At Home with Simone Pearce

This article is from the August 2020 Horse Deals magazine.

The dream of riding internationally is perceived as somewhat unobtainable for many. There’s one hard-working Aussie, 29-year-old Simone Pearce, who demonstrates that all you need is drive, focus, and to be willing to do the time. Simone has put in the hard yards over the past ten years; starting out as a working student, then riding young horses and sales horses, to finally be reaping the rewards of a secure Grand Prix horse to ride in Germany. I caught Simone as she was just about to start her 7am to 6pm day of riding horses.

How are you feeling on your return to Germany after Mariakalnok CDI in Hungary? It was absolutely amazing, I had three there and it was a hectic week. I think everyone was breathing a sigh of relief to be back at competitions. Now it’s getting really crazy though, there are shows every weekend — it’s bigger than it ever was before COVID at the moment.

When we spoke to you in 2015, you had just really found your feet overseas. How have things changed five years on? Five years is a long time, a lot has changed. Back then I was definitely finding my niche and my way through Europe, and now I feel like I’m at a good place. I’ve reached a point in my career where I’m quite comfortable and things are a little more stable than they were in the beginning.

I’m currently riding for Gestüt Sprehe and we are in Cloppenburg, which is close to Osnabrück, in Northern Germany and I am the stallion rider. I ride ten of their stallions and I also can take in horses for training from outside. It’s pretty non-stop with the boys! At the moment I have an extra three on my list so I ride ten a day. Every day, I start at seven and usually ride until about six and I don’t take a break. If I take a break I get too relaxed and tired. I lose my full focus and power.

What have you learnt in the past five years? I’ve had a lot of experiences in that time. I started out at Gestüt Sprehe when I first came to Germany, so it’s been a bit of a circle. When I started out I was just riding young horses and sales horses and now I’m back here as the main stallion rider, which in such a short time is quite amazing.

There were three stages that really defined my riding. When I first left Gestüt Sprehe I went to Platinum, which is a stable in Holland. There I had the opportunity to grow as an independent rider because I was the main rider. I got the chance to see if I could make it on my own. It gave me the confidence to believe in myself and know that I could train the horses and make it to a good level on my own. That’s also where I met Andreas (Helgstrand) and I went to Helgstrand after that.

Helgstrand was an amazing experience to learn how to really present the young and older horses. I learnt to ride really good Grand Prix there and I learnt how to train the horses more efficiently. Helgstrand was a once in a lifetime experience in terms of learning, and leaving was quite controversial. A lot of people were saying why are you leaving? It’s such a good situation. But for me, it was a time where I had enough of sales riding and I wanted to focus more on the sport. Gestüt Sprehe proposed to me that they wanted a rider for their stallions who were not for sale because they are for breeding, of course. It was a really big opportunity to go somewhere that I would be able to ride the horses for a long time.

I took that opportunity and I was a little nervous, of course, not to have Helgstrand behind me as he’s a big force on the competition scene in Europe. To have him behind you, you always feel a bit safer at the competitions; that people are going to respect you and that you’re going to get the points. It can be a little hard as an Australian to ensure that the Europeans are standing up and giving you the points you deserve. This last year has been really amazing and I’m really happy that I did leave and come to Gestüt Sprehe, it’s been even better than I thought it would be.

Is there a prejudice against non-Europeans in the dressage over there? Yeah for sure. It’s a bit like when you see a stylist and you see they are German and you think oh this will be the best. The judges are still giving points when it’s good, but unless you are really good there are no easy points given away, especially to anyone from outside of central Europe. I mean, Australia is still a developing country in the dressage world, so of course we don’t enter the arena with the direct respect like the Germans have after hundreds of years of being at the top.

In my experience, it takes the judges and spectators a while to get comfortable with any unknown rider, and you need to show a few good, safe, solid rounds before you enter the arena and everyone’s like, this will be good. It is an objective sport, but it’s better if you come into the arena with people thinking it’s going to be a good test rather than wonder how this is going to go.

You’ve got some very similar types in the horses you ride. Are they related lines or all different?
Everyone says I can’t tell your horses apart, they are all big and black and beautiful! They are all pretty different, though there are a few fathers and sons; for example Millenium, and sons Montevideo and Marc Cain. I like riding the father and sons, especially Millenium. He is quite special to me and his sons are very similar to him. I have a good chemistry with this style of horse, they all go in a similar way or have a similar frame. I think it’s really cool.

Of your current rides, who is showing the most potential? That’s a hard one — it’s like picking which kid I like the best. Destano is doing amazing, I got him just six months ago and he’s really developing so well, better than I have ever expected. I am going to, for sure, aim for Tokyo with him and see how we go.

I have one other young Grand Prix horse, Amandori, who will make his first international Grand Prix with Destano at the next International show, but he is only nine, so just a baby. I have a lot of other ones coming up through the ranks, doing Small Tour going towards Grand Prix, and then I have a few babies, like four, five, six-year-olds. But yes, for the moment Destano is our pride and joy.

How did it feel to place alongside Isabel Werth with Destano? It was amazing, I mean, above anything I was just so proud of Destano. I competed him once before COVID and we were very new as a combination, and it wasn’t working so well; I didn’t have the best feeling on him and we hadn’t clicked as a combination. Then, during COVID, I started training with Oliver Oelrichs, a very good German trainer who is also training with the German team. Over that time it really clicked with us and that was my first competition to see if the clicking that we’d had during training was also going to convey to competition. If anything I was just really happy to have a great feeling on him, that there is a lot more to come and that we can really make it work in the competition arena.

