| Hobbies |
Rugby, spending time with friends, cooking. (byathlete.com, 09 Mar 2020) |
| Most influential person in career |
French eventer Marie-Reine Perie, British eventer Nick Burton, New Zealand eventer Andrew Nicholson. (Athlete, 25 Oct 2011) |
| Hero / Idol |
New Zealand eventers Andrew Nicholson and Mark Todd, British eventer William Fox-Pitt. (Athlete, 25 Oct 2011) |
| Injuries |
He dislocated his shoulder in 2019. (jourdegalop.com, 14 Feb 2021)
In February 2018 he fell from a horse while training and suffered a broken elbow and a muscle strain. He underwent surgery and returned to competition in April that year. (leperon.fr, 28 Mar 2018; leperon.fr, 17 Feb 2018)
In June 2017 he fell from a horse at his stables in France and damaged the ligaments in his left knee. He underwent surgery and returned to competition in August that year. (lequipe.fr, 26 Oct 2017)
He broke his collarbone at the 2010 European Young Rider Championships in Pardubice, Czech Republic. Three weeks later he was bucked off a horse and broke his wrist, elbow, and radius. (Athlete, 25 Oct 2011) |
| Sporting philosophy / motto |
"You can win major championships due to luck or poor form of your opponents, but to be the world's number one you have to show a consistently good performance across all competitions." (mymajorcompany.com, 31 Jan 2014) |
| Awards and honours |
He was flag bearer for France at the opening ceremony of the 2018 World Equestrian Games [WEG] in Tryon, NC, United States of America. (leperon.fr, 09 Sep 2018) |
| Ambitions |
To win the Badminton Horse Trials in England, and to claim gold at the Olympic Games. (byathlete.com, 09 Mar 2020) |
| Other information |
TIME ABROAD
He lived in England for several years earlier in his career, working with New Zealand eventer Andrew Nicholson. He returned to France to live in Normandy in 2016. "I wanted to buy a property but England is unaffordable. Normandy is a land of horses and is near England. I feel at home here." (actu.fr, 25 Aug 2016; horseandhound.co.uk, 15 Mar 2016; eventingnation.com, 14 Oct 2013)
STABLES
He runs Astier Ecuries in Basseneville, France. (astiernicolas.com, 10 Jun 2021)
PROJECT
In January 2020 he founded an academy in France to help train grooms. He was inspired to set up the facility after spending time in England. "It's a very specific job and you cannot find enough qualified personnel. [Grooms in England] are a little bit more advanced, more autonomous, better organised and with a better horse knowledge. In France there are not enough of them." (chevalmag.com, 06 Dec 2019)
EXPENSIVE BUSINESS
He hoped that winning a gold medal and a silver medal at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro would help him attract sponsorship to develop his stable of horses. "For the highest level, we need financial partners. I am now 30 [in 2019], and at that age, we do not find a million Euros under our pillow. The best horses have a price and we must stop making people believe that we will build dreams with a few Euros. This is no longer the reality. To be at the highest level, I need an experienced mount that I can take to the top. Such a mount is, despite my titles, inaccessible without the accompaniment of a financial partner." (grandprix-replay.com, 01 Mar 2019)
MISSED OLYMPICS
He had to withdraw from the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo after his horse, Babylon de Gamma, sustained an injury less than one month before competition. (lequipe.fr, 01 Jul 2021) |
FEI Database
en.astiernicolas.com/accueil 
Astier Nicolas 
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