“In Herning the sport has been outstanding”, Edward Levy

The first part of this interview was published here.

Ten-year-old Confidence d’Ass clinched the biggest win of his career in Dublin. Earlier in the season she jumped her first CSI 3* Grand Prix at Compiègne Classic, collecting eight points but jumping in style. How is that changing for you and what are your goals?

The trust belongs to my friends Aurélien and Sophie Seigneur which makes it a great story. She is an exceptional warrior. It is incredible to have a mare with such a mind that combines respect and courage. Very often, respectful horses show some fear, but they don’t. When she hits routes like Dublin with massive obstacles, she rolls up her sleeves and shows even more desire to walk. It’s really extraordinary. We won the 1.50m there in front of all the Irish on Sunday when we thought winning there was impossible (laughs, editor’s note)! She has already jumped a few jumps at 1.55 m and will be able to contribute at this level. She is “THE” tournament mare par excellence. It is difficult to put a limit on these types of horses. When she arrived we thought she would perform at 1.40m and she started scoring at 1.45m, then at 1.50m. From now on she wins at 1.50m in very nice jumps. She will tell us how far she can go, but it is a privilege to have such a warrior to count on.

Are you planning to compete in the Longines World Cup with Rebeca LS?

I’ll try to go to Oslo and Lyon with the ambition to start the season well inside. If I can get enough points from the start and qualify for the final, I’ll make it. Conversely, if in the middle of winter I realize that the task is getting complicated, I will not be stubborn. With all my horses I like to juggle between peaks of form and moments of relaxation. The idea with Rebeca would be to have her at the top at the end of the year to get points at the start of the race and then let her breathe easy in early 2023 and either bring her back to power for the finals if it’s possible or for the Saut Hermès and the CSI 5* from ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

In general, I never change the program of my horses based on the results. I always want to keep my line and remain calm, even after good or bad performances. Rebeca had an incredible month as we won a CSI 5* Grand Prix at Hubside Jumping in Grimaud, then the CSI 3* at Cabourg Classic before finishing 5th at the very difficult Longines Global Champions Tour in Monte-Carlo. . After that I gave him four weeks off. Although she was in great shape, I wanted to give her some time to depressurize and recover. This is how I shape the season for my horses. After calmly recovering at the Normandy Horse Show in Saint-Lô, she jumped fantastically at the Longines Deauville Classic (Fifth in a qualification, ahead of 17th place in the Grand Prix, receiving two penalties in the jump-off, editor’s note.). There I feel that she is now ready to attack very good events again.

Originally reported, Sirius Black ultimately did not compete in the Longines Deauville Classic. How is he?

Very good. He is taking part in the CSI 5* of the Stephex Masters in Brussels with Rebeca this weekend. He was supposed to go to Deauville to skip the intermediate events, but I didn’t find him in very good shape. He didn’t have a fever, but he might have heat stroke. When relaxing, I found it a little flat when it’s usually always cool. My physiotherapist Élodie Ibsaiene felt him a little numb, so I didn’t skip the test. Since then everything is back to normal. After Brussels I plan to take her to Grimaud, then to some competitions inside.

“I don’t have a definitive opinion on irons”

Did you follow the World Championships in Herning? And if so, what did you think of it?

I’ve obviously been following her a lot. The sport was excellent throughout the week. Three horses have ruled the world: King Edward, Quel Homme de Hus and Beauville (with the Swede Henrik von Eckermann, the Belgian Jérôme Guéry and the Dutchman Maikel van der Vleuten, editor’s note.). The latter is a little more discreet and maybe a little less spectacular than the other two, but he still has two individual bronze medals, Olympic and world, in two seasons. The efficiency of this pair is incredible. Jérôme and Quel Homme more than earned their silver medal. You have done so many clear rounds over so many years in all Grands Prix and Nations Cups… Jérôme is a very good friend, a very nice and humble man. He deserves to be where he is.

On Sunday, the second run turned out to be extremely difficult (in contrast to the first, which hardly caused any errors, editor’s note). From behind our screen, it’s easy to judge the difficulty of a course, but we could see that it posed great difficulties for couples. Following these events makes it possible to realize the horses required in terms of means and resources to be successful in a championship. The pair that should have won did it, like Ben Maher did in Tokyo (Crowned Olympic champion with his extraordinary Explosion W, package for the Worlds due to poor form, editor’s note.)this is perhaps the most difficult thing in our sport.

We also saw some exceptional horses arrive including Faltic HB, Ben Maher’s exceptional partner. I knew him, having seen him jump all year, but he was certainly less known to the general public because he was somewhat overshadowed by Explosion.

On the French side we saw great things for the first two days, then to the end for Simon Delestre and Cayman Jolly Jumper. However, like last year in Tokyo, the scenario for the team finals was horrible with this medal that seemed within reach until the very end…

Yes, it was really difficult to finish a medal within a bar. It doesn’t matter… A few days ago I read an interview with Kevin that said something very true: “When you compete in championships, you have to prepare for all scenarios, both the greatest joy and the greatest frustration of the year.”

We can also remember some very nice things: Caracole de la Roque, Julien Épaillard’s mare, managed some great championships, won the chasse and continued a clear round. In the team final they made two mistakes on a more than difficult course. Even if Julien chose to stop there, they were successful in their worlds. Of course, the other positive point is the development of the couple that consists of Simon Delestre and Cayman Jolly Jumper. You were at the level of this appointment. Lucky to have her. I think that Simon now knows him perfectly, that he managed to find the right codes on him. The horse finds more and more comfort on the track and approaches its rides more and more calmly. They’ve improved tremendously in six months. It is wonderful.

The Swedes continue to unabashedly dominate their sport, mostly with bare horses. Did you think of that too?

Of course I’ve already thought of that. I even brought some young horses to the stable to give them back a little lightness and comfort in their gaits, but also to see for myself. You must be curious and attentive. You see many extremely successful horses with this system. I have no final opinion on this. I’ll even say something trivial, but I think each horse has its own way of working. I’m sure there are horses that are happier without shoes and others with them. The rest is relative to the rider’s sensibilities. Some shoe all their horses, others just a few, and still others tried before they went back to horseshoes… And to criticize those decisions seems very stupid to me.

The greatest lesson of this movement is that it expresses a desire for a return to a form of simplicity and naturalness. We’re seeing more and more horses living outdoors, in herds etc. I think it’s positive to show that we can keep animals as close to nature as possible, even if they’re involved in a high-level sport. More than just knowing whether a horse is happy with shoes or not, you need to be aware of it and show that you can combine competition and respect for life’s circumstances.