Istanbul Warriors brave the heat under the Eiffel Tower and win the 7th stage of the GCL

Riesenbeck International failed to meet expectations and finished 14th.

The much-vaunted city of love is hosting the Longines Global Champions Tour and Global Champions League (GCL) show jumping series this weekend – right in the heart of Paris, close to the Eiffel Tower. The scorching heat in the sand arena is as much a part of the event as the champagne in the VIP tent. Four teams completed the challenging first round of the GCL without any faults.  The tension rose in the final round. The riders from the Istanbul Warriors team performed best in the seventh stage of the series, followed by Valkenswaard United and Prague Lions.

Maximilian Weishaupt and Marco Kutscher competed for Team Riesenbeck International under the Eiffel Tower, while their teammate Christian Kukuk was in Rotterdam at the same time, complementing a German women's team that finished seventh in the Nations Cup tournament.

The debut of Zuccero HV, the 13-year-old Holstein gray stallion ridden by Maximilian Weishaupt, attracted a lot of attention. The experienced Zirocco Blue son is expected to strengthen Philipp Weishaupt's brother in the hunt for important points. In their GCL debut, Maximilian Weishaupt put in a focused and beautiful performance in round one, which remained faultless, but in the second round they accumulated seven penalty points. Marco Kutscher had to accept three knockdowns with his Aventador S. A disappointing team result, which meant 14th place in the final standings.

Team boss Ludger Beerbaum commented: “We were unable to deliver the performance we had expected and that we are normally capable of. Max and Zuccero did particularly well, especially considering that this was their first GCL event together as a pair. Marco and Aventador, who have been our mainstays up to now, did not find their usual rhythm. Now we are focusing on the next stage in Monaco.”