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Jumping to a 2nd place in the 2024 Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup and a 5th place in the 2023 Rolex Grand Prix at CHIO Aachen, Mexico’s Eugenio Garza Perez has impressed two years in a row at the most prestigious Major on the Rolex Grand Slam-circuit. Riding the wonderful Contago (Cornet Obolensky x Cassini II), Garza Perez has attracted attention for his immaculate riding style and was last year the recipient of the Style Award in Aachen after making the tricky Grand Prix tracks look effortless. 

Born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico, the soon-to-be 28-year-old grew up with both his parents riding. “That’s how they met so I guess you could say I owe myself to the horses,” Eugenio smiles. “I started to ride as a kid, when I was around 8 years old – I just wanted to spend time with my mum who used to go to the horse shows in Mexico so that’s how I picked it up. When I was about 13, we moved to Dallas, Texas, and that’s where it kind of took off. We bought a beautiful ranch there and I started riding more dedicated. One thing led to another, and the next thing we knew, we were in Wellington, Florida, where we built our barn. Now it became pretty much our whole life, not just for me but for the entire family – mum and dad they love it, and I love spending time with them at the horse shows. It’s been a really, really, fun time.”

“We now have our home base in Wellington, and we are there about six months of the year – I would say from October to April,” Eugenio explains. “For the other six months, every year changes a little bit, whether we go to Mexico, to Spruce Meadows, or come to Europe – so basically, gipsy life. It takes a bit out of you, but that’s what we signed up for and we enjoy it!” 

While horses have been part of his life from when he was a child, a career as a professional rider was not a deliberate choice on Eugenio’s side. “It kind of happened over time; after we moved to Dallas, jumping became my sport and how I was spending time. It was not a decision, I kind of just fell into it,” he tells. 

Over the years, Eugenio has been learning from some of the best in the sport but the one that has had the biggest impact on his career is Irish legend Eddie Macken. “When I was younger, I trained with Rodrigo Lambre. Then we moved to Dallas, and I started training with Darragh Kenny, and after that I moved on to Eddie Macken who I spent eight years with and who taught me pretty much everything I know,” Eugenio tells.  

“I can’t thank Eddie enough; he’s taught me most of what I know inside and outside the ring – and he was like a second father to me when we were travelling together. Eddie taught me how to respect the horses, how to train them, and be as much of a horseman as I could be. As Eddie took a step back, I started to train with Carlos Myrrha – who’s been with me for nine years now. When I started with Eddie, Carlos started with me, so we both grew into Eddie’s system. Carlos is a fabulous trainer himself and I think we both complement each other. He has been instrumental in my success the past few years, he is one of the best horsemen I know and we have created a great team that listens to each other. His coaching has undoubtedly helped me achieve many of my goals. He’s also become family.”

However, Eugenio is also quick to credit Nick Skelton – another legend – for finding the keys to unlock Contago’s potential. “We bought Contago when he was four, and it’s an interesting story,” Eugenio tells. “Carlos – who used to be the head-rider for La Silla and rode everything from Ninja to Rosalia and all those famous horses that came out of there – rode Contago when he was five and six, and then he gave him to me when he was seven. However, it did not work out with me – I was just too inexperienced. Then I tried again when he was nine, but it still did not work. The horse hated me, and I was banging my head against the wall with him. He is a very opinionated horse with a very strong character. On top, he was difficult in the mouth, I could not figure out the bit, I could not figure out how to get him to focus in the ring – to the point where I actually called Darragh, who is a good friend, and said ‘help me out, take him, sell him, I can’t do it’.” 

“For me, at that point, Contago was just uncontrollable, and we really did not get along,” Eugenio laughs. “I remember when he was nine, and was jumping the 1.40m classes with the head up in the air punting out rails because I just could not collect him. I got off, so stressed, banging my head against the wall because I just could not do it. The stressful thing was that I could feel that he had everything that he is now. The athletic ability is unlike anything I have ever felt… While he wanted to be careful, he was too busy being against me for me to actually be able to give him the opportunity to jump clear.”

“Then, for a short while, after Eddie took a step back, I started training with Nick and at this time my horse Victer Finn unfortunately went down with an injury. We were kind of low on horses, and Nick saw Darragh riding Contago and asked ‘what about that one?’ I said ‘no, tried it two times – won’t work’,” Eugenio smiles. “But Nick told me to give it a shot and we started working with Contago together, and the horse really thrived with that system. We have continued that system, that really suited him, with a bit of a tweak in there with Carlos’ ideas. By now, we have built up a good partnership and we both respect each other and don’t get each other angry,” he laughs. “Contago is a horse I have learned to respect, and to do it his way.”

“Working with Nick, we really focused on improving the flatwork, and added a bit more discipline before and after the jumps – something I had failed to do. Then, I also think that over time, Contago matured. And today, Contago is one of those horses that you don’t get more than once in your lifetime,” Eugenio smiles. 

“Contago is for sure the most athletic horse I ever sat on, probably ever will sit on – he does things with his body that is just not normal,” Eugenio says. “You have to really challenge him in ways that there is really no way any other horse could do. He is a joy to ride – or now, he is – super adjustable, turns on a dime, just all around fabulous. It took us a while to understand him, but in the end, it was back to a snaffle, let him put his head where he wanted to put the head, and try to get out of his way as much as possible, to use his athletic abilities to our advantage.”

“He’s been absolutely on fire ever since after the World Championship in Herning in 2022,” Eugenio tells. “Herning was a bit challenging for us – I felt that I had an amazing horse to compete, and I let the pressure get to me. I just rode poorly the first day. It was a big wake-up call for me, I cracked under pressure, and it was not my finest moment.”

