Episode 28 - Julie Darbon-Guillin

In our new episode, we talked with Julie Darbon-Guillin, a french rider living in Denmark. Julie moved to Denmark for the excellent training opportunities, but still keeps close contact with the FFCI, riding for the french national team.

We talked about work-life balance, training, competing in different countries and her horse Byrnir. 

Join us for this very french episode.

• https://www.instagram.com/julie_darbon/

Music by Cob.
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook, @the_toelt_tales.

Transcript

Lionel: 0:00

Hello everyone, in today's episode, you will get a double dose of French accent. We invited an international rider representing my country. Discover the reality of a non-professional rider living in Denmark and competing for France. Julie Darbon-Guillin is in The Tölt Tales podcast. Hello, Julie, how are you?

Julie: 0:28

Hi, I'm good, thank you. What about you?

Lionel: 0:31

Yeah, I'm doing okay. It's a beautiful weather in Sweden. I guess you have the same weather in Denmark.

Julie: 0:38

Exactly, we are so happy that summer is finally coming, or spring at least.

Lionel: 0:44

Yes, yeah, a bit dry. Always something to complain, I guess.

Julie: 0:49

Very French, very French. I can't recognize you here.

Lionel: 0:53

Yes, yes. All right. Usually, the way we start the podcast, the way we start the recording is just asking the guests to present themselves. That's the best way to introduce how we're going to start talking about you and why do we talk together. So can you tell us who are you, Julie?

Julie: 1:16

So my name is Julie. I am initially from France, as you might all hear it with my accent. I am a consultant in the strategy and operation and finance. I live now in Denmark. And the reason why I'm here today is because of my other cap. That is that I'm an Icelandic horse rider. And I've been in the show for over 22 years. I have to say it's a long time now.

Lionel: 1:49

You present yourself as an Icelandic horse rider, for sure. But you're also representing our country, well, it is our both countries, France. So you're not a casual Icelandic horse rider neither.

Julie: 2:05

Exactly. So I've been part of the French team since 2016, and it's been the honor of my life to represent France at the all big international competition. I love France. I'm French and it's great.

Lionel: 2:21

So I guess we can just start from very curious question, but you're French, yet you're living in Denmark. Can you just tell us that story a bit?

Julie: 2:35

Yeah. So during my study, my bachelor, I had a year abroad that were mandatory. And my dream was to go to Denmark because of course, my passion for Icelandic horse. And Denmark for me was a land where we had all great trainers and great competitions and I was just dreaming about it. And one fun fact is when I was a little bit younger, like Nils-Kristian Larsen was just my idol, you know?

Lionel: 3:11

And he will be sad to hear that he's not anymore your idol.

Julie: 3:16

Yeah, he is.

Lionel: 3:17

He is.

Julie: 3:19

He's a great friend now. And I bought my horse from him and it was just, yeah. I think it's a... I decided to move to Denmark for a horse reason. I just wanted to become a better rider, and that's the reason why I moved to Denmark.

Lionel: 3:39

And you have a Danish horse? No.

Julie: 3:41

I have an Iceland horse that I bought in Denmark. Yes.

Lionel: 3:45

All right. So if I can rewind a bit, it's usually a question we ask to our guests. It's been a long time that you're riding, 22 years, you said?

Julie: 3:58

Exactly. Oh my God.

Lionel: 4:00

Yeah, 22 years. In France, Icelandic horse is not common. So can you tell us a bit that story? Like, how did you started? Why Icelandic horse in France? It's a bit peculiar, no? It's a bit weird.

Julie: 4:13

I mean, I've just been so lucky, I have to tell you. The stable near my parents' place were an Icelandic horse stable. So that's how I started. My family is not at all in the horse industry. But I was dreaming of riding since forever. And when I kept on asking and asking and asking, then they just looked around and 14 km away, it was this very fantastic stable called Les Curies des Sources. And that's where it started.

Lionel: 4:54

Right. So you actually started with Icelandic horses.

Julie: 4:59

I started with Icelandic horses. And it's very, very rare in France, but I was lucky enough to find this place first.

Lionel: 5:09

Yeah, it is rare, right? Because I was about to ask, OK, you probably did some classical riding in France, in the riding school, but no, you skipped all of that. You only rode Icelandic.

