Text © World of Showjumping

“Iashin is really a fairy-tale,” Pascale Haep tells World of Showjumping about Steve Guerdat’s Albführen’s Iashin Sitte (Bamako de Muze x Tinka’s Boy, bred by Daniel Boudrenghien).

With Guerdat in the saddle, Iashin won the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ qualifiers in both Leipzig and Helsinki during the 2025/2026-season, and at the 2026 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Fort Worth, they placed 6th in the end. Last year, the two topped the CSI5* 1.60m Coupe de Geneve at CHI Geneve, and Iashin was also Guerdat’s ride at the 2025 European Championships in A Coruña – where the two placed 11th after strong performances throughout the week. 

Our journey went smooth and easy because everything that has been done with Iashin in the past has been positive 

- Steve Guerdat-

Guerdat took over the reins of the now 12-year-old gelding in the summer of 2023, after the chestnut had been carefully produced by Pascale. “The most important factor in a horse’s career is to be with the right people from the start,” Steve Guerdat points out. “It makes everything so much easier later on. Pascale has done an amazing job with Iashin. I only had to give him a little more experience. We had to learn to know each other and grow together to be able to take the last step. Our journey went smooth and easy because everything that has been done with Iashin in the past has been positive and he has been educated in a good way.”

“I spend a lot of time on Iashin,” Pascale explains. “I started as a girl with nothing, and I do this for the love of the horses and not for the big business. Hearing someone like Steve say that it is thanks to me taking my time with this horse that he can now be successful means much more than money.”

For Daniel Boudrenghien, the breeder of Iashin Sitte, the story began 20 years ago.

“Back then, we had a very good mare at our farm called Atlanta,” Daniel begins. “She had given three 1.60m horses, and I covered her with Nabab de Reve. A filly foal was born, a nice and kind horse with enough scope, but not for a professional. When she was two, I covered her with Ogano Sitte before selling her to an amateur. I thought that Ogano gives so much instinct and blood, he’s courageous and powerful which made me believe it could be a good crossing.”

“Vendetta Sitte was born out of this, and she was already better than her mother. She has jumped 1.45m classes, and before she went in the sport, she was also covered when she was two. I used Lord Z on her, and Carla Sitte was born. She was not really big enough, but had very good quality. I used Tinka’s Boy on her, because Tinka’s Boy was a bodybuilder and I thought it was very good for this mare. Carla’s daughter Fayenka Sitte – Iashin’s dam – has jumped 1.55m. Before selling her, I covered her with Bamako de Muze and we got Iashin. It took us five generations of mares covered at two-years-old.”

It took us five generations of mares covered at two-years-old

- Daniel Boudrenghien - 

“I have 120 horses in total; foals, mares, yearlings and so on. I always have 20 horses in work because our job is not only to breed the horses but also to produce them,” Daniel tells about the operation he runs in Belgium. “I think we are not so bad in giving the young horses experience until they are seven. After that, it is another job; they must be in a very professional stable to reach the top. Normally, they are sold between five and seven.”

“When he was a foal, his model was quite normal,” Daniel recalls about his first impression of Iashin. “However, when we free jumped the youngsters, he was really fantastic. He had all we wanted in a good horse, he was everything we had hoped for. Iashin was always a kind horse, but delicate. He had a lot of blood, and he was sensitive. He was not for every rider, but the quality he had was 100%.”

“It could have happened that Iashin was sold to an amateur and he could have jumped 1.30m all his life – and been a very good horse for that,” Daniel continues. “Luckily fate had it that he arrived in Steve’s stable. It is fantastic to follow them now.”

Pascale bought Iashin from the gelding’s breeder Danie Boudrenghien with whom she had done business previously. “Ten years ago, I bought a mare – Fayenka Sitte – from him, together with a friend of mine. We did one show with her before she was sold to America. I knew that the breeder had a foal out of this mare, and as I really liked her, I was curious to know how her foal was – and it was Iashin. I saw one video of him free jumping, and I bought him straight away with my husband Daniel Joucken. Iashin was two when he arrived and nine when I sold him – so I know him well. He is a special horse for me.”

Iashin is a special horse for me

- Pascale Haep -

“When Iashin was two and three, he was in the field at my place,” Pascale explains. “When it was time to get him used to the saddle, I also had another three horses that needed to be done. The guy who was doing this for me sat easily on the three other horses, but when it came to Iashin, he said he couldn’t do it. He felt Iashin was too complicated, and he did not know what to do with him. However, he knew of a horse whisperer who lived close by. It was only 10 kilometres from my home, so I brought Iashin there on a Thursday, and on Sunday morning, I got a call. I was thinking something bad had happened, but I was told I could pick him up. I couldn't even brush him properly when I brought him there, and three days later, I could do everything with him. From that day on, Iashin became more affectionate than all my other horses.”

As a five-, six- and seven-year-old, Iashin was brought along with Pascale's other young horses. “Sometimes he was spooky, but he was always jumping clear. However, people were questioning what I saw in him; he was not a flashy jumper, he was not exceptionally pretty… I kept saying I was not sure what he had, but I knew he was doing everything so easily, I never felt that he had to put in a lot of effort.”

“When Iashin turned eight, he became my best horse. That year, we went to Knokke, where I did my first 1.45m class. Laura Kraut won the class, and I thought it was not so bad to finish second to her. Three weeks later, we won a national Grand Prix. Iashin was jumping like he still does, just above the fences, but he was clear, and he won. I knew he was special, so I took a lot of time with Iashin and never pushed him.”

