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Team Belgium enjoyed a home victory at Lier on Saturday in the third leg of FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ competition. The Belgians beat out Team Germany by less than 2 percentage points, with Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus being the team and overall individual high scorers, earning 78.543 percent in the Grand Prix test.
In spite of having only three team members, meaning no discard score, Germany pulled off a close second, ending their campaign in Belgium on 218.892 points to Belgium’s 220.825.
The Netherlands took the bronze medal, finishing on a total score of 212.131 points. Great Britain finished in fourth place, less than 1 percentage point behind the Dutch, showing how competitive the event was.
There were some big names on the roster for CDIO Lier 2025, with many paired with new equine partners to see how they would fare in the Big Tour class.
Germany’s Isabell Werth — the most decorated Dressage athlete of all time — picked up 71.739 percent aboard the Oldenburg gelding Special Blend 3.
Hans Peter Minderhoud of the Netherlands completed his test with Glock’s Taminiau to earn 72.761 percent from the five judges, placing him in third individually behind Germany’s Katharina Hemmer (Denoix PCH, 74.957 percent).
The 2025 World Cup champion and 2022 world champion Charlotte Fry of Great Britain put in a nice effort with Nespresso, a Dutch Warmblood stallion. But she couldn’t quite break through the 70 percent barrier, ending the day on a score of 69.826 percent.
The consistency of the Belgian team clinched the victory for them. Behind Verboomen in first, Larissa Pauluis and her Paris Olympic partner Flambeau finished fourth overall on 72.478 percent.
Charlotte Defalque and Botticelli finished 13th on 69.804 percent, with Domien Michiels not far behind in 16th with Intermezzo van het Meerdaalhof, for a score of 69.174 percent.
Team Portugal ended the event in fifth place, followed by Switzerland, Sweden, Poland, and France.
Saturday’s results boosted Belgium to third place in the series rankings, tied with Portugal on 19 points each. Germany leads the standings on 35 points, chased by the Netherlands on 20.
The action moves to Rotterdam (NED) next in June, followed by legs in Germany and Sweden this summer. Tune in to FEI TV to catch all the thrills and see who goes home with FEI Dressage Nations Cup™ title in the end!
--ENDS--
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