Julie: 5:26

Yeah, so I started with Icelandic. And I went to military a little bit later, when I was a little bit older. My first Icelandic horse was retired. And I just wanted to keep riding. So and I was studying in Strasbourg at the time. So I started doing military, but you know, the first love Icelandic horse never went away. So I just bought a new horse and a new Icelandic horse.

Lionel: 5:56

Right. So you didn't give up on Icelandic horse.

Julie: 6:00

And I didn't give up on the dream to buy it from Nils, you know.

Lionel: 6:06

Was it a dream? What is the goal?

Julie: 6:09

I mean, I don't know, you know, like in France, we don't at the time, we didn't know so many like great riders, but Nils is really, really good to promote himself also via social media. So yes, it was a little bit of a dream for me to buy a horse from him.

Lionel: 6:29

And yet that's a perfect transition to when is the last time you bought a horse?

Julie: 6:34

So the last time I bought a horse was in 2020. And the horse is my current competition horse that is called Byrnir Ffavorsabai.

Lionel: 6:45

Okay.

Julie: 6:45

So as I mentioned earlier, he's born in Iceland. He has moved later on to Fairway Island. And then he flew over to Denmark, where I bought him. We lived together for two years in Denmark before moving to France. And now we are back to Denmark. So you know, it's a global horse. He has traveled more than the normal person, I would say.

Lionel: 7:13

Oh, wow. Because you went back to France, you did Denmark, France and coming back to Denmark.

Julie: 7:19

Exactly. Exactly. I finished my master in France back in 2022.

Lionel: 7:26

Right. Okay. But the love of Denmark was too strong, so you had to come back.

Julie: 7:31

Exactly. Exactly.

Lionel: 7:34

And Byrnir is still your competition horse. How old is he?

Julie: 7:39

Yeah. Byrnir is my competition horse. He's turning 16 this year. Right. In the Icelandic horse world, I think it's just the perfect age. You know, they are getting a little bit calmer and a little bit more used to competition. So I think he's just getting better and better and better every day.

Lionel: 8:02

Can we just briefly talk about the competition that you've been to and are you targeting for any competition this year?

Julie: 8:10

Yes. So Byrnir and I, we have been competing together since the very beginning. The first year was a little bit special because of Corona.

Lionel: 8:21

Right.

Julie: 8:22

It was in 2020. So, you know, in Denmark, all the competition and everywhere in Europe, as you can imagine, were canceled at the time. So I started competing with him in 2021, which was ashamed because that was my first year as a senior writer. So I felt like, you know, Corona stole my last year as a young writer, but that's just, you know, how it is. And then we competed together in few very big competition, like the World Championship in 2023. We have done Ice Horse many times together in Denmark, and also the Mid-European Championship.

Lionel: 9:05

Right. And is it a target for this year? There is the meme this year, right?

Julie: 9:11

Yes, exactly. And yes, it is a target. I told myself as I am not a professional rider, I have a job, and it's very important for me to be part of the French team, if my horse is in the perfect shape, and if I am myself in a very good shape. I am very humble. I know I'm not going to win, and I'm very aware of this, but I'm always going for the best performance ever. My very big goal is to promote the Icelandic horse rider, riding from French rider. It's really important for me to show a very good ride, and to do so, you really need to have the horse in perfect shape. So that's my goal, and if I feel like the horse is really great, then I'm going to go to the MEM.

Lionel: 10:13

Right, you mentioned that because of last year with the World Championship.

Julie: 10:22

Yes, unfortunately, last year was a little bit special for me. I had a perfect start of the season, and the horse was really, really, really good. We had great results together for us, and unfortunately got sick after a competition in July. And then I decided to take it slow, and I decided to cancel my venue to the World Championship, which was a shame because I have dreamed about that for a long, long time. But I think it was the right decision. I have only one horse, and I just want to take care of him the best I can. And I felt like that was the best decision I could do for him.

Lionel: 11:12

So it's both for him and also based on what you said, even if you would be able to ride him there, but you would not be able to represent or to have the best representation as a French rider, I guess.

