‘My Life Changed When I Met This Horse’: How An Unimpressive Driving Horse Became A World Cup Jumper For Shino Hirota

Round after round, the horse and rider combinations start to blur together. But then a colorful Paint enters the ring. His rider’s smile beams across the arena, and suddenly you sit up, take notice, and file the pair away as ones to watch. That’s the effect Japanese show jumper Shino Hirota and her aptly named gelding, Life is Beautiful, has on their audience. Captivated by their positive energy, we had to learn more about this duo.

A Rocky Start

Their partnership began when Shino's husband, Ryuma Hirota, traveled to Sweden to check out Life is Beautiful, known in the barn as “Buchi,” based on the recommendation of his business partner, New Zealand jumping athlete Bruce Goodin. Initially, neither Shino nor Ryuma were overly impressed with the horse's abilities. In fact, once back in Japan, Shino says they got off to a pretty rough start, and she was unsure if they had any real potential together.

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Article written by: Cheryl Witty-Castillo