Text © World of Showjumping

Leading the way from start to finish, France’s Julien Epaillard and his home-bred Donatello d’Auge (Jarnac x Hello Pierville) took the title at the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final 2025 in Basel, Switzerland, after topping the overall standings from Wednesday’s first round and throughout the rest of the competition.

“He has a great mind; he always tries to help me,” Julien said about Donatello after their victory in Basel. “He has the experience and the technique, and he can jump easily without too much effort – and this helped me a lot here.”

Together, Julien and Donatello d’Auge have had huge success over the last two seasons. In 2023, Donatello d’Auge topped the WBFSH Jumping Breeders Ranking with a total of 1933 points after winning the CSI5*-W 1.60m Longines FEI Jumping World Cup in Amsterdam, two CSI5* 1.60m Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix classes in St. Tropez and Monaco, the CSI4* 1.55m Grand Prix in Bourg-en-Bresse, as well as the CSIO5* 1.55m City of Barcelona Trophy in Barcelona.

In 2024, the two won the CSI5*-W 1.60m Audi Grand Prix in Bordeaux and the CSI4* 1.55m Grand Prix in Mâcon Chaintré. They were also part of the winning French team at the CSIO5* Longines League of Nations™ in Rotterdam and topped the CSI5* 1.60m GCL Super Cup Final in Riyadh.

Bred by Julien’s wife Susana, Donatello was born at the couple’s Haras de La Bosquetterie, which is located near Lisieux, France. Due to an accident in the field when she was young, Donatello’s mother Tequila d’Auge had an early end to her sports career – instead she became part of the breeding operation at Haras de La Bosquetterie. Tequila comes from a family of successful top horses: She is by Hello Pierville, a horse Susana competed up to five-star level, while her dam Galoubette Mondain jumped at two European Championships with Spain’s Rutherford Latham. “Tequila was a good mare, and she gave us Donatello,” Julien Epaillard says.

“Hello Pierville had an incredible mind; he wanted to do it,” Susana Epaillard tells about Donatello’s damsire. “He is the only horse with which I could jump more than 1.45m classes. He had the heart and the willingness to do it, and I think Donatello has the same mindset, and the same heart. Donatello always wants to help his rider, and Hello Pierville was the same. He was a stallion, but I always felt like I was riding a gelding. His character was just so incredibly kind, and I can see the same in Donatello.”

We always thought that he was very intelligent

- Susana Epaillard - 

“From the very first moment, he was a gorgeous horse,” Susana continues to tell about Donatello. “He was not very big, but he had something different in his eyes. We always thought that he was very intelligent. When we started to ride him, the first impression we all had was that he had something special in him. Maybe it's because I think of him as one of my babies, but I thought he was special from the very beginning. We thought that he could go very far because of his intelligence.”

His jump is very economic, he has never been a flashy jumper – but he never liked to touch the poles

- Julien Epaillard - 

“When Donatello was five, he started competing with our rider Severin Sigaud,” Julien tells about the beginning of Donatello’s career. “Severin rode Donatello from he was five until he was eight. When Donatello was a youngster, we started our horses earlier than we do now. Back then, we would get them started between the age of three and four, whereas now we do it between five and six. Donatello was one of the horses that was part of the last generation in our old system. However, he didn't do much; he did not go to Fontainebleau for the French young horse final. He only did a couple of shows for fun, and for experience.”

“He was already super careful then, and always jumped clear,” Julien recalls about his first impressions of Donatello under the saddle. “However, it was difficult to say how much scope he was going to have. What was always clear though was that he had a good mindset. His jump is very economic, he has never been a flashy jumper – but he never liked to touch the poles.”

Severin Sigaud, who has worked at Haras de La Bosquetterie for the past five years, produced Donatello from national young horse classes to two-star Grand Prix-level. “I ride young horses for the stud, mainly competing with the 5- to 8-year-olds on the national circuit,” he tells about his job.

We’ve always believed in him, and seeing him fulfil that potential is incredibly rewarding

- Severin Sigaud - 

“My first impression of Donatello was that he’s an exceptionally gifted jumper — as well as highly intelligent and emotionally sensitive,” Severin recalls. “He’s a straightforward horse to work with; always eager to do well. At home, he is very calm and composed. He’s a very endearing horse. Beyond his talent and intelligence, he is always willing, and consistently gives everything he has in the ring.”

Following Donatello’s success with Julien is a great joy for Severin. “I feel truly delighted — both for the horse and for the stud. It’s been a fantastic opportunity to ride such a talented horse. We’ve always believed in him, and seeing him fulfil that potential is incredibly rewarding.”   

Donatello was a stallion until he was five, but he was too hot to handle. “We decided to castrate him in the winter between five and six,” Julien explains. “After that, he has been super easy. Now, he can be a bit cold at home, even a bit lazy.”

“It's true that things were much easier after we castrated him,” Susana adds. “He was too hot and complicated, and we were afraid that this would get in the way of a good sport career. Even though it was difficult for me to take this decision, we knew we wanted to have a horse for the sport and not a breeding stallion.”

Donatello is a very intelligent horse, and he has a really nice character

- Julien Epaillard -

In October 2021, Severin and Donatello placed third in the two-star Grand Prix in St Lo, their last show together. “After, I rode Donatello during the winter,” Julien tells about the handover. “However, that year I had many horses to ride, so my wife Susana rode Donatello and they jumped 1.20m to 1.40m classes in Oliva during the spring of 2022.”

“I used to say that he was the best horse to take for the prize giving ceremonies, because he was so calm,” Susana recalls about her time with Donatello. “It was like he was sleeping – until you put a fence in front of him to jump, then he was on it.”

