Belgium’s golden boy returns home

The youngest-ever LGCT Champion and European gold medallist leads star-studded field at Belgium’s festive showjumping spectacular.

As Christmas lights twinkle across the Nekkerhal, Belgium’s premier indoor showjumping event Jumping Mechelen is underway, and all eyes are on hometown hero Gilles Thomas – the 27-year-old who has rewritten the record books in 2025.

Fresh from a season that saw him crowned the youngest Longines Global Champions Tour Champion in history, Thomas returns to the arena where he first competed as a child, now carrying the weight of expectation and the confidence of a rider at the peak of his powers.

A remarkable season

Thomas’s 2025 campaign reads like a fairytale. In July, he secured team gold and individual bronze at the European Championships in A Coruña, Spain, riding Ermitage Kalone. By October, he had clinched the LGCT Championship with two stages to spare – the earliest any rider has achieved the feat in over a decade.

“Getting the armband quite early in the season gave me wings,” Thomas reflected after securing the title in Rome. “I was very motivated and focused on every LGCT Grand Prix, and I liked the pressure of being the leading rider.”

That pressure culminated in victories in Paris and New York, podium finishes in Shanghai, Rome and Valkenswaard, and a dominant points tally of 287 that left his nearest rival, two-time champion Harrie Smolders, trailing by 41 points.

The horses behind the success

Central to Thomas’s meteoric rise has been his partnership with Ermitage Kalone, the striking 11-year-old Selle Français stallion who has become synonymous with style, scope and unflappable temperament.

“Ermitage Kalone makes me a better rider,” Thomas said in a recent interview. “Looking back now, everything happened quite quick, but whatever happened always seemed to do so at the right time. If he was there five years earlier, I would have been too young for such a horse, and he would for sure have been sold.”

The chestnut stallion by Catoki delivered when it mattered most – securing Belgium’s team gold in A Coruña with a pressure-proof clear round, then returning two days later to help Thomas claim individual bronze. Their breakthrough LGCT Grand Prix victory in Paris under the Eiffel Tower marked the moment when the partnership elevated to championship calibre.

Alongside Ermitage, Thomas’s stable depth has proven crucial. Qalista DN, a nine-year-old mare by Emerald van ‘t Ruytershof, carried him to victory in the LGCT Grand Prix of New York and second place in Rome. Luna van het Dennehof secured second place in Shanghai earlier in the season, demonstrating the strength Thomas has built across multiple top horses.

Coming home

For Thomas, Jumping Mechelen holds special significance. “From a very young age, I used to come to the Nekkerhal, at first to support my uncle, Marc Van Dijck,” he explained earlier this year. He first entered the iconic arena as a competitor in the mini steeple before gradually ascending to the sport’s highest level.

Now, the poster rider for Jumping Mechelen 2025, Thomas brings an impressive string of horses to compete over the five-day event, including Qalista DN, Chuck Marienshof Z, and Qiara de Kalvarie for the five-star classes. He’ll also present four stallions in the breeding classes on December 27.

A Belgian dynasty in the making

At 27, Thomas represents a new generation of Belgian showjumping excellence. His European Championship success came alongside riders who have become close friends and fierce competitors – Thibeau Spits, his contemporary, and the slightly older Nicola Philippaerts and Pieter Devos.

“Thibeau and I never rode on the same youth team, so we joked that when we are seniors, we could perhaps finally jump on a team together,” Thomas recalled. “As we were speaking about 2025, I told Thibeau to make a good plan for the year ahead so that we could both do the Europeans. The week after, Thibeau called me with his plan, and in A Coruña, we won gold!”

On opening night (December 26), Thomas will feature in an absolute first for the Nekkerhal – a five-star horse swap class. The Belgian European Championship stars, known as The Red Musketeers, will exchange their trusted mounts for their teammates’ horses in a rare and highly spectacular competition.

Joining Thomas in this groundbreaking event are his compatriots Thibeau Spits, Nicola Philippaerts, and Pieter Devos – the same quartet who delivered Belgium’s second European team title in A Coruña. The format promises countless surprises as each rider attempts to forge an instant connection with an unfamiliar horse over a challenging course.

