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Earlier this month, the final WBFSH rankings for 2025 were published with Susana Epaillard Garcia Cereceda being announced as this year’s WBFSH Jumping Breeder after her Selle Français gelding Donatello d’Auge (Jarnac x Hello Pierville) topped the list for six consecutive months. Susana's achievement will be celebrated at the beginning of 2026 during the Longines WBFSH Breeder Awards.

“Breeding is a passion for me, and Donatello’s success gives me a great challenge for the future,” Susana tells World of Showjumping. “I'm very proud of him, and my challenge will now be to see if we can breed another horse just as good – or even almost as good – as he is. I have a feeling that I still have a lot of work ahead of me!”

With Susana’s husband Julien Epaillard in the saddle, Donatello d’Auge won the CSI5*-W 1.60m Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ of Basel in January. At the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Final 2025 in the beginning of April, Julien and Donatello d’Auge were unbeatable from start to finish, taking their biggest title yet. In May, the two topped the CSI4* 1.55m Grand Prix Région Normandie in Canteleu, and in June, they placed third in the CSI5* LGCT Grand Prix of St Tropez.

For Susana, this is the second time she receives the prestigious WBFSH Jumping Breeder award, as Donatello d’Auge also topped the final ranking in 2023. “It means a lot to us, and it is another year that we didn't expect this,” Susana tells. “We didn't expect an award the first time, so to now receive it again is special. I believe it proves that Donatello is still there, that he is solid.”  

“This year, we focused on the World Cup Final,” Susana explains about their successful 2025. “When it was finished and Donatello had won, that for me meant I could not ask anything else from him this year. The year was not finished for us already in April, but from the point of view of results, it wasn't in our program to push him to do anything else. We just wanted to keep him in shape, keep him jumping, and go after how he felt. My idea was to leave him in the paddock, with his girls, and take him to do some shows every now and then to keep him in shape.”

“We thought that Donatello was at the right point of his career to do well at the World Cup Final, which was why we chose to focus on that; his age was right, he had the experience – and it wasn't going to be long trip for him to go to Basel,” Susana continues. “Sometimes, I think we don't realize how tiring traveling long distances and getting on planes can be for our horses. Some deal with it better than others, but I remember when we were in Omaha for the World Cup Final in 2023, Donatello seemed tired from the travel. Maybe today he is more mature, and perhaps the trip would have been nothing for him now. However, with Basel, we had a feeling that everything was right, and Donatello gave everything to his rider. He had all the confidence in Julien, and Julien had all the confidence in him.”

While Susana is awarded as the breeder of Donatello, she believes the success belongs to all those involved along the way. “The team we have at Haras de la Bosquetterie, from the very first person that took care of Donatello as a foal when he was born, to Caroline Belouet who cared for him at the World Cup Final – everybody counts, everyone is important,” she points out.

As a breeder, Susana's wish is that the horses' origins would be shown more respect by keeping their birth names. “Sometimes when horses are sold, their names are changed. It is one thing to add the name of a sponsor, that is normal. However, to completely change the name, that is not nice, and it has happened to me,” she tells. “I bred Tecla d’Auge (Diamant de Semilly x Papillon Rouge), and her name was later changed to Asathir. She went on to do great things with Philipp Weishaupt, and I think it was a shame that her name was no longer connected to us. Not everybody might like the name that you give, but changing it is not very nice for the breeders.”

Susana has also contributed to Selle Français being the best Jumping Studbook for a third year in a row. With 9046 points, Selle Françaiss topped the rankings ahead of the Holsteiner Verband in second with 7960 points and KWPN in third with 7889 points. Donatello d'Auge, Gregory Wathelet’s Bond Jamesbond de Hay (Diamant de Semilly x Kannan, bred by Jean-Luc L'Helgouarch) and Jeanne Sadran’s Dexter de Kerglenn (Mylord Carthago TN x Diamant de Semilly, bred by E.A.R.L. Alain Richard) were the three best horses for Selle Français.

14.10.2025 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.