Text © World of Showjumping

To join the Brazilian team for the Nations Cups in Rome and La Baule, Stephan De Freitas Barcha and the 12-year-old Chevaux Primavera Montana Imperio Egipcio (Calvaro F.C. x Paroli) arrived in Europe at the beginning of May. After a 40-day quarantine in Argentina, the two travelled to Montefalco, Italy, to prepare for their five-star debut – and won the CSI4* Grand Prix at the Italian venue a week prior to Rome. In Rome, at the prestigious Piazza di Siena, they jumped clear for the Brazilian team and placed third in the Rolex Grand Prix, and a week later in La Baule, were a part of the Brazilian team that won the Barrière Nations Cup. 

Ranked 278 on the Longines Ranking, the 34-year-old runs a huge operation in his native Brazil and tells World of Showjumping how proud he is to show the world that the sport there is at a level that allows him to compete at home, travel to Europe and perform on par with the best of the best. “It is our economy that is the challenge,” he tells. “The weakness of our currency is the only reason we don’t have shows with the higher star levels, but the level of the sport itself is good. The fact that a Brazilian rider with a Brazilian horse – like myself and Primavera – can come to Europe and do something good proves that we are on the right way.”

“It is the world ranking that makes it difficult: If I stay only in Brazil, it is impossible to be high on the Longines Ranking, and then coming to Europe and getting into the better shows is also impossible due to having a low ranking,” he points out. “This is the real issue for our sport in Brazil, even though we are growing. I was able to compete in Rome and La Baule only because of the Nations Cups – and that also shows once again how important these Nations Cups shows are.” 

In Brazil, De Freitas Barcha runs a huge business called Chevaux Team with about 150 horses spread out over two bases – one in the capital Brasilia and one in Sao Paolo. However, with the 2024 Olympic Games in mind, and as Team Brazil is still in need of qualification for Paris, he is now going to spend more time in Europe. “We are now aiming to get the Olympic qualification this fall; either at the Pan American Games in Chile or at the Nations Cups Final in Barcelona,” De Freitas Barcha explains. “Therefore, we will keep Primavera in Europe and my family is going to join me in July. Living in Brazil, it is a good life, but I have a lot of work, as we have many horses and more than 40 clients. I am really happy with the sport we have in Brazil. For sure we don’t have Grand Prix classes like Rome, but not all the Grand Prix classes in Europe are like that either. The sport in Brazil is at a good level, and I am really happy that a rider like me and a horse that we built under our system came straight to Europe and that the Brazilian sport gave us the opportunity to be ready to compete at the highest level here.”

To do as my mother told me, I came to Europe to work with Nelson Pessoa

De Freitas Barcha is no stranger to Europe though, as he first moved over in 2012 to work for Nelson Pessoa. “I worked for him for five years, and he is still an important mentor for me,” he tells. “I started to ride when I was six, and when I was eighteen, I told my mother that I wanted to be a professional, and she answered that then I should try to be one of the best, otherwise I would struggle. For me, trying to be a professional rider was an easy choice, because riding and being with horses was something I loved to do. However, to do as my mother told me, I came to Europe to work with Nelson Pessoa. He taught me all about the sport, the management, everything that goes on around the riding – but most of all, I learned from him to always respect horses.” 

After working with Pessoa for four years, De Freitas Barcha and Landpeter Do Feroleto (Landritter x Wangmix) were selected to be a part of the Brazilian team at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro – a huge moment for someone who had grown up and started to ride in Rio. “It is a dream for every athlete to go to the Olympics, and for me the atmosphere in Rio de Janeiro was magical; Rio is my city, it is where I grew up and started to ride. I rode at the local pony club for fifteen years before initially moving to Europe. My family was present at the Olympics, it was the most incredible experience in my life as an athlete. Being at the Olympics was a dream come true and I learned a lot as well with the Brazilian team.” 

Being at the Olympics was a dream come true

After the Olympics in Rio, De Freitas Barcha returned to Brazil and became partner of Chevaux. “I wanted to put the knowledge I had gathered to use and do something different with it. Now, our business is just growing, and I am really proud because we have a huge team that supports our system. I have a good partner in Dudu Barreto, who is the vet and the CEO of our company, he does all the administration. I know my parents are very proud of me.”

“In Brazil, we started something really different,” De Freitas Barcha tells about the Chevaux-system he has in place. “Paulo Macedo, who has worked for us for the past seven years, has won a silver medal in endurance at the Pan American Games and I got fascinated when we first started talking about their system. Compared to showjumping, it is a very different way of training the horses even though we both work with the same animal. Endurance horses work for longer periods at the time and do a lot more cardio than showjumpers traditionally do, and additionally they are a lot out in the paddock. When I came back to Brazil after the Rio Olympics, I wanted to try and mix these systems a little bit. I wanted to understand the endurance system better and see how we could improve ours, to make it better for our horses. Our horses are out a lot, they are not just standing in the stable for 23 hours of the day. They work on a treadmill, they go to a walker, we ride them out and go to a racetrack – we mix endurance and showjumping.” 

I wanted to understand the endurance system better and see how we could improve ours

“We don’t like to keep our horses inside, in their boxes, so our horses are more outside than inside,” he continues. “Regardless of the work they do, they go to the field every day. When we have a target, we do a long-time training plan, more or less how they do with endurance horses, which is really organized. We have a schedule for each horse, where they normally work more for 2-3 days, and then they rest to recover for 2-3 days. We combine flat work, jumping as well as physical training. Instead of doing flat work indoors, we prefer going out to the forest or to the racetrack; it is good for the horses, not only for their bodies but their minds as well. We love to have the horses free outside; horses have to be horses, they are not machines.” 

