Justin Verboomen Snubbed of Best Athlete Award at 2026 KBRSF EquiGala

Dressage

Belgium

At the annual Equi Gala of the Belgian Equestrian Federation (KBRSF) on 19 January 2025, dressage rider Justin Verboomen got snubbed from winning the title of "Best Athlete of the Year" in his own country. His historic double gold at the European Championships did earn him the "Performance of the Year" award.

Snub

The Belgian equestrian federation leaves no doubt about it that King Jumping rules the country, even after a dressage rider wrote history for its nation by being the 2025 CDIO Aachen Grand Champion, winning double gold at the European Dressage Championships, being the FEI World Number 1 ranked dressage rider, and on top of that being proclaimed the FEI Best Athlete of 2025 at the FEI Awards in Hong Kong.

In Belgium the title of Best Athlete went to..... show jumper Gilles Thomas, who finished third at the 2025 European Jumping Championships and recently won the World Cup qualifier in Mechelen.

The other nominees were Verboomen and drivers Dries Degrieck and Sébastien Pallen.

"Performance of the Year"

Verboomen was not left hanging totally dry by the federation. They named his double gold in Crozet the "Performance of the Year" which the organizers seemingly considered the most important category of the awards ceremony by calling it the "absolute highlight."

"An exceptional achievement that stood out in a year when the world's elite seemed closer than ever," the KBRSF stated. "this main prize ultimately went to Justin Verboomen, rightly so, convincingly, and with loud applause and a standing ovation from the audience."

The other two running for this title were Gilles Thomas and eventer Lara de Liedekerke, who finished 7th at the Europeans and 14th in Badminton, as well as won the World Young Eventing Horse Championships and CCI Boekelo.

Zonik Plus, Horse of the Year, with Two Jumpers

The big winner of the 2026 EquiGala awards: Gilles Thomas

Even in the category of "Horse of the Year," the honour was not entirely for Verboomen's horse Zonik Plus. He had to share the title with two show jumpers: Ermitage Kalone (Gilles Thomas) and Katanga vh Dingeshof (Nicolas Philippaerts).

The official press release about the Horse of the Year explained why three were named this year: "Sometimes choosing is impossible. And sometimes that's the best proof of quality. For Horse of the Year, it was decided to award three exceptional winners."

Other Awards

There were more awards handed out. The "Rookie of the Year" was the young rider jumping team, including Evelyne Putters, Leon Brutsaert, Mathieu Guéry, Bart Jay Jr. Vandecasteele, and VIc De Plecker. They won

For the "Team of the Year" award it made sense that the jumpers got the trophy with their team gold at the 2025 European Jumping Championships in La Coruna. They were running against the driving team at the Euros and the dressage team winning the FEI Nations Cup in Lier and placing second in Aachen.

Other awards including the "Jury prize" for eventer Lara de Liedekerke who set an unprecedented record with 21 international victories in a single season, often on her own home bred horses. This could easily have been the "performance of the year" as well as it showed skill and accomplishment across the levels on different horses of all ages.

The "Lifetime Achievement" award went to Philippe De Meersman (jumping and eventing rider, secretary-general of the KBRSF) and Jean-Pierre Liénard (who modernised show and score management in driving).