In between learning to ride at the Bromont Equestrian Centre in Bromont, QC, and his most recent Olympic appearance at the Tokyo 2020 Games in Japan, Mario Deslauriers has ridden his fair share of horses at the top level of equestrian sport.
The Saint-Jean, QC, native’s remarkable career has showcased 10 horses at seven major games (World Equestrian Games, Pan American Games and Olympic Games) and a stunning 13 FEI World Cup Finals over the past three decades.
Mario Deslauriers of Saint-Jean, QC – pictured with Box Car Willie at the Seoul 1988 Olympic Games – has seen the evolution of elite jumping horses first-hand during his 30-year major games career.
Photo Credit: Canadian Press Images
Read on to hear from Mario how he’s seen horses evolve and how his current mount, Bardolina 2 (Clarimo x Landos), a 12-year-old Holsteiner mare he co-owns with Wishing Well Farm LLC, fits the bill for contemporary show jumping.
The sport [of show jumping] has grown over the past 30 years. In ‘84, I had a big Hanoverian that was very scopey and the type of jumping we did was massive, with deeper cups and the jumps were more solid so you needed a little more bravery from your horse and more scope.
Mario and Aramis at the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics.
Photo Credit: The Canadian Press
Since then, the sport has gotten more delicate: maybe spookier fences; lighter cups; lighter rails; more sophisticated course designing; tighter time allowed. It’s come a very long way.
We’re always looking for that perfect horse that will help do our job better. The breeding now is really sophisticated. Certain breeds match well with a certain stallion or certain mares so we’re getting a horse that’s built to jump much more than it was 30 years ago. With where we are with the evolution of the sport, it’s really amazing.
Horses now are bred to have much more blood and they’re lighter. I think we also see horses with a lot more blood now because some of these Games come to places where it’s very hot so you need more energy in horses today.
Mario’s current mount, Bardolina 2, is much lighter and hot-blooded than his previous major games horses.
Photo Credit: MacMillan Photography & Media Services
Bardolina is a German-bred mare. She’s bred from a mare that looked very Thoroughbred-y and her father is Clarimo, a Holsteiner stallion that really gives to the horse’s scope and carefulness; they’re good jumping horses. There are several breeds that you can mix but Bardolina has been a very good horse for me.
Mario and Bardolina 2 placed 22nd overall at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Photo Credit: MacMillan Photography & Services