When he stepped onto the top step of the podium after the five-year-old world final in Lanaken, Sam Widger honestly did not look much older than his mount. In his defence, the Irish rider is only 16. With Vintage van de Heyveldhoeve, he claimed the world title at the end of a final where precision mattered. Real precision: his time of 54.14 seconds placed him just fourteen hundredths from the ideal time. It also gave the BWP the first title of a day that would smile on the Belgian studbooks.
Fourteen hundredths for a world title
On Sunday morning, from 8:30 a.m., the five-year-olds had the honour of opening “Super Sunday” at the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses in the Ratina Z Arena.
Thirty-eight combinations, qualified through Thursday and Friday’s classes, came forward for a final over 1.30m fences. Eighteen of them would complete the first round clear and earn the right to return for the second round.
This year, however, there was a small twist.
Rather than a race against the clock, the finalists had to get as close as possible to an ideal time set at 54 seconds by course designer Bernard Mathy and his team. Clear, obviously.
An exercise in precision that leaves very little room for improvisation.
Among the last to go, Sam Widger and Vintage van de Heyveldhoeve almost set the watch perfectly.
Clear. 54.14 seconds.
Fourteen hundredths over the ideal time. Nobody would do better.
Vintage, six months later
The new world champion is a BWP mare by Kasanova de la Pomme and I Am Moerhoeve’s Star, bred by Bert Stoop.
Greg Broderick bought her from her breeder around a year ago, and Widger only took over the reins six months before this championship.
Not exactly enough time to celebrate their tin anniversary, then.
But enough to find the buttons.
« “Vintage felt good all week, but I did not expect to win this final. ”, Widger explained after his victory. The young Irish rider described a mare with blood, particularly careful, and one who “ really fights for you in the arena. ».
Then came the sentence that reminds you that, behind the calm he showed in the ring, there is still a 16-year-old boy: he thanked Greg Broderick for allowing him to ride “ such a good horse at my age ».
And it was ultimately at the podium that the scene took on its full flavour. Vintage is world champion at five. Beside her, with his still-youthful face, her rider hardly seems to have that much more mileage.
Hardly.
One Irish rider can hide another
To find the runner-up in this final, there was no need to cross the Irish Sea.
Coen Williams and GLC Mr President, a gelding bred by Gareth Cassidy by Conthargos and Untouchable, had been the first to start in the second round.
They too had understood the instructions perfectly: clear in 54.18 seconds.
Four hundredths.
That was the gap between gold and silver.
Behind them, Rik Nauta gave Belgium bronze with the BWP Vazan van Strijtem, by Cazan van het Schaeck Z and Saros van ’t Gestelhof, bred and owned by Marc and Kristof De Pauw. Clear in 54.48 seconds, he too stayed glued to that famous ideal time.
Ireland’s Niamh McEvoy (who, it must be said, had quite a good weekend too; see our article Easy Peasy, the Title Worth Far More Than Gold” took fourth place with BP Bob Rock, while France’s Maxime Thefenne completed the Top 5 with the KWPN Rhodondence..
Two Irish riders in the top two, another Irish rider fourth.
Well. Let’s just say that Irish presence in a young horse final at Lanaken is not exactly the geopolitical upheaval of the year.
The first of a Belgian treble
At that moment, Vintage van de Heyveldhoeve was simply the new five-year-old world champion.
What followed, however, would give her title even more weight.
Because the three Lanaken finals in 2026 would ultimately crown horses from Belgian studbooks: Vintage van de Heyveldhoeve, BWP, in the five-year-olds Easy Peasy Indebus Z in the six-year-olds Elotte Z in the seven-year-olds. No need to explain the Z in their names.
Three finals, three titles for Belgian horses.
But the first came with a particularly tasty image: that of a five-year-old mare being crowned world champion with, on her back, a rider of just sixteen.
In Lanaken, on that Sunday morning, talent was clearly not waiting for the number of years.
Find the full results of the five-year-old final here
Find the article on the six-year-old final here
Find the article on the seven-year-old final here
(So Horse with Zangersheide. Photos © Zangersheide/Sportfot)
