World Equestrian Games: Kevin Staut is riding high

We chat with the French showjumper and Rolex testimonee Kevin Staut at his Haras de la Forge stables ahead of the World Equestrian Games 2014 in Normandy.

Kevin Staut and his horse Silvana clear an obstacle during the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping Final II held at the Eurexpo centre near Lyon, France, on April 19, 2014. Eddy Lemaistre/Corbis

It’s a glorious day in Normandy. At Haras de la Forge, the postcard-pretty farm in Tourgéville that the showjumper Kevin Staut calls home, grey-and-white buildings – designed in the charming “colombage” style that is typical of Normandy – bask in the sunlight; manicured lawns are dotted with rose bushes, grassy knolls and oversized Balinese sculptures; and the quiet is broken only by the clatter of hooves as horses are led to the indoor arena for their morning’s exercise.

In the centre of the estate sits the spotless, state-of-the art stable block, which has been decked out with mod-cons worthy of a luxury apartment, including LED light fittings and a security-camera system that can be accessed from an iPhone. Outward-looking windows in each stable provide occupants with fresh air, natural light and expansive garden views.

Staut, dapper in a crisp white shirt and dark breeches, is introducing us to the horses: Cheyenne, a beautiful speed-class mare of Belgian descent; Estoy Aqui de Muze, who is “a very honest mare” but not very fast; and For Joy, a nine-year-old gelding who is a big jumper but also a little crazy. “I have not yet full control with him,” Staut says with a smile.

Then there are the stable celebrities: Silvana, the striking grey mare that is probably Staut’s best-known horse and that he rode in the 2012 London Olympics, and Kraque Boom, the stallion that carried him to gold in the 2009 FEI European Championships in Windsor, England, effectively launching his career in top-level showjumping.

“It was a lovely story because the horse belonged to my grandparents. I arrived at Windsor in 2009 and nobody really knew me. In my head I thought I had no chance but everything fell into place,” Staut recalls as we admire the mighty horse who these days spends more time breeding than jumping. “I keep him fit. He could still compete but he doesn’t want to anymore. But every morning I ride him first, to say thank you.”

That said, it is Reveur, the chestnut gelding that Staut will ride in this week’s World Equestrian Games, that is revealed as the Frenchman’s favourite. “This is the best horse I have ridden in my career so far,” he says, as Reveur nibbles affectionately on his arm. “I really love this horse. I never talk to my horses but sometimes when I am in the stables, I speak to him. Silvana, she’s like a cat, she doesn’t need anybody, but Reveur is like a dog. His mother died early and he has had close contact with human beings since he was very young. He needs that contact with humans.”

High hopes are being placed on the shoulders of these two French sporting stars as they compete in this week’s Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. We are in the heart of French horse country, after all, in a region that is at the epicentre of the nation’s horsebreeding industry and takes great pride in its equestrian heritage.

The games take place every four years and are the biggest event on the equestrian calendar. Athletes from 74 nations, including the UAE (whose endurance team includes the Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed), Saudi Arabia and Qatar, have converged in the historical city of Caen, to compete in the eight official disciplines of jumping, dressage, eventing, driving, reining, vaulting, endurance and para-dressage. A total of 967 athletes and 1,113 horses are taking part this year, while up to 500,000 spectators are expected to attend.

Last time around, at the 2010 FEI World Equestrian Games in Lexington, Kentucky, the French team walked away with a silver team medal. And this year, with the games taking place a mere 35 kilometres away from Haras de la Forge, it seems only natural that expectations of the yard’s inhabitants must be running high.

Staut remains customarily measured in his own expectations. “I am not fully experienced with the horse so I am not expecting an individual medal. I still will fight like a lion. But I really believe we can achieve something good with the French team. I am excited to be a part of that. And if we get a good result, we can really increase the popularity of our sport in this country.”

The challenge, he says, is staying focused, and not underplaying the importance of the event just because it is taking place down the road. “We have to be careful that we don’t treat it like a normal show.”

All he can really do at this point is focus on the simple things, he says – on his horse and the technical aspect of his own riding. “If I ride well and I have a good horse then I will get a good result. It’s as simple as that.”

Of course, it has never been quite that straightforward. Born in the north of France, in Le Chesnay, near Versailles, Staut started riding at the age of 10, which, for a top-class showjumper, is relatively late. His parents separated at the time and he would join his mother, a keen rider, at her weekend home in Normandy.

“The first thing you see when you arrive in Normandy is cows and horses,” he says, so it was perhaps inevitable that he would take up the sport. He was not a natural, he recalls, and even when he decided to pursue a career in the sport, he knew it would not come easy. “In the beginning, I was just a normal rider. I had no special feeling for it. I knew I would have to work harder than the others,” he says. He is now one of the most successful riders on the circuit; he has won countless medals, has been part of the French national showjumping team since 2007, became a Rolex testimonee in 2012, was ranked as the number-one rider in the world in 2010, as per the FEI World Ranking System, and currently ranks at number six in the world – but it is still hard work, he admits.

He spends up to four days a week away from home, competing around the world. When he is in Normandy, he is up at 6.30am and spends much of the day in the saddle. He also has to manage his team, finances, scheduling and so on, while trying to remain involved in the day-to-day hustle and bustle of a busy yard – he likes to lunge his own horses, for example, so he can “see how they move without a saddle”.

And yet, there is nowhere else he would rather be. Except, perhaps, behind the wheel of an F1 car, which he says, only half jokingly, is the only other career option that he has ever considered. Although, he did have his driving licence revoked three years ago and has yet to have it replaced, so it is perhaps for the best that he sticks with the horses.