The Philippaerts family will send five show jumpers to Knokke Hippique this week. Besides Nicola, Olivier, Thibault and Anthony also Ludo Philippaerts will take part in some competitions. Even more: in the competition of the seven year olds all five Philippaertss will compete against each other for the first time.
On Monday, Flemish Minister of Agriculture Hilde Crevits paid a working visit to the Philippaerts family. Her colleague Flemish MP and mayor of Oudsbergen Lode Ceyssens took the initiative. The minister told them among other things that in the future PaardenpPunt Vlaanderen can count on a subsidy of 325,000 euros. Afterwards, the Minister showed around the stables, pampered some horses with a delicious carrot and listened with fascination to Carmen Cremers' professional explanation. Jaak Vermeulen and his sons proudly told about Katanga v/h Dingeshof, the horse that was bred a few hundred metres away and with which Nicola Philippaerts rode a double clear round in the Nations Cup of Sopot last weekend. The visit ended with the setting up of an obstacle that was then easily cleared by Thibault Philippaerts. Besides being very enthusiastic, the minister was also impressed by the infrastructure and spoke full of admiration for the amount of work that goes into a jumping performance.
Last weekend Olivier Philippaerts took part in the Longines Global Champions Tour in Stockholm. With a sixth place, the second round was just a little less. In the standings, the London Knights are provisionally in fourth place. The only downside to the trip to Stockholm is an injury to the right knee which forced Olivier to use crutches on Monday. Resting is the best medicine for now. Thursday we know if Olivier can participate at the Knokke Hippique.
Nicola Philippaerts participated this weekend in the Nations Cup in Sopot, Poland. Together with Katanga v/h Dingeshof he rode a double clear round and had a large share in the second place of the Belgian team. "If you take the results of the last six months into account you will see that Katanga jumps either zero or four. She is jumping really well. Sunday she proved again that she is a fixed value in the team with that double clear round. To ride a Nations Cup you need a special horse, and Katanga is just that. In Saint-Tropez there was a bad luck fault, but she was still second in the qualification. She's got the good form and I hope she can keep it up for a while."
The next task for the Philippaerts family awaits them in Knokke where the Knokke Hippique is organised. For the first time all four sons and father Ludo Philippaerts will participate in the same show. "In the seven-year-olds we will compete against each other and I will try to win. I have trained hard and I am ready for it", says a very eager Ludo Philippaerts. The pater familias means every word of it. "I am really looking forward to it because this will be my first competition in Belgium since my return to the sport. Of course I will help the kids when they ride the GPs, but the focus is on myself. It's going to be a lot of fun.
Nicola Philippaerts smiles broadly when he listens to his father. "We'll see who is fastest. When one is in the lead the other one will try to beat him. A bit of healthy competition within the family, nothing wrong with that. I am especially looking forward to driving together with everyone. That will be a beautiful and at the same time exciting family moment."
Source: Press release