Victory in Cairo secures overall Global Champions League title
Against the unique backdrop of the Pyramids of Giza in Cairo, Team Riesenbeck International had the chance to make history on Thursday by clinching the Global Champions League championship with one leg still to go. The Riesenbeck team travelled to Egypt at full strength, with team manager Ludger Beerbaum sending Marco Kutscher with Pikeur Lemar NRW and Maximilian Weishaupt with Zuccero HV into the first round. This combination had already proved successful several times this season, celebrating three joint victories.
Christian Kukuk, the team's third rider competing in Cairo, won the individual qualification for the Grand Prix in the afternoon with Checker before the first team round got underway in the early evening. Weishaupt and Kutscher once again delivered outstanding performances, finishing the first round without faults. Only the Cannes Stars also jumped clear and were slightly faster, meaning Riesenbeck International entered the second round of the Top Ten in second place. Their strongest rivals in the overall standings, the Istanbul Warriors, had one fence down in the first round and qualified for the Top Ten in sixth place.
Abdel Saïd and Simon Delestre then both jumped clear in the second round, initially moving the Istanbul Warriors to the top of the standings. Every team that followed made mistakes, leaving the Istanbul Warriors in the lead as Riesenbeck International prepared to compete. Starting second to last in the round, the Riesenbeck team had the overall title in their own hands. Ludger Beerbaum's team could afford two fences down and still secure the championship entirely on their own, as even a victory for the Istanbul Warriors combined with a sixth-place finish for Riesenbeck International would have been enough to clinch the title.
Once again, the Riesenbeck team made no changes to either the riders or the horses before the second round, a strategy that had already proved successful at several previous legs. Weishaupt and Zuccero HV were the first pair into the arena and delivered their usual confident performance. Beerbaum and the team's supporters in Cairo briefly held their breath when the oxer pole at the second element of the double combination wobbled but stayed in place. The title was now in the hands of Kutscher and Pikeur Lemar NRW. The pair showed no nerves, jumped clear and secured the overall Global Champions League title with what was arguably the most important clear round of the season.
The Cannes Stars were the final team to compete. Although they could no longer challenge Riesenbeck International for the championship title, the stage victory was still up for grabs. Four poles fell in their round, giving the Riesenbeck team double cause for celebration: victory in Cairo and the early clinching of the Global Champions League championship.
Team manager Ludger Beerbaum said: “I'm absolutely over the moon with the performances, commitment and, above all, the incredible way our horses have been presented. Simply outstanding!”
