WELLINGTON, Fla.--Belgium’s Jos Verlooy won the $37,000 WEF Challenge Cup Round VIII CSIO4* riding Luciano Van Het Geinsteinde.

Jos Verlooy on Luciano Van Het Geinsteinde (Photo by Sportfot)A large field of 71 competitors from 24 nations during Nations Cup week rode in the single round speed class with only 13 going clean..

Carlos Hank Guerriero of Mexico led for the majority of the class riding H5 Sunshine but droppedto place second when Verlooy shaved off two whole seconds from his time and finished in 71.28 seconds on Luciano Van Het Geinsteinde.

“I’ve had this horse for the past year and a half, and it has been great to see him getting more experience at this level; it feels like everything is finally coming together,” said Verlooy. “He really tries and wants to get better, and I love that about him.

 

“TODAY'S COURSE was ideal for my horse; it was big enough that it could have been a jump-off class,” said Verlooy. “I didn’t have to go too fast, but my horse has incredible scope so I was able to turn very short. The track today would’ve been difficult for a horse truly best suited to speed classes, because it seemed today that scope outweighed speed as a determining factor.”

Jessica Mendoza of Great Britan on I-Cap CL Z placed third in 74.91 seconds.

Verlooy is one of many Europeans to have traveled to the South Florida circuit for the winter and will represent his nation in the Nations Cup Saturday.

“I am not sure Belgium has ever had a team compete here in Wellington before so needless to say I am very much looking forward to the Nations Cup,” he said. “A start like this is a great boost and has given me a lot of confidence going into the weekend.”