February 11, 2023 
You could call Ace of Hearts early career a series of unfortunate events.
Discovered by a colleague at age five, the Estonian Sport Horse was training in dressage and had zero show experience when Belgian Olympic medalist Gregory Wathelet acquired the ride.
“He jumped amazing. He was flying,” recalled Wathelet. “I didn’t try him myself. [My friend] went to do a few jumps himself, and then he said, I have to buy [him].”
Ace of Hearts’ jumper training started in earnest, but his competitive career was slow to get off the ground even if his feet were not.
“At the beginning, when he was six and seven, he was always jumping too high and too careful and was a bit complicated with my [home] riders,” Wathelet continued, “I didn’t really have the time to ride him myself, which is why he didn’t do too much. At [age] seven and eight he did some shows but still not many.”
The next four years were a series of stops and starts. Minor injuries, the pandemic and scheduling conflicts kept Ace of Hearts largely out of the show ring.
“It sounds long, but it’s not like it was one big injury. It was a bit unlucky things. One time [it was] a colic. One time, a bruised bone. Then there was one year of COVID and he didn’t have any shows,” continued Wathelet, 42.
“There was always something.”
In 2021, Wathelet sent the gelding to Johannes Ehning (GER) for five months to gain experience. At 11, an age most Grand Prix prospects are jumping consistently at the 1.50–1.60m height, Ace of Hearts was getting miles in the 1.20m to 1.30m divisions.
Now 13, the gelding is just moving up to 1.50m. In three international rounds at the height, he sports a 100% top 10 finish rate, by Jumpr App stats.
“At least he’s still fresh in his body,” smiled Wathelet.
While green for his age at the level, Wathelet’s approach to his training remains consistent. He’s been slowly developing the horse at 1.35m to 1.45m over the past year and half, jumping primarily 2 and 3* shows.
“It doesn’t matter the age, we do what we think is best for the horse,” he said. “We try to find the best plan, the best program, and they are all different, which is a good thing in our sport. There are no rules for what they have to do when they are six or nine.”
Competing in California this winter, Wathelet and Ace of Hearts contested the National division on Week II of Desert Circuit at Desert International Horse Park in Thermal, then took a week off before jumping a national show in Del Mar. They made their international debut in the desert Week V of Desert Circuit and, with it, logged their first international win at 1.50m with .Thursday’s La Quinta Resort & Spa CSI3* Speed.
And it was a decisive one. The pair stopped the clock at 62.29 seconds, a full second and a half faster than runners up Kyle King (USA) and SIG Chiari’s time of 63.91. Karrie Rufer (USA) and Mr. Europe took third in 64.71.
Wathelet plans to jump Ace of Hearts in the Premier Equestrian Grand Prix on Sunday, then he’ll have a few weeks off before they return to the ring, height to be determined.
“Maybe in three weeks I do again, smaller just to give him the confidence. It doesn’t look like it now, but I don’t know. And then again up,” he said.
“The most important thing, I think, is to feel what they can do, know what he wants to do, and we will be happy with what he will give us in the future. If it’s the five star Grand Prix, it’s five star. If it’s a good 1.50 horse, it’s also really good.”
