‘The two best routines of our career’: Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus raise the bar again at Fontainebleau

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Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus on their way to winning Saturday's grand prix on a personal best of 83.5% at the Fontainebleau CDIO5*
Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus on their way to winning Saturday's grand prix on a personal best of 83.5% at the Fontainebleau CDIO5*
(Image credit: FEI/Evan Oudin)

Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus posted back-to-back personal bests at the Fontainebleau CDIO5*, winning Saturday’s Nations Cup grand prix (18 April) on 83.5% then lifting the mark again to 91.86% in Sunday’s freestyle to underline their status as the pair to beat in 2026.

First of the three anchor riders to go in a closely contested team competition, the European champions set a benchmark the rest of the field could not reach.

Oscar Williams
Oscar Williams
H&H dressage and sport horse editor

Oscar joined Horse & Hound in October 2023 and is the magazine’s dressage editor and sports manager, overseeing coverage of equestrian sport. After studying equine science at Myerscough College, he spent four years working for leading dressage rider Emile Faurie, competing at the 2015 National Dressage Championships and travelling with the yard to CDIs including Aachen and Saumur. He holds a master’s degree in Literature from York St John University (2021).