By Team Joyce

Team Joyce had the pleasure of meeting and greeting the International Showjumping Course Designer for this year’s Australian Showjumping Championships Mr Leopoldo Palacios Jugo. Team Joyce’s opinion on the courses designed in the Werribee Jeep Arena were easy flowing inventive and challenging , this put an extra emphasis on riders having to ride more forward . In some cases asking the riders to adjust the canter in related lines to see if they can actually alter their horses striding. As a true horseman, he is involved in many aspects of the sport, like course designing, jump designing and his new passion: The art of the jump, sculptures of his signature obstacles.

Mr Leopoldo Palacios Jugo 

Leopoldo lives in Venezuela but is not home very often because he is constantly booked around the world to course build at many showjumping competitions. Since May he has flown on the KLM / American Airlines and has generated millions of frequent flyer points!! He visits Australia every year attending the December Sydney Summer Showjumping Classic CSI-W organised by Mr John & Jane Vallance. Did you know he actually built the showjumping courses at the 2000 Sydney and 2008 Beijing Olympic Games he became the second person in history to have had the distinction of designing the course at two Olympic Games. Leopoldo was a rider himself back in the day and won many accolades.

Which is all highlighted in our Barastoc Chat-ski. 

I was so nervous before and during this interview, it was playing on my mind to try and get all the questions out the right way. Because of Leopoldo’s very friendly easy going nature the conversation just seemed to flow nicely. It was an honour to chat with such an admirable young gentleman. I wish to thank Mr John Vallance for introducing me to create the interview.

Read many more Team Joyce blogs: http://lalshaven.com.au/