Edited press release from EEF 

Belgium proved the team to beat in the CSIO3* 1.50m Longines EEF Series region North qualifier in Drammen, Norway, coming out on top in a thrilling jump-off against the hosts, while the Netherlands closed out the podium in third.
 
The young Belgian team of Bart Jay Junior Vandecasteele riding Vamos De La Pomme D’Or Z (Vigo d'Arsouilles x Ogano Sitte), Mathieu Guery on Time-Breaker S Z (Toulon x Calvados), Evelyne Putters with Oberon VDH (Thunder vd Zuuthoeve x Richebourg) and Leon Brutsaert aboard Corleone Tour Vidal (Mylord Carthago x Sisley de La Tour Vidal) kept cool to triumph in the 13-strong team competition which is designed to be a launchpad for the next generation of championship horses and riders.
 
“It's the first time Belgium comes to a three-star Nations Cup with young riders. They are the best of Belgium and for sure they apply for the European Championships, so it was a good training for them,” said Belgium’s chef d’equipe Filip Lacus.
 
The Belgian team held the top spot at the halfway point on a score of zero and when their first two riders in the second round also jumped clear, it looked as if they were going to ease to a comfortable win. However, eight faults for Putters and Cleran Horses’ 11-year-old bay gelding and four penalties for Brutsaert and the 13-year-old Selle Francais stallion turned the final qualifier for the Northern region on its head. Myriad twists and turns ensued as the competition headed towards its climax with no one quite sure how it was going to turn out.

Three clear rounds for Norway in the second round - including double clears for Johan-Sebastian Gulliksen riding Equine America Harwich VDL (Arezzo VDL x Darco) and Therese Soehol Henriksen on Santos Z (Spartacus TN x San Patrignano Cassini) - not only gave the home fans something to cheer about but also brought them right back up into contention. When a pole fell for Belgium’s fourth rider it meant the hosts – who had been in fourth position after round one – were required for a jump-off for the win. 
 
Representing the home side, Oda Charlotte Lyngvaer and Carabella VD Neyen Z (Carrera VDL x Lux Z) were first to go in the jump-off, setting a target of four faults in 38.49 seconds. Mathieu Guery and Time-Breaker S Z knew what they had to do and remained calm under pressure to secure a steady clear for Belgium - their third of the afternoon - and the victory.

“It was my first senior Nations Cup and to come back with the win was something special,” said 20-year-old Mathieu, the son of Olympic showjumper Jérôme Guéry. “My horse was just amazing today in all the three rounds. To be able to give the victory to my team was something really cool. I’d like to thank my teammates, chef d’equipe and everybody around me.”