Wednesday, 30 January 2013 GLOCK-style season openingHugo Simon – an equestrian legend is coming
Hugo is a crowd pleaser. When he rides in, he needs no introduction. They know who he is. A man with the absolute will to win, iron discipline and a wealth of experience gathered over decades – and as of Thursday he will be competing in Treffen.
The third generation of show jumpers will have to prepare themselves for a rough ride when Hugo Simon comes. He now has a growing fan base from all over the world. Little wonder, as Hugo stands for unforgettable equestrian history and maximum effort on every one of his rides which can still be seen today.
“I swim every day,” laughs the 70-year-old when asked how he maintains his incredible physical fitness. The fact that he puts the fear of God into young riders and always ranks among the potential winners obviously delights him.
Born in today’s Czech Republic, he has been riding for Austria since 1972 – thanks to family roots – and took fourth place for the country at the Summer Olympics that year.
His record of successes is virtually endless: for more than three decades he ranked among the absolute elite in international jumping and has won just about everything there is to win. Hugo took part in the Olympics six times for Austria, competed in World championships just as often, took bronze and silver at 13 European championships and won the World Cup three times (1979, 1996, 1997). 1997 was incidentally his most successful year. It was then he won the most famous jumping event in the world – the Grand Prix at the CHIO in Aachen – as well as second place at the European championships in Barcelona, many other notable prizes and to date can call ten national championship titles his own. Hugo has also walked off with a fair number of prizes in his time: in Vienna’s Stadthalle he won the Grand Prix no less than four times between 1997 and 2007 and in Hamburg was awarded the Blue Ribbon five times as the German Jumping Derby winner. Dortmund has given him the life-long right to compete there and Austria awarded him the Decoration of Merit in Gold in 1979 and the Decoration of Honour in Silver for Services to the Republic of Austria in 1992.
He always had a way with horses and produced many crackers that did so well with him in the saddle: Lavendel, Gladstone, Flipper, Apricot or The Freak, to name just a few. The most famous of all however was his Hanoverian gelding E.T. A little chestnut, he suited Hugo like no other, earned around €3.6 million – not counting cars or other non-cash prizes – and until recently was put out to pasture at his partner’s. Hugo is coming to Treffen with a very special horse: the chestnut called C.T. is a big jumper and the experts agree that we will be hearing a lot more about him in the future.
On his 65th birthday Hugo Simon treated himself to a ride with his best friends. Last year he celebrated his 70th in a different way: he married Margit, the lady in his life for many years. “I’ve got it good, I can enjoy riding because I’ve won more than enough,” says Hugo Simon looking forward to the competitions he and Margit have chosen and yet … you can catch a glimpse of the ambition in his eyes again!