Justin Verboomen is the 2025 European Dressage Champion with Double Gold in Crozet

- Text © Eurodressage (this article expresses Eurodressage's' eye-witness account and opinion about the competition)  
-- Photos © Astrid Appels/Eurodressage - No reproduction allowed - NO SCREENSHOTS!

Belgian pathfinder Justin Verboomen has turned his week at the 2025 European Dressage Championships in Crozet into a magical, career-defining moment. After a sensational gold medal in the Grand Prix Special, the 37-year old championship first-timer added a second gold to his tally as he won the Kur to Music final on Sunday morning 31 August 2025. 

The podium was identical to the Special with Cathrine Dufour on the silver step and Isabell Werth on bronze. 

Saving the Best for Last

The 2025 Europeans at Jiva Hill Stables in Crozet, France, saved the best for the very last day. Glorious summer weather, an azure blue sky, the snow capped Mont Blanc mountain in the backdrop and a freestyle competition that was a nail-biter. The event couldn't have finished any better. 

The entire stadium appeared sold-out with only a few empty seats in the bleachers where the judges' boxes blocked the view. In the trade fair, a jumbotron was set up where more spectators followed the competition while savouring snacks and shopping in the many tacks stores. 

The Grand Prix Special on Friday brought the suspense of a five-act drama. The rollercoaster continued on Saturday morning as the 18 horses qualified for the freestyle had to be trotted up for a second inspection. No less than four of them were sent to the holding box: Maxima Bella, Favour Gersdorf, Hermes, and Denoix PCH. In the end all horses were deemed fit to compete so the line-up for Sunday's Kur was complete. 

Sunday morning started with a special sense of anticipation. The judges, scribes and officials flocked together for their own photoshoot in the kiss and cry corner, making pictures to safekeep the memory of a unique event. The morning chatter was all about what would unfold today, who would make the podium, and whether new faces would make a sudden ascent to the top of the ranking.

Soft Launch

The freestyle took a soft launch with the first group of six riders completed their programme and final ride of the week. Sweden's Tinne Vilhelmson rode her wonderful Cees Slings arranged "Good Vibrations" kur, while Portuguese Joao Moreira had music based on Star Wars. Poland's Sandra Sysojeva played her Paris Olympics freestyle with French chanson, which was equally fitting in Crozet,  while Belgian Larissa Pauluis brought funk to the arena with her lovely, upbeat kur based on Annie Lennox' "Sweet Dreams" and U2's "Sunday Bloody Sunday."

Sweden's Patrik Kittel was the first rider to crack the 80%. Aboard his 2024 World Cup Finals winning horse Touchdown (by Quaterback x Sack) he rode to a medley of pop songs, including Men Without Hats' "The Safety Dance" and Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama". He received 81.139% from the panel of judges, which consisted of  Janet Foy, Peter Storr, Hans-Christian Matthiesen, Raphaël Saleh, Katrina Wüst, Christof Umbach, and Maarten Van der Heijden. In the end it ranked him sixth.

In the second group of six riders Danish team newcomer (and Paris Olympic team reserve) Nadja Aaboe Sloth made her way into the freestyle final at her first major FEI championship. Aboard the 12-year old Danish bred Favour Gersdorf (by Foundation x Leandro) she rode to Ibiza type electronic lounge music, which did not really get a message across. Her horse is a very nice mover with incredible talent for piaffe, but he was quite hand-held today, often flexed to the left, and opening the mouth a little too much. Sloth rode a high degree of technical difficulty with a piaffe pirouette immediately into a canter pirouette. They got 77.829% for 12th place.

Three Swedes made it into the Freestyle and Maria von Essen rode Invoice (by Jazz x Ferro) to borrow music: her trainer Cathrine Dufour's Les Miserables kur which she used for Bohemian at the 2021 Olympics (4th) and 2021 European Championships (double individual silver).

British Carl Hester and Fiona Bigwood's Fame (by Bordeaux x Rhodium) got a little behind his samba style music. There was a mistake in the two tempi changes, but most of the piaffe was well ridden. The passage could have been more engaged. Today Fame seemed even shorter in the neck and there was some tension in the walk part. They placed seventh with 81.029%.

