Edited press release from Zangersheide 

One of the highlights in Lanaken on Friday was the traditional Sires of the World – a 1.50m jump-off class for approved stallions – where 50 horse-and-rider combinations had lined up, with eight of them delivering clear rounds. In the jump-off, the crowds at the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses 2023 got treated with some very competitive rounds. However, it was Cornets Iberio (Cornet Obolensky x Charlottenhof's Iberio, bred by Heinrich Ramsbrock and owned by Sebastien Schatzmann) and Denis Lynch (IRL) that set an impossible time to beat halfway when stopping the clock at 36 seconds. 

The second place went to the Zangersheide stallion Feromas van Beek Z (Fantomas de Muze x Tangelo van de Zuuthoeve, bred by 't Eirbissemhof and owned by Guido Herrijgers) ridden by Gilles Thomas (BEL). “Last year I placed fourth in this class, two years ago I was third and now I am second. That shows how competitive and how many clear rounds Feromas jumps," Thomas said. "He is getting better and better every year! I tried hard to beat Denis today, but I wasn’t fast enough. This class is a really good opportunity to show the stallions to the breeders. It is not so easy for the breeders to see the stallions live. They can see the stallions in the warm-up and take a picture with them.”

Feromas van Beek Z delivered an incredible performance but was a bit too slow to beat Denis Lynch with his Hannoverian stallion Cornets Iberio. “I had him since he was five-year-old and he has won many classes since," Lynch said. "He is very competitive. He has done some breeding when he was younger, but he hasn’t been used so much in the recent years. So maybe this will promote him. He is a real fighter.”

The third place was taken by the 18-year-old BWP stallion Faldiano (Heartbreaker x Jus de Pomme, bred by Benny Helsen and owned by VDB Sporthorses BVBA) under the saddle of Jens Vandenberk (BEL), who said: "I really focus in my preparation on the Sires of the World. I jumped two smaller shows to give him confidence. Despite his age, he is still very fit and eager. As long as he wants to keep going and feels fit, I will keep competing with him.”

Philip Rüping (GER) and Casallco (Casall x Contender, bred by F.J.M. Vrenken and owned by Paul Schockemöhle Hengsthaltung GmbH) finished fourth, and Mathieu Bourdeaud'Hui (BEL) aboard Oscar The Homage (Quint vh Maarlo Z x Elton, bred by Koen Geerits and owned by Krismar Stables) fifth.