GCL Spotlight: Meet Efe Siyahi & the Istanbul Warriors powered by Carpe Diem

The Istanbul Warriors powered by Carpe Diem entered the 2023 GCL Championship race with a distinct commitment to success - a strengthened team and big goals for the year ahead saw an impressive Round 1 performance at the LGCT of Doha. 

We sat down with Team Owner and rider, Efe Siyahi to find out a little more about Carpe Diem, and the year ahead for the Istanbul Warriors. 

Efe, tell us a little bit about Carpe Diem! 

Carpe Diem is a stable based in Holland, we are quite a big team with 7 riders. There are three of us com up to 5* level - Derin Demirsoy,  Ömer Karaevli, and me, we then also have 4 riders who are competing up to 2* level, whose roles are to bring the young horses on and give them some more experience.  

I bought the stable in 2015, and after a big renovation, we moved in at the beginning of 2016 - 7 years ago. We have up to 60 horses at Carpe Diem, with recent works including more stables, a bigger indoor, and more apartments. 

What has your journey with Global Champions looked like so far?

This is the second year we are competing with Global Champions. Last year we were in the Istanbul Sultans, and this year I have my own team, the Istanbul Warriors - we are excited with what is to come.

Last year we found ourselves in the GCL team at the last moment, so didn’t have a lot of time for preparation. We are very honoured and happy to be riding in the Global Champions events, it makes us push and grow to the level with all our horses. Our motivation, our investment and our supporters make it better…  this year we continue to grow and reach our dream.

Your family is very involved in the sport, tell us a little about them. 

My family are long standing supporters of the sport of show jumping. My family likes to follow the tour, also my wife is mostly with me at the events. Of course, depending on the plan, other members of my family like to come and support as much as possible. 

Having the Istanbul Warriors on the GCL starting grid this year is an exciting move for you. How have you strategised and built your team?

I take my own riders who are Turkish - Ömer, Derin and me. To make it even stronger we choose the riders who are ready to make it better for us and ready to fight to make our team better. Johanna Beckman is our U25 rider, who is a growing talent in her level, we are very happy to have her on our team. I think it is very nice that there is a rule that you have to have a U25, it is very important to support the next generation so they can grow at that level. What I am following and what I see, it is really helping to grow the U25 riders into the highest level which is very nice from Global Champions. 

Show jumping in Turkey seems to be making progress! How is the sport developing in your home country?

 It is coming but slowly, not as fast as we were expecting. We are doing our best to support our country. We are investing and spending a lot of effort to become better in the sport for our country. Hopefully our work and our investment will inspire other Turkish riders to motivate them to become more successful at the international level - this is what our hope is.

The famous Miami Beach offers a pretty special location. What are you looking forward to about the second leg on the Longines Global Champions Tour for 2023?

I have heard a lot about the LGCT of Miami Beach - as a location it is amazing, it is the best location I believe. Being in the middle of the city, there are challenges but it is the price to pay for such a location. I am very excited to be in Miami, and as the Istanbul Warriors, we are aiming to do our best and to stay on top.