April 27, 2026 
The famous Château of Fontainebleau is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for good reason. In its storied history that dates to the 12th century, the castle has been home to 34 monarchs and 2 emperors—including Napoleon, who nicknamed it the “true home of kings.”
This weekend at the CSI5* GL Events Grand Prix in Fontainebleau, a similarly rarified group of show jumpers tried their luck against Olympic Course Designer Gregory Bodo’s imposing tracks, with some obstacles even paying homage to Bodo’s designs at the 2024 Paris Games.
At the end of the day, however, only one combination on the startlist of 50 reigned supreme with the sole double-clear effort of the day: Belgium’s Thibeau Spits, 25, aboard the aptly named Impress-K van’t Kattenheye Z.
According to Spits, that result—in a field that included not only the World No. 1 Scott Brash (GBR) and some of the strongest partnerships in the sport—was admittedly unexpected.
“After Paris, [Impress-K van’t Kattenheye Z] had taken a bit of a break for breeding duties, so he was a little fresh and not very focused. I was already happy just to have qualified for the Grand Prix,” Spits explained of the Zangersheide stallion.
“But, today, he was calmer. He is also a horse who knows exactly what he has to do. He jumped magnificently. I wasn’t sure if my jump-off round would be fast enough, given the competitors still to come. Fortunately, I managed to go double-clear.”
Only Switzerland’s Martin Fuchs and France’s Marie Demonte managed a single, four-fault round in the jump-off, with Fuchs finishing second aboard the 15-year-old Holsteiner gelding Conner Jei on a speedy 39.95 seconds. Demonte was third with Forban De Beliard on 47.49 seconds.
For the 33-year-old Fuchs, the occasion marked a kind of changing of the guard, in the best possible way.
“Of course, I always prefer to win, but this second place is satisfying—because finishing second with four faults in the jump-off doesn’t happen very often. A huge congratulations to Thibeau,” Fuchs reflected after the class. “I love his riding style and his horse; they make a fantastic pair. I enjoy seeing young riders like him succeed.
“I used to be the youngest one out there; now I’m nearly twice his age!” the Swiss rider joked. “It feels good to have this new generation pushing us to constantly improve, and delivering such a superb spectacle—just as Thibeau did today.”
Now just four months away from the FEI World Championships in Aachen, CSI5* Fontainebleau came as a kind of dress rehearsal for the event during a key observation period for the team selection process in the lead-up to Aachen.
Top combinations including Pieter Devos (BEL) and Casual DV Z and Brash and Hello Mango logged clears in the first round but suffered multiple rails in the jump-off. Other hopefuls including Tom Wachman (IRL) and Tabasco De Toxandria Z and Christian Ahlmann (GER) and Untouched LB earned one or more time faults in Round 1.
With this win and a previous 5* victory last summer in Riesenbeck, Impress-K van’t Kattenheye Z joins an elite group of 11-year-old horses with two or more 5* 1.60m Grand Prix wins to their name. These include Brash’s Hello Folie and Willem Greve’s (NED) Pretty Woman van’t Paradijs N.O.P., both with two wins a piece. Only Foxy de la Roque has three, all earned during her 9-year-old season under Victor Bettendorf (LUX).
What’s more, when it comes to podium finishes at the same height, Impress-K van’t Kattenheye Z currently sits in second place among all 11-year-old horses on eight—well within striking distance of Devos’s Casual DV Z on 11.
“Naturally, the World Championships remain a goal for this year, and results like today’s certainly help,” Spits reflected. “I think I have a good chance of making it there and achieving a strong result.”
