- Meeting with Antonin and Yanis, two riders of the Balanda Equestrian Academy :
YG: Hi, my name is Yanis Gregoriadès, I am 19 old and I ride in the Balanda Equestrian Academy at Gilles Bertrand de Balanda’stable.
AL : My name is Antonin Lounis, I am 20 old, I ride since 6 years and we started horse riding together with Yanis at Laurent Captus’stable. Since september 2016, I rode in the Balanda Equestrian Academy and in september 2017 I started to work as professional rider in this place.
- Why did you choose the Balanda Equestrian Academy ?
YG : First of all, because Gilles is the manager; he is a good trainer and has a good reputation and above all a huge experience. I wanted to be in his stable to improve my skills, be more rigorous and jump higher. I am looking for daily advices.
AL : I work for Gilles since last september, I decided to join the B.E.A to meet Gilles, it was a dream to work with him. I want to become a professioNal rider. The team is really irreprochable with Gilles, Igor or Gilles’wife who help us every day and organizing for jumping shows. I like the rigor that Gilles teaches us every day. He is 100% invested. Gilles was a great rider before being a great trainer, he knows what he is talking about. We are very lucky to have him as a trainer.
- What do you feel being here in Equita Lyon?
AL : We are very happy and lucky to be there, we are close to the top riders, we can observe them in the paddock, relaxing or preparing themself. So thank you Sylvie Robert to let us live this amazing experience. It’s very motivating and empowering. We are very lucky to be there !
YG : It’s an honor to participate to this show, this competition is known all over the world, we don’t compete in show jumping like this every week end. We were lucky to be selected to this Under25 class. We can have a look on the top riders all day long, everything here is high level. It’s a dream come true, an important weekend of our season.
- An advice for the other riders ?
AL : You have to work hard if you want to succeed, work hard and don’t discourage yourself. In any sport career, you have up and down moments; for the riders, it’s a little bit different because you are dependent on your horse, you have to be patient and at the end, you succeed. Even if you do not have so much money, as I am, in my case I bought my horse when he was 5, we started to jump 0.95 cm and today we are able to jump 1.50, this showing that you can improve when working hard everyday
YG : first of all, a hard, diligent and thoughtful work . This sport demands organization and reflection. You have to know how to manage your horses, your shows, your stable … and the most important thing is you have to want it When you want it, you are able to organize and work and finally you are selected in shows like Equita Lyon. It’s a reward for all the work we’ve done for years and it’s only the beginNing. We hope to compete regularly in shows like this one if our horses are well and if we improve ourselves as we hope!
