Nicola Philippaerts took off to Miami today. He’ll continue his road to Wellington straight away, where he’ll stay for the next three months. His purpose is not only to prepare as good as possible for e new season while riding several shows, but he’ll also use his time there to catch up with clients across the ocean in a coronaproof way.
Just like last year, our social, professional and sportive lives are still fully controlled by the coronavirus at the beginning of 2021. Likewise for the family Philippaerts that traditionally choses for a kick off of the year in Oliva. And so they do this year, except for Nicola Philippaerts. He crosses the ocean to the Unites States. “I chose to start the year in another way. I want to prepare with H&M Chilli Willi and Katanga amongst others. Besides them, some other horses left to Wellington as well on January 4th. I’m in for the Winter Equestrian Festival, a serie of three to five star shows. Perfect to prepare for the season.”, says Nicola Philippaerts.
As already mentioned above, there’s an additional reason for Nicola’s visit to the States. “In Europe, most people know that we combine our sport career with trading horses in a respectful manner. And the past few years, our sport grew worldwide, making a prominent reputation all over the world crucial.”, explains Nicola Philippaerts. “The Longines Global Champions Tour played a major role in the globalization of our sport. We had quite some success already in America, giving our commercial business oversea a firm foothold.”
The most important sportive ambition for 2021 is the Longines Global Champions Tour that starts in March in Doha. “This first show comes a little too early as I will still be in Wellington at that time. Anyway, I’m looking forward to joining this amazing competition. Olivier and I are part of the London Knights again this year.”, concludes Nicola Philippaerts.