| Christian and Checker add to their trophy collection with the LGCT Grand Prix winner's cup in London
This weekend in the vibrant metropolis of London, Team Riesenbeck International powered by Horse Gym Germany started with a decent evening in the Global Champions League. Maximilian Weishaupt and Christian Kukuk ended up with 12 penalty points, leaving them only seconds away from a podium place, though on Friday evening the team unfortunately dropped to 6th place in the GCL London.
You can read the whole article here: Shanghai Swans win GCL stage in London
Ciaran had a successful start on Saturday at the LGCT in London, where he placed with Serendepety in the 2* Tour over 145 cm. Ogana Sitte SR also brought home a placing from the jump-off class. Despite a knockdown in the jump-off, the pair were so fast that it was enough to place in the top 10. On Sunday morning, Ciaran and Serendepety were scheduled to compete in the 2* Grand Prix. With a confident round, the pair qualified for the subsequent jump-off. Only five of the 32 starting pairs remained clear in the first round and were able to compete for the win. With a lead of more than 2 seconds, Ciaran and the 10-year-old daughter of Stolzenberg were the first pair in the jump-off, but a knockdown cost the Riesenbeck pair the victory in the 2* Grand Prix of London, and so in the end it was an excellent 3rd place for the two of them.
This was followed by the highlight of the day, the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix of London. Ten of the 40 qualified pairs completed the demanding course without penalty points and were able to compete in the jump-off for victory and the golden ticket to the playoffs in Prague. Among them were Christian and Checker, who mastered the course in their usual confident manner. In the jump-off, the Olympic champions were unstoppable. They crossed the finish line in just 40.41 seconds, beating Ben Maher and Point Break, who had been leading in front of their home crowd with a time of 40.79 seconds. The 2024 Paris Olympic champion and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic champion were in a league of their own on Sunday afternoon in London, with Belgium's Niels Bruynseels in third place, crossing the finish line with Chacco's Lando OL in 46.49 seconds. Thus, Christian and 15-year-old Checker brought home yet another trophy to add to their collection and at the same time secured their well-deserved starting place in the LGCT Super Grand Prix as part of the GCL Playoffs in Prague during November.
Sentower Park – Belgium
Philipp W. also earned placings for Team Beerbaum at the CSI4* hosted at Sentower Park in Belgium. He travelled to Opglabbeek with a total of six horses and already had his first placing on the results list by Thursday. He placed in the 4* warm-up competition over 145cm with 10-year-old Karaldo. Oreo D.R. also placed in the first qualifier for the 4* Grand Prix over 150cm with a clear round. On Saturday, the 8-year-old Callao L placed in the 4* Tour over 140cm, and 8-year-old Lady Concern du Rezidal also showed a promising round in a two-phase class over 145cm. With a flawless and lightning-fast performance in the second phase, the pair finished in fourth place, less than a second behind the winner.
In Sunday's 4* Grand Prix, Philipp opted for Oreo D.R., a descendant of Kannan, who showed a confident round in the first phase and qualified for the jump-off. In the subsequent jump-off, luck was not on the side of the Riesenbeck pair, who had to accept two knockdowns, but it was still enough for a place in the top 10 in the 4* Grand Prix for Oreo D.R.
