Text © World of Showjumping

In our series ’That Special Bond’ some of the top names in the sport speak about the horses that have shaped their careers, left a lasting impression and sometimes even broken hearts. In the next part of our series, we speak with Belgium’s Olivier Philippaerts.

“The special one for me is H&M Legend of Love (Landzauber x Corgraf). H&M Legend of Love means so much to me; she has such a unique character, and she has done a lot for me. I think she is the best horse I have ever ridden.

When H&M Legend of Love came to me, she was very green and inexperienced. She definitely had her own way; she carried her head very high and always seemed grumpy – but I felt that there was so much potential in her. Her character is something so special. If you don’t know her, she seems grumpy, but once you get close to her, she has an amazing personality.

In the beginning, I really had to adjust myself to her. H&M Legend of Love was not a horse that could fit into the system I had, I had to change myself according to her. When she was younger, she was also very spooky. However, this has also been a sign of her quality as she is so careful. A touch of spookiness is something you need in a very good horse, so when she lost the excess of it, she was perfect. Once I found the key to understand her, she became incredible and she has won a lot of prize money.

At the moment, H&M Legend of Love is doing great: She is going to Oliva Nova and then we will start to get ready for some Global Champions Tour events. She turned fifteen now, and I hope to keep her fit and happy as long as possible and will make a show plan that suits her.”

“H&M Legend of Love has won a lot for me, but I also had a horse called H&M Carlito C (Kannan x unknown) that was very competitive in the 1.45-1.50m speed classes and won the derby in Aachen and Calgary in one year. He for sure was a super horse for me too.”

“This must have been Carisma (Cardento x Maraton). I won the European Championships for juniors with her in Jardy in 2010. Then we sold her to Emile Martinsen, who later sold her on to Dani G. Waldman.

I remember when we went to try Carisma in Sweden at Jens Fredricson’s place, I think I must have been 16 years old. My dad had been asking Jens for a long time for this horse and finally he gave my dad a call. Two days later, we were on the plane and on our way to try her. She ended up being one of the best horses I ever had. I think there was something really special about her – she was a fantastic horse with so much capability. Carisma was a horse with a lot of blood but once I found my way with her, she was a fantastic horse for me.

With her, I got the opportunity to jump the five-star show in Mechelen where she was second in the qualification for the World Cup class. When we sold her, she was 11 years old and later she ended up jumping at five-star level with Dani – as well as at the World Equestrian Games in Caen in 2014 and the European Championships in Aachen in 2015. At the time I had her, she was the best horse in the world for me.” 

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