Belgium’s Gilles Thomas and Ermitage Kalone have won individual bronze at the Longines FEI European Showjumping Championships – two days after they were part of the team that won gold.
Gilles and 11-year-old gelding Ermitage Kalone, owned by Joris van Dijck, have looked strong all week; the pair sealed the deal for Belgium on Friday (18 July) as the team’s anchor rider, and they returned today on that same brilliant form.
“When I was quite young I always dreamed of winning a medal at a big championship, and now I have two,” said 27-year-old Gilles.
“Before I came here, I was hoping for a medal, especially with the team. After the team competition my horse felt very good, so I started believing a little bit in the individual medal.
“Riding such a horse, he makes it look easy. He was in very good shape, and he took a lot of the pressure away. I’ve ridden him for five years and we know each other inside out.”
The competition remained tight throughout the afternoon as only two fences separated the top 25 in the first round. The top 12 then came back for the medal-deciding finale with only a fence separating the top seven.
The pressure and suspense mounted with each round as the final eight combinations all jumped clear, including Ben Maher and Dallas Vegas Batilly who finished fourth.
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Scott Brash and Hello Folie, who were lying in second, and Richard Vogel and United Touch S, who were in gold, both jumped clear to conclude the medal positions.
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Since joining H&H in 2018, Becky has covered a broad range of equestrian news including welfare matters, veterinary studies, FEI Tribunal hearings and road safety campaigns. She has also interviewed top riders including Scott Brash, John Whitaker and Ian Stark, to name just a few. Becky’s reporting has taken her to Canada for Spruce Meadows and France for Pau five-star, as well as the Royal Highland and Blair Castle International Horse Trials closer to home. She was also a key part of the remote reporting team for the Tokyo Olympics and the Europeans.
