German U-25 riders start the tournament
The starting signal has been given for the only German leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour and Global Champions League in Riesenbeck. While many of the international two- and four-legged stars are still arriving at the spacious facility, the vet check for the first CSI3* competition is already underway in the indoor arena. Anticipation is in the air, after the “glitz and glamor” of Cannes, Monaco or Paris, Riesenbeck brings a pinch of fresh country air to the sport. The two German hopefuls Christian Kukuk and Philipp Weishaupt also appreciate this.
“Peace and quiet is a very important point,” confirms Kukuk. “You come here and can let yourself go a bit. The horses feel the same way. Riesenbeck is simply a feel-good oasis for people and animals. I rode my horses Checker and Just be Gentle at home on the racecourse this morning. Everything felt good. This is a very important weekend for us as the Riesenbeck International team and of course for me personally. I want to do as well as possible in the dress rehearsal for Paris.”
Team colleague Philipp Weishaupt took his two top stars Coby and Zineday for a relaxed ride through the idyllic forest around Surenburg Castle: “Very early, before the brakes are on! We're not allowed to leave the grounds in the afternoon due to the international regulations, so I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity. It's beautiful here.”
“This event is actually a highlight of the year, if it wasn't for the Olympic Games the week after next. We will try to perform as well as possible here so that we can go to Paris with a good feeling. We would love to win the team classification here on Saturday and I wouldn't mind winning the Grand Prix either,” added Weishaupt with a twinkle in his eye.
While the competitors in the five-star tour do not start on the course until Friday, Germany's best U25 show jumpers are already in championship mode today and the atmosphere is positively tense. The 1.45m time jumping competition at 17:30 in the sand stadium already counts towards the championship classification. The mode is the same as for the senior championships - a timed jumping competition on day one, a jumping competition based on faults/time on day two and two rounds of faults/time on the final day. Mia Charlotte Becker already knows what it feels like to stand on the podium in Riesenbeck. Last year, she won the opening competition and ended up taking the silver medal in the first German U25 Championships. “That was my first medal at a championship,” recalls the 23-year-old. “Of course, I'm going into this weekend with expectations, but I also have to tell myself that everything just fell into place last year.”
Becker will once again saddle up her French-bred gelding Beryl des Pres: “I simply have a fantastic horse in Beryl. He is so clever and fast, basically I just have to concentrate. I've done a lot of rounds since the last championship and have definitely gained more experience. That means I can approach things a bit more calmly. But a championship is something special and I'm really looking forward to it. I remember last year the grandstands were full for our final. It's obviously a lot more fun and I hope it will be similar this year.”
A first impression of the event and Riesenbeck International as well as the interview with Philipp Weishaupt and Christian Kukuk can be seen tonight at 19:30 on WDR Lokalzeit Münsterland. If you can't be there, you can follow the LGCT Riesenbeck live on TV:
All competitions of the LGCT (5*): https://gctv.gcglobalchampions.com/
All competitions of the CSI2* / CSI3* / DMU25 / CSIYH Tour: https://www.clipmyhorse.tv/de_DE/events/12807/longines-global-champions-tour-of-riesenbeck
WDR will be broadcasting the action at the weekend in the program “Sport im Westen”: from 3:45 pm on Saturday and from 3:15 pm on Sunday.
Tickets at: https://riesenbeck-international.com/lgct/tickets/
Program: https://riesenbeck-international.com/lgct/programm/
List of participants: https://checkin.riesenbeck-international.com/master-list.html?show_id=62
