Justin Verboomen

Justin Verboomen (born 24 July 1987) is a Belgian dressage rider. He made history for Belgium by winning the first ever medals for Belgium at a major senior dressage championship, whether in team or individual competition, winning the gold in both the Grand Prix Special and the Freestyle dressage at the 2025 FEI European Dressage Championships in Crozet, France, with his exceptional stallion Zonik Plus.

Verboomen, the son of a horse riding instructor and a general practitioner, While there, he made his first attempts at competition dressage participating in the “Masters Du Cheval Ibérique”, the only European dressage league and championship specifically for Iberian horses. When the stable ended its activities, Verboomen returned to Belgium and started his own stable, Ecurie B, in Wauthier-Braine. This was quickly followed by wins in both Grand Prix and Freestyle CDI4* in March in Lier, Belgium, and third places in both Grand Prix and Freestyle at the Dutch Masters CDI-W in 's-Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands.

Barely nine months after their debut on the international stage, without (having fought for years for a) name, without a well-known trainer, without money or a rich sponsor, Justin Verboomen and Zonik Plus ranked inside the top five of the FEI Dressage World Rankings and in July 2025 Verboomen won both Grand Prix Special and Freestyle at the CDI5* event at the prestigious CDIO Aachen.

Verboomen and Zonik Plus form an atypical duo in the sport of dressage as Verboomen is not just the rider of the horse but also the owner of the horse. Also unique and peculiar is that Zonik competes in the Grand Prix without horseshoes. He doesn't seem to need them either: in the freestyle, the black horse shines with his lightness of foot. It was no surprise that Zonik Plus started drawing comparisons from many in the world of dressage with the legendary dressage horse Totilas.

In August 2025, Verboomen crowned his stellar debut season at the highest level by becoming a European Champion for the first time winning the gold in both the Grand Prix Special and Freestyle at the 2025 FEI European Dressage Championships in Crozet, France, with Zonik Plus.

Verboomen continued his 2025 winning streak by winning both the Grand Prix, setting a new personal best of 81.195%, and the Free Style competitions at the second leg of the FEI Dressage World Cup™ 2025/2026 Western European League in Lyon, France.

Having delivered a career-defining season, capturing double gold at the FEI Dressage European Championship in Crozet (FRA) and reaching the top of the FEI Dressage World Ranking in 2025, Verboomen was chosen as the 2025 FEI Best Athlete, the first such awarded won by a Belgian rider, male or female.

Verboomen ended 2025 winning both the Grand Prix and Grand Prix Freestyle at the Frankfurt World's Best 12 special CDI5* event, posting his first ever score above 90% in the Freestyle.

Personal bests