Nicola Philippaerts (BEL) showcased a star in the making on Saturday night as he guided 9-year-old Gadget Mouche to win the $340,000 5* Grand Prix, presented by KASK, to cap Major League Show Jumping (MLSJ) Leg 5 at Tryon International.
A seasoned Belgian nations cup rider and member of MLSJ team Archers, Philippaerts returned at the bottom half of a 12-horse jump-off over courses designed by Peter Grant (CAN).
Gadget Mouche — a French-bred Andiamo Semilly son — was produced through the Philippaerts program by his father Ludo and brother Thibault and is now making a name for himself at the five-star level. Philippaerts debuted the gelding in the 5* ranks in Spruce Meadows only a month ago.
When Philippaerts entered the Tryon stadium, his fate was all but sealed as the runner up after Irish Olympian Shane Sweetnam and James Kann Cruz — his mount from the 2024 Paris Olympics — laid down a blistering pace of 43.94 seconds to take over the lead from world no. 1 Kent Farrington aboard Greya.
“If you can beat these guys with these horses, it’s always very nice to be able to do that,” admitted Philippaerts, who earned his first MLSJ grand prix title.
Gadget Mouche was efficient in the turns and quick across the ground to pip Sweetnam and his Gizmo Partners owned mount by two tenths of a second and steal the win.
“This is his third five-star where he jumped the grand prix, and he feels very good. He was very quick tonight,” continued Philippaerts. “I’m happy to be back over here in America. It’s my second year in Major League and I really enjoy it; it’s a great sport, great riders and a lot of great events.”
When asked about his recent string of second-place finishes, Sweetnam answered, “I have a lot of experience coming second this year so I always felt there was someone that maybe could catch me [tonight], but I left everything out there. James Kann Cruz is brilliant, and his results speak for themselves. Not just this year, every year. When you go to jump on him, you know you have a chance.”
The record-breaking evening that was promised was not to be after Farrington settled for third aboard his phenom mare Greya on a time of 44.18 seconds. Farrington is still on the hunt to make history with his ninth grand prix win in one year, while Greya chases her own record of seven.
“I’m at the wrong end of this lineup tonight,” said Farrington. “I was very happy with my horse — she’s an incredible athlete and I am very proud of what she’s doing in the sport. It was going to be a tall order tonight when there’s so many clear going faster and faster. I’m happy with the horse, disappointed to be third.”
(Top Canadian in this rich grand prix was Tiffany Foster and Electrique, who placed 9th.)
Complete results from the $340,000 5* Grand Prix, presented by KASK, can be found here.
A team win for the Archers at MLSH Hudson Valley and Philippaerts’ individual victory in Tryon, moved him into the top 15 in the individual season rankings.
(Messy!) podium presentation with Helios, Rainmakers and Archers. (MLSJ / Meraki Creative Group)
Team Helios Takes 2nd Victory
Helios scored their second win of the 2025 Major League Show Jumping (MLSJ) season in the $262,500 5* Team Competition, presented by Cabana Coast, on Friday evening during Leg 5 at Tryon International. Michael Duffy (IRL) on Be Sky Hawk, Tony Stormanns (GER) aboard Donjon d’Asschaut and Richard Vogel (GER) riding Michael Jackson W made up the winning squad.
The reenvisioned team is led by team manager Helena Stormanns this season and owned by roster member Genevieve Meyer. They started the year strong with a win in Traverse City before doubling down in Tryon.
“Tony’s the young one here so he needed a bit of support from these two guys who are fantastic riders on very experienced good horses,” said Helena Stormanns of her son’s debut in MLSJ team competition. “I thought it was more important to run the two experienced ones in the first jump-off because it has always shown that it’s better to be in the top two and then try to win. We’ve been in the top four every time so far [this season], and we’re very happy.”
Seventeen-year-old Tony Stormanns made an impactful debut with Helios by jumping to the team’s only fault-free day. Efficient opening rounds by Duffy and Vogel were followed by clear first jump-offs for both, sending Tony to the gold-medal round against Great Britain’s Samuel Hutton for rookie team the Rainmakers. With less than a half second to spare, Tony pipped Hutton for the win in a time of 46.80 seconds.
“I was most excited for the first round because it’s my first time jumping on a team at the five-star level,” said Tony. “Someone once said to me, ‘if you know horses there’s no one to bet on because anything can happen.’ So, a 17-year-old can win, and Olympic riders could be fourth, but thank you very much to Genevieve and Gwendolyn, and my mum, Richie and Michael, and everyone else on the team.”
Hutton aboard Ambassador Z was joined in second by USA’s Skylar Wireman on Barclino B and Karl Cook with Kalinka van’t Zorgvliet. After besting the Desert International Horse Park (DIHP) Roadrunners in the bronze-medal match, the Archers kept the momentum of their Leg 4 win going with a podium finish in third.
“If you throw enough mud at the wall, some of it’s going to stick eventually,” joked Duffy, who has suited up for all but one team competition this season. “That’s always our motto; to be there or thereabouts as much as we can. Clear rounds matter. In the end, we can get caught up on the speed, but the clear rounds are probably what matter most.”
Current world no. 5 and reigning European Champion Richard Vogel noted, “It’s always nice to compete at MLSJ shows; they are all very nice venues, great sport and when it comes down to the team class, we all get very excited. We have a great team spirit, and we had a very good day today. Tony did not just secure us the gold in the final jump-off but also in the first round he was the only one of us three riding clear, so today Tony saved it for us.”
Despite not advancing to the medal round in Tryon, Maccabi United and Trailblazers still sit atop the season standings with Helios currently hanging on to third. View current MLSJ team standings here.
Complete results from the $262,500 5* Team Competition, presented by Cabana Coast, can be found here.
The next stop for MLSJ kicks off December 3 at Desert International Horse Park (DIHP) in California for Leg 6 and 7.
For more information on Major League Show Jumping and to view complete schedules, rosters and more, visit majorleagueshowjumping.com. Get in on the action by downloading the MLSJ App and tune in live all season at ClipMyHorse.tv .
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