Introducing Maryland 5 Star’s Newest Cross-County Designer: Pierre Le Goupil
FEI/Benjamin Clark by Katherine O. Rizzo
On July 18, Frenchman Pierre Le Goupil was making his way across the grounds of the Palace of Versailles where the equestrian events of the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics would take place. Le Goupil had spent most of the day placing jumps in what would be the water complexes of the cross-country course of the Event- ing competition. Nearing 10 p.m. in Versailles, the sun had long set on yet another intense day of preparation as Le Goupil, who will be taking over designing the MARS Maryland 5 Star cross-country course in 2025, happily shared his story of how he went from a horse crazy kid to fi ve-star event rider and now, international course designer at the uppermost levels of the sport.
A Family Aff air Le Goupil, now 61, was born into a
family with deep equestrian roots. His father, Andre Le Goupil, represented France at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico as part of the eventing team. His mother was his groom. In addition to riding internationally, the Le Goupil family also bred top sport horses. “I learned to ride on some of these horses before I got my fi rst pony,” Le Goupil explained. “It was more riding around the farm at fi rst, not actu- ally competing. Just playing around at home.” Le Goupil spent his junior rider years com- peting in show jumping and eventing as well as farming with his parents and brothers. He spent a lot of time training young horses for his family and, around age 13, Le Goupil was tal- ent spotted by a member of the British Event- ing Team and spent some time in England learning the fi ner art of eventing. At one point, Le Goupil ended up riding for
eventing legend and fellow Frenchman Jack Le Goff who had earned Eventing Team Bronze at the 1960 Olympic Games in Rome. “Jack asked what I really wanted to do with my life,
www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580
and I told him I wanted to see the world,” Le Goupil said. T at led Le Goupil to pursue rid- ing wherever he could, including in Germany working for the Army and then in the U.S. where he trained in Middleburg, Virginia. “I
T e Course Designer T rough Le Grand Complet, Le Goupil got a
Pierre Le Goupil riding Mariachi at Badminton in 1992.
ended up back in France with new skills and even more passion than before,” he added. As a rider, Le Goupil competed through the
top levels of the sport. He nearly represented the French Eventing Team for the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 but his top horse pulled up lame a few weeks before the competition. Behind the scenes, Le Goupil and his family founded the Le Grand Complet in 1995 at their family farm in Norman- dy. T e event became one of the most important horse tri- als in France and Europe. “We started with national classes at fi rst and in 1999 held our fi rst international competition,” Le Goupil explained. T e event moved to Haras National du Pin in 2010. “It had gotten too big for our family farm.”
crash course in the business side of eventing as well as course design. “I was a self-taught course designer for many years before going through all the FEI training for licensed offi - cials,” he explained. Over the years he designed courses in Brazil, Bulgaria, Belarus, China, Hungary, India, Japan, and Russia, and at the Pan American Games in Chile, before being named course designer for the Paris Olympics in his home country this past summer. “I wish my dad, who passed last year, was here to see this,” Le Goupil said. “I would give him updates [on the Olympic course] before he passed, and his eyes would just sparkle.” Le Goupil also was the course designer for the 2023 FEI European Championships in Haras du Pin, France, and credits his family for much of his success. “My wonderful wife and two wonderful
girls are behind me 200%!” Le Goupil credits his years of competing at the upper levels with his success as a course de- signer. “It absolutely helps to be an experienced
continued...
Pierre Le Goupil on the cross-country course he designed for the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile.
THE EQUIERY YOUR MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION | OCTOBER 2024 | 23
photo provided by rider
Shannon Brinkman/USEF
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60
