The entire Nekkerhal in Mechelen, Belgium was undoubtedly on the edge of its seat during the extremely exciting jump-off of the Léon Melchior Prize. In this CSI5*-W Open Sires of the World, the roof was already falling off after a dazzling round by Thibault Philippaerts, but the audience went wild with Christian Ahlmann's ride. As if it couldn't get any crazier, Daniel Deusser did the unthinkable and drove his competition home.
First to enter the ring: Nathan Budd with Touardo Blue Z. Budd pushed the large stride of the 10-year-old son of Toulon, bred and still owned by Hugues Delattre, in this jump-off but had to record a fault at the double combination. Their time was noted at exactly 41.00 seconds.
The playful Columbus Z (Cornet Obolensky), who already showed freshness in the main round, was next in line with Angelique Rüsen. Attempting to match Budd's sharp turn to the double, the pair was unsuccessful. Wilm Vermeir, aboard Top Invest 313 Z (Thunder van de Zuuthoeve), a breeding product of him and his wife Karolien Bongaerts, suffered an early fault but completed the rest of the challenging jump-off flawlessly in 40.44 seconds.
Olivier Philippaerts was the first to defend the family name, riding Nobel van de Vrombautshoeve Z. The 8-year-old stallion by Nabab de Rêve, bred by Peter and Jan Boelens, navigated the double successfully and executed a neatly short turn. Olivier lost his stirrup on the penultimate obstacle but went full throttle toward the final line, crossing the finish line in 41.62 seconds.
That the time could be improved was proven by Gudrun Patteet, who knocked a rail at the penultimate jump. This was no issue for Thibault Philippaerts, determined to do better. Flying and soaring, he guided Obama de La Linière to the last jump. With the 10-year-old offspring of Marius Claudius, he was the first to dip under the 40-second mark, setting a time to beat at 39.88 seconds.
For a moment, it seemed Kevin Jochems would improve on this time with Casillas van de Helle (Casall), but an extra stride toward the Zangersheide vertical caused a 0.13-second difference in the final time. The same applied to Andres Vereecke and the 8-year-old Cuba Libre van Paemel Z (Cicero Z), who finished clear in 43.05 seconds.
Three more to go! Christian Ahlmann, last year's three-time winner of the Mechelen World Cup, relied on Otterongo Alpha Z. The 10-year-old son of Darco supported his rider wherever possible, and it paid off! 2.85 seconds faster!!! The new time to beat was 37.03 seconds. Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida refused to give up without a fight with Solidat (Semper Fi) and gave it his all, but ended up 0.69 seconds slower.
The final combination entered the ring as Almeida left to loud applause. Daniel Deusser and his 16-year-old Tobago, winners of this class in 2017, could still change everything. What seemed impossible, the duo made possible. Another 0.63 seconds were shaved off. The victory was once again, after seven years, theirs.
FIRST ROUND
Nathan Budd and Touardo Blue Z, the vice Belgian champions from Lanaken, were the first clear combination after faults from their predecessors. Shortly after, Angelique Rüsen with Columbus Z secured the second spot in the jump-off. Wilm Vermeir, winner of the World Cup two years ago, followed as the third clear combination with Top Invest 313 Z.
Evelyne Putters and the 8-year-old Quilano vd D&D Hoeve, debuting at 5* level, seemed on track, but a fault at the final fence kept them out of the jump-off. Olivier Philippaerts, with the 8-year-old Nobel vd Vrombautshoeve Z, joined as the fourth rider in the jump-off candidates. Gudrun Patteet, in the saddle of Sea Coast Guinness, boosted the estrogen average in the jump-off as the fifth clear combination. Earlier this month, the pair won the CSI4* 1.50m LR class in Poznań.
Double Belgian champion Gilles Thomas rode a technically strong round with Ermitage Kalone, but a time fault prevented him from participating in the jump-off. Later, Thibeau Spits suffered the same fate with Impress-K van't Kattenheye.
Thibault Philippaerts and Obama de La Linière joined his brother Olivier in the jump-off. The duo, winners of this class last year, are so far the only pair to qualify for the jump-off both years. Kevin Jochems and Casillas van de Helle, eighth in 2023, also managed to qualify again, bringing the number of clear rounds to seven. With seven more combinations to go, Andres Vereecke and Cuba Libre van Paemel Z also kept a clean sheet, raising the total to eight.
