Pieter de Brabandere Pilots Dothraki Warlord to First Grand Prix Victory in $75,000 Voltaire Grand Prix
Top hunter, jumper, and equitation riders returned to HITS Hudson Valley for the final week of May and the venue’s second week of spring competition. Boasting an expanded schedule encompassing the spring, summer, and fall series, the iconic location is set to host its most successful season of sport yet. The pinnacle of show jumping action came to a head on Saturday, May 31, 2025, as elite combinations put the finishing touches on their warm-up for the $75,000 Voltaire Grand Prix. In a nail-biting jump-off, only the combination of Pieter de Brabandere (BEL) and Dothraki Warlord managed to procure a double-clear effort, making them the class’s clear winners and giving de Brabandere his first grand prix win in the States.
FEI Level 3 course designer Meghan Rawlins (CAN) put forward a fair challenge for the first-round field of 17 horse-and-rider combinations, which included winning international athletes McLain Ward (USA), Nick Dello Joio (USA), and Wednesday’s $5,000 Adequan Welcome Stake winner Michel Feitosa (BRA). Despite less-than-ideal weather conditions, five pairs found their way successfully around the opening track; however, the questions asked in the short course ultimately proved more difficult.
“This morning, I honestly thought the class was going to be canceled because I thought there was no way any ring could hold that amount of rain,” de Brabandere admitted. “When I went to look at the ring though, the footing was great, and the horses all jumped great, which was really amazing.”
Clocking in at 43.062 seconds at the completion of the jump-off, de Brabandere’s round was not the fastest over the track, but knowing his horse’s strengths and weaknesses ultimately paid off.
“My horse has a very big step and likes to go a little bit at the fence, but some lines were shorter, so I really had to be aware of that,” he detailed. “When we went in, there were no other clears, so I really just kind of rode my own round, and I did go a little slower than I was supposed to, but we won, so I have no complaints!
“We got him last year in Wellington and he has been a great horse for me ever since,” he continued of Maarten Huygen’s 13-year-old Irish Sport Horse gelding (Mermus R x Diamant de Semilly). “He can be a bit naughty sometimes and playful, but he has incredible scope and the heart of a lion. He’s really a war horse, and I can’t wait to see what else he does this summer.”
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