ROAD TO ROLEX IJRC TOP 10 FINAL: GILLES THOMAS

GILLES THOMAS - 27/05/1998

HORSE: QALISTA DN

One might say that many did not see him coming... Yet 27-year-old Gilles Thomas from Belgium had already been under 'the spotlight' at home for some time. According to an international statistical data processing platform, since 2011, Thomas has jumped to 369 podium finishes on 61 different horses (Jumpr Stats data). 151 are wins, 121 are second place and 97, third.

He has won 11 medals in the Belgian championship, from the children's competitions right up to today, including six gold medals.

Thomas jumped his first international class in 2011 at age 13 and was part of the gold medal winning children’s team at the European Championships the following year.

In 2021, he won Silver at the 7YH World Championship in Lanaken with J. Comghorla van Beek, and came 20th individually and 8th in the team event in Paris with Ermitage Kalone.

From 2016 to the present day, he has achieved countless victories and prestigious placings in Grand Prix events of all levels, up to CSIO5*. The titles that adorn the career of this young talent are numerous.

This year, after a highly satisfactory season, Gilles Thomas will enter the arena of the FEI IJRC Top Ten Final for the first time.

Horses have always been part of Gilles’ life. His mother rode in the Europeans for Ponies and Juniors. His uncle, Marc van Dijck competed, in several Nations Cups and Championships for Belgium. Thomas tributes to his uncle the role of the “most inspiring” person in his career. The two work alongside at van Dijck’s Stal Nieuwenhof.

Chat on the sidelines

What about your 2025 season? What do you consider your highlight?

2025 was a very good year for me. I think especially of the Europeans winning Team Gold and Individual Bronze: that was a very special week for me. I actually think 2025 has been my best season so far.

Have you already made your mind up about the horse you’ll be riding in the IJRC Top Ten Final?

No, not really yet. I'm still a bit in doubt about which horse I will ride, at the moment I don't really know yet.

You’re a newcomer to the Top 10… What are your feelings about this competition?

This will be my first time in the IJRC Top 10 Final. I think it’s nice to be high in the ranking, because this allows you to enter a lot of good shows. Actually, for me, if you are number five or number 20, doesn’t make such a difference: it's just a number. The only exception I make is for this special occasion. In order to ride the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final, numbers have a different meaning… And it’s very nice to be in the top ten and ride the Rolex IJRC Top Ten Final. It's always a very nice class to watch. If you consider your past sporting season like a cake, the Rolex IJRC Top 10 Final is a bit like a nice cherry on it. My past season was very good, and then now I can ride, at the end of it, in the Rolex IJRC Top Ten Final. As I said, it’s like a bit of a cherry on the cake from the last season....

@IJRC