The Belgians jumped numerous again in London with different classifications, but in the end it was only Wilm Vermeir who claimed victory with King Kong d'Avifauna. Let's find out more about this famous unfamous Belgian ...
Suspended early
Wilm Vermeir was very young when he started riding. No surprise, since his parents were horselovers themselves. "My parents competed in the LRV, purely for the hobby," says Wilm. (ed: the LRV is known as the rural riding federation. They have clubs in every town and compete around 15 times a year on big fields where both dressage and jumping is hosted, as well as four horse and eight horse quadrille) "I was already 7 years old when I was suspended for the first time... My parents had registered me for some competitions within the LRV, but that is only allowed when you're 8 years old (laughs). I haven't had a real pony career,jumping Belgian Championships or whatsoever, because until I was 18 I only competed in LRV classes. Even with horses, I never competed in any regional or national classes until I was 18 years old. We did not know about the national federation. For my parents it was a pure hobby! When I turned 18 I decided to quit school to become a professional riders. My parents were not happy about that, because I was a very good student. And they also had their own business: a garden center. But my decision was made and so I started working at Joris De Wachter's place when I was 18 years old. I spent five years there and then I continued my career at Luc Tilleman's for ten years. "
On our own
"When my wife Karolien (Bongaerts) gave birth to our daughter Robin, it turned out to be difficult to drive such a long way to the stable at Luc's (Tilleman) every time. Very coincidentally, we learned that a stable was for sale close to her parents' company. We decided to take a look and fell in love spontaneously... If that had not happened then, in combination with our daughter, I would never have thought about stopping at Luc's! Fortunately, our start went very smoothly. We had a couple of our own horses and I got a few from Luc. For example, I started my stable with First Class van Eeckelghem. I remember it well, we started on January 1st and I immediately had 16 horses in the stable! I didn't have horses for the big work, but I had really high-quality 5 to 7 year olds in the stable. "
Continue working
"I always hoped to be able to grow to five-star level, but if for some reason tomorrow it would no longer be possible, then I hope to be able to work with good young horses again," Wilm says. "I think that's super nice to do, and I enjoy sitting on a four-year-old. We also breed horses ourselves, we have about four to five foals every year. Of my 4 current top horses, 1 was even bred within the family. DM Jacqmotte was bred by my wife's parents. Jacqmotte was ridden by my wife her cousin, Marijn Poelmans, until 6 years old, while my brother took care of IQ van het Steentje until he was 6 years old. It is of course an advantage if you can work together with your family, because you know the horses super well. On the other hand, you must be super patient and stay faithful. The latter in particular is something that is very important and I think that that is a problem for many people. With your own horses it is easy to say: "This is not good and that is not good. We have to sell him/her." But you should try to put that into perspective. There is always a weekend that is disappointing or even a half year with less results. With IQ and Jacqmotte, we have always been able to remain very calm, and we remain so. I have always believed that they could jump a really big class, although I may have doubted Jacqmotte as a five-year-old, but once he was 6, that doubt was quickly gone. IQ even enchanted me with my brother. I organized an Euregio (4-day regional show) in Genk myself and he jumped so well with my brother that I immediately took him home myself. (laughs) "
Everything for the sport
When asked if his horses are for sale Wilm answers diplomatically. "Normally not, but you can imagine that we have already had quite some bids. I even think it's one of the few 2 horses on that level that have never been tried. Oh wait, Jacqmotte was once tried as a five-year-old and IQ as a four-year-old, when he was just saddle broken. I never say never, but these are horses with which I can continue in the sport. I'm at competitions like in London thanks to these horses!"
Difficult connection to the top sport
"I am very close to it, but on the other hand I am still very far off", says Wilm about his connection with the top sport. "It's not easy. But maybe I haven't had my portion of luck yet? They (Jacqmotte and IQ) are two super horses and we are not there yet, but I am very close, so I continue to believe in it. Look, a big advantage in Belgium is that we have very good riders. That helps us lift each other up and that raises the level. On the other hand, it is of course a bit more difficult, because as a Swede I might have been able to go to the European Championship and the World Championship already. Yet you will not see me change nationality. For me, that would feel like giving up... I had to fight for everything in the sport. When I was fifteen years old I had to do my best to be able to jump a 1m20 class, as a twenty year old I had to do my utmost to be able to win a 1m30 class. It all took a lot of effort and that is the beauty of it! You get extra appreciation and satisfaction from it. That first World Cup final, my first European Championship, my first WEG, those are all moments that I will fight for. It won't come on its own, but I have nothing to worry about!" concludes a motivated Wilm.
