{"id":90488,"date":"2022-07-11T09:52:18","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T07:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/antares-sellier.com\/?p=90488"},"modified":"2022-07-12T09:00:59","modified_gmt":"2022-07-12T07:00:59","slug":"baloubet-du-rouet-an-unconventional-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antares-sellier.com\/en\/2022\/07\/11\/baloubet-du-rouet-an-unconventional-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Baloubet du Rouet: an unconventional star"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Few people had high hopes for him… He didn’t have the right look<\/em>“. Baloubet du Rouet<\/strong> was 3 years old in 1992 and hadn’t (yet) swept people off their feet. As Yannick Fardin, grandson of Louis Fardin (who bred Baloubet) explains, the lofty colt with his head held high, didn’t have the chance to shine in stallion events. Yet, just a few years later, he was to become one of the most prominent Selle Fran\u00e7ais horses in the history of show jumping and more generally, equestrian sport. He was the only horse to have won the World Cup Finals 3-times <\/strong>running, ridden by Rodrigo Pessoa<\/strong>. So, let’s have a look back at the story of this sturdy, tenacious chestnut coated legend.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u00a9Fr\u00e9d\u00e9ric Ch\u00e9hu <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Baloubet du Rouet’s beginnings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Baloubet du Rouet was born in 1989 at the Louis Fardin <\/strong>stables in Juilley (Manche). His sire was “Galoubet A<\/strong>” and his dam, “M\u00e9sange du Rouet<\/strong>“, both Selle Fran\u00e7ais breeding stock. With that pedigree he was on a good many people’s radars and Baloubet was sold to Doctor Blanchard, who entrusted him to Remy Bourdais.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrasting fortunes early on<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The young stallion’s physique wasn’t to everyone’s liking and that was putting it mildly. His high head position and ‘pigeon-throated’ neck meant that he couldn’t compete in 3-year-old stallion show-jumping events (riding competitions back then were held the day after entering hand-class events, if they qualified). As a result, he was let go due to his anatomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This didn’t stop the Coutinho family having a real crush on Baloubet and they duly bought him on the cusp of his 4th birthday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Baloubet’s rider, R\u00e9my Bourdais, explains, the Coutinho family made a decent offer on his 4th birthday and we couldn’t afford to reject it. I’m grateful that the family (Ed. Portuguese) left me alone to work with him when he was 4 and then when he turned 5. At 4 years old, he was gangly and uncoordinated, nowhere near the finished article. People were laughing behind my back but I ignored them. When he was 5, he had progressed so well that there were always three people asking me to take him out on the track. Yet, you’d have had to be a genius to guess what would happen next. <\/em>When he was 6, I booked SHF events for his new rider, Nelson Pessoa, who wasn’t very familiar with the system in France<\/em>“.
Source: l\u2019Eperon https:\/\/www.leperon.fr\/Sport\/Saut-d-obstacles\/Mort-de-Baloubet-du-Rouet-disparition-d-une-icone-.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While calm and peaceful out of the arena, Baloubet du Rouet had a very forceful personality which made him quite tricky to mount. That said, he had his own blend of strength and drive that earned him unparalleled success.<\/p>\n\n\n\n