Driving a four-in-hand team of stallions, Dries Degrieck became the first Belgian in history to secure the world crown in this equestrian discipline.
Last January, Dries Degrieck had already made a strong impression by winning the last leg of the FEI Driving World Cup in Leipzig (Germany), a result that earned him his qualification for this year’s Final held in France.
And on the arena of the Jumping International de Bordeaux, Degrieck rose spectacularly to the occasion: the Belgian driver managed to defeat his competition, starting with front-runner Boyd Exell (Australia), eleven-time World Cup Champion, who had to settle for third place behind Bram Chardon (Netherlands).
Driving his four horses – Hunter, Leon, Kane B, and Kimano – Degrieck owes his close overall victory to his team’s blend of precision and speed over a course filled with highly technical obstacles. “My horses have made virtually no mistakes this season. If there were any, they were my fault. They rose to every challenge, they thought along with me on course, and they helped me enormously. I am extremely proud of them”, the Belgian declared to the press after being crowned World Cup Champion.
At just 30 years old – after finishing fourth in 2022, fifth in 2023 and 2024, then second in 2025 – he finally enjoys a world triumph unprecedented for a Belgian in this equestrian discipline.
Between the European showjumping title won in La Coruña, the successive dressage victories of Justin Verboomen, and the records set by eventer Lara de Liedekerke in 2025, Belgium is unquestionably writing one of the finest chapters in the history of equestrian sport.
Source: Focus on Belgium
