Text © World of Showjumping

“I've ridden many good horses, but Ermitage is very special,” Gilles Thomas tells World of Showjumping about the phenomenal Ermitage Kalone (Catoki x Kannan). “I think he makes me a better rider, and he also makes my other horses better. After riding him, I ride with more confidence – I believe the whole stable improves thanks to a horse like Ermitage.”

In July, Gilles – 27 – and Ermitage Kalone were part of the Belgian team that won gold at the Longines FEI Jumping European Championship in A Coruña, Spain, and they also brought home individual bronze. World of Showjumping met Gilles at Marc Van Dijck’s Stal Nieuwenhof near Brussels – where Gilles has been working for the past decade – to learn how a wonderful support system, strong family ties and divine timing have shaped the career of one of Europe’s greatest talents.

“Looking back now, everything happened quite quick, but whatever happened, always seemed to do so at the right time,” Gilles says as he reflects on the past few years that have seen him go from a young talent to a proven professional.

Whenever I have gotten a chance, I have always taken it

“In my youth years, I was lucky to always have good horses. When I went from the juniors to the young riders, I got a horse named Konak (Nabab de Reve x Cash) who was a bit more scopey and with him I jumped my first five-star Grand Prix classes,” Gilles tells. “Then, Luna van het Dennehof (Prince van de Wolfsakker x Quidam de Revel) also developed into a horse for the bigger classes. And then came Ermitage – at the right time, because if he was there five years earlier, I would have been too young for such a horse, and he would for sure have been sold. Furthermore, I have had enough good horses around him, so he didn't have to qualify for every Grand Prix. In this way, he had the perfect planning to become the horse he is now – and I had enough horses to keep going to the shows to get the experience I needed.”

“The first year when I went from young riders to seniors, my horses were maybe a bit too young to go straight to five-star level, but then the Covid-19 pandemic broke out,” Gilles recalls. “When everything stopped up, I could take my time with the horses. After the pandemic, both my horses and I were a year older and ready for the bigger shows. I then got the opportunity to be a U25 rider in a GCL team; whenever I have gotten a chance, I have always taken it – with the Belgian team as well. I think Peter Weinberg gives opportunities to a lot of riders, it's not that he always goes with the same pairs, and that's why I could grow; thanks to the Belgian chef d’equipe and thanks to the GCL team.”

Rarely has there been such hype around a horse as there is around Ermitage Kalone, and with Gilles – who was named Belgium’s ‘Talent of the Year’ in 2016 – the stunning chestnut stallion has formed an incredible partnership. The two have been knocking on the door of greatness for a few seasons, and their flawless performances in A Coruña finally earned them their first medals at a FEI championship. However, none of this would have been possible without the support of Joris and Marc Van Dijck.

You cannot put a price tag on the joy that we all get from Ermitage

“I cannot thank Joris enough because there has been so much pressure to sell Ermitage,” Gilles says about Ermitage’s owner Joris Van Dijck – the nephew of Marc Van Dijck – who gave Gilles the ride when the stallion was six.  “If Ermitage came into our lives earlier, I would have been too young to ride him. Now I have just enough experience to ride a horse like him. Financially, Joris took a risk, but you cannot put a price tag on the joy that we all get from Ermitage.”

“Already from when Ermitage was young it was obvious that he was something special. Our family was always into breeding and when we now have a very special stallion, we do want to keep him in the family,” Gilles adds.

Another invaluable supporter in Gilles’ career has been Marc Van Dijck, who is married to Gilles’ aunt. “Without Marc’s support, I would not be where I am today – I am so thankful for him. Marc has always made sure that I have had one or two horses that I can do the bigger classes with,” Gilles explains. “In the youth categories it meant jumping 1.45m and 1.50m classes, but now it's about five-star Grand Prix classes.”

Gilles has close ties to the Belgian team members who took gold in A Coruña. “Nicola and Pieter are a bit older, but we do a lot of the same shows, while Thibeau is a close friend,” he explains. “Thibeau and I never rode on the same youth team, so we have joked that when we are now seniors, we could perhaps finally jump on a team together. We usually celebrate New Year's Eve together and as we were speaking about 2025, I told Thibeau to make a good plan for the year ahead so that we could both do the Europeans. The week after, Thibeau called me with his plan – and in A Coruña, we won gold!”

