Show Jumping Team Fuchs Secures New Ride for Simone Pearce

Dressage

Switzerland

Team Fuchs, the horse investment group behind former European show jumping champion Martin Fuchs and Israeli sponsor Ilan Ferder, has invested in its first dressage horse to support Australian Olympian Simone Pearce.

The team has purchased Kenzo in Belgium as first "dressage" investment.

Team Fuchs

Since 2023 Martin Fuchs and Simone Pearce have been a couple and the two have now decided to work more closely together professionally. In a social media statement they announced:

"We are very excited to announce the acquistion of our first dressage horse," said Martin Fuchs. "We are very lucky to have Simone Pearce, one of the best dressage riders in the world, who can bring out the full potential of horses. Whilst the goal is to have the same quality of sport and sales horses as we do in jumping, our aim is to also support Simone in moving into the Top 10 and achieve Championship podiums."

Ilan Ferder, who is based in Wellington, FL, where he competes and deals horses with Tal Milstein, stated, “Simone is incredibly talented and has proven many times that she is one of the best riders. I’m enthusiastic about this project and believe it can open new doors for everyone involved."

Kenzo

The jumper duo has bought the 9-year old Dutch warmblood gelding Kenzo for Simone to ride.

Pearce and Fuchs at the 2024 CDI-W Basel
(Photo ©Stefan Lafrentz)

"It’s such a very unique and exciting morphing of two worlds," Pearce posted. To Eurodressage she added, "there are a few more to come. I’m riding him now in Switzerland. Our stables are very close together. When the one In Baden-Württemberg is ready he will move there."

The Australian Simone Pearce came to Europe a decade ago, first working for Johan Rockx in Belgium before moving to Stable Perlee in The Netherlands. From 2015 till 2018 she rode for Helgstrand Dressage in Denmark, but at the end of 2018 began riding for Gestüt Sprehe in Germany. In May 2022 she moved to Gestut Bonhomme near Berlin and rode their for a year before moving to Thomas Ritzinger in Bavaria. She left Ritzinger in January 2024 to go independent at Gestüt Hirtenhof in Aach, Baden-Wurttemberg.

Kenzo is by Johnson out of Rozita (by Gribaldi x Variant). He is out of the same dam that produced the Under 25 horse Winner (by San Remo) competed by Dutch Lotte van den Herik. Kenzo is bred by Philip Brison and has been competed by former Belgian youth team rider Saidja Brison up to Intermediaire I. In 2023 the pair finished fourth overall at the Belgian Championships at fourth level.