Past, Present, Future: GLOCK’S London

Glock’s London & Gerco Schroder, Rio 2016.

Behind every top international horse and rider combination competing today, there is an interesting origin story accompanying their career. But few can boast the trials, tribulations and triumphs, that have marked the partnership of The Netherlands’ Gerco Schroder and GLOCK’s London N.O.P.

Schroder has been with the stunning 14-year-old Belgian bred, chestnut stallion (Nabab de Reve x Chin Chin) since he was a young horse. In 2012, they represented The Netherlands at the London Olympics and came away with a pair of silver medals. A dominant force for the Dutch team, they also won gold at the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games and 2014 Furusiyya FEI Nations Cup Final. This year, after a break in 2015 for London to recover from injury, they served as traveling alternate at the Rio Olympic Games.

The pair has also survived great times of uncertainty. In March of 2014, the famous show jumping stable and London’s former owners, Eurocommerce filed for bankruptcy. All horses under their ownership were sold in an online auction, including London, and Schroder feared he would never ride the horse again. Hope for the pair was renewed when the Glock family purchased the then 12-year-old stallion, renamed him GLOCK’S London, and extended Schroder the opportunity to continue to compete for the Netherlands on his longtime mount.

Here’s a look into the past, present and future of GLOCK’S London, the mount Schroeder says is “the horse of his life.”

Past

• Me and my brother Wim saw London at the Dutch stallion competition as a 5-year-old [he was originally born under the name of Carembar de Muze in Belgium in 2002.]
• London felt special straight from the beginning. From the first few jumps we knew he was something special. Even when he was pretty wild in the beginning, he was always super careful and focused on the fences.
• The most memorable moment of the 2012 London Olympics was the jump-off for Individual Silver or Bronze. At that point I was already sure that I had won an individual medal and it was right after winning Team Silver for the Netherlands.

Present

• At home, London is always quiet and brave. He saves his energy for the shows and he really knows he’s good and special for us.
• He’s a fighter in the show ring and he definitely knows when it’s important.
• London’s ability to always try to give more in difficult situations is a quality that I think sets him apart from other top international show horses.

Future

• For the rest of the 2016 season, we will jump some World Cup classes, starting in Lyon, France.
• We first will see how the end of 2016 is going and then make further plans for 2017. If everything looks good, then we maybe will work towards the European Championships in Gothenburg.
• London is a fantastic horse to work with so I hope that I can still ride him for many more years.