Belgium’s Lara de Liedekerke-Meier is continuing the top form that has seen her smash records this year, finishing the dressage phase of the Mondial du Lion Crédit Mutuel in the lead of the 7-Year-Old Championship and in second place of the 6-Year-Old class at the 2025 FEI WBFSH Eventing World Young Horse Champs, behind Germany’s Julia Krajewski.
Julia Krajewski leads Six-Year-Old Championship
While dressage started on Thursday for the 7-Year-Old competitors, the 6-Year-Old horses started and finished on Friday and it was Lara de Liedekerke-Meier who once again lay down the gauntlet with a great score of 25.1 aboard Tara van het Leliehof, temporarily topping both categories.
It wasn’t until the late in the day that the podium was reshuffled, when Julia Krajewski (GER) produced an unbeatable score of 24.1 riding Ajana to take the lead, relegating Lara to second place.
Melissa Joannides, competing at the Mondial du Lion Crédit Mutuel for the first time, slotted into third place with Graf Leopold on 27.5 after a late call up on the British list.
“I got the call only a week ago – I can hardly believe I’m here” said Melissa “I’d always heard the Mondial was a wonderful event, and they weren’t lying – it’s magical. Graf Leopold is an honest, fast and powerful cross-country horse. I trust him completely and I’m thrilled to take on this new challenge together.”
Morocco’s Noor Slaoui riding Casanova is in fourth place (27.8), France’s Tom Carlile is in fifth on board Juste Unétoile (27.9) and Sweden’s Wynja Eriksdotter Rubin riding Calidus, is in sixth (28.7).
Australia’s Natasha Moody riding Bay To Breakers is one of the three riders sharing 10th place on a score of 29.8 and Western Australia’s Sophie Bragge, now based with Lucinda and Ellie Fredericks in the UK, is in 34th place on board Argentinus Roulette.
Lara De Liedekerke-Meier leads 7-Year-Old Championship
In the 7-Year-Old class, the scores remain incredibly tight, with the five combinations sharing the top three places - including three joint third places - separated by less than one point. The top 11 places after Thursday’s dressage phase remained unchanged with Lara de Liedekerke-Meier and Helios remaining on top with 28.3 penalties surprising even Lara.
“Last week I said my 7-year-old was lovely, but that I wasn’t going to win the dressage…!” admitted Lara.
The USA’s Hallie Coon is in second (28.7) riding Boleybawn Olivia while Britain’s Emily Young-Jamieson (GBR) riding La Vita 44, another first-timer at Le Mondial Du Lion, is in equal third place with Tom McEwen (GBR) riding Brookfield Danny de Muze and Thomas Carlile (FRA) riding Iam du Loir.
“I’ve often come to the Mondial du Lion as a spectator, even as a groom, but this is my first time competing here as a rider” said Emily, delighted to find herself on the podium after the first phase, albeit sharing it with two others!
Australia’s Kevin McNab now has two in the (extended) top 10 with RF Chanel in equal 6th place (29.9) and Newmarket Amy in equal 10th place (30.5). Ellie Fredericks is now in 23rd place (32.1) on Upper Class Brit and Sammi Birch is in 45th (34.5) riding Rosa’s Party.
As well as Lara’s two stars, Thomas Carlile, the initiator of the new Mondial Du Lion Hall of Fame and five-time winner here, is one to watch, with two horses in top contention but Julia and Lara are hard ladies to beat and have their eye on the job tomorrow.
“This cross-country seems more demanding, especially at the start of the course. But as always here, it’s a beautiful, fair track with clear questions” says Julia “My mare is genuine, but she’ll be discovering this level and the atmosphere, so it’s up to me to do my job and make sure everything goes smoothly tomorrow”.
“Congratulations to the organisers for the incredible work done on the ground – it’s immaculate. The course feels different this year: more compact, with fewer galloping stretches towards the end to make up time. Managing the clock will be key” says Lara