Norway's Isabel Freese and the 13-year old Oldenburg stallion Total Hope (by Totilas x Don Schufro) have great music based on Cher's hit songs.  The two tempi changes and extended canter were as usually fabulous, but today the horse dove deep in some of the piaffe work and it was rather laboured. They placed 8th with 80.593%.

Fiesty Stallions

Dinja van Liere has had a quite eventful Europeans, bringing her Olympic ride Hermes to his first international competition of the year after qualifying for the Dutch team via a national show. The fiesty KWPN stallion (by Easy Game x Flemmingh) was a little less co-operative today and threw in a couple of spooks which meddled with the harmony. Her Spice Girls music is still very catchy but it couldn't save the day. They placed 13th with 77.782%. Van Liere surprised everyone by stating in the FEI interview after her Kur that Crozet was her last show on Hermes. The most successful Dutch duo is the past four years will cease to be.

Charlotte Fry and Van Olst's 14-year old KWPN stallion Glamourdale (by Lord Leatherdale x Negro) did not bring their A-game to Crozet. Although they won team silver after a strong fifth place in the Grand Prix, problems in the piaffe in the Grand Prix Special (75.289 - 9th) left the individual podium out of sight. The winner of the 2025 World Cup Finals and bronze at the Olympics in Paris was the only top rider to premier new music in Crozet. They titled the freestyle "Glamourdale Airlines" and arranger Joost Peeters made a medley out of songs which have the word "Fly / Flying" in the chorus.

The Kur began in a fun way, with Lottie Fry speaking as if an announcer at the airport, summoning passengers for a flight.  Tunes such as "I'm Like a Bird" (Nelly Furtado), Come Fly With Me (Frank Sinatra), Going to Ibiza (Vengaboys) and Flying High (Captain Hollywood Project) were featured. Unfortunately, Glamourdale was too revved up for the test with the music blasting out of the speakers. Too much tension, double beats, rhythm mistakes, no halt at entry, etc. It was a pity as this kur certainly has potential. Today it was still 79.579% (!) for 10th place. We can't wait to see it during next World Cup season.

Former stallion Denoix PCH (by Destano x PIk Noir) was another horse that did not cope with the electric atmosphere that a freestyle brings. Katharina Hemmer had the ride of a lifetime in the Grand Prix Special, placing fourth, but what should have been at least bronze. Today she was one of the riders who could make a serious push for the podium, even though freestyles are not Denoix' cup of tea. He struggled with it in Aachen and the same happened today. Hemmer was the last rider to go and while travelling the ring, she signalled the audience to stay quiet, but it didn't help. Performing to the theme song of Black Beauty amongst other film music, Denoix piaffed in the halt at entry and showed resistance in another piaffe, the walk had too much tension and there was a mistake in the twos. The chestnut stallion is such a talented mover and so well trained, but today he did not cope with the task and ended up 11th with 78.882%

Coming Close

German Frederic Wandres and Hof Kasselmann's 15-year old Oldenburg gelding Bluetooth OLD (by Bordeaux x Riccione) were the first to go in the last group of six riders. Wandres premiered new music at the CDIO Aachen in July and this was the second time he rode his Tom Hunt freestyle which he calls an "Ode to Love". It features The Beatles' "All You Need is Love", Foreigner's "I want to know what love is" and Love Affair's "Everlasting Love." Wandres is an experienced rider with a big toolbox to pilot horses through the test. There were several highlights in the ride, including the extended trot and canter, but today the horse relied too much on his rider to carry him through the piaffe and passage work. The improvement to the self carriage the pair had shown at the CDIO Compiegne did not carry through the summer. Bluetooth got wide behind in the piaffe and there was a mistake in a flying change. The two tempi changes worked out well. They placed fifth with 81.771%.

