On Wednesday we headed over to Mechelen for one of Belgium’s most famous shows and the place to be fort he equestrian community between Christmas and New Year.  The second day of this show is most interesting for the breeders with on the program the final freejump competition for 2 year olds, the Sires of the World and the competitions for 6 and 7 year old stallions.

Robin Van Thillo brought two stallions with him to compete: 6 year old Leonardo Van de Kapel by Mithras de Regor owned by Protea Stables and 7 year old Q-Jewel’s Touch of Quality by Kannan in property of Jewel Court Stud.

Quality jumped an easy round, showing of his great and cool mentality in the ring. One unlucky fault kept

this duo away from the jump-off but this newly AES-approved stallion has made a major progress in the

past year and we’re already looking forward to next year.

After a relaxt summer-season it was Leonardo’s time to shine and did he take his job serious! The first

round could be described as perfect; Leonardo showed of his great rideability, endless scoop and smartness

in the showring.

In the jump-off Robin decided to go all-in and Leonardo was with him. A small malfunction in one of the turns and some handiness of both horse and rider in the combination made it a very exciting jump-off to watch with spectators holding their breaths. Again Leonardo didn’t touch a pole and  the chrono was good for a beautiful and well deserved second place. A perfect ending to a busy year!

Again a very succesfull show for Team Protea. This time with only one rider at the start but he definitely made sure the Protea colors were all over the place.

Robin participated with 3 Jewel’s horses and all three of them did an excellent job showing what their capable of.

The 2 youngsters Q-Jewel’s Touch of Quality (7yo by Kannan) and half-sister P-Jewel’s Promise (8yo by Baltic VDL) participated in the CSI*YH and started their show very solid with on the openingday already a 3th and 4th place. On day two there was a small mistake for P-Jewel’s Promise but again a clear round ánd placing for Q-Jewel’s Touch of Quality.

In the final of YH competition it was Q-Jewel’s Touch of Quality who came in a tad to slow with one time penalty but luckily half-sister P-Jewel’s Promise was there to uphold honor of the great Protea/Jewel’s teamwork. Promise finished more than a second faster on number two and took home the big victory-ribbon. 

The third Jewel’s horses that was present in Azelhof was 11yo gelding My Jewel’s Magic Touch by Stakkato. He showed to be really in the mood for it all by immedtiately taking the win on day one in CSI2* 140 class. The next days Magic Touch jumped the 145 LR and final GP with respectively one and two unfortunated faults.

We could head home with a lot of ribbons, a great feeling and a lot of eager to further build up the horses to a next level.

After almost 2 months without international shows (but still with a lot of national and regional jumpings) Team Protea was present at the CSI2* of Bonheiden.

One horse that made sure everybody noticed Protea Stables’ presence was Leonardo van de Kapel. This 6 year old SBS-approved stallion enjoyed a long summer break but definitely proved that he deserves his place in the showring. Leonardo and loyal rider/companion Robin Van Thillo jumped 3 days double clear in the CSI-YH and finished every test with a top 5 placing. In the 6YO final on Saturday he even took up the pace by taking home the win out of 37 starters.

Robin had a total of 3 horses to ride and also placed with Q-Jewel’s Touch of Quality and P-Jewel’s Promise both in the CSI-YH 7/8YO.

At Paige’s string of horses there were also placings and some very impressive rounds. On day one it was Nobel van het Endhouse who finished strong and clear in the 140 ROT and delivered a placing.

On day two it was 6yo Reginald who brought home the money in the YH-class finishing just outside the top ten. Saturday and Sunday was Jewel’s Sing Song’s time to shine. On Saturday she had a little warm-up during the masters where she could keep up untill round 4 over a height of 165 and on Sunday she was placed again in the 135 class.

What a treat it was to participate on a show so close to home surrounded by a lot of friends. It was the first time JV-horses organised an international show and they nailed it! 

The show started perfect with on Thursday already a first place of topcombination Robin and Q-Jewel’s Touch of Quality (Kannan) in the 7yo class. Robin prooved to be in a very competitive mood by, later on that day, winning bronze in the 135 class with My Jewel’s Magic Touch (Stakkato). 

