Belgium is internationally renowned as a leading country in the breeding and training of show jumpers. One of the key foundations of that success is the Belgian National Cycle: an annual competition for four- to seven-year-old showjumpers, where young talent can prove itself through a a consistency criterium.
In 2025, the field of participants was once again impressive: a total of 2,163 young show jumpers took part in at least one round. 392 four-year-olds, 777 five-year-olds, 679 six-year-olds, and 315 seven-year-olds. The cycle, spread over 12 rounds, is not only a learning experience for horses, but also a valuable benchmark for breeders and riders.
We explored the final rankings on Hippomundo to find out which horses stood out this season.
Stallions: who produced the most participants?
Before we zoom in on the most notable combinations per age category, let's first take a look at the overall picture of the sires in the Belgian National Cycle.
With 74 offspring, Nixon van 't Meulenhof was the most common stallion in the Belgian National Cycle in 2025, followed by Diamant de Semilly (63), Emerald (59), Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve (45), Bamako de Muze (43), and Pegase van 't Ruytershof (37).
An analysis by age category shows that Nixon van 't Meulenhof's focus is on six-year-olds (59), while his brother Emerald is once again doing well with five-year-olds. Another stallion from the same dam line, Pegase van 't Ruytershof, represents the largest number of offspring among four-year-olds.
Sea Coast Don't Touch Tiji Hero produces two winners among the four-year-olds
Among the winners (12) of the four-year-olds, we count 2x Sea Coast Don't Touch Tiji Hero as sire with Désirée Sdd Z (breeder: Shana De Decker) and Dexx van 't Heideroosje Z (breeder: Elke Luyten). Pegase van 't Ruytershof is the most represented among the four-year-olds with 14 offspring. The highest ranked is Prada Van 't Zijp Z (breeder: Gunther De Smit), found in 42nd place. Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve also produced a large number (9) of participants. The sBs gelding Post It D'anbri (breeder: Delphine Guilbert) was the best at number 21. It is striking that approximately 40% of the winners come from a dam that was herself active in the sport.
Emerald's popularity among five-year-olds
With four offspring, the BWP stallion Emerald is the most prominent representative among the winners (39) of the five-year-olds:
- Expresso Van De Mishagen Z (breeder: André Vermeiren)
- Emma Van De Beverzak Z (breeder: Peter Maris)
- Endor Van Het Hobos Z (Breeder: Frank Goossens)
- Umeraldette M (Breeder: Jef Mols) In the complete ranking, we count no fewer than 24 offspring of Emerald, which once again underlines his popularity within Belgian breeding.
Who knows Marko van Spieveld?
Yet a surprising name tops the ranking of five-year-olds: the BWP stallion Marko van Spieveld produced two offspring with the maximum number of points, both bred by rider Bert Panneels:
- Upsakee P.
- Ulientje P. . In total, this relatively unknown stallion had six participants in the five-year-old category. Eldorado van de Zeshoek and Minute Man also produced two winners each:
- Olga Initials BB (Breeder: Benjamin Bodson)
- Ulysse Van 't Koningsbos (Breeder: Niel Vangelder)
- U2 Van 't Zijp and Ornisse Van 't Zijp Z both bred by Gunther De Smit. Here too, we see many winners from sport mothers - 35%, including two notable 1.60 mothers Qalista DN, dam of cycle winner Thyra DN Z and Narcotique de Muze II, dam of Utopia Van 't Keikelhof.
Ulientje P. and Upsakee P., offspring of Marko van Spieveld
Nixon van 't Meulenhof makes an impression among the six-year-olds
Among the six-year-olds, it is impossible to ignore the influence of Nixon van 't Meulenhof. No fewer than five of the top ten horses are offspring of the BWP stallion, who has made an impressive mark on this year's competition, in which a total of 59 offspring of Nixon participated.
The absolute frontrunner is Noxx van de Molen Z (Breeder: Kristof Engelen), who dominates the competition with 12 clear rounds in 12 participations and the highest final score of 898 points under the saddle of Charlotte Degeest.
Numbers 3, 4, 5, and 10 are also direct descendants of Nixon:
- Top Gun (Breeder: Stal Bijloos Bv) - 3rd place
- Top Heart (Breeder: Marijke Pops) - 4th place
- Touch Of Joy Dwerse Hagen (Breeder: De Dwerse Hagen BVBA) - 5th place
- Too Nice Horta (Breeder: Van Rossem BVBA) - 10th place
Other stallions with more than 10 offspring among the six-year-olds: Diamant de Semilly (27), Emerald (26), Bamako de Muze (18), Untouchable (15), Vigo d'Arsouilles (14), Cicero Z van Paemel (12), Luigi d'Eclipse (11), El Barone 111 (10), Pegase van 't Ruytershof (10), I'm Special de Muze (10), Taloubet Z (10), Cornet Obolensky (10).
Chaiton F Z underdog among the seven-year-olds
Twice in the top 10 and once more in the top 25: the BWP-approved stallion Chaiton F Z clearly stands out among the seven-year-olds. These offspring achieved places of honor:
- Stella van de Winterkeer (Breeder: Pieter De Maeseneer & Jessica Van den Eede) - 7th place
- Speedy van Klapscheut (Breeder: Mivaro BV) - 8th place
- Calista du Bail Z (Breeder: Bellemans Steven) - 25th place
Stella van de Winterkeer was the best offspring of Chaiton F Z in the ranking of seven-year-olds. That made for some proud breeders!
Looking at the most common sires among all participants, we see Diamant de Semilly (18 offspring) at the top, followed by Cicero Z van Paemel and Cornet Obolensky (11 each), and Nixon van 't Meulenhof with 10 representatives.
