Thomas triumphs at Magical Mechelen
Gilles Thomas (BEL) went one place better than he did 12 months ago this afternoon to claim a memorable victory in the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Qualifier of Mechelen. Riding the sensational nine-year-old mare Qalista DN, the Belgian athlete delivered a breathtaking jump-off round, stopping the clock at 41.30 seconds.
However, victory appeared to slip from his grasp when he lowered the first element of the double combination at fence 4a. An agonising wait ensued for the young Belgian star but with three world class partnerships- two of whom have already claimed victory in a Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ leg already this season- waiting in the wings, his hopes of victory were all but shattered.
Sweden’s Marcus Westergren, making his Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ qualifier debut, astounded the knowledgeable crowd in round one as he and the electric 11-year-old stallion Airco de L Esprit Z put on a sensational display of jumping to provide the first clear round from 11th draw of the 40 pre-qualified combinations.
Returning for round two with the unenviable first draw, the partnership once again exuded confidence and ability in abundance to produce another eye-catching round, with just the second element of the double falling in a time of 42.34 seconds. This performance was only bettered by Gilles Thomas, so saw the Swedish pair take the second podium position ahead of Patrick Stühlmeyer and Baloutaire PS, who’s jump-off performance of four faults in 44.05 seconds was rewarded with the final podium position.
Just five athletes were able to put all the required elements together and deliver faultless performances over Bart Vonck’s (BEL) 13-fence track. A tight time-allowed, three verticals set at 1.61m and a complex combination comprising of a 1.58m vertical on one stride to a 1.60m wide oxer, before one stride to a 1.60m vertical on exit, all contributed to clear rounds proving elusive in round one.
Whilst the combination and the 1.61m high delicate plank set five strides before it, were responsible their fair share of the faults accrued, such was the complexity of Vonck’s track, that every single one of his 16 jumping efforts was lowered on more than one occasion throughout the duration of the class.
At the halfway stage of round one, just two athletes, Westergren and Thomas had delivered faultless performances. The packed Nekkerhal had to wait until the final 10 athletes of the class before anyone could join them. Stühlmeyer produced the third clear before Willem Greve (NED) and Daniel Deusser (GER), winners of three legs of the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Western Europe League 2025/2026 between them already, added their names to the jump-off list.
Westergren’s opening four-fault round looked vulnerable, despite his performances already having catapulted him into the spotlight. Thomas followed with his nine-year-old Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ debutant Qalista DN. The pair pulled off a sensational turn after the oxer at fence 10 to cut back inside fence one on the way to the new vertical at fence 16.
From here the inside line to the double at 4a and b appeared to be the only option for any combination wishing to be competitive, but as Thomas came off the turn to part A he had to push to get up to the oxer and ended up a little further off the first element than he would have liked. Consequently, the game mare couldn’t quite make the stretch for the back bar and the pole fell to huge sighs and gasps from the invested home crowd. With four faults recorded in a quicker time of 41.30 he held the lead but also little hope of clinging on to it.
When Stühlmeyer had a slightly long and flat approach to the vertical at 16, his chances of delivering the elusive clear disappeared as it fell and he too completed on four faults in a slower time of 44.05 seconds. The class appeared to be playing into the hands of the seasoned and more experienced World Cup athletes Greve and Deusser. Knowing that a clear round would still far from guarantee him victory in light of the recent form of the partnership to follow him, Greve had a tactical decision to make.
He opted for a clear round over high-risk speed, but when the front rail of the oxer at 4a fell once again, he had little chance to make up any time and his slower four fault round saw him drop into fourth place with one athlete remaining. Victorious in Verona’s (ITA) third leg last month, the on-form combination of former World Number One and the 11-year-old stallion Otello de Guldenboom looked poised to repeat that feat in Mechelen with only a clear round required this time in order to do so.
The Nekkerhal fell silent as Deusser guided his mount around the jump-off track, expecting him to nudge their young star off the top spot. When the the front rail of 4a hit the surface once again, all eyes turned to the clock. Deusser had not wasted any time but had sacrificed speed in a bid for executing the elusive clear and with only one fence remaining had insufficient time to make up the deficit between the pace of Thomas and himself.
The Belgian crowd couldn’t hide their excitement as the clock ticked over to 44.44 seconds slotting Deusser into fourth, as it meant that their own young hero had claimed his first Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ victory and had done so on home soil just 12 months after coming so tantalisingly close last year with the sensational Ermitage Kalone.
Thomas couldn’t hide his relief and elation at finally achieving this sensational feat so early in his career:
“After such a year, its amazing to finish it off like this! Until I knew I had won I was actually still very disappointed because I know my horse is so quick and maybe I took a bit too much risk there to the double.” Gilles Thomas
Explaining his reaction to realising he had won he told: “I wasn’t really watching because I had no doubt already, 99 percent of the time, that (Daniel) will just finish it off, so I was still very disappointed thinking that last year I was second and this year maybe again. But I turned around and suddenly there were 20 people around me shouting Congratulations!”
He concluded by praising his wonderful mare Qalista: “She’s unbelievable. It’s the first World Cup that she’s jumped and she wins it. Wherever we go this year it’s always the first time for her, all new for her but she takes it all always so easily. She’s won already a lot, and I think she will still win a lot!”
Marcus Westergren was overjoyed with his career best performance of finishing second today: “It’s unbelieveable, I didn’t expect this at all! I know the horse is fantastic and that he’d do anything for me- he’s just so nice!”, he said of his incredible partner Airco de L Esprit Z with a huge smile across his face.
Westergren was also full of praise for the show put on at Mechelen and by the wonderfully knowledgeable and appreciative audience. He seemingly spoke on behalf of everyone when he expressed the feelings of all who had voiced their opinions on the show and those who attend it: “It’s incredible; it was unbelievable to be inside there today. The crowd and everybody were amazing. To have people like that around you who really support and are happy for you is so nice!” he concluded.
After seven of the 13 legs that make up the 2025/2026 Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Western European League, Willem Greve heads the standings on 52 points ahead of Max Kühner (AUT) in second on 45 points and Daniel Deusser with 38 points in third. Richard Vogel (GER) sits fourth with 36 points just ahead of Julien Epaillard (FRA) in fifth.
The Longines FEI Jumping World Cup™ Western European League turns its attention now to Basel as the Swiss city hosts leg eight on 11 January to open proceedings for 2026. Leipzig (GER) then takes centre stage with leg nine taking place on 18 January 2026 before Amsterdam welcomes the series for leg 10 on 25 January 2026.