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The Belgian show jumpers won the silver medal on Friday evening in the team competition at the World Championships in Aachen, Germany. With this, the Belgian team also qualified for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.

The Red Musketeers, who were in third place at the start of the final day of the team competition, began the second round of the second class with 8 penalty points for Nicola Philippaerts (Katanga). Pieter Devos (Casual) received 4 penalty points, after which Thibeau Spits (Impress) posted a clear round. Abdel Saïd (Wathan Quaker) finished the job with a clear round as well.

For this round, only the three best results count. Belgium thus finishes with a total of 11.69 penalty points. With this, they had to concede to 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) also secured their Olympic tickets.

Belgium started the World Championships strongly on Wednesday with a second place finish after the speed course. In the first round of the Nations Cup, they dropped one place. The final featuring the ten best countries was jumped on Friday. Nicola Philippaerts (Katanga) started that final with a jumping fault at the second obstacle, and a rail also fell in the final line. Pieter Devos (Casual DV Z) then also made a mistake at that second obstacle, causing Belgium to drop in the standings.

But the other countries also accumulated jumping faults. Thibeau Spits, at 25 the youngest rider on the team, kept his cool with his impressive stallion Impress and reached the finish clear. Abdel Saïd (Quaker) did the same, competing in his first championship under the Belgian flag. The former Egyptian is based in Herentals and was the only Belgian to remain clear at the World Championships. Yesterday/Thursday, he saved the day with a clear round, and on Friday in the final, he secured second place with a flawless ride.

Earlier in this Equestrian World Championships, Belgium qualified for the Los Angeles Olympic Games in dressage and eventing.

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