Duarte Romao and Jalisca du Lirot secured victory in the consolation class for seven-year-olds

On this penultimate day of the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses, attention is naturally focused on the finale of the Belgian Senior Championships, but it is also the day during which the various consolation classes are held. The seven-year-old horses took to the centrally located Ratina Z-Arena from 10.15 am, and this once again produced an excellent and, above all, thrilling competition.

A total of 84 pairs lined up at the start of this consolation class, in which the fences were once again set at a height of 1.40m and the riders competed against the clock. The Portuguese rider Duarte Romao emerged as the fastest rider with the Selle Français mare Jalisca du Lirot, a daughter of Diamant de Semilly and Nonstop, bred by EARL Centre Equestre De Pirou. Romao and Jalisca du Lirot finished in 58.63 seconds after a strong round, giving them a lead of well over a full second over their closest rivals.

First in hot pursuit were the Brazilian rider Thiago Ribas Da Costa and Sheriff v/d Hunters Z, a son of Hunter’s Scendix and Contendro I, bred through a collaboration between Hunters Studfarm and Krismar Stables. Ribas Da Costa and Sheriff v/d Hunters Z also kept all the crossbars neatly in place, clocking a time of 59.78 seconds.

Third place went to the young Belgian rider Seppe Wouters with the mare Thia, a daughter of Nixon van ’t Meulenhof and Deauville de la Vie, who was born at Staf Brosens’ stud. Wouters and Thia also completed the course without any faults and crossed the finish line in 60.03 seconds.

Danish rider Maria Hjorth Frederiksen, riding the Danish gelding Harmilly D (Harley VDL x Diamant de Semilly – breeder: Liselotte Frederiksen) and the Dutch rider Monique van den Broek on the KWPN gelding Oslo (Poker de Mariposa x Concorde – breeder: Temmink) were the other two top-five finishers.