Michael Pender (IRL) and HHS Private Ryan, winners of the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses 2025 - 5-years-old © FEI / Dirk Caremans

29.09.2025

Held within the pristine grounds of the globally renowned Domain Zangersheide, the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses in Lanaken (BEL) has become, for many of the World’s most successful breeders, producers, athletes and investors of Jumping horses, the pinnacle and highlight of their competition calendar. This year marked the 30th anniversary of the event’s inception and once again promised to deliver another unforgettable edition as 674 of the World’s best five, six and seven-year-old equine athletes gathered in Lanaken to showcase their talents.

Pender Peerless Once Again

Two hundred and twenty-six (226) athletes presented their five-year old horses for Thursdays’s opening qualifying class. After Friday’s qualifying competition the top 49 combinations across the two days earned their place in Sunday’s prestigious FEI WBFSH World Breeding Championship Final for five-year-old horses. Such was the quality of the field that 18 combinations answered every question around Bernard Mathy’s (BEL)1.30m track to secure their place in the jump-off.

Dorian Kuipers (NED) guided the Zangershide bred chestnut mare Olympic van’t Roosaker VK Z (Minute Man x For Pleasure) skilfully around the testing second round track, his tight lines and daring bursts of speed seeing them break the beam in 39.29 seconds, the first combination to break the 40-second barrier and take the lead. A polished round from Jason Foley (IRL) aboard the Tyson x Lux Z Irish Sport Horse mare Tysons Lady Lux was quick enough to slot them into the second place at this stage.

No final at the FEI WBFSH World Breeding Championship for Young Horses is complete however until Michael Pender (IRL) has had his say. Multi- medalled at previous editions of these Championships and dangerously poised as last to go in the battle against the clock he set HHS Private Ryan (El Barrone 111 Z x High Shutterfly) into a rhythm and hit cruise control.

Delivering a series of silky-smooth turns, he made full use of the impressive KWPN gelding’s stride in his customary style; never appearing to rush nor interfere with the pace he had set. They crossed the line to rapturous applause and a glance to the clock confirmed the 26-year-old Irishman had claimed Gold once again in 38.23, the only combination to break 39 seconds.

Kuipers took Silver and Foley claimed Bronze with Bunoit Moeskops (BEL) and Tokyo de Liebri Z (Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z x Darco) close behind in fourth with his clear in 40.42 seconds and Ireland’s Shane Dalton with the BWP gelding Unicom-H (President x Cicero Z) completing the top five with their clear in 40.45 seconds. Pender said of HHS Private Ryan and his plan in the jump-off:

“Ryan is quite fast and I was at the end, so a knew a bit what I had to do. He’s naturally very quick so it was just trying not to do too much, keep it steady and get the double jumped. I’ve maybe been riding him six weeks, so big thanks to everybody at home".

Michael Pender

(IRL) 

"Without everybody being a part of the whole journey days like this aren’t possible, so massive thanks to everyone at home and along the way. From starting them, to breaking them in, to doing their first shows to getting here, it’s a long way and it’s brilliant when you get a day like this” he concluded graciously.

Pole Position for Van de Poll

The FEI WBFSH World Breeding Championship for Young Horses for six-year-olds followed and demonstrated the unpredictability of the sport when the results provided a contrasting outcome to the five-year-old division. 

Forty of the 253 starting combinations took to the Ratina Z arena to showcase their skills having earned their qualification on the opening two days. Bernard Mathy presented them with a 13-fence track set at 1.40m, making full use of an imaginative range of fence types and materials. Just seven combinations negotiated the track without fault and secure their place in the jump-off.

Here clear rounds once again proved elusive. From second draw young Max van de Poll (NED) and his own KWPN Balou du Rouet Z x Quinar Z mare Ortane delivered a cool and calculated round that left all the fences standing but no room for complacency amongst his rivals. He not only produced what was to be the only double clear of the competition, but his time of 42.26 seconds proved to be the fastest time of all the combinations.

The remaining athletes faced the predicament of whether to chase the time or to prioritise the focus on clearing the fences. Niamh McEvoy (IRL) looked poised to challenge for Gold as she expertly piloted the athletic and much-admired Irish Sport Horse BP Othello (Ganesh Hero Z x Tygo) around the shortened track. A light rub at the penultimate fence put pay to her chances of a clear but her subsequent race to the last saw them slot into second at the halfway stage. 

