Gilles Thomas replaces Von Eckermann in HeadFirst Group Prize – Best of Champions
A new name for the HeadFirst Group Prize – Best of Champions, and what a name it is. None other than Gilles Thomas, the current world number five, will replace Henrik von Eckermann on the evening of Thursday, March 12 in the spectacular horse rotation competition.
The Belgian top rider, who recently became a new Rolex Testimonee, won individual bronze at last summer’s European Championships in La Coruña with Ermitage Kalone. Next week, together with European champion Richard Vogel, World Cup winner Julien Epaillard and Dutch champion Willem Greve, he will open the evening program of The Dutch Masters during the legendary rider rotation.
Hoping for four different horses
“Fortunately, I’ve ridden so many different types of horses that I can say I’m able to deal with almost all of them. When you have very little time to get to know a horse, I think you try to recognize what type of horse it is and link that to my previous experience,” the friendly Belgian explains. Gilles also hopes to convey this skill to the audience. In his opinion, a good rider is also a rider who can always adapt to the horse. “Secretly, I’m hoping the four horses will be four completely different types. I’d really like to show the audience that as a rider you can be independent from your horse, regardless of what type of horse it is.”
Mechelen as practice
“In Mechelen I already had the chance to practice once. Before that I had never taken part in a class like this. We competed there with the Belgian European Championship team, and I thought it was a really cool experience,” Gilles says about his very first rider rotation last December. “Normally I really take my time to get to know a new horse, but now I had to feel and adapt within three minutes before jumping a course. That was completely new for me.”
Riding with feeling
“Last year at The Dutch Masters I also watched the rider rotation, and although people always expect a lot of spectacle, I especially think it’s great to see that they are all such experienced, skilled riders that everyone actually manages to adapt so quickly and really ride with feeling,” Gilles continues. What will his strategy be? “Even before I get on my assigned horse, I carefully watch how it jumps with its own rider. Just by observing I learn a lot. After that, I mainly try to feel how the horse moves, especially the size of the canter and the balance. Again, during a rider rotation this all happens ten times faster than when I would do it at home, but I try to stay focused and still do it as well as possible,” Gilles explains.
A home show for the Belgian
Gilles travels all over the world, but The Dutch Masters almost feels like a home show for him because of the many supporters. “From day one the stands are completely full, even for the smaller classes, and you don’t see that at many events. There are also a lot of people watching at the warm-up arena,” Gilles says enthusiastically. “The number of people in the stands really makes me feel encouraged, and when I finish my round and look around, I’m always impressed by how full it is,” the Belgian concludes.
Photo: TDM/Remco Veurink
Through social media, Gilles Thomas is giving away two pairs of tickets for the HeadFirst Group Prize – Best of Champions. Visit our channels and join the giveaway!