General Interest |
| Other information |
STABLES
He is based at Bombadill Equestrian in Oxfordshire, England. The yard is named after his horse Tom Bombadill Too, with whom he competed at two Olympic Games and two World Equestrian Games [WEG]. "It's a dream come true after all those years working hard in the UK to have your own little corner. The idea is to offer the base to all top-level riders from juniors to seniors to get ready for major shows – with the busy UK calendar, people often come over from abroad to have some preparation runs for those big occasions." (Facebook page, 06 Jul 2022 Instagram profile, 25 Sep 2021; horseandhound.co.uk, 27 Aug 2019)
OTHER ACTIVITIES
He was asked to work alongside the organising committee ahead of the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro and help prepare the equestrian competition. He also served as trainer for the Portuguese team at the World Equestrian Games [WEG] in 2002 and 2006, as well as at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. (chrisstafford.podbean.com, 14 Aug 2013; FEI, 22 Sep 2010) |
Further Personal Information |
| Residence |
England |
Sport Specific Information |
| Why this sport? |
His parents were riders, so it was natural for him to take up the sport. |
Further Personal Information |
| Occupation |
Athlete, Business Owner, Coach, Horse Trainer |
| Languages |
English, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish |
Last Update |
| |
21 Dec 2021 |
General Interest |
| Nicknames |
Ruizinho (Facebook page, 12 Mar 2015) |
| Most influential person in career |
His parents. (eventingconnect.today, 10 Jul 2015) |
Sport Specific Information |
| When and where did you begin this sport? |
He first tried riding at age four at the Hipica Paulista club in Sao Paolo, Brazil. |
General Interest |
| Sporting philosophy / motto |
"Keep fighting because with time and hard work, one day things will happen." (eventingconnect.today, 10 Jul 2015) |
| Famous relatives |
His parents competed in equestrian jumping at an elite level, and his father also played polo internationally. His wife Renata Rabello Costa won a bronze medal in team dressage at the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (SportsDeskOnline, 18 Jul 2022; badminton-horse.co.uk, 18 Apr 2017) |
| Injuries |
He fractured the humerus bone in his arm and three ribs after falling from his horse Ballypatrick Srs while competing at the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. He returned to competition in March 2020. "This was my first serious fall with some bad broken bones, but at the end of the day, I was very lucky." (olimpiadatododia.com.br, 03 Mar 2020; horseandhound.co.uk, 27 Aug 2019; fei.org, 05 Aug 2019) |
| Awards and honours |
He received the 'Brasil Olimpico' [Olympic Brazil] Award as Best Eventing Rider of the Year in 2010, 2012, and 2015. (cbh.org.br, 13 Dec 2019) |
Sport Specific Information |
| Club / Team |
Bombadill Equestrian: England |
General Interest |
| Ambitions |
To compete at the 2022 World Championships in Pratoni del Vivaro, Italy, and the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. (cbh.org.br, 07 Apr 2022) |
Sport Specific Information |
| Name of coach |
William Fox-Pitt [national], GBR |
