4 minute read
Feature: Fourth time’s a charm
FEATURE
Fourth time’s a charm
Frenchman and equestrian vaulter Lambert Leclezio recently won his fourth world title. JAMIE HOCKING spoke to him after the event.
World champion vaulter Lambert Leclezio has been a fellow competitor and friend for some years now, and it was exciting to see the 25-year-old Frenchman win his record-breaking fourth world title in Herning, Denmark. JH: Did you learn to vault growing up in Mauritius? LL: At the club where I was learning to ride I was always playing around, making handstands and gymnastic moves. The riding teacher, Marie, told me ‘you have to start vaulting’. I tried it and liked it and just kept on going. JH: What does Marie think now that you are four times world champion? LL: I had dinner with her two days ago in Mauritius. She is proud and says she uses me as the example to encourage other young Mauritian equestrians. She was there when I did my first small competition and I remember her telling everyone I would one day be world champion and I just laughed. But she says she always knew, because she’d never seen a kid have so much
concentration in what he was doing.
JH: What’s been the best championship win for you? LL: I think this fourth world competition definitely, because for me every round was really special, really emotional. I started training my horse Estado from the beginning. In the past I was vaulting on experienced horses. This time it was more my own story and my own project with a new lunger and a young horse. For once I was the most experienced one! So the emotion in there was much, much stronger.
JH: How does it feel to have set a world record? LL: Of course it's nice, but each of the championships was different. Winning four is so great because no one has ever done that. I really hoped I would win again this this year, but when it happens you know you just did your thing and the number is not the main thought. I was in the moment for every round. Estado was so good and I was thinking as if it was my only championship.
JH: What have you learned from all this experience? LL: For me, the hardest challenge and most lessons have been in managing people. I had to learn to live overseas without the support of my family, and then learn how to handle team members; to include everyone and divide the work fairly. In the past I experienced some problems with people on the team, and I had to learn to communicate better with them.
JH: We watched Estado put in a buck just before you started your final freestyle round and we were all holding our breath, but you stayed calm and it turned into such a brilliant round. LL: Yes, I was worried we might be pushing him too hard, too fast. And in the end Estado had to make the jump. Because I had a back-up horse, we were supposed to be taking it easy and getting some experience, to just let him get ready and take his time. And suddenly we didn’t have the back-up option and there were only two competitions before the World Championships last year, so we went with Estado.
At Saumur, he was a dragon! It was at home and the worst competition I’d had in five years. I don’t think we were focused on him enough, when he’s a horse that needs attention all the time. It’s hard when there’s so much pressure. He’s amazing but he is inexperienced, difficult to launch and could also react to the lunger. You really need to gain his trust. JH: What’s a hard life lesson you’ve had to learn? LL: I learned that what saves me is working hard. We all make sacrifices, but when something was not easy I worked twice as hard to solve it.
JH: What tips do you have for young equestrians wanting to become the next world champion? LL: Make good choices, even if they’re difficult to make. For example, changing my nationality to compete for France upset some people. I had to stay strong, because to go forward I knew that’s what I had to do. And trust your own feelings, make your decisions and go for it. And get the right team, the right people around you. I think it's very important that you're not scared to change your support group. Find the people and the horse that makes you feel good. JH: I know you will stay involved in the sport, but will you also catch up on things you’ve missed out on? LL: Yes, like continuing my physio studies at my French University. I start again next week. I will probably never be away from horses and I would like Estado to live with me after he retires. And I hope to discover all the things I like, because until now, I was not looking for anything else but my sport.
