Polish rider Magdalena Piksa is steadily building her place in the sport through dedication, patience and a strong connection with her horses. Although horses were not part of her family background, her passion for riding started at a young age and gradually evolved from an amateur hobby into serious competition.
Today, alongside developing her own career in the ring, Magdalena is also taking her first steps as a trainer, combining technical knowledge with a thoughtful and horse-focused approach.
A Childhood Passion That Turned Into Ambition
For Magdalena Piksa, horses have always represented something special. “Whenever I saw them, I felt calm and respect,” she says. Although nobody in her family rode horses, her fascination with them started at a very young age. As a child, she searched for every possible opportunity to be around horses, often only finding contact with them during holidays.
Everything changed when a small stable opened in her village. That was where Magdalena first started riding herself. “At first it was all amateur,” she explains. But as the years passed, riding slowly became much more than a hobby.
Around the age of sixteen or seventeen, Magdalena started competing and becoming more involved in the sport. “Initially I bought a horse just for fun,” she says. “But eventually I started to compete.” Encouraged by her trainer, Maciej Wojciechowski”, she continued to develop both her riding and her ambitions in the sport.
Today, horse riding is still not her full-time profession, but it plays a central role in her life. Magdalena currently has five horses and spends most of her free time riding, training and improving herself with horses. Last year, she also obtained her instructor license, taking her first official steps as a trainer.
“I aim to do it professionally, with focus on sport,” she says.
Growing as a Rider and Trainer
Besides competing herself, Magdalena has also discovered how much she enjoys teaching others. Becoming a trainer gave her a completely different perspective on riding.
“When I train someone else, I have to think much more than when I ride my own horses,” she explains. “I think about how I do things with my own horse, and I believe it makes me a better rider.”
Seeing progress in her students is something she genuinely enjoys, and her approach is based strongly on fundamentals and technical understanding. “All elements are important,” she says.
For Magdalena, dressage remains the foundation of everything. “Dressage is the basis,” she explains. “It is really important and I try to connect everything.” Rather than simply riding courses, she prefers to focus on technical details and improving the overall understanding between horse and rider. “I don’t really do course training,” she says. “I focus more on technical issues.”
Learning Patience and Trust
Over the years, Magdalena has also learned how important mentality is in equestrian sport. “My biggest lesson so far is to be happy with small successes,” she says. “Be happy with how things go and learn from it. Mistakes are easier to fix than a mindset.”
After winning a national medal, she experienced the pressure that can follow success. At the same time, her main horse was temporarily out of the sport, which made the situation mentally difficult.
“The year after, I really felt pressure,” she says. “It took me time to become relaxed again and give myself time.”
That experience taught her the importance of patience and enjoying the process itself. Her trainer also helped shape that mentality. “He taught me to be happy with every round and every aspect,” Magdalena explains. “Taking care of the horse and spending time together in general is also important.”
Finding Marie Goldlavsca Through Equbreeding.auction
A major turning point in Magdalena’s career came when she found Marie Goldlavsca through Equbreeding.auction.
Through Sharon Janssens, Magdalena came into contact with the auction. “She called me and we bought the horse with blind trust,” she recalls.
At that moment, Magdalena still had relatively little experience with young horses. Marie was only the second young horse she had bought herself. “We could feel the quality immediately,” she says. “But we still needed time to build the connection.”
That connection eventually became one of the most important partnerships in her sporting career.
Today, Marie Goldlavsca remains Magdalena’s number one horse. “I can’t imagine competing without her,” she says. “She has quality, good health and very good rideability. I’m totally in love with her and super happy she came to me.”
More than just the results, Magdalena values the trust they built together over the years. “I feel blessed that she trusts me,” she says.
Together, the pair already won a medal at the Polish Championships, and this season they hope to compete in the 1.50m Senior Polish Championships.
Even though Magdalena now has several other promising horses in her stable, Marie still holds a special place. “For a long time she has been my number one,” she says. “And she still is.”
Magdalena also credits her trainer for helping guide the partnership from the beginning. “He helped me extensively with Marie,” she says. “He made a plan and it worked out perfectly.”
For Magdalena, Marie represents not only quality and success, but also the importance of patience, trust and building a real connection with a horse over time.
Looking Ahead
Alongside Marie, Magdalena is also excited about the future with other horses in her stable. One of them is Condor, a horse she believes could help her take another step forward in the sport.
Although they have only been together for a short time, the pair already debuted successfully at 1.45m level. “For me that was a bit crazy,” Magdalena says with a smile. “He is such a big horse, but really comfortable to ride. I believe he can take me to the next level.”
When searching for horses, Magdalena says trust remains one of the most important factors for her. “I don’t really have direct contact with breeders, but I trust the people in between,” she explains. “They know what I like.”
Although she believes breeding in Poland still has room to develop further, she adds jokingly: “For now, we stick to the quality of Belgian horses.”
For the coming season, Magdalena’s main goal is clear: competing at the Polish Championships with Marie Goldlavsca by her side. But beyond medals and results, her ambitions are focused on continuing to grow step by step — as a rider, trainer and horsewoman.
Ph/ © Courtesy Private collection/ KadraSkoki.pl
