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orn into show jumping nearly every weekend and royalty and steeped its attendant travel make it in the family business difficult as a child to succeed at their farm in the forests of in school? “We were fortunate Northern Belgium, Olivier to go to a very good school and Nicola Philippaerts wear that supported our careers,” the mantle proudly, capably Olivier points out. and humbly; and they work nder the tutelage of their father, they rocketed to the hard to earn it. From birth, their lives were filled with the top in their junior careers. And in 2012, a year after glamour and hard work of show jumping competition at the Nicola won the Falsterbo Grand Prix, Olivier became highest level, as they and their mother Veronique traveled with their father Ludo, a four-time Olympian and show jumping the youngest rider ever to win the CN International Grand legend. And always, at the center of their lives, were the horses. Prix at Spruce Meadows, with Beezie Madden coming in second, and Ludo in third, a proud and happy father. hey were given their first ponies at age five or six, says n 2014 at Gothenburg, the Swedish clothing giant H&M, Olivier. “We participated in many sports: basketball, as part of their move to become a meaningful presence in soccer… but by 12 or 13 we had both decided to devote equestrian sport, approached the twins about a long-term all of our time to horses.” Show jumping at the top levels, even for young riders, involves a lot of travel. Did showing sponsorship. These young men, immensely talented, bright
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and articulate, engaging and approachable, with their movie star good looks, were the perfect choice to be the face of H&M. “We feel very proud and extremely lucky,” says Olivier with sincerity. “H&M has been a great sponsor for us.”
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ow amassing victory after victory at the top of the international show jumping world, the twins find themselves competing against each other. Do they see that as a situation that threatens their closeness as brothers and good, good friends? Absolutely not. “It’s a huge advantage for us,” explains Olivier. “We challenge each other, and we help each other.” Nicola, in prior interviews has pointed out that “we both always want to be the best, but one time it will be Olivier and the next time it will be me. That’s why we also grow together. You get motivated to beat the other one. You learn from it and you support each other.”
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hat being said, they don’t always compete against each other. The London Knights, comprised of Olivier and Nicola, Ben Maher, Emily Moffitt and Martin Fuchs, captured the 2018 season title in the Longines Global Champions League. And, they’re a dual force to be reckoned with in Nations Cup competitions as well. “This year,” says Olivier, “we will try to qualify ourselves for the European Championship.”
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ne of the great strengths of the Philippaerts family is having an excellent eye for buying promising five-, six-, and seven-year-olds, and then with time and patience, bringing them up to the Grand Prix level. “By the time we’re competing,” Olivier points out, “we know them very well. That’s important at this level; we know their strengths and also the weak parts.”
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raveling the globe to show every weekend is a way of life for Nicola and Olivier. Their participation in the Longines Global Champions Tour takes them to some of the world’s most spectacular cities to compete against the top-ranked show jumpers in the sport. At the close of the 2018 season, Nicola was ranked in 3rd place on the LGCT, and Olivier in 21st. Are they able to enjoy their starstudded surroundings as they travel? “There’s not much time, but for sure, we try to see as much as possible,” Olivier explains.
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he twins are hard-pressed to choose their favorite venues. They agree that Spruce Meadows and Aachen, with their technical challenges and big prize money, are the most prestigious, but Nicola enjoys the indoor venue at Gothenburg, competing on the beach in Miami, and in Mexico City as well, while Olivier mentions those and Stockholm, finally concluding that they’re all beautiful.
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heir chief partners for major competitions in 2019 will likely be familiar to show jumping fans: Legend of Love and Extra for Olivier, and Chilli Willi and Ikker for Nicola. In addition, there are always some younger prospects that travel with them to compete in the smaller classes as part of their training.
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hile show jumping is the most visible part of their professional lives, the family business also involves breeding, raising, training, and selling horses – all of which Nicola and Olivier are very much a part of. The legendary stallion Darco, Ludo’s partner for much of his career, became one of the top ten show jumping sires in the world and the foundation of the Philippaert’s carefully managed breeding program.
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ut even with the most careful management, serendipitous moments have their way of happening. A few years ago, Nicola’s stallion Chilli Willi became enamored of Olivier’s mare Legend of Love, and jumped the fence to, shall we say, have a conversation with her. The staff quickly returned him to his own paddock, but apparently not quickly enough. Much to the chagrin of the breeding manager, it shortly became obvious that Legend of Love was in foal. In 2012 Child of Love was born. In due course, she entered the training program, and now at age seven, she’s one of their future prospects – one that their fans will surely enjoy watching. The world has always been fascinated by the concept of the power-twin duo, and Olivier and Nicola are the complete package: talented, engaging, handsome, polite and modest; and the rest of the family is just as charming. One look at their website “We Live Horses” (philippaerts.be/en), and the viewer is totally smitten with these Belgian twins, their parents, their younger brothers Thibault (18) and Anthony (16), their gorgeous lush farm, and their way of life. One can’t help but wish them well, and we at Equestrian Almanac are no different.