HISTORIC WIN FOR BELGIAN EVENTING
The certain prediction that Luhmühlen CCI5*-L results would have an impact on Hippomundo’s rankings in the mid-June summary certainly occured after Lara de Liederkerke-Meier became Belgium’s first eventing rider to win one of just seven five-star competitions held globally.
Belgium has, for example, 164 riders registered this year with FEI, compared to 794 show jumping riders. Some Belgian riders, including Lara, are registered to compete in both sports but it is fair to say that show jumping is the business end of Belgium’s sport horse world.
Its now over a century - 104 years to be precise - since the Belgian team won its only Olympic eventing team medal when Jules Bonvalet (Weppelghem), Oswald Lints (Martha), Jacques Misonne (Gaucho) and Roger Moeremans d’Emaüs) claimed the bronze on home ground in Antwerp.
Although Belgium has yet to win a medal at the world eventing championships, de Liederkerke competed on the Belgian team at the 2010 FEI Alltech World Equestrian Games, hosted at Kentucky, on Alpaga D’Arville, (pictured). Alpaga D'arville is a half-brother to Nooney Blue, the dam of yesterday’s winner: Hooney d’Arville and keen-eyed pedigree fans will note straightaway that Hooney d’Arville’s sire Vigo d’Arsouilles was the individual champion and on Belgium’s bronze medal team with Philippe Lejeune at WEG that year.
That show jumping ability proved important at Luhmühlen as only six riders had clear rounds within the time. Rounding off the top-three were a pair of Irish Sport Horses: CHF Cooliser (Tom McEwan) and Rehy DJ (Yasmin Ingham), a result that consolidates the ISH studbook lead at the top of Hippomundo’s eventing rankings.
See the full Luhmühlen results here and where yesterday’s result now places Hooney D’arville in the Hippomundo top-10 eventing horses
And the bonus in this Belgian milestone win? Hooney D’arville (sBs) was homebred by the de Liederkerke family. A great story and statistics galore contained in this Luhmühlen result.