For all the horses, I don’t think it hurts to stay home and train. I’m big on only competing when you are ready — I think the break has been good for everyone and the horses.

Have you had any horses of your own since you’ve been overseas? I have schooled and sold a few, but at the moment I don’t have any other than a foal I am breeding. I would love to have my own horses, and if I see a horse that is really amazing and fits what I want, then I will buy it. If I keep it, then that’s great, but otherwise, I am just buying and selling. Of course, I am always looking for that dream horse to keep for myself.

The tests you ride are insanely accurate. What are your tips? I think that it takes a lot of time. When I first started riding the big international shows, what was lacking was the accuracy and I was always ‘winning the warm up’. One thing I have as a rider is that my horses are moving good. I like to ride an expressive test and that’s something that I enjoy in training. I’d have this thing that my horses were expressive and doing the movements in the warm up, but in the test I’d get a rush of blood and over-ride. Now, after a few years of doing the international Grand Prix, it’s taught me to take a breath, take my time and ride the test more calmly. That’s where the accuracy really comes from. I’m also a big believer that when you are in the warm up before a test, there’s nothing that you can change. I think too many riders come to a show, have a bad feeling in the warm up, and they try to change the feeling, but I don’t think that’s really possible. You just have to breathe, relax, take what you are given, make the best of it and make it look as easy as possible.

Do you get to come home often? No, not really at all. It’s hard for me because the competition season is really kicking off in summer, and then the stallions shows are all in winter. For me it’s very hard, I don’t have the chance to get away often. I don’t have anyone helping me with the horses, so like last week when I went away for the show, the stallions were out in the field. So it’s not easy for me to get away for more than a week. I am usually lucky to see my family once a year — I miss them very much. Hopefully, we will look towards Tokyo and maybe after that I can come home for a little while. I miss home, Germany is great but it’s not home.

Are you still involved with the Australian dressage scene? I definitely still talk to a lot of people, watch the shows and stay up to date, but since I was so young when I left, I don’t know that many people as a senior rider. I have a really good connection to Lyndal Oatley and Hayley Beresford over here — we all stick together.

I hope that with time I can become even more involved. I really enjoy going to shows like Boneo and getting to watch how Australia is developing. The level is so much higher than when I left and that is really nice to see. It’s nearly impossible for Australia to have the same competitions and such as here, because there is just not the magnitude of people, but the quality is growing every year.

What advice do you have for young riders with international aspirations? Absolutely just follow your dreams. Don’t give up — that is the biggest thing. My dream has always been to ride on the international Grand Prix circuit, but that takes an owner who doesn’t want to sell the horses and someone who is financially supporting you too. Before this point, I’ve only been able to ride sales horses, and that’s such a hard road, but the road you have to take if you want to come without the financial backing yourself. There have been many points in my career where I’ve thought this isn’t going to happen, this is as good as it’s going to get. Then there’s something inside that goes no, c’mon, maybe it’s going to happen. I guess the thing I’d want to say to young riders is don’t give up hope and if you want something, don’t ever stop believing that it’s possible and it’s going to happen.

I have so many German and American young riders write to me on social media and the Australian young riders are more than welcome to write to me too if they have questions or need help or guidance. I feel like I can offer help or insight into something that not so many people have done; to come from a working student and go up through the European ranks.

How have you managed previously with riding horses that you love, only for them to be sold on? That’s been the absolute hardest part of my journey. I remember at the World Championships in 2017, I was winning the first round of the six-year-old and fourth in the final of the five-year-old with 9.4 or something crazy like that — it was just the most amazing show. I really really loved the two horses I was riding and had put all my heart and soul into them. We went with two horses and we came back with none. It’s just the hardest thing, and then you are starting over again and again. I couldn’t even count the number of horses I’ve trained to Grand Prix, but I haven’t had the opportunity to get them out and compete them, because as soon as they are good, they are sold. It’s been a really challenging road, to pick yourself up and make another one. It’s taken many, many years to have the opportunity I have to continually ride one.

So your job was to ride and train them well. But if you do your job well they are easily sold? Absolutely, it can be very frustrating. I’m very humble and grateful to be in the situation I’m now in.

If we chatted to you in another five years’ time, where would you like to see yourself? Oh, that’s a big one! To be honest I don’t really have this life plan or anything saying where I’d like to be in five years. I am just going with the flow and seeing where things take me. I’d like to have my own business, for sure, that’s something I really want to do. I really want to represent Australia at the Olympics or World Equestrian Games, and my goal is to be in the top ten in the world - that is 100% what I want.

Quickfire Questions

What was the last TV show you watched?
This is embarrassing, but we are moving house right now, so we’ve been watching reruns of British X-Factor.

What inspires you?
Really, what inspires me is the dream. I wake up every morning and I think, yep, you can do it and that inspires me to make everything that I can, possible.

What music are you listening to at the moment?
I am really into RnB turn techno. I have a routine before shows that I listen to a particular techno song that gets super heavy. Everyone can hear it through my earphones and they are wondering what I am doing rocking out before a Grand Prix, but it really gets me in the zone and gets the adrenaline pumping.

What’s your signature dish?
I make a mean chilli con carne.

The Aussie snack you miss the most?
I miss so many! I miss Australian food generally. I love the mint chocolate thing that’s going on in Australia — like anything mint chocolate. They just don’t do mint chocolate in Germany as well as Australia does.

So we’re talking about a bit of Mint Slice?
Oh yeah, that’s my thing.

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