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“In our sport, one of the worst things that can happen to a horse is for it to be ridden by an inexperienced rider at a height the rider is not ready for. That’s a big welfare issue,” Leopoldo Palacios tells World of Showjumping. “FEI should have an international qualifying system for riders, so that they need to compete at every different height to move up in the classes. Riders should also hold a license in order to be able to compete. If you look at other sports, many of them operate with a license, and I think we should as well.”

Known for his demanding course designs, the 78-year-old Venezuelan is one of eleven FEI Honorary Vice-Presidents, and has held several important positions within the FEI throughout the years. Between 1987 and 2006, Palacios was a member of the FEI Childrens Committee, the FEI Jumping Committee as well as a member of the FEI bureau, and in 1998 he joined the FEI Executive Committee.

FEI should have an international qualifying system for riders, so that they need to compete at every different height to move up in the classes

Palacios – who many connect directly with Spruce Meadows, where he has worked for the past three decades – was responsible for the course designs at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, and was the co-course designer with Steve Stephens at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. He held the title FEI Technical Delegate at the 2004 Athens Olympics, at three Pan American Games – in 2003 in Santo Domingo, in 2007 in Rio de Janeiro and in 2011 in Guadalajara – as well as at the 2005 FEI World Cup Final in Las Vegas and the 2018 FEI World Equestrian Games in Tryon, to mention only some of his many accolades.

To World of Showjumping, Palacios talks about his journey from Venezuela to multiple Olympic Games, how he has dealt with criticism during his illustrious career, and how he envisions the future of showjumping.

Palacios comes from an equestrian family, where both his father and older brother rode. Palacios himself competed internationally – until he fell madly in love with course design. “When I was around 30 – in the late 1970s – I started co-designing courses and eventually stopped riding,” he tells. “In the beginning, I learned from Pamela Carruthers, who was one of the best course designers of her time. She used to come to Venezuela a lot and I helped her there. Eventually, I started assisting her at other shows as well, and travelled outside of Venezuela.”

In 1982, the Venezuelan Equestrian Federation contracted the late Dr. Arno Gego to do the course design at the Pan American Games in 1983, which led to another learning opportunity for Palacios. “I worked with him for one year, and we designed fences with Venezuelan motives,” Palacios explains. “At that time, national motives were not used so much; it was Arno that started it.”

As a course designer, you never stop learning

Through Gego, Palacios got to know Alfonso Romo from the Mexican La Silla stud. “Pamela, Arno and Alfonso all taught me a lot. However, I am still learning today; as a course designer, you never stop learning.”

During the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Leopoldo met Spruce Meadows’ founders Ron and Margaret Southern for the first time. “Mr. Romo had a dinner with the Southerns and he introduced me to them. Two years later, they called me and asked if I could do the courses for the show in June. After that, I did the Queen Elizabeth Cup in July, and eventually, they asked if I would feel comfortable designing the courses for the Masters as well. In 1996, I did the Masters for the first time,” Palacios recalls.

And the rest is history…

At Spruce Meadows, Palacios worked with Ron Southern for years. “We all became like family,” he explains. “Mr. Southern was a visionary and I learned a lot from him. Now, his daughter Linda has continued in his footsteps and she too has an incredible vision of the sport.”

“After 32 years, we are good friends and the family has a lot of confidence in me,” Palacios continues. “In the beginning, I did every show, but after a while they have brought in new blood as well – which is a positive thing. I still build for the Masters though.”

Mr. Southern was a visionary and I learned a lot from him

At the Spruce Meadows Masters last September, Palacios re-used an old course design in Thursday’s CSIO5* 1.50m ATCO Cup to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the venue. “I used the course of the first Grand Prix that Pamela Carruthers designed for Spruce Meadows,” he explains. “The sport has changed a lot from that time. However, Spruce Meadows has kept a collection of fences from the past years. We still have fences from 1976 – until now they have been maintained and kept in good condition. We don't use the same cups, though; the cups today are lighter.”

