The Allspan Animal Bedding Prize turned into a Belgian one-two finish. Thibault Philippaerts narrowly edged out Frederic Vernaet to claim the victory, much to his delight. "We never come to Maastricht just to practice," said Philippaerts.
Thibault Philippaerts was the first to complete the 4* 1.45m course with no penalties, setting a time that his competitors couldn’t quite beat. "It wasn’t exactly the round I had in mind; we needed an extra stride here and there. In the end, it was precisely enough for the win."
Favourite show
“Jumping Indoor Maastricht is an incredible event. Every year, JIM is circled in red on our calendar at home. It’s one of my favourite shows, and we always arrive here highly motivated. We never come to Maastricht just to practice,” Philippaerts laughs, adding, “we’ve got this victory in the bag, and hopefully, we’re not done yet this weekend!"
Harrie Smolders third
Frederic Vernaet followed in hot pursuit aboard Okina van de Bien but ultimately fell short by just a tenth of a second. Harrie Smolders finished in third place with his nine-year-old Kaspar R, securing the best result for the Netherlands. Lars Kersten followed in fourth with Fedor vh Moeshof, while Turkish rider Efe Siyahi claimed fifth place with Cantate.