I didn't want to sell him to just anyone

- Pascale Haep -

“Then we did some ranking classes, and every time he jumped, he was clear – so people started to ask for him,” Pascale continues. “I didn't know what to do because I didn't want to sell him to just anyone. I knew how special he was, and that he needed a rider that would take the time to understand him, not someone who just wanted to win. I didn't want to have any regrets and I knew the horse by heart, so I kept saying no.”

However, when Steve Guerdat’s name popped up, Pascale could not refuse. “Steve came to our place, and I told him everything about the horse,” she recalls. “He tried Iashin really easy, and then said he liked him. The day after, they called to buy him.”

“Iashin ended up with the best rider in the world, but it is nice to see a horse like him be as successful as he has been,” Pascale says. “It is good to see that it can also happen like this; nowadays everybody seems to want horses that jump one meter above the fences. Iashin is not a big jumper, but he is so smart. He knows where to put his feet to not touch the poles. I think he can do anything.”

“Albführen was looking for a horse and Juan Ramos – a good friend of mine who I do a lot of business with – told me about Iashin,” Steve Guerdat tells about finding the sympathetic chestnut. “He showed me some videos, but also told me that Iashin was not on the market because Pascale didn't really want to sell. However, as I liked him, I was allowed to go and try him. I only made a few jumps because the feeling was very good. I really liked the story around Iashin and had a very good impression of Pascale and what she told me.”

Iashin was bought as a future Grand Prix and championship horse

- Steve Guerdat -

“I thought we should give it a go and see where we could go,” Steve continues to explain about his initial impression. “Iashin was bought as a future Grand Prix and championship horse; that was the hope we had in him from the beginning.”

“I always like to start easy with my horses,” Steve recalls about the very beginning of the journey with Iashin. “I started him in a three-star 1.40m in Dinard and then went on to Saint Lo where I jumped him in the two-star classes – and the results were very good. He was always clear; he placed fifth in the two-star Grand Prix in Saint Lo. However, the truth is that he doesn't fly over the jumps. Therefore, as long as I didn't jump bigger with him, there was no way of knowing if it was going to work out with him or not. What I had no doubt about was his mind; he wanted to jump clear.” 

What I had no doubt about was his mind; he wanted to jump clear

- Steve Guerdat-

“There was a little bit more of a difficult time when our first indoor season started,” Steve continues. “He didn't have a lot of experience indoors. It didn't go bad result-wise, it actually went quite well because he was second in the Masters in Stuttgart and was placed in a big class in London. However, the feeling was that he was spooky and couldn't really concentrate on his job; he was more focused on what was going on around the ring. That's why I decided not to do too many indoor shows during our first winter.”

“At the beginning of 2024, I took Iashin to the Sunshine Tour and there I had a really good feeling,” Steve continues to explain. “The feeling was so good that I was confident to take him to Ocala, where he jumped the five-star Grand Prix and placed second. He jumped unbelievable in what was a very big Grand Prix, and that was when I thought we were on the right track. After Ocala, I kept it a bit more quiet with him. Obviously, back then he did not have the consistency that he has now, but I already thought things were looking very good. During 2024, he already did great in Aachen and in Calgary, he jumped clear rounds in the biggest classes and Nations Cups.”

And Iashin never stopped improving. “With my string of horses, Iashin was always a little bit in the shadows of the others, even though he was doing amazing things,” Steve points out. “Last year, I had no doubt I wanted to ride him at the European Championships. He would have deserved a medal there. I was a little bit disappointed with missing out on that, because I felt Iashin was not really considered at his right value. People didn't really think much of him, even though he was doing really good. Just because other horses might jump more flashy, they are talked about more, and when flashy horses have a fence, it is always “unlucky”. With Iashin, people never said his poles were “unlucky”; he was “not good enough” – simply for his economical style of jumping.”

Now people know who Iashin is, and he so deserves all the success

- Steve Guerdat -

“I could have ridden better,” Steve reflects on the Europeans. “The championship was very strange; everything was so close, and we dropped from 3rd to 12th after the first round of the individual final – and were the last to make it into the concluding round. The motivation was a little bit gone; I knew we could not move up to the podium anymore, so the fences we had down was probably from a lack of motivation. However, Iashin would definitely have deserved a medal for his effort. I was very happy about our championship though, especially with us not having much experience together. Sometimes you can be happy about something even though it from the outside can look like a disappointment.”

“Personally, I was always very happy with him, and now I'm extra happy that he has gotten what he deserves,” Steve smiles. “That's why I have been so pleased to have the World Cup success with him; now people know who Iashin is, and he so deserves all the success.”

“I think he is just going to keep getting better and better,” Steve says about the future with Iashin. “I believe we're just coming close to our best and now he starts to win – and he is winning in quite an easy way. He's been winning these two World Cups now, and I know he's very good outside. He thrives in Aachen, he's great in big grass arenas. This winter, for the first time, he has also been really good indoors – so I see a bright future for us.”

I believe we're just coming close to our best and now he starts to win

- Steve Guerdat -

“He's just a really kind horse,” Steve describes Iashin’s personality. “He's always motivated to do things, he's always happy. He is happy to go to work, happy to go to the shows, happy to jump – he's never tired. It's really nice to take him out every day, it’s a pure pleasure to ride him. You have a lot of those top-level horses who are very good in competition, but everything around them is complicated – with Iashin, it's different.”

“Every time I get on him, I'm so happy.”

14.4.2026 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.