In a pre-Christmas atmosphere, the competition year in Riesenbeck came to a close with two international events. As early as the end of November, more than 100 riders with over 350 horses travelled to Riesenbeck to present their horses over four days in the festively decorated event hall. Top riders from Germany and abroad took advantage of the excellent conditions in Riesenbeck to prepare their horses for the 5* event in Geneva, including Switzerland’s Steve Guerdat, who celebrated his comeback in Riesenbeck after an injury-related break. Sophie Hinners and Katrin Eckermann, who had competed at the Global Champions Tour Playoffs in Prague the previous week, also travelled to the Münsterland region.
Felix Haßmann dominated the first two classes of the Medium Tour, winning one section on both Wednesday and Thursday with Conthargo PS. On the first day, he shared the victory with Calvin Böckmann and Diro, and on the second day with his brother Toni Haßmann and Contendrix. In the opening class of the Large Tour, which also counted towards the Longines World Ranking, the win went to Sophie Hinners riding Come Away Flamingo Z, ahead of Beerbaum Stables rider and Riesenbeck-based Philipp Weishaupt and his Global Champions League teammate Katrin Eckermann.
The highlight of the first festive CSI** week in Riesenbeck was the Grand Prix on Saturday afternoon. Visitors from the region watched 61 combinations compete while enjoying mulled wine and waffles. Sixteen pairs completed the challenging course without faults to qualify for the jump-off. Christian Ahlmann, riding Applebridge Tag Z, set an early benchmark with a clear round in the jump-off. The German rider remained in the lead for a long time until, shortly before the end, local rider Philipp Schulze Topphoff from Münsterland managed to beat the time by more than a second with Corny M. As the final combination to start in the jump-off, Beerbaum Stables rider Ciaran Nallon and the nine-year-old mare Casalla Blue PS entered the arena. After fence four, the intermediate time showed a lead of almost one second over the leader. With two further tight turns and eight big galloping strides to the final oxer, the pair crossed the finish line 0.71 seconds ahead of Philipp Schulze Topphoff and Corny M, securing the young Irish rider his first Grand Prix victory on home soil aboard Casalla Blue PS.
After just a one-week break, the next international tournament took place from 10 to 13 December. Once again, the event was well attended with more than 320 horses and also offered a special highlight with the Sparkassen Team Challenge on Friday evening.
As usual, the opening class of the Grand Tour, counting towards the Longines World Ranking, was held on Thursday. Twenty-four of the 66 combinations completed the course without faults, but Jörne Sprehe, riding the Hickstead son Hickstead White, crossed the finish line as the fastest in just 61.24 seconds, closely followed by Toni Haßmann with Contendrix and Paula de Boer-Schwarz with My Miss Marpel OLD.
The regional highlight was the Sparkassen Team Challenge on Friday evening. Twelve teams from the surrounding area were able to field teams consisting of four riders each. The teams travelled to Riesenbeck in several fan buses, and all squads were loudly cheered on with mulled wine and children’s punch. Each team sent one rider into the A*, L, M* and S* jumping classes; all penalties and times were added together, and the team with the fewest faults and the fastest overall time won the Team Challenge. Riesenbeck International also fielded a team powered by Ludgers. Riders could apply via Instagram for one of the coveted spots in the A* and L classes. Lia Ilsemann with Bling Bling, Maleen Husemeier with Fiesta S, Leni Süß with Princess and Kathrin Stolmeijer with Callista represented the home team in front of a fantastic crowd. In the end, the home team finished in fifth place, despite two clear rounds in the A* and L classes and four excellent performances by the team riders. The placings from third to fifth were decided purely by time, with only five seconds missing across all four rounds to secure third place.
Victory in this year’s Sparkassen Team Challenge went to the Team Coesfeld, who recorded just one rail down over four rounds. It was a commanding performance by the team led by chef d’équipe Markus Terbrack, together with team riders Markus Fester, Uma Helena Kroker, Julian Wippermann and Malte Merschformann. Three of the four individual class victories also went to Coesfeld: Markus Terbrack and Kleine Prinzessin won the A* class, Uma Helena Kroker and Alisa WS took the L class, and Malte Merschformann with Lightspot van het Maaskantje were clear and fastest in the S* class. Only the M* class victory went to the ZRuF Riesenbeck team, where Alexandra Tebbe and Skala ST prevailed over 1.20m. Second place in the Team Challenge was secured by Team HALLA clubbing, led by team manager Sebastian Bolse, with just one time penalty more than the winning team, totalling five penalties. The fastest team with 12 penalties, and therefore third place, went to Team Münster led by Björn Cordes. As in previous years, the Sparkassen Team Challenge was a successful evening featuring great sport and numerous fans, and we are already looking forward to next year.
Before the Grand Prix of Riesenbeck started for the last time in 2025 on Saturday afternoon, we had the pleasure of celebrating Mia Charlotte Becker’s Golden Riding Badge. With her victory in the Grand Prix of Riesenbeck in November 2024, she had already secured all the required wins for this special honour, and now, around a year later, she was presented with the Golden Riding Badge by Ludger Beerbaum in a pre-Christmas atmosphere, surrounded by family, friends and colleagues. We warmly congratulate Mia on this milestone.
Immediately afterwards, the final Grand Prix of the year in Riesenbeck got underway. Sixty-one combinations were entered on the start list, and it took a little while before the spectators saw the first clear round. Felix Haßmann and DSP Mon Genuartt were the first to jump clear, thus opening the jump-off, for which a total of 12 riders qualified, including host Ludger Beerbaum. Early in the jump-off, Katrin Eckermann and Iron Dames Casa Blue PS set the pace with a clear round. The pair stayed in the lead for a long time until Paula de Boer-Schwarz and My Miss Marpel OLD narrowly beat the time. As the seventh combination in the jump-off, Ludger Beerbaum entered the arena riding Dynar. With an impressive round and tight turns, the pair took the lead on home soil and put the pressure on the remaining starters. None were able to beat his time, and Ludger Beerbaum claimed victory in the final Grand Prix of Riesenbeck in 2025. Following the victory of Beerbaum Stables rider Ciaran Nallon at the previous CSI**, this win also stayed in Riesenbeck.
With these two festive CSI** events, we conclude the international competition year in Riesenbeck. Two days of national classes are still scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday (17 and 18 December) before Riesenbeck International heads into a short Christmas break. We wish all riders, grooms, visitors, sponsors and partners a peaceful holiday season and a successful start to the New Year. Sport continues in Riesenbeck with the first event of the year on 6 and 7 January, featuring two days of national competitions, before the first international tournament of 2026 takes place from 21 to 24 January.
