60 L’Année Hippique PARTNER STORY Meeting Ludo Philippaerts and his sons, Anthony, Nicola, Olivier and Thibault - in alphabetical order - a few weeks after the Olympics was truly an Olympic achievement because gathering the whole family at home is anything but easy. “Philippaerts - We Live Horses” means being at home is simply a rarity. By the way, immediately after our conversation, Ludo leaves for Fontainebleau in search of new talented young horses. The week before, he was in Gesves the whole week for the Belgian young horse championships. Ludo saw almost all of them. “I have to. I must follow them all, because everyone has seen the exceptional horses” opens Ludo. “As a rider I had to make sure I kept up, it’s the same as a horse dealer. Who knows, maybe the next Olympic champion will jump by this afternoon.” He smiles. Looking back on Paris 2024 Ludo: Versailles was great. So were the supporters and the enthusiasm for all three Olympic disciplines I saw every show jumping round and strong work from the course builders, very good combinations, and beautiful sport. Exactly what equestrian sport needed. LUDO PHILIPPAERTS: WE LIVE HORSES Author: Kris Van Steen Photographer: Dirk Caremans 1 2
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