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Top Showjumper dies suddenly at event The European showjumping world is mourning the loss of international rider Jean-Claude Van Geenberghe, who died on May 9 aged just 46, while competing at an event in the Ukraine. Reports indicate that Jean-Claude Van Geenberghe collapsed during the prize giving at a competition he had just won. It is thought his death was caused by a stroke or an aneurism. Widely known and respected on the international Show-Jumping circuit, Jean-Claude competed at the highest level throughout his career. His father, Jacques, was the first to spot his son's exceptional riding talent. He provided him with the right horses and, very importantly, recognised the value of investing in the best training. World-renowned horsemen Henk Nooren (Ned) and Gijs Van Heteren (Bel) became involved in Jean-Claude's riding education and it paid off. Not only did he achieve fourth place at the European Junior Championships, but he went on to win the Belgian Cup and become National Champion no fewer than three times. His success continued at senior level. American trainer, George Morris was called upon to continue Jean-Claude's coaching, and once again, he proved himself well worth the investment as he went on to take many national and international titles. The only Belgian rider ever to win the Aachen Grand Prix twice, Jean-Claude was placed 16th when he competed individually at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. 1995 saw him take three Grand Prix titles at Monaco, Cannes and Aachen, before taking a well-deserved break from the world of competition. As well as competing, Jean-Claude was very much involved in the development of his father's Zilveren Spoor riding centre in Belgium. Situated in Moorsele, the Zilveren Spoor provides some of the best equestrian facilities in Europe, hosting several international events every year. Jean-Claude married a Ukrainian and began competing for the Ukraine in 2006. He was placed 10th individually at last year's Olympic Games in Beijing. He very recently moved to a new Equestrian centre in the Ukraine and equipped it with over a dozen Equine SunSwitch solariums, having seen them at Beijing. He seemed very happy and excited when he spoke to Lisa Auckland from Equine SunSwitch, only a few days before his untimely death. He described the centre as 'fabulous', and said he was very much looking forward to training there. We all agree whole-heartedly with FEI Director of Jumping, John Roche when he described Jean-Claude's death as creating a "huge void" in the equestrian world. He was a great horsemen whose involvement, passion and dedication to the sport will be greatly missed," John Roche continued. "We all admired his talent and our thoughts are with his family during this difficult time." The FEI European Jumping Championship for Children and the FEI European Pony Championships are scheduled to be held at Zilveren Spoor, Moorsele this summer.
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