Mechelen, Belgium – December 29, 2024 – On Sunday, December 29, 40 combinations competed for victory in the Sport Vlaanderen Grand Prix CSI 5*-W, one of the crown jewels of Vlaanderens Kerstjumping. After a thrilling jump-off with seven participants, Portuguese rider Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida (POR) emerged victorious aboard the nine-year-old KWPN mare Karonia L. (Harley x G-Ramiro Z). The duo delivered a faultless round with a lightning-fast time of 36.08 seconds.

Harrie Smolders (NED) claimed second place with the 12-year-old Selle Français gelding Mr. Tac (Non Stop x Toulon). The Dutch top rider also produced a clear round but had to settle for silver with a time of 37.05 seconds. Gregory Wathelet (BEL) secured a podium finish for Belgium with Double Jeu d’Honvault (Kannan x Cook du Midour), delivering a faultless round in 37.70 seconds to take third place.

A Carefully Planned Victory
Almeida calls this triumph his “most special victory ever with Karonia.L.” Together with his trainer, Denis Flannely, he had been targeting this success for quite some time.

Congratulations, Rodrigo. How was that jump-off for you? The crowd was going absolutely wild.
Yeah, it was such a special moment. When I saw Gregory going first and delivering a jump- off like he did, I thought to myself, “There is no chance to hold back even one stride from start to finish.” I knew I had to stick to my plan completely—there could be no mistakes, or I would lose that win. This was a victory I had been planning and working toward. It was my goal to come to Mechelen at the end of the year for Karonia.L’s last show as a nine-year-old.

Winning this Grand Prix was one of my big ambitions. To have a clear first round and then deliver such a jump-off—it’s just incredible. I’m absolutely delighted with her performance and with my entire team. It was truly something special.
You and your trainer made a very detailed preparation. Could you tell us more about that?

Working with Dennis is something very special. We have a strong connection and can almost read each other’s minds. Before the jump-off started, I went to him and said, “Dennis, we need a plan. I have to win. I want to win.” So, we made the plan as short and as fast as possible. Everything just came together perfectly. My mare was, once again, brilliant. She’s such a fighter, with a great character, and I can completely rely on her. The only thing I need to watch is myself—my body, my balance—because she can handle the rest on her own.

That makes my life so much easier, even at the speed we needed for that jump-off. I always try to go as fast as I can, but in my mind, I work in slow motion. If you try to match the speed with your mind without slowing it down, you lose focus. This approach was especially important for my last line. The rest of the plan went perfectly, but I knew the final stride to the last fence would be very open, and I’d have to give it everything I had. Midway through that last line, I told myself to slow down mentally, bring my balance back, and give Karonia L. the chance to jump. Those last three strides felt like they were in slow motion, even though we were going at full speed.

Can you tell us a bit more about Karonia.L? What makes her so special to you? Karonia L. is, without a doubt, the most special win of my career so far. She’s a horse I’ve built up from the one-meter classes. She came to me as a young horse, and from the very beginning, I felt there was something special about her. She jumped the one-meter classes
with the same quality she showed in the 1.20m, 1.30m, 1.40m, and now even the 1.50m. Every time we moved up, the feeling stayed consistent. Today, competing in a five-star Grand Prix and delivering one of the fastest jump-offs of my career, she still gives me that same feeling. I truly believe there are no limits with this mare. When the plan is there and
everything comes together, she’s simply incredible. Karonia.L is just special—there’s no other way to put it.

Final Results – €63,000 Sport Vlaanderen Grand Prix CSI 5*-W

1) Rodrigo Giesteira Almeida (POR) & Karonia L. – 0 / 0 – 36.08

2) Harrie Smolders (NED) & Mr. Tac – 0 / 0 – 37.05

3) Gregory Wathelet (BEL) & Double Jeu d’Honvault – 0 / 0 – 37.70

Source: Press Release from Jumping Mechelen

Photo: © Jumping Mechelen

• Facebook
• Instagram
• Twitter
• YouTube
• Tumblr