About me | Edouard Schmitz

Edouard Schmitz

I was born on August 12th, 1999 in Zurich and grew up in Geneva with my two siblings Georges and Olivia. I started riding when I was eight years old after having had to convince my parents to let me get on a pony. My family being new to equestrian sports meant that pursuing my passion and eventually making a career of it was not going to be a given. But, where there is a will there is a way. I cannot be thankful enough for everything this sport, and most importantly horses, have taught me.

A deep-rooted fascination for animals is what brought me to equestrian sports. When I was seven years old, I was allowed to go to a riding camp with my best friend for a week. That was the beginning of my love story with horses and equestrian sports. After a few years of summer camps, and the occasional riding lesson, came the first turning point of my equestrian path: my first pony Huckleberry (Picture on the left). With him, I competed at my first competitions, and eventually rode to my first ever victory at the PSR Cup in Palézieux. I can still remember that day as if it was yesterday.

After going through my years riding ponies, I met Cortino 46. With him I competed at 3 European championships for juniors, became Swiss junior champion twice. Without Cortino, my career would have never been the one it is today.

At the end of my junior years, and my secondary studies at École Moser in 2017, I moved to Wängi to train with the Fuchs Family.

In 2019, my young rider years began. Cortino and I continued moving up the ranks by winning two National GPs on a 155cm level as well as our first young rider Nations Cup win and a Swiss young rider vice-champion title. At the end of 2019, I was unexpectedly promoted to the Swiss elite team at age 19.

In 2021, I participated in my first EEF Nations Cup at CSIO3* Budapest with Balenciana K. The feeling of representing your country is always special, but riding for Switzerland in a senior Nations Cup was unlike anything I had done before. We completed our first assignment for the senior team with a double clear! That year I was selected for 3 more Nations Cup in the EEF division and competed at my first 5* World Cup in Madrid with Quno.

In 2022, I was selected for my first 5* Nations Cup in st.Gallen. Alongside Pius Schwizer, Steve Guerdat, and Martin Fuchs we rode to victory. That year we rode to several podium finishes in Nations Cups and I was selected for my first senior World Championships in Herning. In 2022, I was also a member of the Miami Celtics team that won the Global Champions League Super Cup in Prague.

The highlight of my career so far was winning the GP at CSIO5* in Dublin in August 2022. I have always had an enormous respect for the tradition of our sport and Dublin is one of those GPs every rider dreams to win. To have been able to win it at my age fills with me with pride.

In 2023, I rode on the podium twice in the world cups of Amsterdam and Bordeaux. These two second places bought me my ticket for my first ever World Cup finals in Omaha. Later that year I was on the Swiss teams that won the mythical Aga Khan Trophy of Dublin, and the even more coveted Nations Cup of Aachen.

I owe my equestrian career to a small circle of people. My family, who have always supported me. For years, my mother drove me to competitions and made sure everything was going exactly the way it should. Thierry Paillot who taught me the love for the sport and the respect of the tradition during my pony and junior years. Then there is of course Thomas Fuchs who taught me what it means to be a horseman and a a true competitor. And last but not least, Arturo Fasana, for whom I have ridden horses since august 2020. He has put a lot of belief and patience into my career, without him, my career would have been very different.

Schmitz

At a glance

5

Wins at a 5* Grand Prix or Nations Cup

2

FEI Show Jumping Ranking U25 (As of: August 2023)

10

Number of International Championships I have competed in (Youth & Elite)

29

Best World Ranking position thus far (September 2022)

75

International wins

40

Number of horses I have competed with

A conversation with

Edouard Schmitz

Edouard Schmitz is the new global brand ambassador for the traditional Swiss watch brand Longines. The Geneva-based show jumper looks back on 12 fantastic months: in 2022, he won his first prestigious Grand Prix, the Longines International Grand Prix of Ireland. As a member of the Swiss show jumping elite he made it into the world's top 30 for the first time last October. In 2022, he also impressed by winning the 2022 Global Champions League Super Cup Final as part of the Miami Celtics team.

You are studying data sciences, and at the same time, you are making headlines worldwide as a show jumper. You are a technical, analytical, structured thinker based on your choice of studies. Are these qualities that also benefit a show jumper?

Studying computer science has always been a balance to show jumping. This duality between my analytical-technical and emotional-intuitive sides is characteristic of me. As a show jumper, you work with horses. You need a lot of sensitivity and emotions.

As a show jumper, your greatest strength needs to be your patience.

What skills does a show jumper need?

You have to be a calm person. You work with animals not machines. In our sport, there are always surprises, and you have to be able to deal with that. As a rider, it's important to understand why the horse behaves a certain way and to try to understand why as well as you can. That means having endless patience and continuously trying to better yourself as a horseman. At the same time you need to be a true competitor and be able to be fast on the course. Many show jumpers can jump clear rounds and yet will never win a Grand Prix because they are not fast enough. To win classes, you have to be fast. Last but not least, you must have an always growing passion for the sport and for the horses.

How do you become a fast rider?

You have to have it in your blood. I don't believe that you can teach someone to ride fast and to choose the right lines to ride. When you ride fast towards an obstacle, it is like a test of courage. There cannot be any hesitation. This enthusiasm for fast riding has always been there and my first trainers always had to slow me down a little.

What would happen if an amateur rider rode a horse like Gamin? Would this even be possible?

A horse with the quality and power of Gamin requires a true connection with his rider as well as an enormous amount of precision from the rider. An amateur rider would most probably be overwhelmed with a horse like this. When he feels a lack of precision in the riding he reacts strongly which would then probably lead to the rider giving their commands too strongly, so the horse overreacts.