Simon DelestreOlympian

About Simon Delestre

Simon Delestre is a renowned French showjumping rider, born on 21 June 1981. Raised at his family's equestrian centre near Metz, Delestre rapidly forged a path in the world of showjumping. In his youth, he clinched double champion titles in France Poneys in 1994 and 1995. He has proudly represented France in major events such as the Olympic Games, European Championships, and World Championships. Delestre attained world number one status in 2016, highlighting his expertise and commitment to the sport.

Delestre has a record of competing in international tournaments with distinguished results. He earned a bronze medal in the 2015 European Championships in Aachen and was part of the team that won a silver medal at the 2014 World Equestrian Games in Caen. Although an injury to his horse necessitated his withdrawal from the 2016 Rio Olympics, he achieved a 19th-place finish in the individual jumping and 12th with the French team at the 2012 London Olympics. He remains a strong contender on the global scene, having recently aided the French team in securing a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

Dossier review, 6 August 2026. Delestre has three verified competitive Olympic appearances: London 2012 with Napoli du Ry (19th individually, 12th with France), Tokyo 2020, held in 2021, with Berlux Z, where France qualified sixth and finished eighth in the team final, and Paris 2024 with I Amelusina R 51, where he won team bronze and finished 17th in the individual final. He was selected for Rio 2016 with Hermes Ryan but withdrew before competition after the horse was injured and Philippe Rozier replaced the combination; that is a pre-competition withdrawal and is not counted as an Olympic appearance. His three senior championship medals are World Championship team silver at Caen in 2014, European individual bronze at Aachen in 2015 and Olympic team bronze at Paris in 2024.

He has five FEI Jumping World Cup Final starts, at Leipzig 2011, Lyon 2014, Gothenburg 2016, Omaha 2017 and Paris 2018, with a best placing of ninth and no podium; his World Cup qualifier wins at Mechelen, Lyon, Verona and Riyadh are separate results and are not Final victories. He has one Rolex Grand Slam Major win, the Rolex Grand Prix at The Dutch Masters in 's-Hertogenbosch on 16 March 2025 with Cayman Jolly Jumper, reported as the first by a French rider; his 2025 Saut Hermes Grand Prix win is a Rolex Series result and is not a Major. He reached world number one on 2 March 2016.

On the 6 August 2026 FEI snapshot he was 27th in the Longines Ranking on 2,287 points, with Gatsby du Tillard and Golden Boy DK his two ranked combinations. He had back surgery in October 2025 and shoulder surgery after a fall at Cannes on 6 June 2026, returned to competition in July 2026 and was not selected for the August 2026 Aachen World Championships.