Julie: 11:26

Exactly, exactly. So I always have in my mind the idea that if I'm going and wearing the blue jackets with the French flag, I want to show the best version of myself as a rider. I want to ride in balance. I want to have a horse that is in good shape. And it felt like Byrnir was not feeling so much himself before the World Championship, and I just also did not want to take the risk of bringing him there and traveling quite a long distance from Denmark to Switzerland. So I am not going to lie, it's not an easy decision, especially because at the time, so the horse had a little bit of a liver issue, but nothing like crazy. We could make it heal with simply taking a plant-based medicine. So it was nothing crazy. And we got the green light from the vets to go. But at the time, I missed like three weeks of training and I just felt like it wasn't really fair for him. You know?

Lionel: 12:42

Right.

Julie: 12:44

So it took me a long, not a long time, but it was a long night without sleeping, thinking about what would be the best decision. And today, looking at him being happy again, and excited again, and good again, then I think it was a good decision.

Lionel: 13:07

So this, yeah, I mean, this is, for all, obviously, I cannot understand. I didn't have ever to take that decision, but for sure, it is going to represent your own country, I will say our country, and being able to do so, but just saying, okay, it's not good for my horse. I think it's obviously very courageous, but it must be heartbreaking in a lot of ways. And you said it at the beginning, you're very proud of representing your country, so I guess it means even more for you.

Julie: 13:43

Yeah, it means a lot. And yeah, again, I think as a rider, we have to take a very important decision sometimes. And I think as a rider, we have the best interests at heart for our horses. And yeah, that was what drove my decision.

Lionel: 14:05

So this year, the MEM, that's the goal? That's the overall idea?

Julie: 14:11

That's the overall idea, yes, yes, yes.

Lionel: 14:14

Where is the MEM? I didn't even check.

Julie: 14:16

I think this year it's in Austria. But to be honest, I am not fully sure either, so don't take my words for granted. I think I'm a little bit superstitious, you know, I'm also, I don't want to jinx it, you know, if you want to make a decision at the right time. And I didn't want to be like, distance the problem for me. Because sometimes I always think about transport and the logistic around it. And this year I told myself, no, if the horse is good, you are going to make it happen. Whatever and wherever it is.

Lionel: 14:52

Yes. I mean, can I just say something and you tell me if I'm allowed to say, well, I can remove whatever to say. You said it, you're not a professional rider, right? You have a real time job. You can tell us maybe that Friday you were competing and working on the same day, right?

Julie: 15:11

Exactly, exactly. So yeah, I mean, that's what it is to be a consultant. We work something like between 60 and 80 hours a week. And on top of this, you're a rider, right? So it's early morning and late night. So I was just doing some Excel work in the competition. And I think people must have think like who is that person? But that's just who I am. And that's what I chose. I think being able to have this job on the side, allow me to also be the owner of that great horse. And I'm so grateful for that. So obviously every rider that are riding at that level, at one point, I question myself, right? And sometime, especially when I'm in front of my computer for many, many hours, I'm like, oh damn, I would be better riding horses now. But in another way, I also know it's a tough ecosystem, tough environment, and it's a tough job. I don't minimize this at all.

Lionel: 16:37

I think I have plenty of questions around competing for France and like how does it work, etc. But there was something that struck me, is that you competing, we see, we saw each other in Sweden. You compete in Sundabaki, you went in Isos, you do competition all over Denmark. Do you see difference in terms of quality of riding?

Julie: 17:10

Yeah, I mean, between Sweden and Denmark, not really. I think there is a huge difference between Ice Horse and Sundabaki, for example.

Lionel: 17:19

Right.

Julie: 17:19

Just because Ice Horse is like an indoor competition. So it is so special to ride in there.

Lionel: 17:27

Do you prepare for it?

Julie: 17:30

It's difficult to prepare for it. And the weather in Henning is always so bad. I haven't been to Henning like one day where it was like sunny. So I think like a month ago when we were in Ice Horse, it was just like snowy and rainy. And then you enter the arena and it's like extremely warm. So the difference for the horses is like a little bit difficult to cope. And it's also something that is difficult to work at home. As well as the tribunes are extremely close from the track. So the horses can get disturbed by the public. And this is also something very difficult to work from home.

Lionel: 18:17

Yeah, the Sundabaki in that sense is like you have space. There is not so much tribunes, so that's okay. Exactly.

Julie: 18:28

It feels like riding in the middle of the forest. I think it's a little bit easier for us. We feel a little bit at ease in an environment like this, for sure.

Lionel: 18:42

You competed in France for Icelandic Horse Competition?