“For this course, I used all original fence material, except the Rolex-fence. I watched old videos to see how many strides they were doing and calculated the distances based on what I saw. I did my best to replicate Pamela’s work from 1976 – and I think the result was good. I believe it was a good experience for the riders and nice for the sport to contrast the way course building has changed. The biggest difference was the time allowed; Pamela used a much longer time allowed in the first round, and back then the class was a 1.60m competition.”

Over the past 30 years, Palacios’ courses have come to be part of Spruce Meadows’ identity. With his work, Palacios wants to bring today’s sport closer to its original roots, and back in connection with nature. “If we look at the history of our sport, the roots are deep in nature,” Palacios explains about his philosophy. “However, over time, showjumping has been put inside arenas and stadiums so that the crowds can enjoy it. Today I believe the balance has tipped, and we have come too far from the sport’s origins.”

“In general, natural fences are not used much, and riders seem intimidated by them,” Palacios points out. “In my opinion, using only light fence material has made the sport too generic and it has become too artificial. I believe we need to respect the history and the reality of the sport more than what is the case today.”

The reality is that the sport has become more and more unnatural, with sand rings and light fences

“Another problem are all the sand rings,” Palacios continues. “I believe grass is the queen of footing, and that God created horses for jumping on grass. Unfortunately, the reality is that the sport has become more and more unnatural, with sand rings and light fences.”

There were 89 five-star shows in the FEI calendar for 2025, and Palacios believes the extensive numbers are not doing the sport a favour – quite on the contrary. “In my opinion, there are too many shows, and the horses are jumping too much during the year,” Palacios continues. “We should control the number of competitions horses can compete in, at least in the biggest ones.”

“Furthermore, there are too many shows and not enough capable riders. As an example, at Spruce Meadows, there are many good riders that might not qualify for the Grand Prix, while at most of the other five-stars, nearly anyone can jump. I don’t think this is the best for the horses. Another issue with having a mixed field in a Grand Prix, is that the course builder has to protect the medium pairs and that in return does not make for great sport.”

For the future, Palacios hopes to see a turn-around. “Using only light fences and mostly sand arenas has reduced the number of horses that can succeed; these days, you need over-careful horses that are afraid of the fences. I hope other course designers will start to build more solid, and play more with their knowledge. This way, I believe the sport would improve,” he points out.

 

When people talk about the welfare of the horse, they often talk about the courses, the sizes of the fences, but the biggest danger is bad riding

“We only need the cream of the riders to come to the top,” Palacios says. “By building challenging courses, the actual cream has a better chance, while the others will have to learn to understand where they need to improve. When people talk about the welfare of the horse, they often talk about the courses, the sizes of the fences, but the biggest danger is bad riding. Good riders don't make many mistakes and they don’t put their horses in unfair situations. The problem is riders that are not qualified to jump at certain heights.”

“In my opinion, the current ranking system needs to be changed as well. We have a Grand Slam series, all of us know what those shows represent, and we can count them with one hand – and that is what the ranking should reflect as well,” Palacios continues. “With the current ranking system that is based solely on prize money, Scott Brash got the same points for his win at the Spruce Meadows Masters than any other winner in an AA-ranked Grand Prix even though the fences in reality are set at 1.70m in this specific Major*."

Not everyone has always agreed to Palacios’ approach to course building, and at times it has caused criticism. “In my 30 years at Spruce Meadows, I have received a lot of criticism,” Palacios says. “And I have never changed. The organizing committee here supports me. At many other shows, when the riders put pressure on, people change.”

“I don’t work for money,” Palacios continues to explain. “Everything I do, I do for the sport, and I have my own vision. I respect the vision of others, but my vision is that the courses need to be challenging. I believe the courses need to reveal how well the horses are educated, not only how big they can jump. The sport needs to give something to the crowd, too. Today, the sport has become too generic, and that is not engaging new audiences. We need emotions, and something interesting for our fans.”

*[Editor’s note: Competitions with a total prize money of 308,600 € or above, as well as the final competition at Pan American Games, European Championships, FEI World Cup Final and the first individual competition at Olympic Games count for the AA ranking group. Most five-star Grand Prix classes last year have had AA ranking points.]

13.1.2026 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.