Thermal, CA – January 19, 2025 – Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet started his Sunday morning the same way he ended his Saturday night: winning. After topping Saturday’s $75,000 Go Rentals Grand Prix, Wathelet returned to the Grand Prix Arena at the Desert International Horse Park on Sunday, January 19 – this time aboard Shergan des Vergers Z – to take home victory in the $30,000 Marshall + Sterling Insurance 1.40m Open Classic.
Wathelet and Shergan des Vergers Z were one of 10 entries from the 32-horse starting field to qualify for the jump-off, and as the final pair to return the ring, they stopped the clock in a winning 35.154 seconds. Second place went to Karl Cook who rode Signe Ostby’s Etundel de Marocy to a time of 36.701 seconds. Rounding out the top three with a time of 40.219 seconds was Derek Chang aboard his own Chupadis.
“Karl, he was fast,” said Wathelet. “[Shergan des Vergers Z], I know he’s not slow, but he doesn’t have so much experience. I also wanted to give him the experience for the speed, so I tried, and I must say, he really played the game with me. It was not all perfect, because he was sometimes a little bit deep somehow, but he jumped well.
“It’s a horse I’ve ridden for a while, but it’s quite young,” continued Wathelet in speaking of his 9-year-old Zangersheide gelding. “He was supposed to come here last year, but he got a small injury. He just came back a few months ago and did some shows. I thought he was ready to come here and step up. He’s still green for 9 years old, but I think it’s a promising horse.”
Wathelet will now continue to develop Shergan des Vergers Z throughout the Desert Circuit with the aim of having him go consistently well at the 1.45m height by the conclusion of the 10-week series. While Wathelet finds developing young horses in the U.S. much different in Europe in regard to what is offered for them, there is no place that he would currently rather bring along his horses in the winter than Thermal, CA, at the Desert International Horse Park.
“We did some vacations here because I like to be here in California and around here for the weather,” explained Wathelet. “I did that many times already in the past, and I thought a few years ago, ‘Why not combine a bit of both? Part of vacation, part of showing.’ I think I manage quite well for three years now to come over here with a good plan, good horses and some clients also to train and develop and also to see new people. That’s why I like to be here, outside of just the weather. It’s sure way nicer to be out already in January in the sun!”
For full results of Sunday’s $30,000 Marshall + Sterling Insurance 1.40m Open Classic, click here.
