World Cup Jumping Mechelen

The World Cup show jumping competition in Mechelen had it all. Bart Vonck and his team had built a technically demanding but fair course. The last line in particular, with a light plank and then the triple combination before the final oxer, was a real challenge. But mistakes were made at all obstacles. The riders said later that this was mainly due to the short time available, which did not allow them a moment to catch their breath. In the end, only five out of 40 pairs made it into the jump-off.

The Swede Marcus Westergren was delighted when he was the first rider to qualify for the jump-off with his Zangersheide stallion Airco de L’Esprit Z. As number 236 in the world rankings, the 49-year-old was one of the outsiders in the competition, but you couldn’t tell from any of his rounds.

The competition in the jump-off was fierce with Belgium’s superstar Gilles Thomas (BEL) on Qalista DN, the two German shooting stars Patrick Stühlmeyer with Baloutaire PS, the Dutch Stuttgart and La Coruña winner Willem Greve on Grandorado and the pair who had been victorious in Verona, Daniel Deußer on Otello de Guldenboom. The quintet competed against the clock in this order.

A nail-biter for Thomas

Marcus Westergren and his athletic, explosive white horse Airco de L’Esprit kicked things off. This was only the third jumping competition at this level for the pair. They set the standard with a jump-off in 42.34 seconds. The knockdown happened at the jump-off of the double combination. This obstacle proved to be the decisive element of this jump-off.

Gilles Thomas and his nine-year-old Emerald daughter Qalista DN showed immediately afterwards that it is possible to go faster than Westergrenn and Airco de L’Esprit. They crossed the finish line in 41.30 seconds, but paid for the tight turn on the double combination in the jump-off course with a knockdown. They were too far away from the mighty oxer that marked the jump-off. The fact that the mare nevertheless remained clear at the jump-off says everything about her quality. They took the lead. But Thomas was still disappointed. He knew that there were still three classy pairs to come who now had the better cards.

But no matter what tactics the competition used, whether playing it safe like Willem Greve or with a mixed calculation like Stühlmeyer and Deußer, it didn’t work. Meanwhile, Gilles Thomas struggled with his disappointment behind the scenes.

But one colleague after the other failed. Patrick Stühlmeyer and Baloutaire PS were caught out at a steep jump after a long canter on a curved line, the previous obstacle 16. Their time: 44.05 seconds, third place for the time being.

Willem Greve then tried his luck with his 14-year-old KWPN stallion Grandorado TN. The Dutch rider put the Eldorado vd Zeshoek son in perfect order. He didn’t ride the tightest turns, only letting the stallion’s ground-eating canter work for him. But he was also caught out at the jump-off of the double combination. It was simply bad luck. And it was too late to make up any time. The clock stopped at 45.63 seconds and he finished in fifth place.

Now it was getting exciting. In Verona, the eleven-year-old Otello de Guldenboom had already shown that he could do anything. A clear round would mean World Cup victory number two for the pair. Deußer took things quickly, but did not risk everything. Even before the double clear, it was clear that the pair could not be faster than Thomas and Qalista. Then came the double clear – and he also made a mistake. Daniel Deußer and the son of his fantastic Tobago Z, who was retired from the sport this year and is now available to breeders via Gestüt Zangersheide, needed 44.44 seconds. Otello promoted his sire today. Even though he “only” came fourth this time.

Gilles Thomas was all the more delighted when the well-wishers suddenly rushed up to him and cheered him on. He had won. His courage to take a risk had paid off in the end.

Marcus Westergren celebrated the biggest success of his career to date with second place. Patrick Stühlmeyer was delighted with third place. All the more so given that he only took over the 14-year-old OS stallion by Balou du Rouet son, bred by his boss Paul Schockemöhle, from his colleague Philip Rüping this season. Since then, not a single show has gone by without the pair achieving a top ten placing. They won their debut at the CSI3* in Lier and came sixth in the Grand Prix. This was followed by placings in Riesenbeck, Lanaken and St. Tropez and, most recently, second place in the Grand Prix in Frankfurt.

Daniel Deußer with Otello and Willem Greve with Grandorado followed in this order in fourth and fifth place.

Qalista DN, the overachiever

European team champion and individual bronze medal winner, overall winner of the Global Champions Tour and winner of twelve four and five-star show jumping competitions this year alone – Belgian show jumper Gilles Thomas has had an incredible season. And on the penultimate day of the year, he ensured a crowning finale thanks to Qalista DN.

“To end a season like this is fantastic,” said Thomas later. Until I knew that I had won, I was actually still very disappointed because I know that my horse is so fast and that I had perhaps taken too big a risk with the double,” he reflected. But it worked out. And he knows who he has to thank for that, Qalista.

“She is incredible. This was the first World Cup competition she has jumped and she wins it. Wherever we competed this year, it was the first time for her. Everything was new to her, but she does everything with ease. She has already won a lot and I think she will continue to do so.”

It’s fair to say that the mare has already won a lot. When you have a star like Ermitage Kalone in your stable like Gilles Thomas, it can easily happen that the other horses are overshadowed. But the nine-year-old Qalista DN is a star in her own right. Thomas has had her under saddle since 2024. Before that, she was presented three times at the World Championships for Young Show Jumpers by Walter Lelie alone. She was already highly successful with Thomas in youngster competitions as an eight-year-old. She ended the 2024 season with a victory in the Grand Prix at the CSI2* in Lier and started the 2025 season in the same way.

Whatever Gilles Thomas had hoped for in the mare’s first season at five-star level, Qalista is likely to have exceeded it. Qalista had accumulated a good portion of the points that brought the Belgian rider overall victory in the Global Champions Tour. She finished fourth on her GCT debut in Monte Carlo. This was followed by a third place in Valkenswaard, a victory in New York and a second place in Rome. She won the Grand Prix in Maastricht. In Geneva, she carried Thomas to fourth place in the top ten jumping competition. And now she took her first World Cup victory in front of a home crowd in Mechelen.

You can find all the results here.