A veteran Belgian rider who's claimed many medals but never won gold claimed that honor in the individual show jumping at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
Phillipe Le Jeune, 50, was the only rider in the Top Four individual final to ride four clear rounds on his horse and those of his competitors.
As soon as he finished the last round on his competitor's horse, Hickstead, he took off his hat and galloped triumphantly around the ring to a standing ovation from a nearly packed Rolex Stadium at the Kentucky Horse Park.
When he dismounted, he threw his arms around Hickstead for a long hug before returning to his own mount, Vigo d'Arsouilles, for another embrace around the big chestnut's neck.
Only then did he start hugging people.
"I love animals more than people," he said after the medals ceremony. "I feel great."
Abdullah al-Sharbatly, a 28-year-old from Saudi Arabia with the least experience of the four riders, won silver after three clear rounds. His only faults, ironically, were on his own mare, Seldana Di Campalto, who downed two rails in the first round.
The bronze medal went to Eric Lamaze of Canada, the winner of individual gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, who rode this week with a broken foot. His horse, Hickstead, won the award for the best horse in the Top Four, the only horse to go clear with all four riders.
"I think we already knew that before today," Lamaze said of Hickstead being named best horse. "Now all of these three other riders, they know it for themselves."
Le Jeune rode Vio D'Arsouilles to the Top Four position after posting good scores all week. He rode that horse's sire, Nabab De Reve, on the Belgian bronze-medal team in the 2002 World Games in Jerez, Spain.
Le Jeune was also part of the bronze-medal-winning team competition at these Games, which was awarded on Wednesday. Germany took gold and France won silver. The U.S. team was shut out of the team and individual medals.
Le Jeune said he preferred to work with horses at home, rather than competing. But because he has worked with so many horses, it was no problem to get on new ones.
The Top Four format — which is done only at the World Games — is exact and grueling for both horse and rider. The top four riders were culled from five rounds of show jumping throughout the week.
The competition began with riders jumping one round on their own horses. Then they had three minutes to warm up on each of the other horses, jumping two warm-up fences before facing the course.
Both the saddling and the warming up were performed in a separate section of the arena so the audience could see every step of the process.
Al-Sharbatly of Saudi Arabia bought his Dutch Warmblood mare just three months ago, and said he had taken her to only two shows before the Games. He bought her, he said, with an eye to the 2012 Olympics, not the Games.
Al-Sharbatly said he was proud and happy to be the first person from the Middle East to make it into the Top Four.
"I'm so happy to be here in this championship and I'm so happy to win the silver medal," he said.
Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil was shut out of the medals after getting 12 faults in four rounds. Pessoa was the only rider to have been through the Top Four competition before, winning the gold medal at the 1998 World Games in Rome.
