“He’s not normal, he’s very complicated and very, very hot, but he’s so brave and very talented. I’m really happy for him, he was super today!” she said.
Pateet, who is based in the heart of Belgium’s horse-country between Brussels and Antwerp, won gold in 2013 and bronze this year at the prestigious FEI WBFSH Championships for Young Horses in Lanaken, Belgium. “I used to ride them from four-year-olds but now I start riding them at six, and I want to continue doing that because you become more of a team with your horse when you ride them from when they are young”, she said today.
She only acquired Pebbles as an eight-year-old however, and he was never easy. He still isn’t. She has an unusual warm-up routine before going into the ring.
“First he goes on the lunge, and then I get on him with 10 horses to go because if I warm him up any other way he just loses it! I know how to handle him now, but I have to follow my plan carefully. He’s one of the fastest horses in world so if the plan goes well he can beat anybody!” she said.