{"id":48776,"date":"2025-09-01T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ehorses.com\/magazine\/?post_type=news&#038;p=48776"},"modified":"2025-09-01T05:48:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T09:48:04","slug":"belgiums-breakthrough-verboomen-clinches-double-gold-at-european-dressage-championships","status":"publish","type":"news","link":"https:\/\/www.ehorses.com\/magazine\/news\/belgiums-breakthrough-verboomen-clinches-double-gold-at-european-dressage-championships\/","title":{"rendered":"Belgium\u2019s Breakthrough: Verboomen Clinches Double Gold at European Dressage Championships"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"48776\" class=\"elementor elementor-48776\" data-elementor-post-type=\"news\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section data-particle_enable=\"false\" data-particle-mobile-disabled=\"false\" class=\"penci-section penci-disSticky penci-structure-10 elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-54f395b8 elementor-section-full_width elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"54f395b8\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"penci-ercol-100 penci-ercol-order-1 penci-sticky-ct    elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-127951a3\" data-id=\"127951a3\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-44decb82 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"44decb82\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>In a stunning debut season, Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus make history in Crozet\u2014securing gold in both the Grand Prix Special and Freestyle, and delivering Belgium its first-ever medals at a major senior dressage championship.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Grand Prix Special \u2013 A Historic Milestone<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the 2025 FEI European Dressage Championships in Crozet, Belgium had never earned a medal\u2014until Justin Verboomen and his stallion <strong>Zonik Plus<\/strong> shattered that record. Delivering a mesmerizing performance in the Grand Prix Special, the duo scored an impressive 82.371%, <strong>claiming gold and becoming Belgium\u2019s very first major dressage champions<\/strong> in senior competition. Behind them, Denmark\u2019s Cathrine Laudrup\u2011Dufour claimed silver aboard Mount St John Freestyle, and Germany\u2019s legend Isabell Werth took bronze on Wendy de Fontaine.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Freestyle Finale \u2013 Verboomen Doubles His Triumph<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The crescendo of the championships came in the Freestyle final, where Verboomen secured another unforgettable victory. With a <strong>career-best score of 89.964%<\/strong>, they topped the podium once again\u2014sending a thrilling message about their arrival on the big stage. Denmark\u2019s Laudrup\u2011Dufour repeated her runner-up finish, scoring just behind Verboomen, followed by Werth claiming another bronze.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Breakthrough Story: Rider, Owner, and Champion<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus\u2019s achievements mark a remarkable rise in their first year at the elite level. Verboomen, who is both the rider and owner of Zonik, cultivated this partnership from the stallion\u2019s early years\u2014taking time to debut internationally only when the horse was ready. Their rise has been meteoric: only months after stepping onto the international stage, they claimed top placements at CDI-W and CDI5* events, culminating in their double gold in Crozet as a f<strong>itting capstone to a breakthrough season.<\/strong><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In a stunning debut season, Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus make history in Crozet\u2014securing gold&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":129,"featured_media":48784,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[209],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-48776","news","type-news","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 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