After taking the title in the CSI5* 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva in December last year, Harrie and Monaco have been on a winning streak throughout 2025. Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson for World of Showjumping.
Text © World of Showjumping
“The partnership we share is something truly special,” Harrie Smolders tells World of Showjumping about Evergate Stables’ 16-year-old gelding Monaco (Cassini II x Contender, bred by Ralf Lütje). “We have a very special bond. I only need to think, and he already knows what I want to ask.”
After taking the title in the CSI5* 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva in December last year, Harrie and Monaco have been on a winning streak throughout 2025. In June, the pair won the CSI5* 1.60m Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Cannes, in August the CSI5* 1.60m Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Valkenswaard, and at the beginning of October the CSI5* 1.60m Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Rome.
“It's not that we do anything different, it just seems like he is still improving,” Harrie explains to World of Showjumping about Monaco’s current form – here after their recent win in the CSI5* 1.60m Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Rome. Photo © LGCT.
Their third LGCT Grand Prix-win of the season was a special one; nine years prior, when Monaco was seven, Harrie met the gelding for the first time during the Longines Global Champions Tour of Rome. There, Alessandro Mingoli convinced Harrie to take the time to try Monaco, and the rest – as they say – is history.
For many years into their successful partnership, Harrie and Monaco seemed to be the forever runners-up. They were second at two Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Finals; in 2022 in Leipzig and in 2023 in Omaha, as well as second in the 2022 Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of St. Tropez, the 2022 Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Riyadh, the 2023 Grand Prix Hermès in Paris, the 2023 Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Monte Carlo, the 2024 Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Valkenswaard, the 2024 Longines Grand Prix in Lyon and the 2024 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ in Lyon – as just a few examples of how many times the duo has been close to a big win.
“I try to select venues where I know he thrives,” Harrie tells about his planning for Monaco – here on the way to the win in the CSI5* 1.60m Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of Valkenswaard. “With him, I actually never did more than 15 shows a year." Photo © LGCT.
However, since their victory in Geneva, the two have again and again proved unbeatable.
“It's not that we do anything different, it just seems like he is still improving,” Harrie explains to World of Showjumping about Monaco’s current form. “Monaco has always been very coachable and extremely energetic. When he was younger, he always used to be a little bit tense and spooky during the first days at a show and the last day was usually his best performance. Earlier in his career, his energy was probably a little bit of a disadvantage for him, whereas now he channels it differently. He is still interested and highly motivated, but more focused. Now, he knows the game inside out, and he is a very intelligent horse.”
“I try to select venues where I know he thrives,” Harrie tells about his planning for Monaco. “With him, I actually never did more than 15 shows a year. He tells me when he is ready to go. He is a performer and a competitor; when he sees the lorry leaving without him, he is upset. It is an amazing feeling, having a horse that lives for the sport and enjoys the attention like he does.”
"I have the Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix in Prague in the back of my mind, and the Rolex Grand Slam in Geneva. However, we will only go if Monaco tells me he feels good and ready. Otherwise, I will wait for another moment," Harrie says about his plan for the rest of the year. Photo © Jenny Abrahamsson for World of Showjumping.
On his off-days, Monaco enjoys the paddocks at Harrie’s home base in Heeze, near Eindhoven, in the Netherlands. “It's a very nice place for the horses, with many paddocks and a big grass arena that we use a lot.”
“I'm now giving him a few weeks off and then we will probably do a small show somewhere,” Harrie says about Monaco’s schedule for the rest of the year. “I have the Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix in Prague in the back of my mind, and the Rolex Grand Slam in Geneva. However, we will only go if Monaco tells me he feels good and ready. Otherwise, I will wait for another moment.”
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