If there's one family of riders in Switzerland you can't afford to miss, it's the Smits family.

Edwin Smits, an internationally renowned rider, is a member of the Swiss team. Born in the Netherlands, he first represented the Netherlands before moving to Switzerland. He won the Oliva GP3* with Farezzo in 2022.

Dehlia Oeuvray Smits, his wife, is a rider, equestrian center manager and president of the Challenges de Chevenez. Thanks to a very good pillar of horses, Dehlia has achieved magnificent results in the biggest international competitions: Aachen, Calgary, Geneva, St. Gallen, La Baule and Dublin among others.

Bryan and Mike Smits, aged 17 and 13 respectively, are already performing in national and international competitions.

Bryan Smits took part in his first Junior Nations Cup, riding Candy von Hof at Fontainebleau 2022. The youngest, Mike, competed in the Children's Nations Cup at the C.H. de wolden with his handsome bay Lantaro von Hof.

A shared passion for horses has brought Dehlia and Edwin together. From training courses to international competitions, their stable has built a solid reputation and made a name for itself in the equestrian world.

We visited them in March 2023 in Switzerland, where Edwin and Bryan discussed their ambitions for the coming years, as well as their views on wearing airbags.

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The Smits family, from training to Swiss excellence

Can you tell us about a typical day at the stables?

Bryan : At the moment I'm still an apprentice. In the morning I do the boxes, look after the stables and ride a few horses. I ride 6 horses in a day. In the afternoon, I ride my horses and in the evening, I do the boxes.

Edwin : When I arrive at the stables in the morning, I take care of the schedule and then start riding. I tend to ride 4/5 horses in the morning and 1 or 2 horses in the afternoon. The rest of the afternoon is devoted to business, videos, etc...

What's your fondest equestrian memory?

Edwin : J’ai beaucoup de beaux souvenirs, le sport nous a tellement apporté. On a eu beaucoup de chevaux de grand prix qui sont partis dans le monde entier, vers de grands cavaliers. Mon plus beau souvenir restera de concourir à Aix la chapelle avec ma femme. Nous avons gagné en couple à Aix la Chapelle, c’est des souvenirs incroyables. Maintenant bien sur il y a les enfants et leurs bons résultats. Ça nous motive encore plus de continuer dans tous ce que l’on fait. Je pense que c’est ça les plus beaux souvenirs.

Bryan : J’ai deux sortes de beaux souvenirs. Premièrement, c’est mes beaux résultats dans les concours, les belles victoires. Mais je retiens aussi la progression des chevaux. Voir le fruit de notre travail de la maison qui paie en compétition, ça n’a pas de prix.

What's your biggest dream on horseback?

Bryan : I have a lot of dreams, I think you need ambition. But what would give me great pleasure would be to take a horse from our stud, or at least one that started out here at the stables in Chevenez, to the biggest events. That would be a great goal for me.

I have a lot of dreams, I think you need ambition

Edwin: For me, it's a bit of the same thing. We've already seen a lot of horses come through the stable, from our breeding program, and finish in 5* Grand Prix. It's already magnificent. My personal goals would be to stay active in the sport for a few more years, stay fit, and give a lot of support to the children, to prepare them for the future.

What are your short- and medium-term goals? And for the coming season?

Edwin : For the coming seasons, I still have a very good mare Fleur Sinnaa, who competed in Basel and the 5* in Geneva last year, and even in St Galles. This mare has evolved a lot, and I think I'll be able to do a few Nations Cups with her, as well as Grand Prix events.

Then, the plan would be to take good 7 and 8 year old horses to major competitions, to help them progress and get them ready for the top level later on.

Bryan : J’ai la chance actuellement d’avoir plusieurs chevaux extraordinaires. Alors j’espère que cett犀利士 e année sera une belle saison. Je pense aux championnats d’Europe en fin d’année, ce serait un bel objectif. Mais en général, ce que j’aimerais bien ce serait de faire un classement dans un Grand Prix 2* ou une ranking.

In general, what do you think of airbags for horse safety?

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Edwin : Au début, quand les premiers airbags ont vu le jour, j’étais comme tout le monde, j’étais un peu sceptique, je me disais qu’est ce qu’on va en faire. Il y a eu le casque intégral, puis l’airbag … On arrête où les protections ? Mais maintenant, je vois que les airbags sont beaux et discrets, ça ne me dérange vraiment pas de voir un airbag sur ou sous une veste de concours. Mais aussi je ne suis plus très jeune, j’ai besoin de me protéger un petit peu plus et je pense vraiment aux prochaines générations. Quand il y a la possibilité de protéger encore un peu plus avec du matériel beau et en sécurité, je crois que c’est une bonne opportunité.

Bryan : At first, I was a bit sceptical about the airbags because they looked so big on the rider. It's not something that really appealed to me. But now I think that after a big fall, I'd be happy to have an airbag!

What do you think of the SAFEFIT by Seaver airbag? What are its advantages?

He's discreet, so he doesn't feel too competitive.

Edwin : It's very pleasant, it doesn't bother you at all, it's like a little vest you wear. What bothered me at first was the gas cartridge, which took up a lot of space. But once I was riding with the airbag, it didn't bother me at all!

Bryan : I really like it! I wear it very regularly, and I feel more serene when I wear it. It's discreet, so it doesn't feel like too much of a contest.

Introduce the team who will be wearing the SAFEFIT airbag?

Edwin : Tout d’abord, il y a Bryan et Mike, mes fils. Mike a 13 ans et commence dans les children avec de bons résultats, il gagne déjà ses épreuves. Il utilisait déjà l’airbag SAFEFIT by Seaver auparavant. Il a fait une chute récemment et heureusement il portait l’airbag, qui l’a bien protégé ! Nous sommes rassurés.

Then, thanks to this partnership, we're also going to equip the house riders, the grooms who take the horses for rides, the staff... We want to protect everyone.

You'll be wearing the airbag both at home and in competition. Do you prefer to wear the airbag over or under your competition jacket?

Edwin : It depends which way feels better. Maybe under the jacket you can feel the gas cartridge a bit more... It's worth a try!

Bryan : I preferred to have it under the jacket, simply for the visual aspect. I'd like my jacket to show. Maybe it's disturbing underneath ... it's a matter of testing, we'll have to see what's more pleasant.