The FEI dressage European Championship finale in Crozet, France, concluded with a thrilling freestyle to music competition where Belgium’s Justin Verboomen, riding his own stallion Zonik Plus, secured gold with a personal best score of 89.964%. This victory marked a historic achievement for Belgium, earning their first-ever major dressage medals as Verboomen also won gold in the grand prix special two days earlier. Denmark’s Cathrine Laudrup-Dufour took silver with 89.821%, and Germany’s Isabell Werth, who added to her record 55th major championship medal, claimed bronze with 88.046%.

British riders performed well but narrowly missed the podium, with Becky Moody and Jagerbomb finishing fourth, just over one percentage point behind bronze. Carl Hester placed seventh, and Lottie Fry finished tenth. The competition was marked by high-quality performances from all top contenders, though none were without errors. Verboomen’s harmonious and emotive test ultimately captivated the audience and judges, edging out his closest rivals in a tightly contested finale.