The Red Musketeers, who were in third place at the start of the final day in the team competition, started the second round of the second test with 8 penalties for Nicola Philippaerts (Katanga). Pieter Devos (Casual) received 4 penalties, after which Thibeau Spits (Impress) recorded a clear round. Abdel Saïd (Wathan Quaker) finished the job with another clear round.
Only the three best results count for this round. Belgium ends up with a total of 11.69 penalty points. This meant that it had to tolerate only Germany (4.48). Great Britain (12.98) completed the podium. The United States (16.85) finished fourth, ahead of Italy (19.69). Switzerland (20.49), Ireland (23.69) and France (24.99) have also secured their Olympic ticket.
Belgium started the World Cup strongly on Wednesday with a second place after the chase course. It dropped one place in the first round of the country prize. The final was held on Friday with the ten best countries. Nicola Philippaerts (Katanga) started that final with a jumping error on the second obstacle and a beam also fell in the last line. Pieter Devos (Casual DV Z) then also made a mistake on the second obstacle, causing Belgium to sink in the rankings.
But the other countries also piled up jumping errors. Thibeau Spits, at 25 years old the youngest rider of the team, kept a cool head with his impressive stallion Impress and reached the finish without a fault. So did Abdel Saïd (Quaker), who jumped his first championship under the Belgian flag. The former Egyptian is based in Herentals and was the only Belgian who did not make a single mistake at the World Cup. Yesterday/Thursday he saved all the furniture with a flawless round and on Friday in the final he also took second place with a flawless ride.
Earlier at this Equestrian World Championships, Belgium qualified in dressage and eventing for the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
