Austrian rider Jasmin Alexandra Pirker has built her showjumping career around a concept that comes up again and again when she talks about her horses: trust, patience and never giving up. This philosophy takes on a special meaning when you learn the story she shares with Quin V, the horse with whom she went from being eliminated in 1.10-metre classes to competing in her first European Championship just three years later.
Now, Pirker faces a new international challenge with his participation in the CSIO4*-NC EEF Final in Avenches, where he will have the opportunity to represent Austria after a season that he defines as especially positive.
Her bond with horses began practically as long as she can remember. Both her father and mother rode, and the latter even competed in 1.45-metre events. For Jasmin, she was a role model from the very beginning. She wanted to follow in her footsteps and began riding when she was barely three years old.
“I always wanted to be like her,” she recalls. Horses took up a good part of her childhood from then on, but it was the arrival of her first pony that finally and definitively awakened her passion for show jumping.
As she progressed in the sport, Pirker had the opportunity to encounter horses that played very different roles in her training. One of the first great masters was Magic, a horse with previous experience in 1.60-metre classes who came to her when she was 16 years old.
With Magic, she made the leap from her first 1.30-metre trials to making her debut at 1.45. His experience allowed Jasmin to learn as she progressed towards greater heights and, above all, to gain a confidence that would prove fundamental for the rest of her career. “He always jumped, so I think he gave me a very important confidence,” she explains.
However, if there is one horse that he considers truly decisive in his development, that is Quin V. The gelding, which is currently ten years old, came into his life three seasons ago, when he was seven and still had little competition experience.
The beginnings were a far cry from straightforward. Jasmin admits that Quin made things particularly difficult for her and that that phase ended up becoming one of the biggest lessons of her career. “It taught me that you must never give up and that you always have to believe in your horse, even when no one else does.”.
The evolution of the partnership perfectly encapsulates that philosophy. When Quin arrived, the pair were eliminated in 1.10-metre classes. Three years later, the horse, which has already achieved placings in classes of up to 1.50 metres, took Jasmin to her first European Championship.
Quin V is also a horse in which Pirker recognises a good deal of his own personality. “I think you could say he's like me. We're both very stubborn.” He describes him as a horse capable of being quite wild, but who, once you understand how to handle him, is willing to do anything for his rider.
Alongside him is currently Rantzau 111, a nine-year-old gelding with whom Jasmin has achieved placings up to 1.45 metres. His personality changes completely depending on the context. In the stable or during a hack, he is, according to his rider, one of the calmest and most relaxed horses you can find. But everything changes when he enters the arena.
At that moment, Rantzau knows perfectly well what his job is. “He always tries to impress everyone who is watching him,” Pirker recounts.
The third member of her current group is Kai-Uwe von Imhoff, an eight-year-old gelding that has already competed up to 1.40 metres this season. He does not belong to Jasmin, but his owner and breeder, Angela Imhoff, has given her the opportunity to present him in competition during 2026.
If Quin stands out for his character and Rantzau for that transformation when he enters the arena, Kai-Uwe does so for his playful personality. Jasmin defines him as the most playful horse she has ever known, always positive and willing to make friends with everyone he meets.
Pirker's way of working is closely related to the lessons he has learned alongside all of them. At home, he tries to introduce variety into their routines and prevent training from becoming purely hard work. Hacks are a regular part of his schedule, and he tries not to jump between competitions too much, using gymnastic work to focus on those aspects that need improvement.
For the Austrian female rider, sports performance begins long before entering an arena or even getting into the saddle. “Your horse has to trust you and you have to trust it. You shouldn't spend time with them only when you're riding; the right connection starts much earlier.”.
For Pirker, that mutual trust is what allows a partnership to reach places that initially seemed out of reach. “When you and your horse truly trust each other, you can push your limits and achieve things you never thought you could accomplish.”.
His own story with Quin V is probably the best demonstration of those words. From the initial difficulties and eliminations at 1.10 metres to competing together at a European Championship, their journey together has been marked precisely by the decision to keep trusting when the results were not yet following.
With that experience behind her, Jasmin now arrives in Avenches excited at the prospect of representing Austria in the CSIO4*-NC EEF Final. “For me it is a true honour to be a part of all this. We have had a great year and my boys have always given of their best. I am really thrilled to show this week what we can do.”.
The competition thus represents a new chapter in a career that has already led Pirker to surpass some of the goals she had set for herself as a child. Back then, her big dream was very specific: one day she wanted to compete at the same level as her mother had.
Today that goal is left behind. “I have achieved things that nobody thought I would,” he acknowledges. Therefore, instead of setting a single big objective now, Pirker prefers to enjoy the journey he has built alongside his horses and look forward with enthusiasm to what is still to come.
“Now I just enjoy everything the future has in store for us.”.
