Round 1 (on their own horses)

Starting order:

  1. Gilles Thomas: Riviera van het Dennehof (Chatman)
  2. Pieter Devos: Diabella PS (Diatendro)
  3. Nicola Philippaerts: Rakker van St Anneke (Goldspring van St Anneke)
  4. Thibeau Spits: Quendelin van’t Merelsnest (Kannan)

In the first round, each rider competed on their own horse. Gilles Thomas and Nicola Philippaerts produced clear rounds and were able to start the horse swap with a clean slate.

Thibeau Spits and Gilles Thomas each picked up one penalty point.

Afterwards, each rider was given two minutes to jump two practice fences with the unfamiliar horse before being allowed to start their next round.

Round 2 (first swap)

Starting order:

  1. Gilles Thomas: Diabella PS (Diatendro)
  2. Pieter Devos: Rakker van St Anneke (Goldspring van St Anneke)
  3. Nicola Philippaerts: Quendelin van’t Merelsnest (Kannan)
  4. Thibeau Spits: Riviera van het Dennehof (Chatman)

During the first swap, commentator Niels Bruynseels noted that Gilles Thomas immediately changed his spurs. He explained that he felt Diabella “seemed sensitive” and wanted to adapt to the mare. It paid off with a clear round.

Gilles Thomas: “Diabella seemed a bit nervous to me, but after she had jumped a first round, I could work with her calmly and we were able to produce a fairly neat round.”

Thibeau Spits also delivered a faultless round on Gilles Thomas’ horse. Philippaerts and Devos each had a rail.

Round 3 (second swap)

Starting order:

  1. Gilles Thomas: Rakker van St Anneke (Goldspring van St Anneke)
  2. Pieter Devos: Quendelin van’t Merelsnest (Kannan)
  3. Nicola Philippaerts: Riviera van het Dennehof (Chatman)
  4. Thibeau Spits: Diabella PS (Diatendro)

The third round ran very smoothly. All four combinations stayed clear. That meant all four pairs went into the final round on 4 penalties.

Round 4 (third swap)

Starting order:

  1. Gilles Thomas: Quendelin van’t Merelsnest (Kannan)
  2. Pieter Devos: Riviera van het Dennehof (Chatman)
  3. Nicola Philippaerts: Diabella PS (Diatendro)
  4. Thibeau Spits: Rakker van St Anneke (Goldspring van St Anneke)

In the decisive round, the riders swapped horses one last time. Thibeau Spits and Gilles Thomas each caught a rail at the very last moment, which left them sharing third place.

Pieter Devos and Nicola Philippaerts both stayed clear, booking their places directly into the jump-off.

Round 5 (jump-off)

Starting order:

  1. Pieter Devos: Diabella PS (Diatendro)
  2. Nicola Philippaerts: Rakker van St Anneke (Goldspring van St Anneke)

In a very tense jump-off, the win ultimately went to Pieter Devos. With a faultless round, he secured a convincing victory. Diabella PS was the only horse to finish all rounds without a single fault. Nicola Philippaerts had slightly less luck and lowered two rails, finishing in second place.