Click through to the full rankings for four-year-olds, five-year-olds, six-year-olds and seven-year-olds.
Les gagnants s'expriment
Derrière chaque cheval couronné de succès se cache une histoire faite de dévouement, de vision et de savoir-faire. Le Belgian National Cycle est bien plus qu'un simple classement, et voici ce qu'en disent les gagnants :
Four-year-olds
We never dared to dream that Elliott would jump 10 out of 10 clear rounds.
The young rider Marth Vanrusselt jumped with the four-year-old Emerald stallion Elliott Z, bred by Rob Santermans, to achieve the most clear rounds among the four-year-olds in the National Cycle for Young Horses.
For Marthe, it was her first participation in the cycle, but it was an instant hit:
We mainly wanted to offer Elliott learning opportunities and let him grow into the competition rhythm. He is an incredibly smart horse — he has never made a jumping mistake! At home, we mainly train dressage and walk a lot. We hardly ever jump at home. He has a great attitude and learns very quickly.
Elliott made an indelible impression in his first season.
Thanks to his performances this summer, he has now been approved as a stud. After the last round at Woutershof, we gave him a well-deserved rest, but soon we will start preparing for the stallion competition again.
Five-year-olds
I participated in the five-year-old cycle with two of our own breeding products from our stallion (Marko van Spieveld) and they both became cycle champions!
Bert Panneels rode two of his breeding products, Upsakee P. and Ulientje P., to a tie victory – What's more, they were bred from his own stallion Marko van Spieveld.
They are both cautious and, above all, intelligent horses. It is often a characteristic of Marko van Spieveld's offspring that they are easy to ride and cooperate well on the course.
These are characteristics that he believes are typical of Marko van Spieveld's offspring. Although he never competed in the sport himself due to a tendon injury as a young horse, he is now fully active as a stud stallion, approved in the BWP studbook.
I participate in the cycle because you ride in a different arena every week, with courses that build up nicely and become increasingly challenging towards the end of the season. It's also fun to see other young horses at work and measure yourself against them. The goal is to qualify for the Belgian championship.
Bert Panneels is a great example of a breeder-rider combination that is successful in the cycle for young horses.
Six-year-olds
Kristof Engelen (breeder / owner) about Noxx van de Molen Z – “We already saw it when he was two years old”
Noxx van de Molen Z, the winner among the six-year-olds, is a special horse for owner and breeder Kristof Engelen.
He is the only offspring I have left from his mother. So I have been really lucky with him.
They saw early on at home that Noxx had what it takes:
As a two-year-old, he jumped exceptionally well in freedom. I said then: he will be special later on.
Kristof deliberately chose Nixon van 't Meulenhof as the sire:
I had seen videos of Nixon as a young horse—it was phenomenal how he jumped back then. I didn't hesitate.
Noxx combines quality with a striking character:
Super well-behaved, cooperative... Perhaps that is typical of Nixon offspring.
As a five-year-old, Noxx already finished in an impressive third place in the cycle. So it comes as no surprise that he won this year. Nevertheless, the season took an unexpected turn:
Charlotte Degeest, our stable rider, rode him fantastically throughout the season, but broke her foot just before the end. Nico Baerts then took over and won three more rounds.
The ambitions extend beyond the national cycle:
We are heading to the BK next week and have also been selected again for the World Championships in Lanaken, where he reached the final last year.
From next year, Nico Baerts will take over the reins permanently, but Kristof is full of praise for his rider:
Charlotte always achieves good results with all the horses from our stud farm. She is a real asset to the stable.
Seven-year-olds
Stefan Heymans & Ballywards A Golden Boy (Irish Bred by Michael O'Sullivan) – “The best horse I've ever had”
What started as aimless scrolling on a rainy day ended in finding a top talent. Rider/owner Stefan Heymans explains how he discovered his cycle champion via an Irish website, why he hardly ever jumps with the horse at home, and how a non-commercial type became an absolute winner in the Belgian cycle.
The purchase was not without its doubts. The horse was actually over budget and the first trial on Irish soil was... intense.
He had so much spirit. During the first jumps, I thought: what is this? But the feeling was exceptionally good. Afterwards, I watched the video and it really didn't look good! But he kept playing on my mind, and I took the risk and bought him anyway! Once I got home, I couldn't get him over 50 cm...
From February last year until now, he hasn't done a single jump at home. Not one. He learns everything in the ring. No tendon boots, no frills. He just does it on his own. It's pure nature.
That approach paid off: Stefan and Ballywards A Golden Boy (see palmares) have already achieved several podium places among the six-year-olds and finished number 1 among the seven-year-olds.
Stefan Heymans receives the winner's check for the cycle ranking for seven-year-olds from Kristel Ceulemans, representative of Paardensport Vlaanderen.
I won jump-offs with a six-second lead, and with the handbrake on. That says it all. He has so much attitude.
He is abnormally cautious, fast, cooperative—but not commercial. And I understand that. There is so much blood in him. But if you can ride him, you have gold in your hands!
I have owned six hundred horses, even worked with King Edward, but this one... this is the best horse I have ever owned myself.
Concluding remarks
Year after year, the Belgian National Cycle continues to confirm its reputation as the premier training ground for young show jumpers. Not only does it offer fair and structured competition, it also provides a unique meeting place for breeders, riders, and stallion owners—all with the same goal: to develop future talent for top-level sport.
The results show how important a well-considered breeding choice, consistent training, and cooperation between breeder and rider are. Whether it's a young stallion that is already in the spotlight, a rider riding his first cycle, or a breeder who has been committed to the same dam line for years — each story contributes to the success of Belgian show jumping.
With the Belgian Championships and the World Championships for young horses on the horizon, we promise to see many of these talents back at the highest level.