It was one particular piece of advice that really made Eugenio able to make a mental switch – and it came from McLain Ward. “After the speed round in Herning – my bad round – McLain came up to me and said ‘you need to relax, you’re all tense’ and I was like ‘yeah, but we’re at the World Championship’ to which McLain replied – which I will never forget – ‘treat it as if it’s a Wednesday at Tryon’. That’s a quote that has stayed in our team. Even when we arrived in Aachen last year, Carlos looked at me and said; ‘it’s a Wednesday at Tryon’ – and it’s true because if you start to think ‘OMG, Aachen’, ‘the people’, ‘the prestige’, this and that, you know you add unneeded pressure. So, Wednesday at Tryon it is,” he laughs.

“It took me a while to not let the pressure affect me though,” Eugenio tells about the mental aspect of competing at the highest level. “By now I have learned that you need to relax to be able to do this, you can’t let the pressure get to you – or you stop thinking inside the ring. It certainly helps when you have a horse like Contago underneath you, so you only have to worry about the fine details. And after the World Championship in Herning, I really started to pay more attention to relaxing and enjoying, and I have to say that now I’m able to just go in there and ride and enjoy.”

“I think that if I would have had to do it all again with Contago, I would just have had to be more patient,” Eugenio points out. “It was difficult for me when I was younger to have that level of patience, but Contago taught me to give my horses more time and that they are not all the same. I think I was used to being able to get on 8 and 9-year-olds that were ready to go compete, and this was far from it. He has also helped me a lot with Chalouries now, who’s going faster up the levels than Contago did. I have a lot to thank Contago for.”

“We bought Chalouries as a 7-year-old,” Eugenio tells about his second star in the making. “The breeding was really special – Chacco-Blue x Baloubet du Rouet. When we bought him, we thought he was a bit more advanced than he was, but also speaking with others that have Chaccos they sometimes mature a bit later, so we decided to give him as much of a chance as possible and go slow with him. The biggest challenge for him is to settle down in the ring, his head starts going at a million miles an hour so I can lose him a bit but he’s finally starting to learn. He is very scopey, very careful, and very fast so he is very competitive – especially for a big horse like him. He really surprised me last year; if you would have told me at the beginning of 2023 that I was going to jump the 1.55m with him in Aachen, I would have laughed. But he’s really coming to his own, he’s won a couple of good classes over the last two years so I’m really happy with how he has progressed.”

“Right now, I have a mixed group with some older and some younger horses. Contago for sure is my number one horse. Then there is Victer Finn DH Z (Va Vite x Stakkato), who is older and more experienced – so I kind of just pick and choose classes with him. Then Chalouries PS (Chacco-Blue x Baloubet du Rouet) and Juwel-Wish T (Kannan x Ultimo) who both are 10, the 9-year-old Prince Malko M (Del Piero D&B x President) and the 8-year-old Casacinta (Casallco x Chacco-Blue) that we are slowly building up,” Eugenio tells.

“I think you have to buy young; it’s the only way to go nowadays,” Eugenio says. “Our experience is that buying older horses has never really been the best option for us. I think the horses learn from you, you learn from them and so you build a partnership together throughout the years. I think that’s one of the stronger aspects of Contago and I; I know what he likes and what he dislikes, what makes him tick – all those things that are important in a partnership.”

The Mexican riders have had a fantastic 2024-season so far, building momentum towards the Olympic Games – recently impressing with their 2nd place in the Mercedes-Benz Nations Cup of Aachen. And following their double clear in the Nations Cup, Eugenio and Contago were announced as part of the Mexican squad for Paris – where they will compete alongside Carlos Hank Guerreiro and H5 Porthos Maestro WH Z (Picasso Z x Ogano Sitte), José Antonio Chedraui and H-Lucky Retto (Bernini x Germus R) and Andrés Azcárraga and Contendros 2 (Contendro I x Drosselklang II). 

“We are extremely thrilled and honored to be selected to represent Mexico in the upcoming Olympics,"  Eugenio says about his second Games. "It is always great to represent your country but to do it at the highest level is definitely the highest honor. I can’t thank my entire team enough, who has worked tirelessly to get us to this point – it takes a village. I think we have a strong team and we are feeling good after Aachen. To be on the team is great, but to share it with two of my closests friends – Carlos and Andres – is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

The showjumping scene in Mexico is really thriving, and this year alone there are six five-star events on the circuit – one of them a Longines Global Champions Tour, and two Major League Show Jumping events. “The shows in Mexico have been really building up,” Eugenio says. “A couple of years back, there were very few FEI shows, but now we have some amazing five-star events – the LGCT of Mexico City, the Major League, Coapexpan, Monterrey, San Miguel… It has really been a collective push from the federation and the show organisers. It’s raised the level of the sport in Mexico and it’s been great for the team. If you remember back to the Pulsar Crown series, one of them was in Monterrey at La Silla – that was kind of the glory days and we’re trying to get back to that and put Mexico on the map.”

“I have to say the sport is definitely bigger here in Europe,” Eugenio says when comparing it to Canada, Mexico and the US. “It’s traditional, it’s an audience that knows about horses and the Grand Prix classes are filled with horse-and-rider combinations that can all win. Competing in Europe certainly exposes you to high-level competition against all the top riders, so there are no longer any star-struck moments – it really prepares you mentally in addition to your horses jumping those big tracks. It’s a good build up so that you are not surprised when you come to a championship.”

Despite spending more than half his life in the US, Eugenio will always be Mexican at heart. “Although I have to say my English is better than my Spanish now,” he smiles. 

And what does he miss the most about living in Mexico? “The food. That was not a hard question to answer,” he laughs.

23.7.2024 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.