8 November 2022

Benjamin Aillaud switches to Lusitano horses

After a very successful partnership of six years with Eric and Arjan Bouwman, owners of the lovely team of Arabo-Friesian horses, Benjamin Aillaud recently decided to switch to driving Lusitano horses.

Very good partnership

“In 2016 I was approached by Eric and his wife Arjan to start driving their Arabo-Friesian horses. I was very impressed with the way they treated and handled their horses, which was very much the same as how I treat my horses,” tells Benjamin, who is a professional horseman and horse trainer. “Furthermore, I have never seen anyone who loves horses and treats them so well as Arjan.” The good partnership and cooperation resulted in very good results at all European-and World Championships since 2016, with the individual silver medal in Donaueschingen 2019 as highlight.

Benjamin Aillaud drove the Arabo-Friesian team of Eric and Arjan Bouwman to European silver in 2019
Photo: Krisztina Horváth

Family matters

“The quality of the Arabo-Friesian horses is fantastic,” says Benjamin. “We worked a lot on their physical condition and we achieved the highest level possible. However, the horses are based at the home of Eric and Arjan, which is 550 kilometers return trip from my home. To train the horses properly was very time consuming and this also influenced my family life. My wife is also an FEI competitor and my kids are also driving, so after a long thought and consulting Eric and Arjan, I took the difficult decision to start driving my own horses again.”

Magalie Aillaud driving her Lusitano horse Fandango in Chablis 2022
Photo: Melanie Guillamot

Love for Lusitano horses

Benjamin already drove Lusitano horses before he started with the Arabo-Friesians and his wife Magalie also competes with a Lusitano horse. The horses he competes with at the World Cup Driving events, are also the horses he uses for his Liberty shows. Some of these horses will be part of his outdoor team.

Benjamin’s sponsor is Team Laiterie Montaigu (TeamLM), which is completed by Jumping riders Philippe Rozier, Julien Gonin and Yoann Di Stefano. Benjamin is helping the riders with their dressage training.

Benjamin and his Lusitano horses at the World Cup competition in Maastricht last weekend
Photo: Wil Smeets

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