20 September '26
Niamh McEvoy wins another World Title with Easy Peasy Indebus Z
© Sportfot
The battle for the world titles at the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses continued this afternoon with a particularly thrilling final for the six-year-olds. From 12.00, the finalists took to the arena for another showdown to decide the gold, silver and bronze. With a place in the decisive jump-off as the primary objective, and with both well-known names and previous medallists at the start, it promised to be another fascinating battle for the world title.
The top 42 pairs from Thursday and Friday’s qualifiers entered the Ratina Z-Arena from 12.00 and were presented with a technically demanding and challenging course. However, the standard in this final for six-year-olds was exceptionally high, as no fewer than 20 pairs completed the basic round clear of faults, thereby qualifying for the decisive jump-off. This set the stage for a particularly thrilling finale in the battle for the world title.
That jump-off then turned into a nail-biting contest, in which the margins remained extremely narrow. The gold ultimately went to the Irish rider Niamh McEvoy and the gelding Easy Peasy Indebus Z, a son of Emerald van ’t Ruytershof and Baloubet du Rouet, bred by Dennis Van Tilburg and his wife Jasmien Thiry. As the tenth pair to start, McEvoy and Easy Peasy Indebus Z raced to the finish line in 40.85 seconds. In doing so, they held off the competition and McEvoy was able to add yet another world title to her list of achievements.
Niamh McEvoy: “This is truly incredible. Greg (Broderick) bought him last year as a five-year-old and he’s always been one of Greg’s favourites. Today he showed why. He’s got immense power and is also incredibly careful. I only found out two weeks ago that I’d be riding him here, so I didn’t know how he’d react to a jump-off where it’s all about the time. But above all, he’s shown today what a fantastic attitude he has.”
The silver remained at home thanks to the German rider Angelique Böckmann and the stallion Django Z, a son of Dourkhan Hero Z and Captain Fire who was bred in Germany by Georg Sievert. Böckmann, who rides for Christian Ahlmann’s stable, guided the stallion from Stoeterij Zangersheide to the finish line in 41.71 seconds, delivering a stunning performance for the blue and yellow colours.
The bronze medal in this final for six-year-olds went to the French rider Emeric George and the Selle Français gelding Kelstar Derick, a son of Mylord Carthago and Jarnac from the Elevage de Rick stud. George and Kelstar Derick also rode a clear round in the jump-off and crossed the finish line in 41.78 seconds.
The other places in the top five of the rankings were taken by the young Irish rider Sam Widger on the Irish mare BP Wishes (Aganix du Seigneur Z x Cruising – breeder: Gbbs Int Ltc) and his compatriot Jenny Ranking with the mare Kassie Devine Z (Kassander van ’t Roosakker Z x Diamant de Semilly – breeder: Bocken-Johansson Stables).