Press release from Saut Hermès, edited by World of Showjumping

On Saturday, the Belgian national anthem resonated around the Grand Palais in tribute to Pieter Devos and his mare Jarina J (Cicero Z x Harley), victorious in the CSI5* 1.55m Le Saut Hermès, a competition in two rounds, reserved for the top ten female riders and the top ten male from Friday’s CSI5* Prix Hermès Sellier.

Seven pairs finished with a clear round in the first round, over a course created by the legendary course designer duo from the last Olympics, Spaniard Santiago Varela Ullastres and Frenchman Gregory Bodo. Solely Belgium’s Pieter Devos on Jarina J and Ireland’s Jessica Burke with her French mount Good Star du Bary (Rock’N Roll Semilly x Oberon du Moulin) – the recent winner of the World Cup in Bordeaux and the first woman in history to pull off this feat – managed to go clear a second time.  

Three seconds faster than his rivals, the Belgian ultimately took the win to succeed last year’s winner, Jeanne Sadran, Hermès partner rider. “I’m absolutely delighted,” beamed Devos, European team champion in 2025, team bronze medallist at the 2021 Olympics and mainstay of the Belgian team for a number of years. “My mare brought her A game. Strategically, I thought it was important to go fast initially but after seeing that no one was finishing with a double clear round I thought I’d play it safe, even though Yuri (Mansur) was going after me and is known to be quick.” Teamed with 18-year-old Vitiki (Valentino 240 x For Expo), the Brazilian ultimately picked up eight penalties. “In the end, I just tried to ride my own race without overthinking it,” Devos continued. “I still took a few more risks than I’d planned, especially over the last fence. My mare is really very consistent and very quick though. I can easily play around with the stride pattern and winning in a place like this is something else.” 

With a total of two time penalties, one from each round, Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson on Hennessy (Hogwart x Piano II) snatched third place, just ahead of Frenchman Julien Épaillard and Easy Up de Grandry (Jarnac x For Pleasure), the fastest pairing in the second round but with one fence down in the first. Willem Greve (NED) and Candy Luck Z (Comme Il Faut 5 x Canturo) finished fifth.