A dislodged pole at the halfway stage saw Thibeau Spits (BEL) switch to “Plan-B” and pick up the pace, stopping the clock just adrift of McEvoy’s time in 43.29 seconds which was good enough to clinch the Bronze medal with the BWP mare Touch of Joy Dwerse Hagen. McEvoy, no stranger to the podium at these Championships, secured the silver medal and an elated Max van de Poll joined an illustrious hall of fame as he took Gold with Ortane to be crowned FEI WBFSH World Breeding Championship for Young Horses 6-Year-Old Champion for 2025.

Stef Bossaert (BEL) with the Zangersheide mare Claudia Optima Z (Cicero x Balou du Rouet) finished just off the podium in fourth with four faults in a time of 44.58 seconds with Norway’s Benedikte Serigstad Endresen and the striking KWPN stallion Oreo Brownie H (Diarado x London) rounding out the top five with four faults in 45.18.

Beaming with a joy that radiated around the press room, 25-year old Max van de Poll spoke with a refreshing honesty about the path that had lead to his victory. When asked of his plan going into the jump-off, he told: 

“Actually I had not so much of a plan! The horse is really careful, has a lot of quality and I do my best and tried to ride a quick jump-off”

Max van de Poll

(NED)  

When he was asked about the team behind him and prompted to share his appreciation for them and all the work involved to get a result like this, Max grinned and replied: “Actually, I do it only with my Dad!”.

In that moment winning not only the Gold medal but the hearts of everyone that was present to witness his flawless victory, modesty and undoubted work ethic.

Brennan Bolters Irish Haul

The feature class of the FEI WBFSH World Breeding Championship for Young Horses once again went the way of Ireland as Eoin Brennan piloted Augustus Z to victory in the Final for Seven-year-old Horses. One hundred and ninety-five (195) horses born in 2018 started out in Thursday’s qualifier with the best 42 of those earning the right to contest this prestigious final. Bernard Mathy once again provided a fitting test as his beautifully adorned 1.45m track provided the perfect stage on which to show case the World’s most promising young equine athletes and produced a perfect 10 clear rounds.

Brennan set the class alight with a blistering round in 35.20 seconds to storm to the top of the leaderboard. A last-minute plan devised by fellow Irishmen Ger O’Neill (himself a three-time World Champion here in previous years) and Jason Foley (already a medallist here earlier in the day) to go six strides down the first line rather than seven in a hope of finding an edge in an already electric jump-off, paid dividends as the young Irishman delivered orders to the letter and pulled off a feat that no other combination could match. With one hand on the title the Irish had to sit and watch the remaining athletes post their bid for victory.

Sixteen-year-old Niels van Rossem (BEL) turned heads with the Chaiton F Z x Pepermill Speedy van Klapscheut as the pair lived up to the BWP Geldings name, storming around the track with a level of skill and accomplishment that belied the young Belgian athlete’s age and experience. Breaking the beam in 35.76 seconds with all poles intact, they claimed a provisional step on the podium to the delight and appreciation of the packed crowd. 

From final draw France’s Thibault Thevenon and the Selle Français stallion Ici et la Courcelle (Cocktail de Talma x Kashmir van Schuttershof) made a bold bid for the title with another impressive fault free round. Their time of 36.61 however was not quick enough to knock the Irish and Belgian teens from the top two tiers of the podium, but secured them the Bronze medal it what was a thrilling finale to a week of top class sport.

 An emotional Brennan explained:

“Me and my team could not be prouder of Augustus Z. We bred him ourselves at home but when he was a three-year-old, he had an accident on the walker and suffered neurological problems, hence he has a stringhalt when he’s walking. We gave him six months in the field and thankfully he recovered and its never stopped him. His jump was always amazing and he’s always been an incredible horse for me!”

Eoin Brennan

(IRL) 

Of his game plan in the jump-off Brennan explained: “It was always my original plan to do seven (strides) from one to two but just before I went in Ger O’Neill and Jason Foley get the idea that my horse has a massive stride so they thought he’d be able to do six (strides) one to two. I committed and I set off 10 miles away from number two! The horse has so much scope he got over it; the rest I followed my plan and the horse jumped unbelievably.”

First held 30 years ago with the vision of providing a stage upon which the most talented young Jumping horses in the world could perform, the FEI WBFSH World Breeding Championship for Young Horses continues to deliver as the Jumping world’s most respected breeders, producers, athletes and investors flock to Lanaken in pursuit of excellence and a coveted title of ‘World Champion’.

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