Young Belgians dazzle in Deauville

In a thrilling competition which came down to the wire, it was a young Belgian team who took the top spot at the first of two semi-finals for the Longines EEF Series. Once again this qualifier, took place in the stunning French venue of Deauville and the Belgian quartet of Roy van Beek, Zoe Conter, Sasha Beghuin and Mathieu Bourdeaud’Hui produced a solid all-round performance to finish on just one penalty after two rounds. Spain, who were winners here last year took second place on four penalties and Brazil joined them on the podium with 12 penalties.

Eight regional qualifiers took place for the four regions involved in this Series, with 20 teams having earned their spots in the two semi-finals. Deauville was the semi-final for the teams who had qualified from Region West and Region North. With the final set to take place in Avenches, Switzerland in September, Belgium, Spain and home side France (who finished fourth), secured qualification from Region West. Whilst it was Norway who finished fifth and Sweden in sixth, who took the qualifying spots for the North Region.

Speaking after the competition Chef d’Equipe Filip Lacus summed up the Belgian performance; “We are very happy to win this class so we qualify for the final which was the reason we came. I am very happy how the riders rode and the horses jumped. They (the riders) came for the experience for sure and we had to qualify for the final which they did. The Series gives experience for younger combinations so we try to use it as much as possible to take the experience for the younger riders.”

Mathieu Bourdeaud’Hui  kept his cool with the exuberant Oscar the Homage owned by Krismar Stables as the final rider on the team, to seal the deal with a clear round. “Yes I felt the pressure but it was ok, my horse jumped good and it was a spectacular round and he was very good so I am very happy. He is an eleven year old stallion, he had a little break for two months and this is his first big show again so now he is getting back into shape.”

27 year-old Zoe Conter produced one of the very few double clears of the competition and was the eldest on this evergreen Belgian team, “I was actually surprised to be the eldest on the team because I am actually quite young but I was really happy to come here with such a great team of younger riders and I think we all contributed to this result so I think we can be very happy.” She was delighted with her 14 year-old mare La Una, who she rides for the prolific Stephex Stables. “I was very happy with her performance. I’ve had a long partnership with this mare, I think we have been together for about six or seven years so we know each other through and through. I think that played a huge role for us today and I am very happy for this.”

Roy van Beek performed equally well with just one time penalty on his striking grey gelding Cavoiro H OLD who is owned by Johannes Heinrichs. “ I am very happy with the way my horse jumped, the first round was a little bit too slow and had too big turns. The second round we tried to keep the time in mind and the way it worked out was amazing”.

This CSIO3* competition kept spectators on the edge of their seats with teams moving up and down the leaderboard from start to finish. In fact, rarely have we seen so much change in the standings since the EEF series was launched in 2021. Throughout the two rounds, there riders with single fences down and time penalties, which proved influential to the team scores, as did the final line - a three fence combination which saw a number of faults throughout the day.

The course designer Cédric Longis, from France, produced a cleverly designed course which caught out even experienced combinations. Belgium’s Sacha Beghuin described it as “not so big but technical”. There were plenty of surprises with neither Portugal nor Denmark, two of the regional qualifying winners nor Great Britain who came forward to the semi-final as regional leaders, claiming one of the qualifying spots.

The next semi final for Regions South and Central takes place in Budapest on Friday 27 June. Entered to compete are Italy, Turkey and Romania coming forward from Region South; and Switzerland, Hungary, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Slovakia and Czech Republic from Region Central.

Where to Watch and Follow
Full results of the CSIO3* Deauville Nations Cup can be viewed here.

Qualified teams for the CSIO4* Avenches FINAL are Belgium, Spain and France from Region West with Norway and Sweden from Region North.

For the latest updates, team announcements, and behind-the-scenes content throughout the 2025 Longines EEF Series, follow the Longines EEF Series website and the European Equestrian Federation. Join the conversation on the Longines EEF Series social media on Instagram and Facebook.

Download the Longines EEF Series press kit here

All competitions in this year’s series can be watched live on ClipMyHorse.TV, the official livestream partner of the Longines EEF Series.