Jérôme Guéry and son Mathieu Guéry are currently together in Paris, at Saut Hermès. Unlike previous years, Mathieu is now also participating as a rider. "It's wonderful to be able to share a sport like this with my son", Jérôme sais.
"It's my first time as a showjumper at this event. I'm used to coming as a spectator, so I'm extra happy to be here! It's truly amazing to be able to participate. I'm also fortunate to wear the colors of Hermès. I'm hyper excited to join, and I hope the week goes well."
"I've brought Tender Dream Hero Z, my main horse, with whom I competed in the European Championships. With him, I also became the junior champion of Belgium. He's the horse I've had the longest, the one I'm most familiar with, and I think he's ready. We'll see."
Proud father Jérôme smiles, "I'm naturally very proud to see him riding at this level, to see him achieving results. It's truly wonderful to share the same passion for horses. The question of whether Mathieu will pursue professional riding is still up in the air. This is a transitional year, and I'm proud of where he already stands. I hope there will be more victories and beautiful moments that we can share together!"
Living and working with horses isn't an easy life. Jérôme emphasizes that Mathieu must decide for himself what he wants to do. "Living with horses is demanding. Every day, 24/7, you have to be there, so it really has to come from him. It's not something we push. Sometimes I try to hold him back a bit, so he can really prove to me that he wants to do this. For now, he hasn't made a decision, but I think this transitional year will help him with that."
To gain further experience, Guéry junior plans to go elsewhere. "First, I need to get my driver's license, which I'm procrastinating a bit (laughs). Personally, I would like to go abroad to improve my riding and see a different way of working. And then I also get the chance to pick up an extra language."
According to Jérôme, working together as a family isn't hard work. "There are occasional tensions, of course, but they're rarely about the horses. It's more about home organization and planning with working with the horses, which isn't always easy. But ultimately, it's going fairly well, and we all manage together!"
Source: Grandprix.info