Steve Guerdat

Before leaving for Las Vegas to compete in his second World Cup final, Steve welcomed us to his new little paradise - the Rütihof – where we received a personally guided tour! Soon afterwards, he would join his horse Trésor, which had left for Las Vegas via Amsterdam 3 days earlier.

This photo was taken in front of the Rütihof stables. Here Steve is together with the architect Werner Oberholzer on his right and with the rider and avid breeder Armin Gigeli on his left. Inset: Urs Schwarzenbach after a victory at the Gold Cup in Windsor.

« “It’s really perfect, functional, spacious, airy, here everything has been designed to ensure the well-being of the horse”, says Steve, as he gives us a tour of his new stables that are situated on the top of Herrliberg (Zurich). These 5-star stables are set in beautiful natural surroundings. Here we are in the countryside and conveniently surrounded by forests, yet the Lake of Zurich and the “Gold Coast” are at our doorstep. 

The Zurich lakeside is only 6km from here and we are only 15 km southwest of the city itself. Beat Mändli has his stables across the lake near Thalwil. These two World Cup finalists from 2007 are very close in many ways. It’s amazing that they both moved here after a brief time in the canton of Fribourg: Beat Mändli was in Riaz at the Liebherrs and Steve in Chiètres with the Notz family where he enjoyed his stay for a year. Both of the riders, one from Schaffhausen and the other from the Jura (13 years apart in age), have pursued a similar path in their professional lives and now also live relatively close to one another!

Both riders also possess an extraordinary talent and have the sponsors and financial means to pursue their professional ambitions. While Beat Mändli is supported by the Theiler brothers, Stefan Stamm and several others, Steve is supported by Yves Piaget, Urs Schwarzenbach, not to mention his father and close friends.

My Stables

When polo rhymes with jumping

In the world of horses, Urs Schwarzenbach is mainly known as the sponsor of the polo team Blacks Bears. After a serious fall from horseback last summer, he now plays less often than he used to, however, his son Guy (hand 2) has now taken over. Urs is also a businessman and is one of the wealthiest in the country. As financier, he owns several hotels including the famous Dolder Hotel in Zurich (newly renovated in 2008) and the Suvretta in St. Moritz. He spends most of his time in England.

“Urs Schwarzenbach rode at the Rütihof at the end of the 1960’s with his wife and that is how we met”, says Hugo Schmutz, owner of the stables who lives here and rides every day. “In 2001, Urs took over the facilities. He liked the location a lot and could land his helicopter here, but he does not come here very often”, adds Hugo.

The facilities were completely renovated: the arena was enlarged to 62 x 22m, a horse walker was added and new magnificent stables were built with boxes that were 4,5 x 5m big. The excellent flooring, which was made from synthetic sand, was used for both the indoor and outdoor arena. The landscaped trails allow for safe rides through the forests. Werner Oberholzer, an architect and close friend of Urs Schwarzenbach, was in charge of the renovation. As Urs spends most of his time in England, the stables were under-utilized and hence the idea of letting Steve Guerdat use them.

“It’s great! I have the place to myself, including my apartment. Additionally, I have a sponsor contract until the end of 2008. Mr. Schwarzenbach was willing to make a 4-year contract, but I wanted to wait until after the Olympics to sign another contract. For me, everything must be based on trust and the drive to pursue an adventure”, says Steve who makes it a point to retain his independent status. “I am free, independent and that makes me very happy, even if I have to justify the trust placed in me.”

“Last year, I thought that returning to Switzerland was like taking a step backwards, back to the beginning. It took me several months to realize this was not the case. Often I saw myself leaving to go to another country again, while I was still riding for Switzerland. I never really believed I could build up something solid here. Lots of good things started happening and today I find that I am in a great position here”, says Steve.

With the help of Heidi Mulari, the young lady from Finland who is Steve’s faithful groom and a second stable hand who came with Steve after he left Valkenswaard, Steve is able to dedicate his time to his six horses - four belonging to Yves G. Piaget and two young horses of his own. Steve strongly believes in his horse Touch the Diamond, a young Irish horse that jumped well at the Sunshine Circuit. De Kador du Valon is his hope for a future jumping crack. Other horses will come along soon as well. “I have a great opportunity because Yves Piaget is so motivated”.

Steve Guerdat would have space for a dozen horses, without counting the adjacent stables that are practically empty. However, he prefers stables with windows and a large courtyard rather than those with sunny terraces. “The horses are not used to being in closed spaces and I prefer them to be out on pasture and it’s like each horse has its own private park!”

A Good Environment

There are also more horses close by at the private stables next door and there is generally something going on all the time. Hugo Schmutz rides there every morning. Steve also has a good working relationship with the stable manager Armin Gigeli and facility manager Werner Oberholzer. Armin Gigeli is a rider and passionate breeder who participates in competitions for seniors. Werner Oberholzer takes beautiful care of the 7 hectares of grounds. Together they are a very good team. They complement each other well and respect one another.

Steve enjoys his nice little apartment “with a view of the horses out on pasture”. His mother came to help him get set up in his new home. Now as of April 1st, everybody is back at Jalisca’s side.

If there is a rare evening where Steve is not competing or out of town, he can be found in Zurich. “It is the most entertaining city in Switzerland, there are lots of things to see and do. It’s great! I even learned the Swiss dialect – schwyzerdütsch – from the juniors’ competitions and since my stay in Holland I speak some German, sometimes too much for my friends. However, I have to make an effort!”

For travelling on the road with his horses, Steve bought a horse truck from Paul Estermann. “Just after the CSI-W in Geneva, I was able to pay for a good portion of the truck with the prize monies and my father paid the rest!” In the week we visited the stables, the truck left for Amsterdam to bring Trésor to the airport for the flight to Las Vegas.

Thereafter, it was on to La Baule for the CSIO in France. It was the first part of the Super League Samsung (May 10-13th) where Steve was counting on Pontiac in the absence of Jalisca. For the Swiss CSIO in St. Gallen (May 30th – June 3rd), Steve was still not able to ride Jalisca. In her place, he rode Trésor and Pontiac. “I wanted to give her the maximum amount of time to get back her energy and to feel good again. I have written off the summer season. However, if I really feel like she is in good shape before the European Championships, then we have to re-evaluate the situation.”  After the Palexpo victory, one thing was clear in the talks, the main goal was the 2008 Olympics in Hong Kong.

Everyone fell in love with Jalisca!