On Friday Robin went chasing prizes again with a 2^nd place (No Doubt DV by Elvis Ter Putte, 110), 5^th place (again Q-Jewel’s Touch of Quality, 7yo) and 6^th place (again My Jewel’s Magic Touch, 140), a more than successful day !

 Saturday it was Reginald (Malitto) ridden by Paige who stood out. Jumping clear for the third day in a row ánd in a very impressive way this big black beauty could prepare himself for the jump-off in the final for 6yo horses. One small fault kept this powerhouse from taking a ribbon home but we are more then proud with the way he handled this big class.

Another horse that impressed us was Nobel van het Endhouse. This 10yo grey gelding by Toulon stepped up a level unto his first 145 class. With a great mentality in the ring we couldn’t be happier with how he dealt with this new height.

Special mention to one of Paige’s students, Jolien Frijters, who made her debut at the international scene in style. On the final CSI* GP she rode everything she had and came home with a beautiful and more than welldeserved silver ribbon.

This show was a joy for the entire Protea Team, from groom to rider to trainee to owner, and we are more than lucky to have such a strong team.

During the CSI2* competition of CHIO Rotterdam 21 till 25 July Team Protea was on fire!

On the first day in the big arena all horses immediately showed their worth with not touching any pole. 8 year old P-Jewel’s Promise by Baltic even took it one step further and placed herself 5th under the saddle of Robin Van Thillo in the 130 class.

The second day continued with the same momentum but now even both our riders were placed. Paige Jacobs and N-Jewel’s Sing Song (Sandro Boy) came in 6th place and successful combination Robin/Promise took a shot at victory. Finishing just a tad too slow they had to satisfy with a beautiful second place.

Saturday it was Q-Jewel’s Touch of Quality (by Kannan) who amazed us. This 7 year old stallion finished with only 2 timefaults in the 2* 140 class and is definitely one to keep an eye on.

Sunday closing day again proved to be very succesful this time in the 135 class.  Both Jewel’s Promise and Jewel’s Sing Song finished double clear with Jewel’s Promise ending on a 5th place and Jewel’s Sing Song placed 11th.

We couldn’t be happier with how the horses handled everything and how they stepped up to their A-game.

From left to right: Jewel's Promise 2 x, Jewel's Sing Song 2x, Jewel's Touch of Quality  -  Click to enlarge

Last weekend Team Protea moved over to Peelbergen Equestrian Centre to compete at the PRO Tour. With a total of 18 horses, 2 riders and some students with their horses our days were filled to the max ! We jumped a little over 50 courses and were placed 10 times.

Special mentions for 8yo P - Jewel’s Promise by Baltic VDL, she was placed every day with on the final day a beautiful 2nd place in the 125. Same goes for No Doubt DV by Elvis Ter Putte who also placed in every class.

The one-to-watch horse is 5yo Jewel’s Starlight by Eldorado. This mare is taking her first steps on the showgrounds and is growing day by day.

All horses showed great progress and seem more than ready for a summer full of action.

From left to right: Reginald T, Jewel's Starlight, No Doubt DV, Jewel's Promise, Jewel's Sing Song  -  Click to enlarge

Last week we tackled the first busy (show)weekend of the year: the Zangersheide Stallion Approval held at Sentower Park. We had our hands more than full with 4 young boys !

Our 2 stallions of 2019 Legendary (Le Blue Diamond) and Capricho (Chilli Willi) showed themselves proper and clean but had to exit after the first day of freejumping.

The 2 other youngsters, Archie T and Unbreakable van ’t Heike, both born in 2020, showed a lot of quality on the jump and were redirected to the second day of freejumping.

First it was Unbreakable’s turn who came in the ring fully rested from the previous day even being somewhat too fresh. There was a lot of discussion among the jury but finally this youngster wasn’t hold back for approval

Second up was Archie T who did an exact copy of his strong performance on the previous day showing lots of talent and quality. Archie was, without any doubt, appointed as an approved stallion for Studbook Zangersheide.

