Willem Greve Repeats Feat in HeadFirst Group Prize Best of Champions
Following the resounding success of the first edition, the spectacular HeadFirst Group Prize was once again on the program on Thursday evening during The Dutch Masters. Before full stands in the Brabanthallen, Willem Greve managed to defend his title. The multiple Dutch champion and defending winner once again claimed the prestigious Best of Champions title in this special horse-change class.
The concept, known from previous world championships, was last competed in 2014. Jeroen Dubbeldam, world champion from Caen with SFN Zenith and Sports Director of The Dutch Masters, breathed new life into the class in 2025.
"The HeadFirst Group Prize was received enormously well last year," says Dubbeldam. "Not only by the public in the Brabanthallen, but also online—the class was followed worldwide via livestream. The riders were also very enthusiastic. Thanks to the support of the HeadFirst Group, we happily continued it. It's fantastic to see the stands filled with people who really enjoy watching this. Hopefully we can continue this for a long time. It's a great way to put craftsmanship and horsemanship in the spotlight."
Horse Change Requires Pure Craftsmanship
In the 1.45m class, riders started with their own horse, after which they switched horses. Each combination had only two and a half minutes to get a feel for the course. Then the bell rang and they had to perform immediately.
Afterwards, Jeroen Dubbeldam and Harrie Smolders provided live commentary and short interviews with the riders, giving the public a unique insight into the craftsmanship and strategy of the top riders.
Greve proved to be the master of adaptability once again. He was the only rider to finish faultless with all four horses, defeating European champion Richard Vogel, World Cup winner Julien Epaillard, and multiple Belgian champion Gilles Thomas.
"This Is Our Life, Our Passion"
Afterwards, Greve reacted enthusiastically: "This class is really extremely fun. In a short time, you as a rider have to try to read the horses well, feel how they react and how they prefer to be ridden. You shouldn't try to completely force them to your will. We were all really looking forward to it. We're all extremely involved with our horses and find it interesting to see how someone else approaches a horse. You share that information with each other and it's fascinating to see how someone adapts to a horse."
Greve said he paid extra attention to Richard Vogel's horse: "Richard indicated that his horse is still quite green, so I looked at it closely. It's a sensitive horse that really wants to do everything right. I mainly wanted to give him the confidence that I would bring him to the jump at the right distance." Jeroen Dubbeldam therefore called the round after the event a true demonstration of riding.
Champions Learn From Each Other
Richard Vogel watched with great interest at the round of his nine-year-old Greenacres Comilfo under Willem Greve. "I try to steal with my eyes," the German admitted with a laugh.
According to Harrie Smolders, that is typical of champions: "These riders also learn from this for the future. They pick up the tricks from each other. They're all craftsmen and that's also characteristic of top riders: there's so much information here to pick up. That remains interesting to watch. This is our life, our passion."
Greve fully agrees: "As a rider, you learn every day. That's our drive. You can really lose sleep over how to better understand a horse, or how it can better understand you. Ultimately, it's all about feel."
Vogel Also Extremely Fast With Other Horses
European champion Richard Vogel had to record one jumping fault with Happy Landais, Gilles Thomas's horse, and thus finished in second place. A notable detail was that the German top rider recorded the fastest round time with each horse by far. Over four rounds, he was almost twelve seconds faster than Julien Epaillard, known as one of the fastest riders in the world, and even 22 seconds faster than Greve and Thomas.
Julien Epaillard finished third, ahead of Gilles Thomas. The best horse of the evening was Epaillard's twelve-year-old Easy Up de Grandry. The experienced gelding, who was tipped early in the competition by Jeroen Dubbeldam as a contender, thereby underscored the value of experience compared to his nine-year-old competitors.
Photos: TDM/Digishots