Julie: 18:47

Yes, and I have to say, and I don't say that because I'm French. Don't get me wrong.

Lionel: 18:52

Yeah, okay. So you're going to say that because you're French. Yes, okay.

Julie: 18:57

Because my favorite competition ever is in France, and it's the Pure Cheval.

Lionel: 19:02

Pure Cheval, yeah?

Julie: 19:04

Yes. So Pure Cheval is an Icelandic horse farm that is located near Paris. And I just recommend to everyone, if they have the chance to go there once in their life, it's just once in a lifetime experience. It's a really nice place to compete. They have a beautiful track, and it's just a great party in the evening. And yeah, I think it's a very special place.

Lionel: 19:33

Is it the atmosphere that makes it also special?

Julie: 19:37

Yes, and they also get very amazing judges. Usually, two years ago, they had the only judges that judged at the World Championship. That was so amazing. They also have a super well-prepped track. They work really hard to have the best facilities to welcome riders from all over Europe. So, in that sense, it's a very great competition and also the mood, the people, it's just nice.

Lionel: 20:10

Can you tell us how come you're living in Denmark but you can still compete for France? How does it work?

Julie: 20:19

Yes, I mean, I still have a French passport, you know. So, in that sense, it's very easy for me to still compete for France. And we are still very much in contact with the French Federation. After each competition, I'm sending them some video of my performance, good or bad, you know. But they are very much following what we are doing. And also, we are such a small community in France. So basically, we are very much in contact with all of the sports riders, I would say.

Lionel: 20:57

Okay, so you keep contact with them and they basically just... You have minimum to minimum points. I think they are pretty standard. And then they choose who to send, I guess?

Julie: 21:10

Exactly. So it works in the exact same way as it works everywhere else. So you have to compete in preliminaries with some minimal grades that you need to reach. If you don't reach them, you cannot be qualified to participate to an international competition like the World Championship or the MEM. And after that, there is a committee that is deciding who is going for the French team. So it's really basically the same as for the country.

Lionel: 21:46

Pretty straightforward then. It's just you're not living in France. That's the only thing.

Julie: 21:53

Exactly. So I try to still go home for the national championship every year. Unfortunately, I don't bring Byrnir often because...

Lionel: 22:04

Yeah, I was about to ask to participate or not. But no, to just come and look at it, I guess.

Julie: 22:12

So I got the chance to be able to come and ride another horse. Ah, right. By some people. I usually ride like maybe a young horse or something like this. And it allows me to let Byrnir at home for the weekend and not impose him to travel for over 14,000 kilometers, I think, in terms of horse welfare. It's better this way. I think it's been a lot of discussion back and forth with the French Federation, as you can imagine. But they agree on this rule and I'm very happy about it. I think it's super important that I show up. It's super important to be there for the team. It's also simply to have a very well collaboration together. But for me, if the horse is here or not, I don't really see the point of driving so many hours, sometimes three weeks before a big event. Yeah, it doesn't make sense to me.

Lionel: 23:20

No, no, and it will be for a weekend, and you need to do it on top of the cost, and it's also not great for the horse, I guess.

Julie: 23:29

Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

Lionel: 23:31

Like, you're a competition rider, you compete, etc. Do you have a trainer?

Julie: 23:38

Yes, I have.

Lionel: 23:39

Do you have trainers, maybe? Multiple, maybe?

Julie: 23:42

Yes, I have a trainer and trainers. I've been lucky enough to have got an amazing trainer along the way, and especially since I started riding in Denmark, I started with Mia Hedbo in Odense. I also got a lot of teaching from Niels at the time. Then I moved to France and the horse was located in Germany, and I got lucky enough to have teaching from Andrea Balz, this Switzerland rider. I really learned a lot from her. And along the way, during those many years, I also got clinic from Tony, and the ex-national trainer from Denmark.

Lionel: 24:35

Right.

Julie: 24:37

And the last two years, I've been training with Sarah Rosenberg, a really, really great person from Denmark, that is also a very good friend. So it makes our collaboration very easy, and it's a lot about discussing, having a conversation. I think as a non-professional writer, and there is a lot of mental part in it.

Lionel: 25:11

Right.

