Steve Guerdat (born 10 June 1982) is a Swiss

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: * Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes i ...

who competes in the sport of

show jumping Show jumping is a part of a group of English riding equestrianism, equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, Show hunter, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including th ...

. He is the 2012 Olympic Champion in individual jumping. He also won the bronze medal at the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

in team jumping following the disqualification of Norwegian rider

Tony André Hansen Tony Andre Hansen (born 23 February 1979, in Sandefjord) is a Norwegian show jumper and musician. Beijing Olympics Controversy At the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, Hansen initially won the bronze medal in team jumping as part of the Norweg ...

. In July 2012, Guerdat was ranked third in the world. In 2019 he was the first in the FEI ranking for the whole year. In January 2020 he was second in the FEI ranking, just behind the other swiss rider Martin Fuchs. He has been back at the top since February 2020. He is a three-time World Cup champion, winning in 2015, 2016 and 2019.

Career

Guerdat began riding at the age of seven. He was trained by his father, Philippe Guerdat, and by Beat Mändli. Between 1997 and 2002 he was part of two junior and three young rider European championships and won two bronze medals with the team. In 2003 he switched to the Netherlands and worked there for

Jan Tops Johannes Augustinus Petrus "Jan" Tops (born 5 April 1961) is an equestrian from the Netherlands, who won the gold medal in the team jumping event at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, Spain riding Top Gun. He did so alongside Pie ...

. He was selected for the jumping events at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

where he rode "Olympic". In 2006 he moved to Belgium and worked for three months for billionaire Oleksandr Onishchenko. After that Yves Piaget bought him the mare ''Jalisca Solier'', with which he won the World Cup in Geneva. He was selected for the

where he rode ''Jalisca Solier'' and won the bronze medal in team jumping following the disqualification of Norwegian rider

. In 2009 and 2011 he was named "Swiss rider of the year". In 2012, Steve reached for the first time to top place of the world rankings. That same year he competed in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

with the French Selle-Francais ''Nino de Buissonnets'' at his third

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

. He was the only rider who jumped cleanly in the two final rounds of the competition and won the individual jumping gold medal. He was the first Swiss rider to win a gold medal in the jumping event since

1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China hol ...

where

Alphonse Gemuseus Alphonse Gemuseus (8 May 1898 – 28 January 1981) was a Swiss horse rider Equestrianism (from Latin , , , 'horseman', 'horse'), commonly known as horse riding (Commonwealth English) or horseback riding (American English), includes the ...

won in individual jumping. He won back to back FEI World Cup Jumping competitions in 2015 and 2016, with the more recent competition taking place in Göteborg, Sweden.

Personal life

Guerdat is the youngest son of Olympic show jumper Philippe Guerdat. From April 2007 till 2017 Guerdat has lived in

Herrliberg Herrliberg is a municipality in the district of Meilen in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. History There are findings dating back to the Bronze Age. In the 8th century, a village called ''Tächliswil'' was established. A hamlet call ...

in the stables of Urs Schwarzenbach. Since 2017 he lives in his owns stables near

Zürich Zürich () is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zürich. It is located in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zürich. As of January 2020, the municipality has 43 ...

Elgg Elgg is a municipality in the district of Winterthur in the canton of Zürich in Switzerland. On 1 January 2018 the former municipality of Hofstetten merged into the municipality of Elgg. History Elgg ( la, Elgovia, Sacer pagus) is first ment ...

. The stables were in the past propriety of the swiss rider Paul Weier. The French rider Fanny Skalli has announced during summer 2019 on her Instagram account the she was engaged with Steve Guerdat. On April 9 his daughter Ella was born.

Horses

Current

*''Albfuehren's Bianca XXXIV:'' 2006

Swedish Warmblood The Swedish Warmblood or Swedish Half-bred is a Swedish breed of warmblood horse. It was originally bred as a cavalry horse at the Strömsholm and Flyinge studs. In the twentieth century it became a general-purpose riding and sport horse ...

Mare (Balou du Rouet x Cardento) Owner: Steve Guerdat and Hofgut Albführen GmbH *''Venard de Cerisy:'' 2009

Selle Français The Selle Français (SF) is a breed of sport horse from France. It is renowned primarily for its success in show jumping, but many have also been successful in dressage and eventing. An athletic horse with good gaits, it is usually bay o ...

Gelding (Open up Semilly x Rosee de Cerisy) Owner: C.H.C Horses SA *''Victorio des Frotards:'' 2009

Gelding (Barbarian x Fennecy Chetardie) *''Tum Play du Jouas:'' 2007

Gelding (Querlybet Hero x Fée du Jouas) *''Albfuehren's Maddox:'' 2011

Stalion (Cohiba 1198 x Miami) Owner: Hofgut Albführen GmbH *''Ulysse des Forets:'' 2008

Mare (Col Canto x Lavende des Forets) Owner: Steve Guerdat and La Giraffa SA *''Flair:'' 2010 KWPN Mare (Zirocco Blue Vdl x Brandy) Owner: Mendez Gerardo-Pasquel *''Mighty Mouse:'' 2006 Zangersheide Gelding *Albfuehren's Maddox: 2011 Sweden Stallion (Miami x Cohiba 1998) *Dynamix de Belheme: 2013

Mare *PB Maserati: 2012 Belgian Gelding (Emerald Van't Ruytershof x Cum Laude Z) *Dom Perignon: 2013

Gelding (Quintus D'09 x Coca Z)

Former

* ''Olympic Z:'' 1996

Dutch Warmblood A Dutch Warmblood is a warmblood type of horse registered with the Koninklijk Warmbloed Paardenstamboek Nederland (Royal Warmblood Studbook of the Netherlands (KWPN), which governs the breeding of competitive dressage and show jumping horses ...

Gelding (Concorde x Ridder) * ''Pialotta:'' 1991 Mare (Pilot x Akitos xx) * ''Tiyl:'' 1996

Belgian Warmblood The Belgian Warmblood or is a Belgian breed of warmblood sport horse. It is bred for dressage, for show-jumping and for three-day eventing. It is one of three Belgian warmblood breeds or stud-books, the others being the Zangersheide and t ...

Gelding (Fantastique x Codex) * ''Urgent III:'' 2001

Gelding (Numero Uno x

Julio Mariner Julio Mariner (24 January 1975–26 May 2004) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse and sire best known for winning the classic St Leger Stakes in 1978. In a racing career which lasted from August 1977 until October 1978 he won three of his ...

) *''Jalisca Solier:'' 1997-2014

Mare (Aligator Fontaine x Dune Solier) Owner: Yves G. Piaget *''Nino des Buissonnets:'' 2001

Gelding (Kannan x Hermine du Prelet (NarcosII)) Owner: Urs Schwarzenbach *''Alamo:'' 2008 KWPN Gelding (Ukato x Mariona) Owner: Pasquel Mendez Gerardo

International championship results

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Guerdat, Steve 1982 births Living people People from Delémont District Equestrians at the 2004 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2008 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2012 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Switzerland Olympic bronze medalists for Switzerland Olympic equestrians for Switzerland Swiss show jumping riders Swiss male equestrians Olympic medalists in equestrian Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Equestrians at the 2020 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from the canton of Jura 21st-century Swiss people