Belgium’s Justin Verboomen (38) won gold on Friday in the Grand Prix Special at the European Dressage Championship in Crozet, France.
Verboomen, riding Zonik Plus, scored 82.371%, beating Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour with Freestyle (81.687%) and Germany’s dressage legend Isabell Werth on Wendy de Fontaine (79.027%). He had been in third place after Thursday’s Grand Prix.
Larissa Pauluis, the other Belgian competing in the Grand Prix Special, finished 11th with Flambeau, earning 73.283%.
On Wednesday, Verboomen and the Belgian team narrowly missed out on a podium spot in the team competition, finishing fourth.
The event concludes on Sunday with the freestyle-to-music competition, featuring the top 18 riders from the Grand Prix Special. The European champion will be crowned after the final.
Verboomen, who hails from Nivelles, made history as the first Belgian rider to win a medal at the European Dressage Championship. Remarkably, he made his debut at the five-star level only last December,during the World Cup event in Mechelen.
Since then, he has consistently delivered podium finishes at every competition.
Speaking after his gold medal win, an emotional Verboomen expressed his disbelief, saying he was “speechless.”