Julie: 25:12

And then I think Sarah is also great to take into account that it's sometimes not just about writing. It's about what you have in your mind, it's about how mentally prepared you are, it's about how you manage stress. I think sometimes it's a question we are not speaking so much about, but this is part of our everyday life as writers. You have to manage the stress to be able to compete at a higher level.

Lionel: 25:39

And against people that are doing that for their job. I guess it's an interesting conundrum. Yeah. Well, I'm curious to know you, because then you train and you rode in France and you rode, you're riding now in Denmark. Do you see, do you feel you learn so much more in Denmark? Do you feel that you decided to move for, you decided to move to Denmark for the horses, you know? Do you feel it was a winning bet? Do you feel like you improved a lot?

Julie: 26:15

Yeah, for me, it was just the best decision ever. We have amazing trainers in France, so don't get me wrong. I just was at the point where I was ready to move on and also get someone that had a lot of track experience, you know?

Lionel: 26:33

Yes.

Julie: 26:34

That was really, really important for me that the person could also relate to the competition I would go to. And I think in Denmark, you have a lot of experienced riders, and that's what I wanted. I wanted someone that could really mentor me into the rider I wanted to become, you know? And it's difficult to say if you're never there, right? You're always progressing all the time. And I think that's what we love about our sports, right? I love having teaching, I love having comments, I'm always trying to get an extra eye on me. So I'm really someone that is, you know, willing to have this extra help.

Lionel: 27:24

Right. I mean, it resonated with multiple guests that we had, right? Even professional riders, even though Martin, for instance, told us that he doesn't. But the most of them have someone that they can rely on, and they always talk about, like, just to have this outside eyes, that looking the horse on the side from the ground, just for that, it's super helpful to have someone that you can trust.

Julie: 27:54

Yes, exactly. And I think, you know, sometimes you have days where you feel like, damn it, it's really, really working today, you know? And you want to scream to the world, yes, yes, I won today, you know? But then the day after, it's just not working anymore.

Lionel: 28:08

Yeah.

Julie: 28:09

And then you really need to have someone that is telling you, yes, it's because you are doing this wrong. Or maybe it's the little detail that will change everything. And I think once you reach a certain level, then it's really more about like the small detail that is making the big difference. It's how the horse steps under himself, it's how he's carrying himself, and how do you improve this without disturbing the horse, you know.

Lionel: 28:40

I guess what I gather when you talk, if you have something to improve in your riding, you will go with the mental aspect then more than anything else?

Julie: 28:50

No, I think I have so much to learn also on the technical part, you know. I'm still working a lot on the dressage parts, even though I've done quite some years of military. You always need to learn to do an even better shoulder in. I think every rider can really...

Lionel: 29:10

Never heard of it. Never heard of that ever.

Julie: 29:16

So no, no, I do have to improve in the technical aspect as well as the mental one. And I am on a journey for that, you know.

Lionel: 29:28

Do you have a plan or no, you're just like day by day, you're just like...

Julie: 29:31

You know, I'm a consultant, right? So...

Lionel: 29:33

Yeah, I was about... Yeah. Good.

Julie: 29:38

Yes, I think if horses taught me one thing and they also tell me this at work is that I'm just planning all the time. And when you're a rider, you always need to know, okay, I'm going to ride at like, between 5 a.m. and 7 a.m. so I have time to work. And you know, it's always, you know, a game of a logistic game in your day. So yes, I'm searching also for someone that can help in the mental part. At the moment, I haven't found anyone that could support on this. I decided that it did not have to be someone that is actually a rider. Because I think a lot of athletes are searching for the exact same mental training, you know? And it's just how do you perform the best when you are under pressure? And I haven't found the person, but I'm very actively looking, and that's part of my plan at least.

Lionel: 30:51

Yeah. The moment we found someone, you will hear it on the podcast, you can contact that person.

Julie: 30:59

Yes.

Lionel: 31:00

I think there is some people that mention, for example, Isolfur mentioned a lot something about like, because Isolfur Lindahl is the coach for the Icelandic senior team, and he mentioned a lot about there is a lot of mental coaching to be done, and I think he can bring that to the team to just improve the performance.

Julie: 31:32

This is very fantastic, and I'm very happy about the fact that it's getting more and more and more popular to work on this aspect as well as the training, the horse training, you know.

Lionel: 31:46

And I realize that you're talking about five in the morning. I didn't even ask you what is a day or a week of Julie looks like, because you mentioned it, you need to squeeze riding and working for long hours during the week. How does it look like?

