27 September '25
Jos Verlooy captures Belgian title for the fourth time
© Sportfot
The battle is over and the new Belgian Senior Champion is known! In front of packed grandstands this afternoon, it was Jos Verlooy who lived up to his role as favourite, adding a fourth national title to his record. The final kept the audience in suspense until the last jump, with nerve-wracking moments and a sensational denouement that made Verlooy's victory all the more impressive.
On Saturday afternoon, during the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses, it is traditionally time for the denouement of the Belgian Senior Championship. The best 16 combinations from the two qualifying rounds on Wednesday and Thursday reappeared in the ring for an ultimate battle for the coveted medals.
First round with shifts
As expected, the first round of the Belgian Championship final proved a tough task. Only five of the 16 combinations managed a clear round, causing some shifts in the standings. For example, both Sacha Beghuin with the 13-year-old stallion Elcup Van Beek Z (Elvis Ter Putte) and Frédéric Vernaet with the 10-year-old BWP gelding Paulus L (Corydon Van T&L) dropped out of the top five after each ran into eight penalties. Reigning Belgian Champion Gilles Thomas and the 9-year-old BWP mare Qiara de Kalvarie (Sea Coast Dont' Touch Tiji Hero) moved up from 5th to 3rd place despite a jumping fault.
In the absolute top of the standings, however, the situation remained unchanged. Both Jan Vermeiren with the 9-year-old BWP mare Qmusic-K van 't Kattenheye (Le Blue Diamond van 't Ruytershof) and Jos Verlooy with his 15-year-old grey gelding FTS Killossery Konfusion (Siec Livello) jumped a clear round and remained on track for the national title with scores of 0.6 and 0 penalties.
Tension all around in the second round
The second decisive round brought fourteen combinations to the start and it remained wildly exciting until the very last moment. In the end, it was Jos Verlooy who remained calm & collected won the national title for the fourth time. As the last rider to go, Verlooy and FTS Killossery Konfusion ensured a flawless performance just like in the previous three rounds and were also the only ones to stay clear over the full line.
"Whether I could have imagined beforehand that we would win the title again, I cannot say, but I compete to win, otherwise I don't compete," begins Verlooy. "When we finished at the top of the standings on day 1, that definitely gave extra motivation for the days ahead. And I knew that today, provided I didn't let my horse down, we had a good chance of winning."
Winning the national title again makes Verlooy proud. "It is fantastic that we can have the Belgian Championship here at Domein Zangersheide. Nothing but compliments for Judy-Ann and her team. And of course my own team, they are so incredibly important. The work they put in behind the scenes is partly why we finished on top of the podium today."
After his two consecutive Belgian titles, the silver medal went to Gilles Thomas. Thomas and Qiara de Kalvarie also kept zero on the scoreboard in the decisive round, securing another medal and doing so with a score of 5.2 penalty points.
The bronze went to Pieter Devos, who shone with a win at yesterday's Vienna Global Champions League. Together with the 10-year-old BWP mare Panamarenko van den Blauwaert (For Passion d'Ive Z) who was acquired as a 7yo at the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses, he stayed clear in both final rounds, but one penalty point for time in the decisive round put him at 6.2 penalties and eventually relegated him to 3rd place.
Just outside the top three was young rider Bart Jay Junior Vandecasteele with the 10-year-old grey gelding Vamos de la Pomme d'Or Z (Vigo d'Arsouilles), while Jan Vermeiren finished in 5th place with Qmusic-K van 't Kattenheye. Vermeiren ran into eight penalties in the decisive round.
Click here for the results.