Germany’s Hans- Dieter Dreher propelled himself to the top of the podium in the ninth leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM Western European League staged in Mechelen (BEL) this afternoon with the 15-year-old gelding Vestmalle des Cotis. From penultimate draw of the 10 athletes through to the jump-off, he set off in determined fashion to topple long term leader, the host nation’s Gilles Thomas from the top spot, with a clear round in a time of 36.14 seconds.
Gilles Thomas (BEL) and the incredible 10-year-old stallion Ermitage Kalone had set what looked to be an unbeatable time in the second round against the clock from second position as they produced the first faultless round of the jump-off in 36.22 seconds, a time that was good enough to hold the lead after six further combinations had tried to better it. When ‘Hansi’, as he is affectionately known amongst his peers, shaved 0.08 seconds off Thomas’s time, he held onto second place with just one rider remaining. Pieter Devos (BEL) with his exciting homebred nine-year-old mare chased hard with another foot perfect round to cross the finish in a sensational time of 36.26 seconds, just 0.12 seconds behind the leading time. On this occasion, that performance that looked good enough to win most classes, saw him have to settle for the final podium position in third place.
Bart Vonck and his course building team set an up to height but fair track for the 40 pre qualified riders in this ninth leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM Western European League. The field ranged vastly in experience with horses ranging from eight to 16 years old, from 1.60m debutants to seasoned campaigners and former winners of Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM qualifying legs. Athletes ranged from 964th in the current Longines Rankings to 1st, with reigning Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM Champion and World Number One Henrik von Eckerman (SWE) poised to challenge his 39 rivals in a bid to qualify for the Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM Final in Basel (SUI) next year.
Vonck had the unenviable task of reducing the field for round two against the clock without punishing the less experienced athletes. When 25% of the field proceeded to the jump-off he had achieved just that. Having estimated that 12 athletes would answer all the questions to his first-round track, he must have been delighted that 10 did just that, whilst 12 combinations came home with just four faults and only one combination did not complete the course when electing to retire after a couple of early rails.
The home crowd had much to cheer about when the first three clear rounds of round one were delivered by three of their heroes Jos Verlooy, Gilles Thomas and Gregory Wathelet. Edourad Schmitz (SUI) ensured that Switzerland were represented in round two when producing the fourth clear round. Olivier Philippaerts (BEL) and the athletic Precious Dwerse Hagen bolstered the chances of a home side win with an immaculate clear round from the mare that is just nine years old.
Willem Greve (NED) with his great partner Highway TN N.O.P added their names to the jump-off start list and were followed in quick succession by Sweden’s Erika Lickhammer- Van Helmond, Germany’s Sandra Auffarth and Hans- Dieter Dreher. Pieter Devos further raised the spirits of the Nekkerhall’s knowledgeable and hugely appreciative crowd when producing the 10th and final clear round of round one with another exceptional nine-year-old mare, Casual Dv Z.
With a stellar line up of combinations waiting in the wings Jos Verlooy had little option but to post a quick time for the remaining athletes to chase. One fence fell in his attempt to do this however with what is surely another hugely exciting prospect for future Belgian teams, the nine-year-old mare Junius vid Heffinck Z.
Then it was the turn of Gilles Thomas and Ermitage Kalone, a combination held in the highest esteem around the globe already at this early stage in both their careers. Thomas’ intentions were clear long before the start line as he set Ermitage into a formidable pace. There was a split second where the Nekkerhall held its breath as Thomas asked his partner to take off for the first fence some distance away. A moment of hesitation ensued where Ermitage appeared to question the sanity of his pilot, but such was the conviction of Thomas, his belief in his mount and the strength of the trust between them, that Ermitage grew wings and cleared the fence seemingly without effort. A series of breath-taking turns followed and a gallop to the last fence saw them break the beam faultless in a time of 36.22 seconds to take an early lead.
