The year 2025 could not have ended any better. Gilles and Qalista DN won the Longines FEI World Cup Jumping in Mechelen in front of a packed crowd at the Nekkerhal. A chilhood dream come true. After finishing second with Ermitage Kalone last year, Gilles achieved an even more impressive performance with the nine-year-old Qalista DN.

‘I'm not giving up horse riding!’ Gilles winked afterwards at the press conference. "I had already said that once before. If I ever won the World Cup in Mechelen, I would stop horse riding. But it's still a little too early for that. I was still annoyed about the fault I had in the first of the double combination and I didn't think I would still win. Fortunately, after that fault, I continued to ride for a fast time and that paid off because all the combinations after me also made mistakes. Perhaps it was an advantage that Qalista DN jumped here and that Ermitage Kalone got a little rest after a busy year. Qualista is a fantastic horse for this work. Ermitage Kalone is more of a “championship horse”. The World Championships in Aachen will be a very big goal next year, and it will be important to peak at the right moment. The fact that I can win here with Qalista DN shows that I have a very good stable of horses with a fantastic team and great owners. I can only be very grateful for that. ”

Qiara de Kalvarie jumped to second place in the 1.50m class after her stable mate's World Cup victory. Chuck Marienshof Z jumped to fourth place in the GP. You already received an update on the first days of Jumping Mechelen in a previous news item. With strong performances by the stallions and Qiara de Kalvarie. We would also like to mention the 12th and 15th places achieved by Ines Van Dijck with Heloise de Creans in the 1.40m classes for Young Riders.

The entire team at Stal Nieuwenhof is looking forward to 2026 with confidence and would like to wish you a happy, healthy and successful New Year!