Born into a family with a strong connection to horses, Nicola Philippaerts was destined to be a rider. Used to seeing horses run around his father Ludo’s property in Gruitrode, Belgium, it was not long before Nicola and his twin brother Olivier fell in love with them.
But yet nothing was forced upon them by Ludo, who competed for Belgium at four Olympic Games between 1992 and 2004. Nicola did try his hand at football, tennis and swimming, but by age six, it was clear the horse-riding bug had bitten him. After having enrolled into Landelijke Rijverenigingen (LRV), the national horse riding association, Nicola set the course on fire, winning pony trials at competitions. He excelled at junior level as well, winning the Junior European bronze in 2010 and Young Rider European Gold in the team and Individual event in 2011. He also went on to win gold at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore as part of the European team.
Now 26, the lanky and strong Nicola is one of the best riders on the circuit with a promising future ahead of him. The Belgian along with his brother, Olivier, are the ones to watch out for at the Longines Global Champions Tour, the opening round of which will be held at Al Shaqab from today. Nicola will be riding H&M Chilli Willi and Katanga v. H Dingeshof, who jumped consistently well in last week’s CHI Al Shaqab, placing fifth in the Grand Prix. While Nicola is looking forward to doing well at Shaqab this weekend, his ambition is to compete at the Olympic Games in Tokyo this year.
“I think this year is an Olympic year so it is an important year,” said Nicola. “Everything is possible. I can be in the Belgium team to go there (Tokyo). That’s the first goal for this year. For next year, I need to develop myself, be in good health, get better horses and get to ride better and be on top of the sport for many years. I have big stables at home,” he added.
Nicola is aware that having a family which is into the sport has given him a leg up into the world of equestrianism, but added he had a lot to learn.
“I am still very young. I am only 26. I can be very proud of the things I have achieved so far. I have had many good horses in the past, that’s also very important to my successes. Hopefully, I still have a long career in front of me. I still have a lot to learn, but so far I am doing very well. I have been in showjumping for many years now. I can learn so much for so many years. But there are so many places now because if you are young and talented, you can do well and if you have big stables and learn the same things. The sport is getting so big,” he said.
He added that his parents never forced him to take riding. “My parents never pushed me into this sport. They only gave me a couple of very good ponies (smiles). At a young age, I started well and started winning. I had nice ponies. My father gave me the exposure but I tried many things — I played football, tennis, I went swimming and came back to the horses. I liked horses. I grew into the sport.”
After the CHI Al Shaqab, the Belgian rider held a training session with the riders at the Al Shaqab’s academy and was impressed with what he saw, saying the facilities for horses, riders, grooms, owners and spectators are unparalleled.
“At Shaqab, they have everything they need right here. If you see the infrastructure, the trainers, the teachers, everything is so great. They have invested so much in this sport that Qatar has become one of the main countries of our sport. Hopefully they would want to do this for many years,” Nicola said.
Nicola said it’s important to start young if one wants to excel in the sport.
“It takes time to develop a good rider. If you start at 10 years of age, you can do well. By 25 or 30, you can do really well. It also depends on the horses. It’s important to find a good balance with a good horse and good rider. If you see top riders getting younger and younger, it is because they have good horses. That’s what makes our sport special,” he added.
Nicola Philippaerts will be riding H&M Chilli Willi and Katanga v. H Dingeshof at the Longines Global Champions Tour.