Coming to Europe in May, De Freitas Barcha joined the Brazilian team at the prestigious Piazza di Siena in the heart of Rome. “It was our first time in Rome and for us, this place is sacred, it is a temple in our sport and we were really happy to be able to compete there,” he tells. “We came straight from two-star shows in Brazil to Europe, and won a four-star Grand Prix in Montefalco just before, so I told Philippe Guerdat that we felt able and ready for a show like Rome – and the results proved this to be right. We jumped clear in the first round of the Nations Cup, but did not qualify for the second round as a team. The Grand Prix there was huge as well, and it was the first five-star Grand Prix I jumped with Primavera. She jumped unbelievable, like she always does. When you do a double clear in a place like Rome, the feeling is incredible; I felt like we were on the right track.”

The feeling of winning a five-star Nations Cup is the best – far better than winning a Grand Prix alone

And after Rome, there was La Baule – where the Brazilian team won after a thrilling jump-off against Sweden and Belgium. “La Baule is an amazing place, with top atmosphere, and the feeling with the crowd is incredible,” De Freitas Barcha tells about his experience at the traditional French venue. “For us it was a super day. We had a strong team and the way the horses jumped was unbelievable, and how Marlon did the jump-off was amazing. The feeling of winning a five-star Nations Cup is the best – far better than winning a Grand Prix alone. It was fantastic to have Nelson there, because I rode for him for a long time. However, this victory was really special for me, because we as a team did it for Philippe. We dedicated this win to him. He is a fighter, he is always with us, and this victory was for him.” 

“For me, Nations Cups are the best classes there are,” he continues. “You grow as a rider, and you can improve your horse. If you have one down in the first round, you can go again and try to be better. When I heard in Rome how the FEI wanted to change the Nations Cup format to just one round, I was upset; I am a traditional guy and I think the Nations Cups have to stay with two rounds. The feeling to jump a Nations Cup for your nation, with your team mates: It is the best feeling there is – and you improve as a rider, as a combination. It is also a great opportunity for a rider like me, not high in the ranking, to compete at a show like Rome or La Baule; being a part of a team is my only chance to do something like this.” 

De Freitas Barcha has ridden the now 12-year-old Chevaux Primavera Montana Imperio Egipcio – who did an incredible debut in Europe – since the feisty mare was six. “She has a really strong character,” De Freitas Barcha smiles when he speaks about his mare. “The feeling on her has always been the best. The first time I jumped her, I told a friend of mine that I think she can be one of the greatest horses – and now I think she is a horse of a lifetime for me. She is clever, really smart in front of the jumps, she wants to be clear, and she was always like this. Since she has such a strong character, she needs a lot of work to stay calm and rideable. When we enter the ring, she is like a race horse waiting for the start signal; she can get quite tense, but once we get to the first fence, she is easy to ride. I know her so well now that I have no issues with this, even though I understand it can look a bit wild. I let her be herself and just try to get to the first fence calmly; this is something I am not trying to change in her.” 

I think she is a horse of a lifetime for me

“She has top quality,” De Freitas Barcha continues to speak about Primavera. “She just arrived in Europe and has already won a four-star Grand Prix, was third in the Grand Prix in Rome and won the Nations Cup in La Baule. This is just the beginning with her, and these results are already a lot. She is amazing every day, but she is at her best in the ring. It is so nice when you can ride a horse from it is young. This way, you understand the horse much better. Primavera grew up with us and we have a good connection; I know her and she knows me, and for us, this is really important, because she is special. Having started with her when she was young and now doing the best shows in the world with her is a top feeling. We are proud of her and of the fact that she has grown up in our system.” 

We are proud of her and of the fact that she has grown up in our system

How Primavera was discovered in Brazil is also a testament to her character – she impressed her former owner by jumping out of a field while he was at the property, looking for something totally different than a wild three-year-old. “Her former owner was at the right place at the right time,” De Freitas Barcha laughs. “He did not know much about horses, and he was trying to find a horse for his son. And there was Primavera, jumping over the fencing in her field – and he said he wanted to buy her. His son came to Chevaux Team when Primavera was between five and six, and Primavera was completely wild. I started to ride her and she stayed only at home for over a year before I felt ready to compete with her. When she was seven, she came 2nd in the Brazilian Championship for that age group and when she was eight, she started to do international shows. She won the three first Grand Prix classes she jumped, and went on to win all the Grand Prix classes there are in Brazil and the senior championship twice – and now she has arrived to Europe.”

After his successful weeks in Montefalco, Rome and La Baule, De Freitas Barcha is now giving the horses some time off before gearing up towards the biggest goals of the season: The Pan American Games and the Nations Cup Final in Barcelona. “Those are our goals, but simply just being better and doing our best every day is what we live for,” he says. “I just want to keep moving. I always say that after one good day or one great win, the next day is just another day. When I woke up in Rome the day after the Grand Prix, I went out and ran 10k just to remind myself that I have to keep moving, keep working. A good result in a place like Rome or La Baule is amazing but I have to keep going – this is the mindset I have. A victory is a victory, but I am still the same person.”

“Being with horses is what I enjoy the most, and my dream is to one day compete in Aachen,” De Freitas Barcha concludes. “This sport gave me everything; my life, my wife… Working with horses is my passion and I am so thankful for everyone that supports me. Thanks to Imperio Egipcio, I can compete in Europe and have a horse like Primavera – without them all this would not be possible. I get to live this dream and I am curious to see what the future has for us and our project. I am doing as my mother told me; pushing to be one of the best.” 

11.7.2023 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.