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“I'm very focused on learning,” 18-year-old Ewen China tells World of Showjumping. For the spring season, Ewen is going to join Rodrigo Pessoa’s stables in Wellington, Florida, to learn from one of the best in the sport. “I've been lucky; I was in Sweden for four months, training with Peder Fredricson. Now, Rodrigo was looking for a young rider to help him with his horses and he has time to help me in my training – so thankfully, I got another opportunity.”

“My family is not involved in the equestrian world,” the French tells about his background. “I started riding at a local riding school and slowly got better. At the moment, I have three horses at home. My oldest horse, the 15-year-old gelding Bacchus d’Ecames (Rock’N Roll Semilly x L’Arc de Triomphe Bois Margot) has been my teacher. With him, I won team gold and individual bronze at the European Championships for juniors in 2024. I also have two young horses that are going to be eight this year. My horses are going to stay home while I’m at Rodrigo’s because it's a bit too expensive for me to bring them to America.”

“I always want to learn,” Ewen tells about his motivation behind seeking opportunities with some of the greats in the sport. “I believe being surrounded by good people with extensive experience is very important. During my time in Sweden, I saw the management at Peder’s stable and it was very interesting. I learned a lot there – and now I have another opportunity with Rodrigo, and I believe I'm going to discover something new. It’s about learning from everybody and building a solid base for myself.”

“I haven’t had the opportunity to jump big classes yet or do big shows,” Ewen points out. “I've competed in the junior classes and it was important for me to do well at this level. I saw doing well at junior level as kind of ticket to getting into a professional stable and learning from those more experienced than me – both horses and people. I believe my two young horses have potential and eventually, I hope I will have access to higher level shows so I can improve. However, for now, I focus fully on training and improving myself.”

12.1.2026 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.