Steve Guerdat: Swiss rider’s Jumping final victory is family affair

Olympic champion Steve Guerdat’s victory at the Longines International Equestrian Federation (FEI) World Cup Jumping final over the weekend was very much a family affair.

“Yes … we saw each other … he’s been a rider himself so he knows what it’s about,” Guerdat told the FEI website, referring to his father Philippe, who was at the show as Chef d’Equipe for the French as the Swiss rider performed faultlessly on his 10-year-old horse Corbinian in Gothenburg, Sweden.

“We come from the same life, the same world so we don’t need to talk too much or see each other too often,” added the 33-year-old Guerdat, who took home $193,00 in prize money for Sunday’s win, bringing his total earnings for the weekend to $260,000.

“We just love each other, and those moments belong to him as much as they belong to me – like father and son.”

It’s the second year in a row that Switzerland’s Guerdat has triumphed at the FEI World Cup Jumping series as he finished ahead of Harrie Smolders, from the Netherlands, with Germany’s Daniel Deusser in third in front of an 11,000-strong crowd at the Scandinavian Arena.

“It’s really special to win,” said Guerdat. “I was ready for another win and gave everything I could.

“I didn’t want to put too much pressure on my horse because I wasn’t sure how he was going to react at a championship. But today I really felt that he was fighting with me … and that gives you confidence on the course.”

Deusser might have been hoping to replicate his 2014 victory, but he was quick to join forces with Smolders and hoist Guerdat up in the air in a moment of touching comradery.

Guerdat has now won with three different horses – Nino des Buissonnets in London 2012, Albufuehrens Paille in Las Vegas last year and now with showstopper Corbinian.

Guerdat’s two Jumping final series victories marked the fourth time Switzerland has won the trophy, with Markus Fuchs triumphing in 2001 and Beat Mandli winning in 2007.