On home soil, Belgium didn’t just win the Longines EEF Series West qualifier. They suffocated the competition. Zero faults on the board. A performance so clean and composed it almost felt disrespectful, while the other nations were still searching for places to save precious points. Behind them, Great Britain and the Czech Republic tried to stay within touching distance. But on Friday in Lier, the script had already been written in black, yellow and red.
A team built to win
Filip Lacus’ message was clear before the first horse even entered the ring: Belgium had not come to make up the numbers.
« We came with a very competitive team to maximise our points, ”, explained the Belgian chef d’équipe.
Mission accomplished.
The Red Musketeers had already laid the foundations in the opening round. Spoiler alert: the second round was almost more of the same.
Koen Vereecke and Quinoa De La Liniere set the tone with a polished double clear full of control. Frederic Vernaet and Orak D’Hamwyck T&L followed suit, equally faultless.
Then came Gilles Thomas, already an individual bronze medallist at the latest European Championships, who slammed the door shut aboard Riesling Van T Roosakker, the nine-year-old BWP stallion increasingly looking like a future heavyweight on the global circuit.
Even the four faults picked up by Jeroen Appelen and King CJS in round two only served as a reminder that the Belgians were, after all, human.
Gilles Thomas shuts it down
At the halfway stage, four teams were still tied at zero: Belgium, Germany, Great Britain and the Czech Republic. A proper nerve test.
But Nations Cups are often decided by the anchor rider. And this time, Gilles Thomas stepped into the role like a seasoned closer.
His second trip aboard Riesling Van T Roosakker tilted the entire evening Belgium’s way. While others cracked under pressure at the final line, the Belgian pair remained ice-cold.
“Riesling is a horse for the future. Competitions like the Longines EEF Series are crucial for the development of horses and riders towards the highest level,” said the world number five.
Hard to argue with him. The stallion has blood, scope and that effortless quality that turns heads — and waves tricolours in the grandstands.
Britain so close… then one rail too many
Great Britain leave Lier with a frustrating second place. Very frustrating.
Jodie Hall McAteer and La Gupardie had launched the British campaign perfectly with a solid double clear.
Emily Ward, Sienna Charles and especially Harry Charles kept the pressure on until the very end.
But the Olympic champion watched victory disappear at the final element of the triple combination. One light rub aboard Fighting Phil. Four faults. Curtain down.
Britain finished second, faster than the Czech Republic, who also ended on four faults.
The Czech revival
Third place for the Czechs, and not without significance. Their last podium finish in the series dated back to 2021.
Oliver Pisarik and Elixir De Hus delivered the team’s only double clear, while Sara Vingralkova and Emma Sophia Spanko produced solid enough rounds to push the Czech Republic back into the European conversation.
Less spectacular than Belgium perhaps, but seriously well organised.
Germany solid, Ireland nowhere near
Germany narrowly missed the podium on eight faults despite double clears from Paula de Boer-Schwarz and Tom Schewe.
Italy, three-time winners of the EEF Series, had to settle for fifth. Giampiero Garofalo and Querido Van’t Ruytershof kept Italian hopes alive for much of the competition, but the team never truly found its rhythm.
For France, Edward Levy and Griss De Kerglenn produced an eye-catching double clear, though it was not enough to avoid a discreet seventh-place finish.
Sweden, meanwhile, were rescued by former Courrière Grand Prix winner Adam Carey, who delivered his team’s only double clear aboard the Luxembourg-bred Quebello D.
As for Ireland, it was a major disappointment. Completely off the pace, they managed just one clear round all day.
Belgium send a message
Beyond the result itself, this victory says something bigger.
Belgium continue to produce horses, partnerships and generations of riders with an almost irritating consistency for their European neighbours. Between the experience of Koen Vereecke, the rise of Gilles Thomas and the sheer depth of the squad, the Belgian pipeline still looks very far from running dry.
And in a season where the major championships are fast approaching, this collective zero on the scoreboard already feels like a warning shot fired at the rest of Europe.
Find Complete results from the Lier EEF Nations Cup available here.
(Photo cover ©EEF)