British Becky Moody and her 11-year old home bred KWPN gelding Jagerbomb (by Dante Weltino x Jazz) is one of the more correctly trained horses in Crozet, with exemplary bridle contact.  Moody rides to Tony Hobden arranged music, a very up-tempo, high energy medley of Beatles' songs including "All You Need is Love." They began their test with a double pirouette, followed by dead straight one tempi change. They rode big two tempi changes on a circle and different combinations of difficult lines followed one after the other, almost giving a dizzying effect at the speed and complexity of the floorplan. There was a mistake in the two's going into the ones, the walk has rather limited in overtrack today and in the final canter pirouette - piaffe fan he ran a little out of steam, but overall the quality of training on this horse stood out. They got 86.982% to finish fourth. While personally I'm not crazy about the busy floorplan, from a technical riding perspective the pair deserved to be on the podium for bronze as. Her individual marks ranged from 84.100% (Matthiesen) to 90.475% (Van der Heijden) !

Identical Podium

The Kur to Music and European Championships finals came to a conclusion with a podium identical to the Grand Prix Special. 

Isabell Werth and the 11-year old Danish mare Wendy (by Sezuan x Soprano), owned by Madeleine Winter-Schulze and Bolette Wandt, came into the arena right after Frederic Wandres and as usual Werth saved the best for last. She rode her "Oh Wendy" kur, which arranged by the late Michael Erdmann and based on Chris Norman & Suzi Quatro's "Stumblin In" and Barry Manilow's "Mandy. It is without a doubt the best music in the field: highly emotional, well structured and with a clever floorplan for her horse. Werth thrives in the freestyle and had her mare on best form of the week. She was much more on the hindquarters, better in the rhythm in piaffe and passage, but unfortunately it came at a cost. Wendy often had the mouth open and gaped in many movements. The trot extensions were hurried and with not enough overtrack.The half passes were active and ground covering, though. There was an issue in the flying change in between the canter half passes. The two tempi changes worked out, as well as the ones. The last piaffe was outstanding but in the final piaffe-pirouette she got a little wide behind. They finished with a square, immobile halt. They received a score of 88.046% which, in the end, put them on the bronze medal step of the podium. Werth's scores ranged from 86.675% (Storr) to 90.100% (Wust)

Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour and the 16-year old Hanoverian mare Mount St. John Freestyle (by Fidermark x Donnerhall) were the third last to go and performed their Paris Olympic freestyle, featuring Celine Dion, Stromae ("Formidable"), and tunes by John Legend. Dufour is an amazing competition rider with incredible mental resilience and focus. Every step her horse makes is carefully signalled through her aids. Dufour rides Freestyle in a softer, less pressured way, which gives more harmony, but also lacks a tiny fraction of energy from back to front. They began with some piaffe-passage and it wasn't clear if she was riding a straight passage line or a passage half pass. The first piaffe was ridden out of a milli-second halt and then had some rhythm issues. Other piaffes were better although the mare leaned a bit on the hand today. The extended trot was wonderful, very well paced, supple and ground covering and the trot half passes were really supple and nice, as well as another piaffe pirouette. Dufour rode a floorplan with very high technical difficulty: collected walk, into piaffe, into a canter pirouette as well as canter pirouettes into a piaffe pirouette in the opposite direction. A mistake happened at the end of the line of two tempi changes, but on the joker line the twos worked out. The extended walk was really lovely. Dufour finished slightly ahead of her music. The score that flashed on the board was 89.821% with all judges fairly close together as the marks ranged between 88.500 (Umbach) and 91.525% (Van der Heijden). In the end, five judges had the pair first, two second. 