Gregory Wathelet and his winning partner of the first leg of the Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM
Qualifier in Oslo (NOR), Bond Jamesbond de Hay gave their all but a time of 36.76 wasn’t enough to demote Thomas and saw them finish in fourth place. Schmitz and Philippaerts produced tidy rounds of Jumping in times of 38.20 and 38.31 that didn’t trouble the leader but saw them take final fifth and sixth positions respectively.
Willem Greve presented perhaps the greatest threat of the jump-off, partnered with the lightening quick Highway TN N.O.P. Such was the pressure applied by Thomas’ early target, Greve knew he had to do something spectacular to better it. An unbelievably tight turn back to the double of verticals nearly paid off but a light touch here ended their hopes of victory.
Erika Lickhammer- van Helmond stuck to her plan of sacrificing speed in order to give her relatively inexperienced mare I. Comme Tessa Vhl a confidence boosting experience and give her the time to negotiate the fences. She did just that as she expertly guided the exuberant daughter of Comme Il Faut around Vonck’s shortened second round track without touching a fence in a time of 43.83 seconds to take seventh place. Her smile once again lit up Mechelen’s Nekkerhall as she showered the mare with pats and appreciation in front of a full house.
From penultimate position Dreher set off like a man on a mission with his faithful partner of four and a half years, Vertmalle de Cotis. Making use of Vestmalle’s experience and stride he went one stride less than Thomas from the second to third fence of the jump-off, a plan he had made in the collecting ring and delivered in the arena. At the half way stage he was fractionally down on Thomas’ time, but a forward shot to the penultimate fence and committed gallop to the last saw him stop the clock in 36.14 seconds and deny the partisan crowd of a Belgian victory with just one athlete remaining. Despite Casual Dv Z being just nine years old Devos produced an incredibly quick round of 36.36 seconds which was good enough to complete the podium in third position.
“I am really happy today!” Beamed Dreher, whose smile never left his face since checking his finishing time and seeing a big number one flash up beside his name on the score board. “My horse jumped amazing and now I have a fast horse. I did a stride less from two to three (fence one and two of the jump-off). He is a very sensitive horse; the most important thing is that he stays calm! Every year he wins a lot but this is his first World Cup win and the best win of his career.”
Dreher acknowledged the ‘amazing’ crowd and their support for all of the riders which make it so special to win here in Mechelen. ‘It is so impressive to win here, I have all my family here today too so it really means everything’ he concluded graciously.
Thomas was delighted with the performance of his horse, but understandably disappointed to be so close to victory. “He is maybe not the fastest yet as he is not the most experienced in the jump-off but he is getting faster and faster each time.”
Of his heart-stopping moment at fence one Gilles explained, “It was a bit my fault. I took too much risk on (fence) one. I saw my distance from far and was really far off. I even asked myself what shall I do! I’m a little disappointed in myself because if I had started better, we could have done better,” he self-critiqued in the manner of an elite athlete hungry for perfection.
Devos was full of praise for his young homebred star. “She is only nine and has a lot of pressure all along the season. I think the future will be amazing with her and that is what I take with me today.” Having finished fourth last year and third here today Pieter added “I will keep coming until I win!”
Of his next plans he said, “She (Casual Dv Z) will now have a break and we will build her up again for the final. I think I now have enough points to qualify.”
After nine legs of the Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM Western European League 2024/ 2025, Robert Whitaker (GBR) and Kevin Staut (FRA) retain their position as joint leaders with 60 points each. Gregory Wathelet holds onto third place with points today seeing him close the gap between himself and the leaders as he sits on 56 points. His win today sees Dreher jump from 10th to fourth position with 51 points whilst Devos’ consistency sees him move up from ninth to fifth on 47 points just ahead of Germany’s Richard Vogel in sixth position on 42.
The Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM Western European League 2024/ 2025 season moves on to Basel (SUI) for leg 10 of 14 on 12 January to kick off 2025. Leipzig (GER) then plays host to the 11th leg on 19 January 2025 before the series moves on to Amsterdam (NED) on 26 January 2025 for leg 12 of the Longines FEI Jumping World CupTM Western European League 2024/ 2025.
Full results here.
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