Christian Ahlmann then produced a faultless round with Otterongo Alpha Z, ensuring a blue jacket in the jump-off. Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida joined the select group with Solidat. Finally, Daniel Deusser completed the list with a flawless ride on Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z, bringing the total number of combinations in the jump-off to eleven. Among these eleven, two combinations also reached the jump-off last year: Kevin Jochems and Thibault Philippaerts.
First to enter the ring: Nathan Budd with Touardo Blue Z. Budd pushed the large stride of the 10-year-old son of Toulon, bred and still owned by Hugues Delattre, in this jump-off but had to record a fault at the double combination. Their time was noted at exactly 41.00 seconds.
The playful Columbus Z (Cornet Obolensky), who already showed freshness in the main round, was next in line with Angelique Rüsen. Attempting to match Budd's sharp turn to the double, the pair was unsuccessful. Wilm Vermeir, aboard Top Invest 313 Z (Thunder van de Zuuthoeve), a breeding product of him and his wife Karolien Bongaerts, suffered an early fault but completed the rest of the challenging jump-off flawlessly in 40.44 seconds.
Olivier Philippaerts was the first to defend the family name, riding Nobel van de Vrombautshoeve Z. The 8-year-old stallion by Nabab de Rêve, bred by Peter and Jan Boelens, navigated the double successfully and executed a neatly short turn. Olivier lost his stirrup on the penultimate obstacle but went full throttle toward the final line, crossing the finish line in 41.62 seconds.
That the time could be improved was proven by Gudrun Patteet, who knocked a rail at the penultimate jump. This was no issue for Thibault Philippaerts, determined to do better. Flying and soaring, he guided Obama de La Linière to the last jump. With the 10-year-old offspring of Marius Claudius, he was the first to dip under the 40-second mark, setting a time to beat at 39.88 seconds.
For a moment, it seemed Kevin Jochems would improve on this time with Casillas van de Helle (Casall), but an extra stride toward the Zangersheide vertical caused a 0.13-second difference in the final time. The same applied to Andres Vereecke and the 8-year-old Cuba Libre van Paemel Z (Cicero Z), who finished clear in 43.05 seconds.
Three more to go! Christian Ahlmann, last year's three-time winner of the Mechelen World Cup, relied on Otterongo Alpha Z. The 10-year-old son of Darco supported his rider wherever possible, and it paid off! 2.85 seconds faster!!! The new time to beat was 37.03 seconds. Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida refused to give up without a fight with Solidat (Semper Fi) and gave it his all, but ended up 0.69 seconds slower.
The final combination entered the ring as Almeida left to loud applause. Daniel Deusser and his 16-year-old Tobago, winners of this class in 2017, could still change everything. What seemed impossible, the duo made possible. Another 0.63 seconds were shaved off. The victory was once again, after seven years, theirs.
FIRST ROUND
Nathan Budd and Touardo Blue Z, the vice Belgian champions from Lanaken, were the first clear combination after faults from their predecessors. Shortly after, Angelique Rüsen with Columbus Z secured the second spot in the jump-off. Wilm Vermeir, winner of the World Cup two years ago, followed as the third clear combination with Top Invest 313 Z.
Evelyne Putters and the 8-year-old Quilano vd D&D Hoeve, debuting at 5* level, seemed on track, but a fault at the final fence kept them out of the jump-off. Olivier Philippaerts, with the 8-year-old Nobel vd Vrombautshoeve Z, joined as the fourth rider in the jump-off candidates. Gudrun Patteet, in the saddle of Sea Coast Guinness, boosted the estrogen average in the jump-off as the fifth clear combination. Earlier this month, the pair won the CSI4* 1.50m LR class in Poznań.
Double Belgian champion Gilles Thomas rode a technically strong round with Ermitage Kalone, but a time fault prevented him from participating in the jump-off. Later, Thibeau Spits suffered the same fate with Impress-K van't Kattenheye.
Thibault Philippaerts and Obama de La Linière joined his brother Olivier in the jump-off. The duo, winners of this class last year, are so far the only pair to qualify for the jump-off both years. Kevin Jochems and Casillas van de Helle, eighth in 2023, also managed to qualify again, bringing the number of clear rounds to seven. With seven more combinations to go, Andres Vereecke and Cuba Libre van Paemel Z also kept a clean sheet, raising the total to eight.
Christian Ahlmann then produced a faultless round with Otterongo Alpha Z, ensuring a blue jacket in the jump-off. Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida joined the select group with Solidat. Finally, Daniel Deusser completed the list with a flawless ride on Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z, bringing the total number of combinations in the jump-off to eleven. Among these eleven, two combinations also reached the jump-off last year: Kevin Jochems and Thibault Philippaerts.