Last Sunday, Stijn (Que Sera JW Van De Moerhoeve) won the Belgian Championship for 8-year-olds. Thibault (Gift des Lunes) finished in second place. With three more horses in the top 10, Team Philippaerts had a very strong overall performance.
On Sunday afternoon, the championship for 8-year-olds took place at Sentower Park in Oudsbergen. Team Philippaerts was well-represented in what felt like a home match for them. The top 21 combinations from the qualifiers competed for the Belgian title. In a jump-off with four, Stijn was the only one to go clear. As a rider for Team Philippaerts, he took the top spot, leaving Thibault and Olivier behind. "I’m mainly happy that I finally managed to beat them. It was often so close before. This time I succeeded, and it feels great. But to really call it a competition, it’s not quite like that," says Stijn.
Stijn and Que Sera were the only pair out of 21 participants to remain faultless twice on Sunday. "I am very happy with this win. At the beginning of the week, there was still doubt about whether we would participate. Que Sera is at a turning point in her career, and it seemed like a good time to join this championship. When I got her a few months ago, I mainly had to calm her down. She wanted it too much, she had too much drive and determination. Now she’s doing better. After the first day of the championship, I had a good feeling. If everything went well, I could do well. And look, we won the title."
Stijn has been in the sport since he was twelve years old and has been with Team Philippaerts for seven years. "I mainly focus on training and guiding the young horses. I have to make sure they are ready for the big work later. If there are issues with a horse, I take care of it, try to see what’s wrong, and start working on it. A typical workday starts at 8 a.m. with a check on the horses. I see how they are in their stables, their expression, and their legs. Then we look at the schedule and start riding. I usually ride around seven or eight horses a day. Of course, I have also ridden horses that have moved up and are now competing at the highest level. Katanga van het Dingeshof, Nicola’ top horse, is a great example. I once won two Grand Prix at two-star level with her. I also worked with Pandora van de Kruishoeve for a while. She won the YH finals in Aachen last year.
Winning the Belgian Championship for 8-year-olds was very satisfying for Stijn. But on Monday, it was back to business as usual, starting the day with a visit to the horses. "Those wins are nice, but I quickly get back to reality. Next week could be completely different. It’s important to look forward to the next task. And that task, like all others, is to improve and elevate the horses. My ambition is not in top sports but in developing and improving the horses. Seeing daily progress in horses is my greatest pleasure," concludes Stijn.
Ludo praises Stijn. "Stijn has become an essential part of Team Philippaerts over the years. He is a major yet quiet force within our team. A hard worker who was rewarded for his excellent work yesterday. Credit where credit is due. This must have given him great satisfaction."
Jenny (Hipster SV) finished sixth for Team Philippaerts. Olivier (Nobel van de Vrombautshoeve Z) finished eighth. Thibault also made it into the top ten again with Quilano, coming in ninth.