In April 2022, Julien took over the reins of Donatello for good. “Donatello was directly very competitive, and in 2023, at the age of ten, he was already ranked the best horse in the world,” he recalls about the year when Susana won the 2023 WBFSH Jumping Breeder Award.

I never thought an award like that was possible for us to achieve

- Susana Epaillard - 

“It was incredible, and a complete surprise,” Susana says about receiving the award from WBFSH in 2023. “I couldn't dream of something like that. It wasn't one of my goals, I never thought an award like that was possible for us to achieve. It was a real surprise, but a very nice surprise.”

However, as he was always careful, Donatello needed time when stepping up the levels. “When he did not yet have the experience he has now, he could get a little bit spooky during the first day at a show,” Julien recalls. “As an example, when he was in Geneva for the first time in 2022, he was very impressed and got too careful on the first day in the huge arena. In the beginning of his career, it was good to do one small class to start off a weekend so he could see the ring. Now, with more experience, we can start with a bigger class as well.” 

“Donatello is a very intelligent horse, and he has a really nice character,” Julien describes the now 12-year-old gelding. “He can be a bit lazy at home, but he has the biggest heart in the ring. He gives his everything for me and he always tries his best. Nothing is complicated with him; he travels good, he is easy in the stable, he is lovely to work with. He doesn’t need to make a big effort when he jumps; he knows exactly what he has to do.”

We ride in the morning and for the rest of the day the horses are outside

- Julien Epaillard -

At home, Donatello spends most of his time in the field with a group of horses. “Well, it's my system,” Julien tells. “All my horses are treated the same, except for the stallions that naturally cannot go out in groups. The rest of the horses live together – they are horses. Before, I used to put Donatello in the field with the geldings, but he was not happy, he was always looking for the mares. So, one day a long time ago, I decided to let him out with the mares – and he is really happy with them.”

“We ride in the morning and for the rest of the day the horses are outside,” Julien tells about the system he has in place. “Naturally, this also depends on the weather and when the ground is really bad during the winter, they go out less. We vary their schedule depending on the season. During the summer the horses sleep outside as well. When the weather is good, they come back from the field around 7-8 o'clock in the morning, I ride a little bit and then they go to the field again.”

The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final 2025 was a big goal for Julien. “I was very focused on Basel,” he tells. “Last year, Donatello had a long holiday during the Olympics, because I was focused on Dubai [Editor’s note: Epaillard’s mount for the 2024 Olympic Games]. However, it was difficult for Donatello to come back; he lost a lot of physical condition – it took time to get him fit again and in good form.”

Julien used the 2024/2025 indoor season getting Donatello in form, with the aim being the FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final in Basel. “He started to jump well in Lyon,” he tells. “Then I decided to bring him to Mechelen, where we had one down in the World Cup, but he jumped really good. And at the CHI Classics Basel in January this year, he was 100% again – which was very nice. After, he did Bordeaux where I had one down on the last fence in the jump-off, but he jumped super, so I was happy anyway – and sure to be qualified for the final.”

Donatello was really with me in Basel, so I think our plan worked well

- Julien Epaillard - 

After the qualification was secured, Julien slowed down a bit. “I didn't stop working him, but I did less – I did not jump, and we walked a lot every day. I was more focused on keeping his good condition, and not asking too much of him. When we started to jump again, we jumped small fences at home – working on details.”

“In Den Bosch – a show that I used as preparation for the World Cup Final – we arrived with Donatello feeling really fresh. He was so fresh in Den Bosch that I decided to go to Paris as well, even though it was not our original plan. I jumped the Grand Prix in Paris as a working round, preparing for the final in Basel. After Paris I also increased our work at home a little bit.”

For the FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final, Julien changed Donatello’s bridle. During the winter, he had competed Donatello in a pelham, but for the final he switched back to the hackamore that he had used a lot previously. “I changed because I wanted to have him 100% with me,” he explains. “I had not used it for a while, so it was a bit of a gamble. I was lucky it worked out as I thought it would – and you need luck to win something like this. Donatello was really with me in Basel, so I think our plan worked well.”

For Julien, 47, the World Cup-title in Basel was his first major championship win. Although the 2025 European Championship in A Coruña, Spain, is possibly the next goal with Donatello, it is the day-to-day life that means the most for the current world number 13.

“A result like this is something that we work for every day with the team,” he says. “It gives a positive boost to the stable, everybody is happy – and it's a big acknowledgment for our breeding operation as well.”

“We are proud of our win in Basel,” Julien concludes. “However, Donatello is like a family member to us; we enjoy every day with him.”   

Donatello is like a family member to us; we enjoy every day with him

- Julien Epaillard -

“For me as a breeder, and for us as a family, I think the result in Basel has been the most significant in Donatello’s career yet,” Susana says. “It's a result that he shares with us – we have all contributed to this. I feel very proud of Donatello, but I feel very proud of my husband as well. It's a family affair for us. Julien’s son Brieuc is following in his father’s footsteps as a rider, and I feel very proud that he is with us. Our son Luis is not into horses, but he follows the sport. Horses bring us together, and this kind of result is something that we can enjoy together. I believe Donatello knows that he has done something great. I have a feeling that since he came back from Basel, he knows he's a star.”

“The future is a gift,” Susana concludes. “This year, we have the European Championships in A Coruña as a goal. However, we will see what happens. We have been in this sport long enough to know that we have to enjoy the good results, because the tables can turn very quickly. It is important to stay humble.”  

7.5.2025 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.