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Over the last five years, Bryan Balsiger has established himself on the Swiss senior team and in 2021 he made his senior championship debut at the Tokyo Olympic Games with Twentytwo Des Biches (Mylord Carthago x Kalor du Bocage). “Riding at the Olympics was always my dream,” the 26-year-old – currently 36th on the Longines Ranking – says. “Every day, I work for those kinds of moments, and it was something special to be a part of.”

Shortly after the Olympics, Balsiger was part of the Swiss team that won team gold at the European Championships in Riesenbeck with AK’s Courage (Chepetto x Lennon 5). “We had a really good team in Tokyo and I know everyone was expecting to finish on the podium – but unfortunately, I made some mistakes in the final. However, it was really special to enter the arena in Tokyo and it gave me a lot of confidence for the rest of the year. The Europeans in Riesenbeck followed right after and winning the team gold there is one of my biggest achievements so far,” Balsiger tells. “Courage had been jumping good all year leading up to the championship and she was really with me the whole week. After Tokyo, the Swiss team was hungry for a revenge, everyone on the team did their best and, in the end, we managed to finish with a win – it was an incredible moment.” 

This was not the first gold medal for Balsiger at a championship. As a young rider, he took the individual title at the 2017 Europeans in Samorin with Clouzot de Lassus (Ugano Sitte x Tenor Manciais). Growing up in a family of equestrians and born with a strong competitive instinct, it is perhaps no surprise that Balsiger has ended up as a mainstay on the Swiss team at a very young age. “I am a competitor in every sport I do; I always want to be on top,” Balsiger says. “I was always looking to grow and to reach the highest level in whatever I did. And I did many other sports as well, but one day I had to choose – and, luckily, I chose riding.”

Balsiger was introduced to horses early on at home; his parents Thomas and Patricia have a stable in Neuchatel, Switzerland, with over 60 horses and a riding school. “My father used to jump on national Grand Prix level and my brother Ken – who is three years older than me – started riding before me when we were kids,” he tells. “I always rode as a hobby, but wasn’t really serious about it until I followed along to the children’s Europeans in Athens where my brother was competing. I was eleven at the time, and the Swiss Chef d’Equipe asked me if I was going to join the team the following year – and I said yes, even though I had only jumped 80cm back then. However, I am competitive and the year after I actually did make the team. My first European Championship was in Moorsele in 2008, in the children’s division – and that is where it all really started.” 

“When I was fifteen, I decided to focus solely on riding and started to work with my parents at home – so I began my career as a professional quite early. I felt I was not good enough in the other sports I was doing and had the feeling I made less progress than my teammates. Therefore, I chose riding,” he explains.

Balsiger credits his straight-forward journey from the young rider team to jumping senior championships to the system the Swiss Equestrian Federation has in place. “In Switzerland, we have a very good structure for the youth,” he says. “We can really grow up the levels and we have a very good coach in Thomas Fuchs. To reach the highest level, I think there are two important factors; that you have the best coach possible and that you are well educated from a young age. Furthermore, we are lucky to have the incredible examples of Martin Fuchs and Steve Guerdat – and the national Longines Championship Series where young riders can take part and get experience is great as well. For a young rider like myself, that series gave me a lot of experience and it was my first step into the bigger sport.” 

“To ride for your country is something really special,” Balsiger says about being a part of the Swiss team. “It is a goal of every athlete to be a part of their national team. I have to say we are really like a family; it is not just a team. Everyone has the same goals; when we are at competitions, we really want to do the best for our country. With Martin and Steve, we have two of the best riders in the world on our team. For young people like myself, being around them makes me want more; I want to reach their level. The team around us is exceptional as well; we have a good Chef d’Equipe and a really good trainer… Everyone is fighting with the same spirit so it is the best feeling to be a part of this team.”

“For me, riding for my country in a Nations Cup is the best there is and the format with two rounds is something I really like,” Balsiger continues. “With two rounds, you can see a difference from the first round to the second – how both the rider and the horse can improve. You can have one bad round, but you can use it to learn. It has been the best format; with four riders and a drop-score it is exciting to the very end. For next season, it will be totally different and only time will tell if it will be better or not. I think for the sport and for the horses having no drop-score is not the right way to go.” 

It was Clouzot de Lassus that helped Balsiger climb up the levels; bringing him from the youth divisions to taking part at the Nations Cup Final in Barcelona in 2018 and winning the five-star World Cup in Oslo in 2019. 

“After experiencing some challenges in my step up from the children’s classes to juniors, my father and I started to work harder,” Balsiger tells. “We had the luck to meet Mr. Olivier De Coulon who invested in some really good horses for me – including Clouzot. I was nineteen when I got the ride on him, and together we grew from the young riders all the way up to five-star level. He is a horse that made a huge difference in my career. Right from the start, I had a special connection with him, not only when I was riding him but also in the stable. He was very playful, and I can also be quite a child at times… We got along so well. It is something special to bring a horse from 1.40m classes to winning a five-star World Cup, and he made me feel more confident and taught me so much. I could trust him inside the ring; for young riders, horses that make you feel 100% confident are the best teachers.”

“Twentytwo Des Bisches was a special horse for me as well,” Balsiger continues. “She gave me the opportunity to reach the Olympic Games and I would like to thank her owner Christiana Brechtbühl for her trust in me. Twentytwo gave me a lot, not only inside the ring but also outside, because of her exceptional character; she was always fighting for me.” 

After working out of two bases – his family’s stable and Olivier De Coulon’s Ecurie Les Verdets – for the past seven years, Balsiger recently decided to focus solely on the family operation at home. “Mr. De Coulon owned ten of my horses – like Chelsea Z (Chellano Alpha Z x Cicero Z), Dubai du Bois Pinchet (Kashmir van Schuttershof x Andiamo) and Scarlina de Tiji Z (Hunter’s Scendro x Kannan) – and we had a long, successful, partnership,” Balsiger explains. “In the beginning he had two horses for me and in the end we had ten together, and his plan has always been to reach the highest level. I have been lucky to have people like this around me. In my stable at home, we have a few horses from Christiana Brechtbühl as well as from other owners, and a few young horses of our own that my brother and I produce towards the higher level."

"My father is still my trainer and comes with me to 90% of the shows, and I have also a dressage coach that comes two times per month to our place," Balsiger continues. "Sometimes I also work with Thomas Fuchs as he is the Swiss team coach. I have been to his place for six months to learn how they work, and it was a really interesting experience.” 

“I feel lucky to have parents who have taught me to feel my horses, grow with them, and to be the most respectful of them,” Balsiger continues. “I am very well surrounded at home. For me, it is important that the people around me share my goals and that we can work together to be the best team we can be and do our best for our horses.”

“My goal is to reach the Top 10, win the biggest Grand Prix classes in the world and to get a medal at the Olympics,” Balsiger says. “I am very competitive; I am not happy when I lose. However, in this sport we lose more than we win, so it is something we have to learn to cope with. As a young rider, you always want to be first, but actually, the most important thing is learning to understand your horse. You have to remember this and learn what works best for the horses. As a rider, you should make sure your horses are fit and ready for the important shows instead of trying to win every class.”

“There are two moments I enjoy more than others,” Balsiger closes off. “One is when I feel my horse is really lose and has confidence in me at home. The other is when we are in the ring and I feel my horse really trusts me and that I can follow my plan – feeling my horse fighting for me. For me as a rider, those are the best moments.”  

23.10.2023 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.