Hopefully our three young horses can be good for the Belgian team in the future

The other Belgian team members have been in similar situations as Gilles and his family when it comes to holding on to talented horses. “Pieter has an exceptional horse in Casual – who is home bred – and there was also a lot of demand for her,” Gilles tells. “And the same goes for Thibeau’s Impress. However, as a team, you need to have three to four very good combinations and when you have a situation like we do now, with three exceptional horses, it's worth keeping them. I think this was also Sweden’s strength when they won nearly everything that was to win; for a while, they had very strong horse-and-rider combinations, but now those horses are getting older, and the team gets weaker. Hopefully our three young horses can be good for the Belgian team in the future.”

At their last show before the Europeans in June, Ermitage and Gilles won the CSI5* 1.60m LGCT Grand Prix of Paris – taking their first ever international victory together. Compared to their senior championship debut at the 2024 Paris Olympics last summer, Gilles felt more comfortable heading to the 2025 Europeans and the experience gained over the last year turned out to be a deciding factor on day one of competition in A Coruña.

With a horse like Ermitage, I also wanted to go for an individual medal

“I felt a bit more pressure in Paris, because we both did not have that much experience back then,” Gilles explains. “Also, the last weeks before Paris did not go 100% as I wanted. For A Coruña, everything went really well, and we won the last Grand Prix that we did. Therefore, I had a very good feeling.”

“On the first day of the Europeans, we were all saying that we were going to focus on the team, and do good rounds without taking too much risk,” Gilles tells about the beginning of the long week in A Coruña. “However, with a horse like Ermitage, I also wanted to go for an individual medal so I had to take some risk in that first round. When I walked the course, there was one short turn to the wall and I planned to do this from the beginning. All my teammates, our chef d’equipe, and especially my uncle, were of the opinion that the inside turn was too much risk. I was at the end of the class, and a few other riders had done the turn, and not all went well. However, in Paris, in the jump-off at our last show prior to the Europeans, there was also a very short turn to the left to a wall, and it went very easy – so I had the confidence to try. In the end, I was lucky to have done the turn to the wall because otherwise I would not have had an individual medal – it made the difference.”

While the win in Paris gave Gilles the confidence to take more risk in A Coruña, it was a setback in La Baule that helped him secure the team gold for Belgium later in the week. In the Barriére Nations Cup in La Baule back in June, Gilles and Ermitage were the last to go for the team, and a clear was needed – just like in the team final in A Coruña. “Everything has always gone very smoothly with Ermitage,” Gilles explains. “In La Baule, I was maybe too confident and we had one down and lost it for the team. In the Grand Prix there, we had two down. After La Baule, I did a lot of thinking. It was a wake-up call, and a reminder to stay sharp.”

It was a wake-up call, and a reminder to stay sharp

And in A Coruña, Gilles and Ermitage stayed focused and delivered, jumping clear to secure the gold. “I could have had two time faults, but I wanted to be inside the time because it also counted for the individual final,” Gilles tells.

Punching the air in delight over the last fence as the gold was secured was an unexpected celebration for someone as calm and composed as Gilles. “I still don’t know why I did it,” he smiles. “Ermitage jumps verticals really well, and I was so confident in that moment – but I don’t think I would do it again!”

After the team gold, the pressure was off. “The main goal was to win a medal with the team,” Gilles tells about his feelings ahead of the individual final. “Individually, I was fourth going into the final and I believe that was a good position. When I rode Ermitage on Saturday, he still felt very fresh and after the previous rounds I had the confidence and feeling that he was in good shape. I went into Sunday’s final believing that if I would stick to my plan and don't make big mistakes, Ermitage would leave the fences up.”

There are big things ahead for Belgium’s golden combination in the years to come as well. “We are already thinking about the 2026 World Championship in Aachen,” Gilles tells. “Ermitage and I have never competed in Aachen. Last year, CHIO Aachen was two weeks before the Olympics, and this year, after La Baule, I felt I had to give him a bit more rest so he would be fresh at the Europeans.”

We are already thinking about the 2026 World Championship in Aachen

In 2027, Gilles and Ermitage can defend their European team title on home soil. “It will be the first time that Belgium organizes a championship for seniors,” Gilles points out. “Hopefully we can also stay fit for the 2028 Olympics, and still be part of the team there.”

“However, for this year, we still have some big goals. Since I won the LGCT Grand Prix in Paris, we are qualified for the LGCT Super Grand Prix in Prague. But before that, we have Brussels, with a Rolex Grand Prix only 10 minutes from our stable. That will be Ermitage’s next show,” Gilles closes off.

14.8.2025 No reproduction of any of the content in this article will be accepted without a written permission, all rights reserved © World of Showjumping.com. If copyright violations occur, a penalty fee will apply.