Julia Krajewski and Tullabeg Platinum victorious in Montelibretti

Montelibretti offered the riders three competitions: a CCI*-Intro, a CCI2*-S and a CCI4*-S. For the four-star tour, Julia Krajewski had saddled up her current number one, the Holstein Numero Uno son Nickel. However, it was planned from the outset that the World Championship candidate would not compete in cross-country, but only in dressage and show jumping. However, he did this with flying colors – leading after the dressage with 27.2 penalty points, zero penalty points in the jumping.

Young Japanese rider with professor

After Krajewski decided not to compete in the cross-country, the way to the top was clear for Japan’s Kento Nagura. The 27-year-old has been based in Europe since 2025 and rides a highly deserving horse: the now 17-year-old Vinci de la Vigne.

The Selle Français gelding first rode with Astier Nicolas for France, including at the World Equestrian Games in Tryon, where they competed as a pair and finished in a strong seventh place. In preparation for the Olympic Games in his own country, the Japan Racing Association – which, contrary to what the name suggests, is not only involved in gallop racing – invested in the gelding and gave him to Kazuma Tomoto to ride. Since then, Vinci de la Vigne has carried the abbreviation “JRA” after his name.

Tomoto and Vinci de la Vigne took an outstanding fourth place in the individual classification in Tokyo. They finished eighth at the 2022 World Championships in Pratoni del Vivaro. And in their last appearance under the Olympic flame in Paris 2024, they contributed to Japan’s historic team bronze with their fifth place in the singles. It was their last tournament together.

Vinci de la Vigne then switched to Kento Nagura, who had competed in his first four-star test with him in Kronenberg (NED) in October 2025 and finished in 13th place. Montelibretti was the first start of the season, at four-star level and a victory straight away – although there were only seven pairs at the start. With 31.3 minus points, they showed the third-best dressage, jumped clear and took their time in the first cross-country of the year. However, they were in good company, so that a good 20 time faults did not jeopardize their triumph.

Krajewski’s victorious start to the season with Tullabeg Platinum

The CCI2* was much more crowded with 32 pairs – no problem for Julia Krajewski and her twelve-year-old Irish rider Tullabeg Platinum. The gelding was brought into the sport by Jan Matthias and Julia Krajewski has been in the saddle since 2025. The pair have improved almost from show to show and only had one jumping fault on their first appearance. After that, they were always clear in the third phase. With a great third place in the CCI4*-L in Strzegom, they had their formal championship qualification in the bag and at the beginning of 2026, Tullabeg Platinum was appointed alongside Nickel as a squad horse for Krajewski. A decision that the Irishman underlined once again with a start-to-finish victory in Montelibretti’s CCI2*-S. Not a single minus point was added to the 28.90 from the dressage.

Krajewski also placed her 2023 German Champion, the twelve-year-old Selle Français gelding Ero de Cantraie, in eighth place with 41.80 penalty points. In addition to the 31.80 points from the dressage, Krajewski’s statement in her Instagram story revealed an obstacle fault in the course due to over-motivation and six time penalties in the cross-country.

International premiere for the Bundeschampionat fifth-place finisher

In addition to her established stars, Krajewski had also brought the six-year-old Hanoverian gelding Fox Tonic by Nathan de la Tour AA with her to Montelibretti. The gray horse had finished the 2025 season with a strong fifth place at the Bundeschampionat. Now he rang in 2026 in fourth place. He finished the test with his dressage score of 31.20 minus points.

You can find all the results here.