It’s the million dollar question — what does it take to be the greatest rider in the world?
We all know that hard work, motivation and talent goes a long way to achieving success — something the current world number one Steve Guerdat displays plenty of — but what else makes the Swiss rider tick?
As his answers to these quick fire questions reveal, there’s a lot more to the 2012 Olympic champion, who has won three majors and countless other prestigious prizes.
Steve prefers coffee to tea and a night at home rather than a night on the tiles.
Speaking at the world famous Spruce Meadows showground in Calgary, Canada, which hosts a leg of the Rolex Grand Slam, 37-year-old Steve also reveals he likes to eat salad more than pizza and his countryman Roger Federer is his favourite tennis player.
Interestingly, Steve puts forward Martin Luther King as the celebrity he’d most like to invite to dinner — now that’s an evening we’d like to be a fly on the wall for.
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It’s no surprise to hear that his favourite horse is the great gelding Nino Des Buissonnets, with whom he won the Olympic gold medal in 2012 and who was retired in 2016.
But when it comes to choosing an actor to play Steve in a movie of his life, the top showjumper is left stumped.
“I wish it was a comedy but I think it would be more of a drama,” he smiles.
“I don’t think anyone is crazy enough to play me,” he finally admits.
Steve began this year competing on the MET Tour in Oliva Nova, Spain, but, like all riders, his competitive campaign is now at a standstill during the lockdown.
>With thanks to Rolex Grand Slam for the interview footage.
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Jennifer is passionate at showjumping and her role as H&H’s showjumping editor has taken her around the world reporting from shows and interviewing riders, connections and those involved behind the scenes. Since joining H&H from BBC Sport in 2005, she has written on every subject across the equestrian sphere — from turnout rugs to stable management — and has interviewed gold medallists, world champions and winners galore. She also has first-hand experience of working in the equestrian industry as a riding instructor and yard manager.