Julie: 32:08

So basically, my goal is always to be present when I'm riding my horse. So I prefer to go a little bit earlier and have the time to ground myself before riding and be like, okay, now I'm here, I'm not on my email, I'm not like answering this client. I'm there and I want to be with my horse. That's what I try to allocate this time for. And basically, I understood that 5 a.m. was a good time to do that because I was not really disturbed by anyone at that time.

Lionel: 32:46

Wait, what? You were not joking 5 a.m.?

Julie: 32:50

No, I was not joking. So I think I also really like the quietness of an early morning at the stable. I just really love it. And I do that either on the morning, and I also do that sometime in the evening, and it's also very fine. So it depended really of the day, right? And there is a week, like last week, where I was managing work and writing, training for competition. And then on Friday, on Thursday evening, we had to leave for competition again. And unfortunately, Friday did not really go super good for me. And I think that was also just because I wasn't really fully present with the horse. I have a very sensitive horse. He's so fantastic. He has this huge natural movement, but you really need to be there. And he really is asking for your order. And for some reason, I entered the track and I was just, yeah, it was just black in front of me. I didn't really know what to do anymore. And he was asking me, mom, what do we do? What do we do? And I was like, I don't know. I don't know. You know, I understood that it was really, really important to be present and be in the moment. And I knew that, but I think it was just a slap in the face. Like it was a good reminder because it went better on the day after. At least I had a better feeling.

Lionel: 34:21

I know that I started riding not a long time ago, right? Less than 10 years, eight years ago or something like this. And one thing I learned very fast and still you need to have your partner reminding you is that, if you are angry because of work and you go to the stable, you are angry in a bad mood, don't ride. Just pet him, brush him, whatever, just don't ride. You're going to make things worse than bad, you know, like this is, yeah, it can be relaxing to ride, but you need to be there. You need to be there with your horse. And I feel like.

Julie: 35:03

Exactly. Exactly. I can totally relate to this. I think it's super important to be also extremely fair to the horse. And, you know, the horse did not choose that we had a bad day today. So so I think I also always really try to, you know, let my feeling in the car and be like, OK, now I'm at the horse and I'm happy to be here every time. I think it's such a pleasure for me to come. So it doesn't matter the time. It's just always such a relief.

Lionel: 35:34

How often do you ride? Do you ride every day?

Julie: 35:37

Yeah, mostly I ride like four times a week, but I'm at the stable mostly every day. To do, you know, simply brush the horse, do a little bit of groundwork. But I do train four times a week. I for sure ride three times. And then I do either groundwork, lounging work. I started this journey of making my horse Tölt with the launch.

Lionel: 36:04

Oh, wow. Yes. Yes.

Julie: 36:07

I did that with this.

Lionel: 36:09

Yes. We're going to have the podcast soon.

Julie: 36:12

Okay. That's amazing. So that's a good advertising for her. She's so fantastic and she has taught me a lot. I think for me, launching the horse was always about having the nose on the ground and, you know, trotting, very casual and so on. But she was like, if you never put a little bit of pressure from the ground, then how do you want your horse to accept it when you are on the saddle? And then I was like, damn it, this makes so much sense, you know? So I started to also ask for a little bit more energy and power when I was launching the horse. So for example, in the walk, I was just really much asking to have the back with him and really work, you know? And I think this is, it takes a while, I cannot say it's making a bit difference now, but I can already perceive that in the long run it's going to be interesting.

Lionel: 37:06

Yeah. We discussed a bit with Dieter, mostly Ariane, and she was like, yeah, I started to do that, I thought that was cool. I know that we had a trainer here in Sweden that was not launching and tilting, but it was like you are next to your horse on the ground and you make them tilt on the hand, which is obviously you don't have the full picture because you are quite close to your horse, but you are asking the horse to do the effort of tilting in a way. And I always think it's extremely funny to, funny maybe it's not the right word, but it's really fun to do it with your horse and he's tilting and you're like, okay, I need to run next to him, but he's tilting by himself, he's carrying himself in that sense.