As if this wasn’t enough highlight already Archie’s presentation was rewarded with a selection for the Stallion Auction later that day. Prior to the auction there was a lot of interest in our young stallion but in the end it was Christian Ahlmann who drew the longest straw and will welcome Archie in his stable.

L: Unbeatable van 't Heike  -   R: Archie T Z

The past weekend we drove our truck to Green Valley Estate Deurne for the final show of the year. All the horses showed again to be in great for and were placed several times!

Here are some highlights :

6yo Lambada (by History-Rilexy) jumped double clear every day and was also placed every time! Another horse that jumped clear every time was 9yo N-Jewels Sing Song (by Sandro Boy).

Quel Torreo, a 6yo gelding by El Torreo Muze, prooved to be great shape! He took the win on the first day (115) and came in second on day two (120).

Our two 6yo prospects, Q-Jewels Touch of Quality (by Kannan) and Q-Jewels Touch of Charm (by Cicero Z) showed us that genes don’t lie. These half-brothers achieved and almost exact result by jumping 3 days clear and being placed twice: 9th & 10th on day one and 3th & 4th on day 3.

Also a special mention for our breedingstallion 5yo Leonardo van de Kapel (by Mithras de Regor) who is definitely ready for the new year, enjoy his impressive round :

This week two horses have left our stables for a new adventure.

First one is 4 year old Arthur T by Andiamo. This young stallion was under our guidance since April 2021. We prepared him for the stalliontests where he was approved for studbook NRPS. Last summer Arthur started doing shows and there he prooved to be a very trustworthy partner in the ring. Arthur is leaving for Slovakia and we wish his new owners all the luck.

A little bit earlier this week we also had to say goodbye to one of our GP-horses, Ombre. This 8 year old mare by Scendix was currently competing at 145 level with succes. Under the saddle of Robin she was placed severel times. This winterseason they had their real breakthrough, at the openingshow of the indoorseason in Deurne where they won the class on the first day and came in 2nd in the final GP.

Ombre will cross the big ocean and leaves for America where she will join Chic, another reference of our stable. Of Chic we also recieved promising news, in the meantime he stepped up to 150 level and he is killing it with already several placings! Saying goodbye is never easy but when we recieve news like this and have happy new owners all around the world it makes it all worth it.

From left to right: Ombre, - Arthur - Chic

Team Protea had the most busy showweekend ever, with 17 horses (and 3 students/horses) our hands ánd days were well filled! Some fun stats: in 3 days we jumped 47 rounds, 33 of them were clear and we placed 11 times. Five horses didn’t touch a pole all weekend long:

4yo Arthur T (Andiamo) made his comeback after a few months of well deserved rest and he did it with style, not touching any pole.

9yo N- Jewels Sing Song (Sandro Boy) delivered only clear rounds in the 1.30/1.40 classes.

Another horse that made his comeback after a well deserved time-out was 5yo Reginald (Malitto). He proved to be in excellent shape by jumping all clears and being placed twice.

6yo Quel Torreo (El Torreo de Muze) is being very competitive, not only did he jump clear rounds, he was also placed everytime!

Jewels Promise (7yo by Baltic) is equally competitive: she jumped 3 clear rounds, was placed one time but also took home a first place.

Again a succesfull weekend with new working points to get started with but overall with the horses showing each a lot of progress!

From left to right: Rihanna T - Reginald T - Arthur T - Victoor - N-Jewels Sing Song - My Jewels Magic Touch - Jewels Promise

Last week Team Protea kicked off the indoor season at the beautiful venue of Green Valley Estate in Deurne with a total of 12 horses. A lot of these horses are new to the team and it was a good show to get know each other. Every one of them showed a lot of potential with several clear rounds.

Horses worth mentioning are 5yo Rihanna by I’m Special, 6yo Jewels Touch of Charm by Cicero and 7yo Jewels Promise by Baltic who didn’t touch a pole during the entire show.

Another horse to keep an eye on is My Jewels Magic Touch by Stakkato. This 10yo gelding has just formed a pair with Paige and already showing very nice things with two clear round in the 135/140 and just one fault in the difficult GP.

The real winner of the weekend was definitely Ombré under the saddle of Robin! This 8 year old mare by Scendix showed off her perfect shape by on the first day winning the 135 class and on the third day ending 2nd in the GP 140/145.

