dressage Championships alongside team routinier Aniko Komjathy-Losonczy (Dior S) and Berill Szoke-Toth (Velasco). With the highest score average of the three, Maté is spearheading the team as strongest rider on his way to Crozet. Garai first premiered on the Hungarian Grand Prix team at the 2023 Europeans in Riesenbeck.

Mentorship

Mate and his partner Charlotte Tolhopff run a training business at Kamberger Hof in Neuss, Germany, and he is mentored by German horse dealer Jochen Arl.

"I love giving young, upcoming professionals the opportunity to boost their career by riding my horses," Arl explained. "It's a formula I've used for years, allocating good horses to rising riders. We both benefit from it. I enjoy the process of helping them with my expertise, giving them the change to travel to beautiful horse shows across Europe, where they can gain experience and mileage, and my horses get the spotlight which benefits their sale."

Amongst the professionals whose career took flight with Jochen's support are Olympians Patrik Kittel and Henri Ruoste. Now it's Maté Garai's turn. Arl also collaborates with established trainers, such as French Grand Prix duo Arnaud and Anne-Sophie Serre. Arnaud is currently competing the co-owned 12-year old Danish warmblood Dollar Dream (by Dream Boy x Romanov) at Grand Prix level. The pair has had its first season showing in France this spring. The goal is French team selection for the 2026 World Championships in Aachen.

First Love

Logan Fiechter and Jochen Arl with jumpers
Mien Voila, Livano and Lieverella

Arl's forty five-year career began as rider of show jumping horses before focusing fully on trading dressage horses. However, more recently Jochen returned to his first love and partnered with Dutch dressage horse dealer Dirk Fiechter and his 19-year old son Logan to scout and sell talented jumpers.

The horses Logan and Jochen have together are shown by Logan, whose career is taking flight at premier CSI's in Europe. The dressage connection is never far away though. One of Logan's top jumpers, the 9-year old KWPN mare Lieverella, was bought from Polish Jacek Mierzwinski, husband of Polish Grand Prix rider Anna Mierzwinska.

"The jumping horses are giving me as much pleasure as the dressage horses. They are a great side venture that helps me to grow my network while having fun," Jochen said smilingly. "It's great to see young Logan do well on the horses we found, but now my attention will go to Crozet, where I hope Maté and Virus will peak."