Julie: 37:55

Exactly. And I think it's also a little bit like, it's very important I have older horses. I mean, he's not old, but he is in the older age. So I think he enjoys also changing a little bit of activity, not always riding in the riding hall. That's why I'm also trying very much to bring him to the sea, bring him to the forest, or doing different things, trying to not bore him. I want him to continue liking the job he has, because he did not choose it, right? No. So I really need to make it interesting for him, and always rewarding, for sure.

Lionel: 38:38

Yeah, that is super interesting. You mentioned work-life balance. Do you feel it's getting more and more complex to ride, or you manage now to have your own rhythm, and you know what to do, you have your own system?

Julie: 38:57

Yeah, I have very much my own system, so I'm actually quite fine. I travel a lot for work, but I always try to tell my client, hey, I cannot be away for more than three days. So I travel a lot back and forth, because I really understood that riding was a priority for me. And sometimes it's very, very difficult when you are in the active life to tell this to people, because they're like, yeah, you are just a kid and just work and shut up. But it's not like this. You can have a priority at 26 and my priority is to ride, because I want to be the best rider I can be. And I know I'm maybe not competing with the best in the world, right? But at my level, I really, really try to reach the best performance I can. And this is something I carry with me. But to do that, I need to train. You know?

Lionel: 39:57

Yes.

Julie: 39:57

And whatever people think sometimes that it's a little bit stupid or childish or whatever, this is my priority. So, yeah, it's about also standing up for yourself and saying, you know, I'm not a professional rider, but I do ride with professionals. So I also need to train like this, you know?

Lionel: 40:21

Yeah, yes, I agree. I mean, we're not professional neither. We don't ride high competition, but we do train. Me, personally, I love to. We have two trainers. I have two trainers, I and I have two trainers, and we train not for competition. Something that I say multiple time in the podcast is just to sustain, for having a sustainable horse, you know, like you need to learn how to better ride. That's it.

Julie: 40:53

Exactly. And you also have to then train yourself, right? Like for me, it's super important to come also as a healthy and balanced rider. So, you know, I do a lot of pilates and a lot of yoga, a lot of running. I don't say, you know, I wish I did that more, because of course, if I need to prioritize at the time, I prioritize riding. But it's super important that when I get the time, I just also train my body outside of riding.

Lionel: 41:24

So you train yourself, you train your horse, you work, and you mentioned you have a partner. Is he into horses? Tell me he's into horses.

Julie: 41:33

Oh my God, no, he's not. But I mean, he is the best person on the planet, and he's just, you know, spending his weekend with me in competition, and I will... I mean, I'm so damn grateful, you know? And I'm so, so grateful.

Lionel: 41:48

Yeah, I mean, this is a huge feat, because I... She's riding since many years. I came... We met, I never rode, and me, I took the other way of... I think in a lot of ways, your partner and I were like, we want to spend time with you, so this is what it takes. But me, I took the... Okay, but I buy a horse then, that way I ride as well. But it's good, it's good to keep him. It's good to have someone to help you.

Julie: 42:19

Exactly, and also just never take it for granted. So I also try to make it a great experience for him when we are in competition. And maybe he will tell you it's wrong because I have difficulty to... You know, if something wrong happened in the track and I'm not happy about my performance, then I can be really tough with myself and I can be really sad afterwards.

Lionel: 42:42

Yeah.

Julie: 42:42

And then sometime I try to remind myself that he also didn't choose that life, you know, I suppose it will. So he also doesn't have to handle my bad mood. So I usually let him know that maybe I need 10 minutes to collect and, you know, get myself back to positivity. And then, you know, when I'm ready, I'm like, hey, now it's behind us. I will analyze and, you know, I'm an over thinker. So he will probably follow me the whole day and the whole night what went wrong on the track. But at least I try not to overshare it. It's super difficult. So I don't know if I succeed, you know, and I say that in the podcast and maybe he's telling you, you know, I'm super, super bad at this, so I don't know.

Lionel: 43:31

So just before we wrap up, I'm just curious to know what is the, you know, like you mentioned World Cup last year, sadly, etc. We discussed about MEM. I'm just curious to know, like you have goals, you have long-term goals for you and yourself, or you want to go back to World Championship, you have other goals that you feel you need to achieve?

Julie: 43:57

Yeah, for sure. For sure. I think I haven't been able to really show everything Byrnir is capable of doing on the track in competition.

Lionel: 44:08

Okay.

