The vet check for the jumpers who will ride the qualification for the individual competition in Paris on Monday is in full swing. The four Belgian horses, being Jérôme Guery's Quel Homme de Hus (Quidam de Revel), Gilles Thomas' Ermitage Kalone (Catoki), Wilm Vermeir's Iq van het Steentje (Toulon) and Gregory Wathelet's Bond Jamesbond de Hay (Diamant de Semilly) were all given another green light.
It was already clear beforehand that Gregory Wathelet, should he not have to fill in for the team, would start the individual qualification in Paris with his 13-year-old stallion. As for the team, it was also decided before departure that Wilm Vermeir and his 16-year-old Iq would step down.
National coach Peter Weinberg: "At major championships we always decide in advance, together with the entire team, who will ride. We do this in order to maintain peace and tranquility within the team during the championship. This decision is therefore final at departure, unless it should still change due to unforeseen circumstances."
Tomorrow, all four riders and horses will start in the warm-up round, where they will evaluate the form of each combination one last time.
Still, Vermeir was one of the team's star performers with Iq in excellent form. The duo was charged with only one jumping fault in both qualifying and the final. Wathelet in turn was part of the bronze team in Tokyo with Nevados S (Calvados Z).