As mentioned before Paige Jacobs got to ride 2 horses at the World Breeding Championships in Zangersheide: 6yo Lambada and 5yo Reginald T.

The courses of the 5 year olds were build quit technical, big and ofcourse delicate, as we would have expected it from a championship, but Reginald handled it very well. He showed immense scope and athletic ability jumping everything like it was a walk in the park. We are sure he learned a lot during these past days and look forward to the future with him.

Our 6yo Lambada really jumped her heart out. This little lady really proves how important a good mentality is and how far it can bring you. She really amazed us this year with the progress she made and we are curious to see what else she is capable of.

This show states the end of a busy September and the beginning of some time off for the young horses. We are already preparing for the winter season where we will have some new young talents to ride.

From left to right: Lambada, 2 x Reginald T

September is generally known for being a busy month and at Protea Stables it wasn’t any different.

In the beginning of the month we moved to a new location. Here we have access to all things necessary to train our horses at a top level. The site contains 2 outdoor arenas, an indoor (20 x 40), a grass-arena, galoptrack, covered walker and multiple groomingboxes and solariums. To top it of there are a lot of fields and paddocks to give thez horses some time off ánd the forest nearby is always open for hacks.

Also this month we had to say goodbye to Lolita H. This 6 year old mare by Le Blue Diamond van’t Ruytershof was trained by Paige up to 1.20 level. Lolita will stay in Belgium so hopefully we get to see her again some times.

To make september even more exciting, Paige is accepted to compete at the World Breeding Championships in Lanaken. Both Lambada (6yo) as Reginald T (5yo) will be competing under the colors of South Africa. The show starts september 22nd and will be streamed so you can follow everything live. 

Both our 5 year olds, Leonardo van de Kapel and Reginald T, competed in Gesves for the final of the Belgian Championship Young Horses.

On the first day Leonardo definitely understood the assignment as he finished without any faults. Reginald almost equaled that result if it wasn’t for a little time-penalty. On the second competitionday it was Reginald who cleared the course in the right time. Leonardo had 2 faults on the most hateful jumps ever; first and last fence down.

Overall we saw solid rounds and youngsters that confirmed their abilities as future superstars and we are more then satisfied.

The 2 five year old horses competing in the Belgian Cycle under Robin Van Thillo this season are both qualified for the Belgian Championship. This will traditionally take place in Gesves next month.

First one is our very own breedingstallion Leonardo van de Kapel (by Mithras de Regor). The second

horse that got a selection is Reginald T (by Malitto) owned by Stud Tommelberg. Both boys jumped

really good all season and they definitely earned their qualification.

The horses will now have a few weeks off before the preparation for Gesves starts, fingers crossed !

This week team Protea competed in Bonheiden with 6 horses. A couple of horses made their international debut and absolutely nailed it!

The two boys Reginald T (Malitto) & Leonardo van de Kapel (Mithras de Regor) were the five year old debutants with Robin. On the first day Reginald impressed with immediately taking home the win and on the second day he did a good shot at victory stranding with the fastest time but with one unlucky rail.
The real weekend winner however was SBS-approved stallion Leonardo van de Kapel. He didn’t touch one rail, was placed in every class (7th, 3rd) and even finished second in the final!

Another horse that made her international debut was 6yo Lambada (History-Rilexy) under the saddle of Paige: only one fault in 3 rounds and to top it off one placing.

From left to right: Leonardo van de Kapel, Reginald T, Lambada  -  Click to enlarge

A few days ago we welcomed our first baby of 2022 and it's a true Protea product : father is our very own Leonardo van de Kapel who is jumping very well this summer in the Young Horses Competitions with Robin and the mother is Paige's previous superstar Caleidoscope.   

To top it all off this pretty filly (yazzz!) even has her mommy's looks!

After a few weeks of hard work we are very proud to present to you our website !

Get to know the team behind Protea Stables, the services we offer, the breedingprogram we are building, the superstars we produced and stay up-to-date about our coming projects and workshops.

We wish you a warm welcome at Protea Stables !