Growing up on a stud farm with a father who rides can have two different outcomes; developing a passion for horses or walking away in disgust. Emilio developed a passion while his brothers did not… 

One of the pillars of Italian show jumping, he has an approach to the sport that attributes the utmost importance to the horses’ physical and psychological wellbeing, since, according to Emilio, they need to feel the hands of human beings, getting pats and developing a close bond. His international career does not exclude great devotion for the younger horses he brings on and trains, and this is a passion within his passion for horses in general. His top horses have included Kapitol d’Argonne and Ares, while all eyes are now on Call Me. Bicocchi believes that commitment and humility are essential for obtaining great results, as is the desire to never lose a desire to learn more.

When not away at shows, his horses are taken out four times every day, so they experience different things and don’t feel that every  time the stable door opens it means the same thing… ! “ At times I might feel a little nervous before a competition, but once in the arena it’s me and my horse, alone and facing the jumps, number one, number two, three and then... when it’s over, I feel as if I am waking up after a dream and...it’s over....I pat my horse.” His equestrian idols are the German rider Marco Kutscher and Great Britain’s Scott Brash.