Inside the lavish show jumping event that’s open to the public

The champagne is flowing and the music is pumping on a balmy Friday night at the Brussels Stephex Masters when a giant crane lifts three bird cages into the arena.

Suspended 50 meters above the vast grassy arena, aerial acrobats of the internationally renowned Theater Tol perform a 10-minute show full of music, dreamlike sequences and dance. Under a bright full moon, a huge fireworks display brings day three of Belgium’s premium show jumping event to a close.

Earlier that evening, an auction of 10 of the world’s most promising show jumping foals, out of Stephex-owned bloodlines, drew gasps from the crowd after Lot 3, a black colt, sold for €121,000 ($140,000; £103,500).

Each year, more than 50,000 spectators from over 40 countries visit the event, drawn by a mix of entertainment, luxurious hospitality and elite show jumping. While some hospitality guests pay thousands of euros for a table inside the VIP area, admission is free for anyone interested in the sport.

Now in its 12th edition, the Brussels Stephex Masters is the brainchild of Stephan Conter, founder and CEO of the Stephex Group, an international group of companies specializing in luxury horse trucks, breeding and equestrian sports.

Conter, standing inside the VIP area as international guests mingled and champagne corks popped, said he is keen to welcome both dedicated fans and curious newcomers by keeping the event free for the public, with the aim of growing the sport at grassroots level.

“I’ve been really lucky in my life, I started as a normal horse dealer when I was young, because I had a passion for horses,” Conter said. “We have grown quite fast in our industry, and I wanted to give something back to the sport. I’m not a guy to organize something if there are only five important people attending and nobody else. I want to do it for the public, so that everybody can enjoy the sport.”

Most of show jumping’s biggest champions come from modest backgrounds, according to Conter.

“It’s not a sport that you can buy only with money. For sure, it’s an expensive sport. But if you work really hard, you can make it, even if you start at the bottom,” he said.

Staged inside the meticulously landscaped grounds of the Stephex headquarters in Meise, a town north of Brussels, the event hosts show jumping competitions ranging from ponies jumping 90-centimeter fences to the prestigious CSI5* Rolex Grand Prix on the final Sunday, where France’s Nina Mallevaey is the defending champion.

Over the course of five days, some 340 riders and more than 850 horses compete for a prize money pot of €1.1 million. Although the FEI World Championships in Aachen, Germany finished only a week ago, the Brussels Stephex Masters has attracted 27 riders from the world’s top 50, including five of the top 10.

Richard Vogel of Germany is back after a two-year absence from Brussels, while reigning individual Olympic champion Ben Maher from Britain and Steve Guerdat, the newly-crowned world show jumping champion from Switzerland, are also competing.

The lifestyle village features luxury brands including Hermès, Rolex and Audi while children take turns competing in a mini show jumping arena in the nearby playground.

“This really is the crème de la crème in horse sports,” said Adriana van Tilburg, a Dutch equestrian author and horse breeding expert who was visiting the Brussels Stephex Masters for the first time.

Van Tilburg was particularly impressed by the event’s Wall of Champions, which displays the pictures and names of each rider-horse combination to have clinched the Rolex Grand Prix next to the entrance to the VIP area.

“This is not something you see everywhere, it is very special,” Van Tilburg said. “I also like that entry is free to the public, and that you can see both up-and-coming riding talent as well as young horses.”

For Equihome, a Belgian equestrian real estate company, the Brussels Stephex Masters is big business. The firm, which started in Belgium and the Netherlands and is now expanding in the rest of Europe and the United States, has been entertaining guests at the event for the past six years.

Spectators at most equestrian events are free to move around and talk. Building relationships is key in a high-end market where trust is crucial, according to Equihome director Carina Giovanelli.

“We always ask for a table really close to the entrance so that we see all the people coming in,” Giovanelli said as lunch was being served at Equihome’s ring-side table. “There are a lot of clients that we already sold properties to, and clients that are still looking for properties, and this is the perfect place to meet them.”

Although American rider Kristen Vanderveen came to the Brussels Stephex Masters just to be part of the experience, she ended up winning a Rolex Grand Prix qualifier on Friday with her bay gelding Bull Run’s Jireh.

“It’s my first time touring in Europe, so I haven’t experienced a lot of the shows over here yet. I was excited to come and see what everybody was talking about,” Vanderveen said.

Despite the frequent rain showers, event organizers had done a great job keeping everything to the highest standard, Vanderveen said.

As for Conter, he is not going to start charging admission for fans any time soon. Conter does not believe equestrian sports should just be for the wealthy.

“It’s been 12 years, and at the moment I will not change my format,” Conter said. “This is not a thing to make money. This is to thank everybody.”