He is the reigning Olympic gold medallist, World Champion and now also Rolex European Champion, Jeroen Dubbeldam!
Dubbeldam was completely overwhelmed. “I simply can’t believe it – after winning double gold at the World Championships last year, and now double European Championships gold. It is a dream come true. I am simply overjoyed!”
After five difficult rounds in Aachen, Dubbeldam’s Dutch-bred gelding, Zenith, hadn’t picked up a single obstacle fault, and Jeroen proved once again that he has nerves of steel as he jumped double clear over the demanding European Championships course that Frank Rothenberger had built. Still, he was so calm that he even allowed himself to pick up one time fault in the final round.
Credit his horse
“My thanks goes first of all to my horse,” the visibly moved Dubbeldam explained after his victory. “Zenith was not easy to control the first years I had him, but he has developed a lot”, he said. He also gave a lot of credit to his hole team of supporters standing behind him.
The silver medal went to Gregory Wathelet and the 10-year-old Holsteiner Conrad de Hus – it is the 35-year-olds first Championship medal and the first individual medal for a Belgian show-jumper since 2007. Back then, Jos Lansink won silver for Belgium. “Over the last two months, I had the feeling that my horse was getting better and better,” explained Wathelet, who rode for the Ukraine from 2005 to 2007. “But I didn’t think I would win a medal. I just wanted to be as good as I could and my horse really fought for me.”
He was 14th in the European Championships rankings before the final day of the FEI European Championships of the Show-Jumpers Aachen 2015, but after concentrating hard and jumping double clear he secured himself a place on the winners’ rostrum: Simon Delestre. The 34-year-old already won team gold at the European Championships of the Young Riders in the year 2000, in the meantime he runs the family’s own riding establishment near Metz in France.
There is only one title missing from the new European Champions’ collection, team Olympic gold. Perhaps next year at the Olympic Games in Rio…
Amazing crowd
369,000 spectators watched, cheered and rejoiced the competitions of the FEI European Championships Aachen 2015 at the Soers. The European Champion Dubbeldam spoke on everyone’s behalf, when he said: “I am looking forward to coming back next year.”
We are happy to share EQWOtv great highlights of the Jumping Indiviual at the FEI European Championships 2015 and the interviews with the medalists Jeroen Dubbeldam, Gregory Wathelet and Simon Delestre!:
