Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus set the tone in Lyon
Anticipated for several weeks, the showdown between Justin Verboomen and Isabell Werth took place this morning at Equita'Lyon—though with perhaps a bit less suspense than expected, as the German rider opted to replace Wendy de Fontaine with her young horse, Viva Gold; while certainly talented, he is less experienced than her mare by Sezuan. Early this morning, 15 combinations lined up for the start of this World Cup leg—the 16th such event to be held in the "capital of the Gauls" since 2008.
The battle thus unfolded between two stallions: the 10-year-old Zonik Plus and the 9-year-old Viva Gold. In this contest, the Belgian entry held a clear advantage: experience. The son of Zonik delivered a test free of any major errors; despite some slight resistance to the contact during the half-pass to the right at the trot, and some tension evidenced by tail-swishing—during both lines of flying changes, the Belgian pair performed two particularly excellent pirouettes. They left the arena with a score of 79.065%, receiving 75.543% from judge Sven Rothenberger and 81.630% from Marietta Almasy.
Taking second place were Isabell Werth and Viva Gold OLD. The son of Vivaldi lacked balance during the rein-back and committed errors in the one-tempi flying changes, a performance further marred by an overly closed frame during that same movement. The German pair was awarded a score of 77.587%.
Belgium also secured third place in this Grand Prix, with Larissa Pauluis and Flambeau earning a solid 74.630%, including a score of 76.087% from judge Christof Umbach.
Results HERE
crédit photo : FEI/Lukasz Kowalski (archives 2025)
