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Since getting the ride on the now 11-year-old stallion Picobello van’t Roosakker (Kassander van’t Roosakker x Canabis Z AKZ) in the spring of 2024, Switzerland’s Jason Smith has slowly but surely grown to be a steady part of the Swiss squad. Following their five-star debut at CHI Geneva in 2024, Jason and Picobello placed fifth in the CSI5* 1.60m Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva at the end of last year, and at the 2026 Longines League of Nations™-season opener in Abu Dhabi they helped the Swiss team place fourth.

“When I got Picobello, we were very cautious not to go too quickly with him,” Jason, (35), tells World of Showjumping. “He has so much quality and so much potential, there was always the danger to overdo it with him because he always gives you the feeling that everything's possible. For the first year, I really took the time just to get to know him and we started in some smaller classes. It took a while before we actually said, 'okay, we are ready to move up to the bigger stuff'.”

Jason and his wife Julia are based in central Switzerland near Lucerne, and have been running a business together for the past ten years. “We produce horses and riders; I have clients that I train, and we have horses that we produce,” Jason explains. “We do a bit of everything. Since I had the opportunity last year to do some of the bigger Nations Cup shows, my main focus at the moment is definitely on the sport and trying to push myself as high as possible. It's sometimes difficult to find a balance to make everything work, because we are just a small stable with 12 to 15 horses.”

For the last ten years, Jason has trained with Daniel Etter – the former rider and owner of Picobello van’t Roosakker. “It was a nice situation for me when I took over Picobello, because I've known Daniel for so long,” Jason tells. “It's nice to have him on my side. He comes with me to the five-star shows, which helps take the pressure off. He knows me, and he knows the horse, so it's all working out very well.”

As someone who obviously is not born in Switzerland, I've been accepted very well into the team

“As someone who obviously is not born in Switzerland, I've been accepted very well into the team,” Jason points out. “I've lived in Switzerland for over 15 years, but I've only had the Swiss passport for the last three years. The nice thing with a country like Switzerland is that we're not that big, so our riders get a lot of opportunities to grow. Our size also makes us more like a little family; there's not fifty riders to choose from, so we have our small team of people. We all want the best for each other and we try to work together to get the best possible results.”

“I got Piccobello when he was at the end of his eighth year, a bit over two years ago now,” Jason tells about the grey stallion. “However, I've known him nearly his whole life. He's been in Switzerland since he was a young horse, when he was ridden by Daniel Etter – who also owned him at the time. Picobello is a horse I've seen growing up through the ranks and he was always one I thought has all the quality to go into the big sport.”

Picobello is a horse I've seen growing up through the ranks and he was always one I thought has all the quality to go into the big sport

“I was lucky enough that my sponsors decided to look for a good horse for me to try to keep for the higher classes,” he continues. “I said, if I could choose one horse, Picobello is the horse I would take. It was an amazing opportunity to be able to take over a horse like him, especially at that age. He had some experience jumping at the bigger shows, not in the bigger classes, but he had seen the big arenas, which made things a lot easier for us.”

In the Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva last December, Jason and Picobello placed fifth. “Last year, Geneva was one of our biggest goals,” Jason tells about the carefully planned progress towards 2025’s last Rolex Grand Slam Major. “We were really working up towards Geneva, and we went there with the feeling that we were ready to be competitive. It was a dream come true to jump double clear in the Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva, and it was especially nice for us because, at that point, we knew it was possible. It was rewarding to see that on the day, everything worked out like it should. That was by far the biggest result that we’ve had together.”

“We had jumped our first five-star in Geneva the year before, and then everything was going quite quickly actually. It was going really well, and then the question, do we try for the European Championships or not? For us, it was definitely not an easy decision, but we decided with my whole team that we'd rather wait. We're going to save him, we're not going to overdo it – and we decided not to even try to go to the Europeans last year, which in the end was definitely the best decision. It gave Picobello much more time to develop; we could do a few more five-star shows throughout summer without worrying too much.”

It was a dream come true to jump double clear in the Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva, and it was especially nice for us because, at that point, we knew it was possible

The Longines League of Nations™ in Abu Dhabi this February was the last show for a while for Picobello. “We said we're going to carry on through to Abu Dhabi, and now he gets a break. It was nice to be able to contribute for the Swiss team, and I am happy that we have managed to stay consistent with our plan,” Jason explains about the week that saw them deliver a clear plus four for the Swiss team and place 9th in the Grand Prix.

“It seems like Picobello knows when he has to deliver and he always rises to the occasion,” Jason says. “Abu Dhabi was actually the first Longines League of Nations™ that I've ridden. I did a few five-star Nations Cups last year, but never in the LLN, so it was also a different experience considering the format of only three riders in the second round. It's a different kind of pressure for the riders and the horses. It was the first time flying to a show for us as well, and the weather changed. There were a lot of factors that made Abu Dhabi quite difficult actually, and therefore, I was even more delighted with how the results came in.”

“I kept on going through the winter because of Geneva and now Abu Dhabi, and we also jumped in Basel in January. He's not really had a proper break after the summer season so he's going to be off for about two months now, and then we're going to build up again for the outdoor season at the end of April,” Jason explains. “The end goal, and the dream goal, would be the World Championships in Aachen. I think it is not impossible this year, we are both ready for it. Now it's just about trying to keep our consistency, hopefully get into a few more Nations Cup teams, and bring in some more clear rounds – and slowly build our way up to hopefully being championship-ready.”

The end goal, and the dream goal, would be the World Championships in Aachen

“At the moment, I actually only have Picobello for the five-star level,” Jason concludes. “We are trying to find some help in that regard, but it is very difficult to find these types of horses. I have a few different owners and sponsors who have horses with me, and I am very grateful for all of their support. I have a nice group of horses to work with, including a nice nine-year-old who I'm hoping will be able to take a step up soon.”

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