Interview with Emilie Conter at CSI* A Coruña

Emilie Conter is undoubtedly one of the most promising riders in Belgium, at 24 years of age, she is ranked 181st in the FEI ranking and we see her getting closer and closer to join the national team. We took advantage of her visit to Casas Novas on the occasion of the CSI4* to talk to her about her feelings in the last championships and her future prospects.

Emilie Conter, you come to compete for the first time to Casas Novas, you are the daughter of Stefan Conter, founder and owner of Stephex. Tell us a little about your feelings jumping here for the first time.

I am very happy to be here, I am very impressed with this competition, everyone spoke wonders about it and being my first time competing in A Coruña, I can only affirm what they say, it is a beautiful place with a very nice atmosphere. Everything is perfect for the horses and for the riders, so I am very grateful to be here.

Last month you competed at the CSIO3* in Prague and Drammen, are you getting ready to jump into the Belgian first team?

They are very nice competitions, they give you a chance to step up. My horse "Porobella van de Fruitkforf" jumped very well in both, so I hope to have more chances with the results we had the last weeks.

Do you like the CSIO3* system of the European Federation?

Yes, exactly as I said, it gives you the opportunity to prove yourself and have more opportunities afterwards which is great and perfect for everyone.

With "Portobella van de Fruitkorf" you were second in the Grand Prix of the CSIO3* Drammen and with "Trixie Z" you keep a good regularity. Tell us a bit more about them.

Both horses are very different from each other, they are complete opposites. "Trixie" is great, she has a good head, you can always count on her, as you said she is very regular. She is a little bit slower than "Portobella van de Fruitkorf", "Portobella" is a very hot and gassy chestnut mare, they both have a big heart and I love them.

Which one of them would you bet big on for the future?

That's a really tough question, I think both will have a very bright future, "Portobella" is a year younger than "Trixie" so she still has a long way to go, but I think they both have an amazing future ahead of them.

And what can you tell us about Helena Stormanns as a coach?

I started training with her two years ago. She is a very good trainer, she gives you confidence and encourages you all the time, she is very positive, so you always enter the arena with a very good attitude, which is very nice and helps me a lot. She helped me a lot to improve my riding, so I'm very grateful to train with her.

What are your plans for the second half of the season and will we see you again in Spain?

I hope so, but at the moment my plans are a bit quieter. I hope to run my competition at the end of August in Brussels, and before that I'm trying to do other competitions like in Samorin, for example, so yes, just going here and there. Although I would like to come back, maybe I will come back next year or in the winter edition.

You have competed in 5 European Junior Championships, winning medals individually and for the Belgian team. Next year is here, in Casas Novas, the senior European, could it be your first Absolute European Championship? Are you working to achieve it?

We are working hard, it would be a dream for me, of course, I do not know if it will be possible, but we keep working step by step and I hope that someday we can get it, it is a dream, it is clear.

You had a fantastic ride yesterday at the GP, what are your feelings for this afternoon's tests?

I jumped "Trixie" yesterday in the 1.50m test and the day before as well, she was really good in both. Today I will be riding my 9 year old mare in the Grand Prix, it will be her first GP4* which is very exciting and at the same time a bit stressful, I hope she does well, she is a great mare so I have quite high hopes for this afternoon and hopefully I can ride her correctly and hopefully we will do really well.