Justin Verboomen and his own 9-year old Hanoverian stallion Zonik Plus (by Zonik x Hohenstein) were the penultimate pair to go and had Dufour's score to beat. They premiered their freestyle at the CDI-W Mechelen in December 2024 and tweaked it for the CDIO Aachen, which they won. After feedback from Aachen, they further amended the music to work on a more emotional finish down the centerline. It was a smart decision as the very minimalistic, instrumental music blasted out of the speakers and instilled an emotional effect on the spectators. Zonik Plus' light-footed gaits matched the tunes and beat. They pair began with such soft-footed, light looking piaffe-passage lines and a piaffe pirouette with an exceptional rhythm. The extended trots are climbing and ground covering, the half passes supple and floaty, but Zonik Plus broke into canter in the right one. Verboomen corrected it immediately, but the horse broke into canter again for one stride. Fortunately, the rider kept his focus and did not let the double error knock him out of his socks. The contact with the bridle was better than in the Grand Prix Special, with a little less curb contact. The hand-bit contact is always soft with invisible hand aids. The extended walk lacked stretch over the back and could have had more ground cover. In the collected walk he was quite peacocky with the right front leg. The technical difficulty was certainly high with piaffe pirouettes followed by a canter pirouette and then an extended canter across the centerline. The two's were on a half circle, the ones worked out although the ones to the right remain tense in the back. At the end of the test Justin rode a double canter pirouette and wanted to transition into a piaffe pirouette, but the transition came rather late, which made it look like he did a 2.5 pirouette, although one could interpret that it was a late transition. This is something for the judges to discuss. Their final halt was bang on the music and the crowd erupted into a standing ovation. It was a bit of a wait for the score but when 89.964% flashed on the board the crowds erupted into a roar. Verboomen won his second gold medal and is the overall European Champion with double gold in his pocket. Interestingly his scores ranged a full five percent: from 87.700 (Umbach) to 92.750% (Storr). Two judges had home first, four second and one third. 

Shell Shocked

Newbie Verboomen finished his week in Crozet shell-shocked, while Dufour was rather disappointed as gold was within reach. Isabell Werth was very happy with double bronze but at the press conference also looked a bit uncertain about tge ranking, voicing she could also have won.

"I really can’t believe it, and honestly, I wasn’t expecting this gold medal at all today," said Verboomen. "Especially after the mistake we made in the half pass. I’m very happy tonight! I asked my producer to create a rather calm, slightly dark musical theme to showcase Zonik Plus, and I think it worked really well. I wanted everyone to feel the emotion, and to keep the connection with my horse. His strength is that he always wants to show his very best. If I don’t make mistakes, he doesn’t either.”

Dufour explained, "I was really happy with my freestyle. I made a small mistake at the end of the two tempi changes, but I managed to redo them, so I didn’t completely fail. I actually didn’t watch Justin’s freestyle because I was too nervous! Of course, I’m a little disappointed today compared to yesterday, as it was very tight, even among the judges, but that’s how it goes. I’m really proud to see a new ‘small nation’ emerging here. I know Justin showed incredible riding. And I’m almost certain we’ll have some great duels in the future."

Werth stated, "I’m very, very happy today. I’m very proud of Wendy because, as I said, we started the season very late. She improved day by day. We had a very good Grand Prix, which helped secure the gold medal for the German team. We did a good Special—not perfect, but I know we still have things to improve. And today, she was really fantastic. There were a few small mistakes in the canter work, but honestly, we all made mistakes. So it was a very tight duel, a very competitive event. In the end, I think any of us could have been third, second, or first—it didn’t matter. It was an exciting competition for all of us, and for the spectators too, and we are really happy to be here. A big thanks to the organizers for setting up this European Championship in just 10 months so professionally and successfully. Overall, I’m very happy with what happened, for me, for the team, and I think for all the riders here."

Werth's figher mentality is impressive and praise worthy. "We look forward to the next championship. It will be really exciting, and I hope Justin will feel our breath in his neck—as well as the judges’! So we can’t wait."

Etienne Zeller, President of the Organizing Committee, concluded  that "I would like to thank the entire extended family we have worked with for nine months preparing this European Championship. We are all horse enthusiasts first and foremost, and everyone worked passionately in the same direction. We dedicated all our time and energy to preparing for this week. Now, Cassandre and I ask ourselves, ‘What will we do tomorrow?’ This championship was an important challenge. Thanks to everyone’s trust and commitment, we were able to succeed. I sincerely thank the International Equestrian Federation, especially Ronan (Murphy, FEI Dressage Director) and Raphaël Saleh, who supported and helped us greatly! Hosting this FEI European Championship was an honour, and we hope to see everyone again next year for more competition"

Eurodressage took photos of all competitors in Crozet. No reproduction allowed - NO SCREENSHOTS!

Related Link
Eurodressage Coverage of the 2025 European Dressage. Championships