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That Special Bond – with Marlon Modolo Zanotelli: “The difficult horses often turn out to be the most special ones”

Wednesday, 29 March 2023
That Special Bond

Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson/WOSJ “The difficult ones often turn out to be the most special ones,” Marlon Modolo Zanotelli, here pictured with VDL Edgar M, says. “The easy horses, you ride them, whereas with the difficult ones, you naturally end up spending much more time with, trying new things… These special horses teach you so much!" Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson for World of Showjumping.

 

Text © World of Showjumping

 


 

In our series ‘That Special Bond’, we highlight what this sport truly is about; the unique connection between horses and humans. Speaking with some of the top names in the sport, we learn more about the horses that have shaped careers, fulfilled dreams – and sometimes even broken hearts. 

This time, World of Showjumping sat down with Brazil’s Marlon Modolo Zanotelli – the current world number seven – to learn more about the horses that have shaped his career. “I love to work with complicated horses, because they really put me out of my comfort zone and make me a better person, a better rider and a better horseman,” he says.

The special one

Photo © Erin Gilmore Marlon Modolo Zanotelli with Sirene de La Motte at the Pan American Games in 2019, where the pair won double gold. Photo © Erin Gilmore.

“There have been a few horses that I have had a special bond with so far in my career,” Marlon begins. “One of them is definitely Sirene de La Motte (Apache d’Adriers x Uriel d’Orval). Owned by Christophe Legue, Sirene came to me through Francois Mathy. She won the Pan American Games in 2019, individually and with the Brazilian team. She was a very special mare for me, as she was one of the first horses I got when we started our own business. When she came into my life, it was a very hard time for me; it was a tough decision to leave Ashford Farm – where we had everything – to start our own business. We started with nothing, with no horses, and Sirene was one of the first horses that came in.”

She is definitely a very special horse to me and to our whole family

“For me, she was also one of the first horses I won a Grand Prix with during this new phase in my career, and with her I started moving up to the higher level. I feel very attached to her, not only because of the results we achieved together but because of the whole situation; the timing of when she came to me and how important that turned out to be for my career. She is now retired, but she is still with us at our farm so I see her in the field every day and we go to meet her daily. She is definitely a very special horse to me and to our whole family.” 

Hardest to get to know

Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson/WoSJ “VDL Edgar M has probably been one of toughest horses for me to get to know,” Marlon tells. Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson for World of Showjumping.

“VDL Edgar M (Arezzo VDL x Marlon) has probably been one of toughest horses for me to get to know,” Marlon tells. “When he came to us, he was very different from the types of horses I usually had been riding. Edgar is definitely a horse everyone loves though; he is so kind, and he would always try to do whatever you asked of him – not only when riding, but with everything. He is the kindest horse, and I think that must come from Arezzo, because Harwich is very similar. They have this mentality of trying so hard for you.”

These special horses teach you so much

“Edgar has been getting easier to ride but he has always been very challenging when it comes to his body and his canter,” Marlon continues. “The rider who had him before me was stronger than I am. As I am small and not so physical, it took time for us to understand each other. I have to thank my dressage trainer Jan Symons, he really helped me a lot in understanding Edgar and his body. While he is a big horse, he also has a lot of blood, and if you ask too much from him too quickly, he gets stressed – because he really wants to do everything you want, immediately. I had to learn to really take my time with him, and give him time to react.” 

“Edgar is a horse that I and everyone in the stable also have a very special bond with,” Marlon says. "With Edgar, I won my first five-star Grand Prix and my first five-star World Cup, I jumped the Olympics in Tokyo with him… He is a horse that really brought me to the highest level. With him, I for the first time had the feeling that I could compete against any other horse in the world – I knew that on him, if I did my part right, we could win any Grand Prix in the world," Marlon continues. "And our results do speak for themselves. However, it was a process getting to know him, and still is – we are still working on improving little details.”

Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson/WoSJ "I learned so much with him," Marlon tells about VDL Edgar. Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson for World of Showjumping.

“Furthermore, he is the kindest horse with our kids, and they love him so much," Marlon continues. "He has his door open all the time and he comes to say hi to them."

I love to work with complicated horses, because they really put me out of my comfort zone and make me better

“The difficult ones often turn out to be the most special ones,” Marlon points out. “The easy horses, you ride them, whereas with the difficult ones, you naturally end up spending much more time with, trying new things… These special horses teach you so much! They force you out of your comfort zone, to go and try new things and make you think outside of the box. And once they do that, they make you a better person, a better rider, a better horseman or -woman, and in return they gain huge respect – because you will be forever thankful for the lessons. Therefore, I love to work with complicated horses, because they really put me out of my comfort zone and make me better. Edgar has definitely been a very special horse for me in this sense as well; I learned so much with him. My dressage skills improved, I got new insight from his vet and chiropractor in trying to understand his body and the bigger picture.”

The one that got away

Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson/WOSJ "He was a fantastic horse for me," Marlon tells about Zerlin M. Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson for World of Showjumping.

“From all the horses I have had during my career, Zerlin M (Berlin x Catheleen W) was a horse that got injured too early,” Marlon says. “I loved to ride him, he was really my type of horse and we won a lot – he was a fantastic horse for me. Him getting injured was a hard blow for me, as at the time he was my main horse that I was aiming for the Olympics in Rio – that was a tough year. Of course, working for dealers all my life, there were many horses that got sold from underneath me and that moved on to other riders. However, I have no regrets about those situations, as it is a part of the business that you have to learn to deal with.”

 

29.3.2023 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. 



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