A reference to be proud of: Leone Jei

11 September 2023

With his outstanding victory in the Rolex Grand Prix in Calgary, the Baltic VDL son Leone Jei has once again proven to be among the very best showjumping horses in the world. Under the guidance of Martin Fuchs, the grey gelding had already achieved impressive results and has developed into one of the most successful references from Stal Hendrix.

In 2021, Leone Jei, who was only nine years old at the time, achieved team gold and individual silver at the European Championships in Riesenbeck, marking one of the absolute highlights of his career. In the same year, they also won the Rolex Grand Prix in Geneva. Martin and Leone Jei have since become invaluable members of the Swiss team and recently participated in the European Championships in Milan. For three consecutive years, they have been part of the winning team in the Nations Cup competition in Sankt-Gallen, and they have also claimed the victory in the Rolex Grand Prix of Dinard. This past weekend, Martin Fuchs’s long-awaited dream came true thanks to two magnificent rounds by Leone Jei: they won the Rolex Grand Prix at the Spruce Meadows Masters in Calgary.

New superstar
Originally named Hay El Desta Ali and sired by Baltic VDL, Leone Jei was bred by Gijs van Mersbergen and was discovered at the age of six by Paul Hendrix at a national competition in Geldrop, where he was ridden by Koen Leemans. In September 2018, the talented grey made his way to Stal Hendrix, and a few months later, he changed ownership and was renamed Leone Jei. Following Emile’s recommendation, Swiss owner Adolfo Juri acquired the rising star for Martin Fuchs. “From the beginning, I knew Leone Jei was a very special horse. Such a horse deserves a top rider, and we knew Adolfo was looking for a new superstar for Martin Fuchs. They had been to our Dutch Sport Horse Sales, and a few weeks later, we were able to approach them and tell them about Leone Jei. You hope to find a horse like him every year, but it rarely happens. He has so much scope, canter, personality, and attitude: it’s amazing that everything turned out like this,” Paul Hendrix explained.

Stal Hendrix congratulates Martin Fuchs, Adolfo Juri, and all others involved on this fantastic success.