Last week Gilles travelled to Hickstead to represent the Belgian flag. With Aretino 13 and Jetric van Beek he started in the CSIO5* competition and Puskas de Kalvarie started in the classes for seven and eight year old horses. Gilles was selected for the Belgian team in the Nations Cup competition, but as a reservist he did not have to appear in the ring during the Nations Cup.

This meant that Aretino 13 was in blood form on Sunday for The Longines King George V Gold Cup. This historic five-star Grand Prix turned out to be a difficult task with only eight combinations remaining clear in the end. For Gilles and Aretino, the 1.60m obstacles were no problem. The duo stayed clear in the first round and also in the second round they stayed without faults and as the last starter Gilles knew how fast he had to go. Finally Gilles and Aretino won the GP with a lead of 3 seconds!

For Gilles, this is the first time he wins a Grand Prix at this level. Gilles: "Winning your first five star GP in Hickstead is incredible, especially when you see all those names on the challenge trophy. The fact that I win Hickstead right after Kevin Jochems, a good friend, makes it even better."

Earlier in the week there was already a successful result for Gilles and the nine-year-old Jetric van Beek in the 1.50m class. On Thursday, they immediately got off to a good start with a third place.