A vacation in Canada resulted in a fresh start, a love connection, and new opportunities for show jumper Charlotte Bettendorf of Luxembourg.
Bettendorf, 37, works for trainer Mark Hayes at John Kimmel’s JFK Farms in Ancaster, Ontario. She has had a sensational year in the show ring in Ontario and the US, competing Good Girl DK and Good Luck de Beaufour, and several other horses owned by Kimmel including Million Pleasure.
Horses have been part of Bettendorf’s life since birth. Her parents own the renowned Haras du Gibet breeding and training farm in Luxembourg, and Bettendorf and her younger brothers, Victor and Basile, are all FEI show jumping riders. (Victor is ranked 39th in the FEI Longines Jumping World Rankings).
“My parents never wanted us to go professional. But when you have success and like what you’re doing, you stay with it.”
“I was sitting on a horse before I could walk,” Bettendorf says. She played other sports including basketball, but she and her brothers were passionate about riding. “My parents never wanted us to go professional. But when you have success and like what you’re doing, you stay with it. My parents helped us on that path. We seldom bought horses, as we were riding and bringing along our own horses, selling them and starting over.”
“Our father (Charles, a veterinarian) put all three of us in the saddle and chose the best horses for us. We all like to win. He sent us to other coaches to get experience and learn.”
Bettendorf, who speaks four languages, started university, but didn’t finish. She instead found employment in Germany as a rider and trainer before going to work for 1976 Olympic medalist François Mathy for six years at his stable in Belgium. Three years ago, she returned to work at her family’s Haras du Gibet in Luxembourg.
Bettendorf became one of Luxembourg’s most successful riders, regularly ranking among the top 150 in the world.
In September 2024, her career hit a devastating setback when she received an 18-month suspension from the Luxembourg Anti-Doping Agency (ALAD) for administrative issues that had nothing to do with doping. Due to technical issues and a busy travel schedule, Bettendorf missed posting updates in the system that requires top athletes to track their whereabouts.
Despite an appeal, she was given an 18-month suspension and all her FEI results since May, 2024 were cancelled, despite the disciplinary board acknowledging no actual doping was involved. She wasn’t allowed to teach or show at home during the suspension. Hayes, who had met her several years prior while horse-shopping at Mathy’s barn, invited her to visit Canada. She planned to stay for a couple of months and help Hayes at JFK Stables.
She met her now partner, Breken Corcoran, an oil industry engineer, during that time and decided to stay in Canada. She got a work permit and was hired to ride for Hayes and JFK Stables. A couple of young horses her parents bred are in the barn, along with several others Bettendorf rides and competes with, including Good Girl DK, a 10-year-old Selle Francais mare (Ceira d’Ick x Kannan).
“I rode her in Europe. Mark saw me riding her there and John Kimmel bought her just before I got suspended. I never thought I was ever going to ride her again,” Bettendorf says. “She is the first FEI horse I rode after coming back from my suspension. I’ve been very happy with our results.”
“It’s much different here than in Europe, as the sport is more accessible there. Here, boarding is more expensive and every show is at least an hour away.”
The pair won the $62,500 Spring Classic CSI3* in Kentucky in May, won the Traverse City CSI4* Speed class in June, and finished second in the $185,000 RBC Grand Prix at the Ottawa International in August.
Bettendorf also rode Kimmel’s Good Luck du Beaufour, a 10-year-old Selle Francais gelding by Diamant de Semilly, to second-place finishes in the CSI4* 1.40m class in Traverse City, and in the $25,000 Motion Endeavours Grand Prix at Caledon Equestrian Park. Bettendorf has also had success with Holsteiner gelding Million Pleasure, winning the 1.45m class in Ottawa in August and the $15,000 1.45m Jumper Classic in Traverse City. Those results are rapidly bringing her close to her goal to rank in the FEI Longines top 250 before year’s end.
Bettendorf reflects on the differences between the sport in Europe and North America.
“It’s much different here than in Europe, as the sport is more accessible there. More people are breeding and more kids are riding. Here, boarding is more expensive and every show is at least an hour away.” Still, she says has found that while there are fewer riders in North America, at the top the level of competition is strong and “you still have to be fast and clean.”
She enjoys working with Hayes, describing him as a great trainer.
“Maybe because it’s because of the hunter classes here – we don’t have those in Europe, or very few – Mark is much more precise and detailed,” Bettendorf says. “In Europe, you use your eye and feel, but Mark is very helpful getting into the details and you ride better and better if you take care of every detail.
“I’d love to ride hunters, as it’s very different. I’m going to do that maybe next year.”
“I really like the Canadian people, who are very friendly and welcoming.”
Bettencourt is aiming to get permanent residence status and after that, is considering becoming a Canadian citizen. Because Luxembourg is small, it is difficult to have enough qualified riders to form a team, and difficult to qualify for the Olympics.
In the meantime, she’s looking forward to other personal firsts such as riding in Wellington and Ocala, Florida in early 2027 and at the Royal Horse Show in Toronto in November. And in September, she’ll check another item off her bucket list.
“Riding at Calgary was always my dream since I was a kid,” she says.
That dream will be realized at the Spruce Meadows Masters Tournament when she’ll ride in the CSIO5* with Good Girl DK and in the CSI2* with Million Pleasure and another of John Kimmel’s horses, Kalliope, a 10-year-old Belgian Sport Horse mare by Emerald.
Bettendorf has embraced her life in Canada. “I really like the Canadian people, who are very friendly and welcoming. I live in Ancaster and really enjoy the community. And I enjoy going to the cottage and the big lakes.
“With horse shows, we are lucky in Ontario that we have Keean (White, president of the Angelstone Group of Companies) doing lovely shows at Caledon and Angelstone, and of course, the shows in Ottawa, too.”
Follow Charlotte on Instagram here.
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