“With this team, a European Championship medal was never an unrealistic goal, but you still have to go out there and do it,” Thomas said of his teammates after their golden performance in Spain.

The road ahead for this Belgian quartet includes defending the European team title on home soil in 2027 – Belgium’s first time organising a senior championship – and the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

World-class competition

While Thomas carries the hopes of the home crowd, he faces fierce competition from an elite international field. Current World Cup league leader Willem Greve of the Netherlands brings his exceptional form, having opened the 2025-26 season with victory in Leipzig aboard Highway TN N.O.P. and followed up with third place in Bordeaux.

Last year’s Mechelen winner, Hans-Dieter Dreher, returns to defend his title, while 2024 World Cup Final champion Julien Epaillard adds further star power. Multiple Olympic medallist Maikel van der Vleuten and the legendary Daniel Deusser complete a line-up that represents the absolute pinnacle of the sport.

The Belgian contingent is equally formidable. Niels Bruynseels, fresh from winning the Belgian Championship for 7-year-old horses, joins Pieter Devos, who has been a consistent presence at the top level throughout 2025. Thibeau Spits arrives on the back of a bronze medal in the Rolex Grand Prix of Geneva with Impress-K van ‘t Kattenheye, while brothers Nicola and Thibault Philippaerts bring generations of Jumping Mechelen experience.

The road to Fort Worth

The week builds towards the Longines FEI Jumping World Cup qualifier on December 30, offering crucial points for riders seeking qualification for the Final in Fort Worth, Texas, next April. With the Western European League heating up, every rail and every second counts.

Running alongside the five-star action, the Belgian Indoor Championship offers €10,000 in prize money plus a year’s lease of an Avant Machine 530 for the winner of the 1m45 class. The week also features the FEI Jumping Ponies’ Trophy, showcasing the world’s best young riders and their diminutive but talented mounts.

Jumping Mechelen runs through December 30, with competition across multiple arenas and a festive shopping village creating the perfect end-of-year celebration for Belgium’s horse-mad community. The atmosphere in the Nekkerhal during the holiday season is legendary, with passionate crowds creating an electric environment that riders consistently cite as one of the sport’s most special experiences.

“Belgians are true horse people and you notice that in everything, including the crowd,” said Willem Greve. “There is a real passion and admiration, and you can feel that right into the ring.”

For Gilles Thomas, competing at Jumping Mechelen as LGCT Champion and European medallist represents the culmination of a childhood dream realized. From the mini steeple to the sport’s biggest stages, his journey embodies the passion, dedication and talent that makes Belgian showjumping a global force.

As the Longines World Cup qualifier approaches on Sunday, December 30, the question on everyone’s lips: can Belgium’s golden boy cap his extraordinary 2025 season with victory on home soil?

The Nekkerhal awaits his answer.

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JUMPING MECHELEN 2025 – KEY INFORMATION

Dates: December 26-30, 2025
Venue: Nekkerhal, Mechelen, Belgium

Main event: Longines FEI Jumping World Cup Western European League (December 30)

Featured competitions:

• Belgian Indoor Championship (1m45) – €10,000 + Avant Machine 530 lease
• Horse Swap Competition (December 26) – Five-star riders exchange mounts
• FEI Jumping Ponies’ Trophy
• CSI5*-W classes throughout the week
• Breeding classes and young horse auction

Star riders to watch:

• Belgium: Gilles Thomas, Niels Bruynseels, Pieter Devos, Thibeau Spits, Nicola Philippaerts, Thibault Philippaerts
• International: Willem Greve (NED), Daniel Deusser (GER), Steve Guerdat (SUI), Hans-Dieter Dreher (GER), Julien Epaillard (FRA), Maikel van der Vleuten (NED)

Follow the action: Live coverage available on FEI TV and through Jumping Mechelen’s official channels

For full schedule, start lists and results, visit jumping-mechelen.com