Julie: 44:09

And I think this is also something that people are not really talking about this, because we are a little bit ashamed, right? And he included. And I train a lot and he is extremely good at training. And I just wish one day I will be able to bring this feeling in a track with me. And I don't say at that time I will stop, right? Because I will never stop until the horse wants to go. But I think it will be such a big milestone for me to be able to feel like, at least at one competition, I brought this feeling I have in training. So this is what I work for and work toward in the upcoming years. Of course, I also always kind of look for this young horse that will join the team again.

Lionel: 45:06

Yes, I was about to ask you, but is there another horse to buy?

Julie: 45:11

I mean, there is always another horse, right? I fell in love with Icelandic horse when I was maybe four years old, and I got my first horse when I was 11, and that was the love of my life. I competed for the first time with him at the Five Youth Cup for friends. Then I got Byrnir, and this love story is just continuing, and I know that one day will be another one, and I will love him the same way. Probably, it's going to be a gelding again. That's why I say him. You know, I'm a gelding girl.

Lionel: 45:48

Yeah, well, we only have gelding, so I can understand that.

Julie: 45:53

Yes, but I'm always searching for the perfect partner. And they, you know, yeah, like, it's difficult to find a writer that is not on Instagram trying to search for the perfect horse ride. Just be honest.

Lionel: 46:10

I'm good. I'm good. Someone else in the house is stalking all the horses, all the pedigree, like, you should buy this, you should buy that, etc. And now that we move to our own farm, we have a bit of space, so which is a problem.

Julie: 46:31

Which is a problem. I wish I had this problem, you know.

Lionel: 46:36

Yeah, well, work 100 hours a week. Maybe, Julie, you will get there, you know.

Julie: 46:43

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I should think about that.

Lionel: 46:48

But you will, yeah, you also look for... Because to be frank, let's be honest here, one horse is a bit... It's a bit... It's not so much, right? One horse.

Julie: 47:02

No, no, but I've also, you know, I also want to be able to give the new horse, if I get one one day, the same attention as I gave to him. You know, I am very much this, this is still like younger, like that like to brush a horse for like 45 minutes before, you know, putting a saddle on him. And and really I appreciate doing this. I don't do this just because I have to. I love that time where, you know, we are brushing and spending time and, you know, doing the, yeah, I just like this a lot. So I also want to give the same attention to the next one coming. But now Byrnir is also in a super fantastic stable in the north of Copenhagen, in Sølust. And I just also, this place is the biggest dream country for us. And we have like 100 percent trust into the people working there and the owner. And I know they always have the horse best interest at heart. And that's also why I'm always, you know, searching for the next one, because I know I have the perfect place for them to be.

Lionel: 48:18

Is he always outside or is he in a box in the evening or how does it work?

Julie: 48:23

So he's outside from seven in the morning until like five or six in the evening. And then he is going back inside for the night. And I think it's feeding his lifestyle pretty well. And the fantastic part of this table is that our gilding are in the paddock together. And we have many, many great competition horses that of course cost a lot of money. And that was a choice of us all seated together to take the decision to put them together. Because we want them to have a horse life. And that was super, super important for us to say, no, we don't want them to be alone. Of course, all the stallion are alone, for safety reasons and so on. But the gilding are just very happy every morning to find each other again. And to be honest, they are more interested by eating grass than even playing together.

Lionel: 49:25

Yeah, yeah. And they are always out in the summer months, so they are used to it. But for sure, having them in a herd together and gildings are good boys, right? So they can fight, they can play a bit rough sometimes, but I think they're pretty well behaved.

Julie: 49:45

But to be honest, I think it's just also super nice for us to see them happy.

Lionel: 49:50

Yes, yeah, it's true.

Julie: 49:51

And being together is really, you know, giving me at least the feeling that they are like, they are in a more like natural environment, I would say.

Lionel: 50:01

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. This is already the end of this episode. And again, thank you, Julie, for taking the time in your busy schedule, so we understood. And thank you everyone for listening. We will come back very soon with a new episode. In the meantime, do not hesitate to share this episode with everyone. Like, never hesitate to comment, reach out to us. And before leaving you, we would like to mention that you can follow us on Instagram and Facebook for more news and stories The Tölt Tales. Thank you, Julie, for your time.

Julie: 50:36

Thank you for having me.

Lionel: 50:37

Goodbye.

Julie: 50:38

Please, bye.