May 4, 2026 
A decade ago, when Nicola Philippaerts’ father Ludo spotted Katanga v/h Dingeshof as a six-year-old at Sentower Park in Oudsbergen, Belgium, he decided he had to have her and appealed to her breeders at Stal Dingeshof.
Initially, the Vermeulen family told him no, but Ludo Philippaerts was nothing if not persistent. Eventually, they relented—on one, very particular condition.
“My father set the price,” Mitch Vermeulen told World of Show Jumping in 2022, “and [he] said they had to take her as she was, they could not try her. My father said he believed in the horse, and that Ludo would not regret buying her.”
To this day, Vermeulen says, not only does Ludo Philippaerts bring up the story whenever he talks to the Vermeulens, he now understands the wisdom in Stal Dingeshof’s gamble. Katanga v/h Dingeshof was so difficult as a young horse, her rider Nicola Philippaerts admits, “we would perhaps not have bought her.”
Hot and difficult to steer, Katanga’s young horse years at Stal Philippaerts were a trial, to say the least.
She would not be made to jump in the conventional way of most horses, something that the family eventually decided to acquiesce to as it worked in Katanga’s favor. But along the way, there were plenty of hiccups—including the experience of one former rider, Stijn Timmermann, who initially thought the mare was so “impossible” he “saw no point in continuing with her.”
That all changed in the winter of 2018, when Timmermann caught a glimpse of what might be underneath the mare’s challenging exterior during a schooling session at home. On that day, Timmermann announced to Ludo Philippaerts that when Katanga eventually found her future rider, she could jump anything.
This weekend in the LGCT Grand Prix of Shanghai, that prophesied partner, Nicola Philippaerts, made Timmermann’s prediction ring true.
As the lead-off combination in the 19-horse jump-off, Philippaerts and Katanga pulled out every stop. Their dominant time of 45.31 seconds ultimately proved uncatchable, despite valiant efforts from Marcus Ehning (GER) and Coolio 42, who finished second (47.14 seconds); and French rider Anthoine Ermann who was third with Jiamo VDS (48.02 seconds).
“It was a very long jump-off for me—I stuck to my plan and was perhaps a little lucky with some faults falling here and there,” Philippaerts admitted after his win. “I couldn’t be more pleased with my horse and she truly deserved it.”
This is just the second, individual 5* Grand Prix victory for the pair, who also won the Rolex Grand Prix Ville de La Baule back in 2023. They were also part of the winning London Knights team that took home the GLC Super Grand Prix back in 2021.
Together, Philippaerts and Katanga jump clear at a 47% clip in 144 rounds at 1.60m+. But their seven-year partnership has been especially lucrative, accounting for a full 40% of Philippaerts’ €8,710,211 in career earnings (Jumpr).
“My mare—she is such a fighter. She has been in so many jump-offs,” Philippaerts said. “It’s so nice for her to have a win.”
