A lifelong dream comes true for Belgium’s Wouter de Cleene as he follows in the footsteps of his uncle, Dirk van Mieghem, by contesting Badminton for the first time. Wouter and Quintera made their 5* debut last fall at Pau, finishing with plenty of lessons learned after a very wet weekend left them with hefty time penalties and four rails in the final phase. They’ll be hoping to clean up the jumping phases here and bring forward the form they showed at Montelibretti this spring, where they finished second in the CCI4*-L. Wouter, who manages a road construction company by day and rides after hours, has produced Quintera since she was four and describes her as a “special mare with a heart of gold.” The pair tends to save their biggest efforts for the long formats, where their experience in Nations Cups and young horse championships has shaped a partnership that knows how to show up on the day.
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Last 3 Results:
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Fun Fact:
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Wouter became European Champion with his pony Quintina Jr. Breemeersen in 2002 and won gold at the European Championships for Rural Riders in 2017.
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Did You Know?
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Badminton has been Wouter’s dream since childhood — he’ll become the first of his generation in the eventing-rich Van Mieghem family to make it to this hallowed ground.
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Watch For:
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This amateur rider’s heart-on-sleeve partnership with Quintera — if they can tidy up Sunday’s rails, they could be a quiet surprise climbing the leaderboard.