| Ludger triumphs on home soil in the Grand Prix of Riesenbeck
The past weekend once again brought several victories and placings for Team Beerbaum. In a pre-Christmas atmosphere, Ludger, Philipp, Ciaran and James competed with 14 horses on home soil in Riesenbeck at the final CSI** of the year. At the same time, Christian was once again competing at the 5* show in Geneva and took part in the Top 10 Final on Friday evening.
The first victory in Riesenbeck was already celebrated on Thursday, as Ogana Sitte SR (Ogano Sitte x For Pleasure) once again showed her usual confident form in the Youngster Tour and won the opening competition of the Youngster Tour this week. At the last three CSI** shows this autumn and winter in Riesenbeck, the 7-year-old mare has already won five of the seven Youngster Tour classes she has competed in, adding her sixth victory on Thursday. Ogana Sitte SR impresses with her carefulness and speed in the ring and confirmed her performance again this weekend. Following her win on Thursday, Ciaran decided to give the mare a rest on Friday and present her again only in the Youngster Tour Final. Once again, the daughter of Ogano Sitte impressed. With a lightning-fast round in the second phase, the clock stopped at 27.19 seconds. This secured second place in the final for Ciaran and Ogana Sitte SR, as Ciaran claimed the win aboard Little Special in Red M, who crossed the finish line in 27.08 seconds. A head-to-head battle between the two neighboring stablemates in Riesenbeck and a double victory for Ciaran.
Under James, Trouble Lady EQ placed fifth in the Small Tour on Thursday, while the 6-year-old Conrad placed in the Light Tour on Friday. James also secured a placing in the Big Tour class over 1.45 m aboard the 8-year-old Dia Chapila PS.
On Saturday afternoon, the Grand Prix of Riesenbeck was on the schedule. While Ciaran with Serendepety and James with Elzandor Z did not have their best day, Philipp and Callao L had just one rail down but narrowly missed out on a placing despite posting the fastest time. For Ludger, however, everything went perfectly. Riding the 8-year-old Dynar, he completed the course effortlessly and without fault to qualify for the decisive jump-off. Twelve of the 61 combinations advanced to the jump-off with clear rounds in the first round. Katrin Eckermann set the early pace in the jump-off, Paula de Boer-Schwarz was able to beat that time and briefly took the lead, but Ludger and Dynar managed to ride the jump-off course almost a second faster and moved into first place. With this fast and clear round, the remaining combinations were under pressure, but none were able to beat Ludger and Dynar’s time, securing victory for the Riesenbeck pair on home ground in the final Grand Prix of the year at the Surenburg.
CHI de Genève
The 5* event in Geneva began for Christian on Thursday with the opening class over 1.40m and a clear round with Cepano Baloubet. He followed this up with another clear round aboard Just Be Gentle in the second class of the day over 1.45m. Thursday evening saw the first highlight in Geneva with the Trophée de Genève, a 1.60m class with jump-off. Christian and Checker started the course promisingly, and the triple combination posed no problem, but a rail fell at fence nine, narrowly preventing them from qualifying for the jump-off. Success followed already on Friday midday, however, as Christian placed seventh in a 1.55 m class with the Chaman son Cepano Baloubet.
The first major highlight of the weekend in Geneva was the Top 10 Final on Friday evening, which features the top 10 riders from the current world rankings and is traditionally held in Geneva in December. Christian competed in this final for the second time and chose the 11-year-old mare Just Be Gentle this year. The pair completed the first round with ease but exceeded the time allowed by just 0.07 seconds, incurring one time penalty. This placed them fifth heading into the decisive second round. The course began promisingly, but after a very tight turn, a rail fell at fence six, a 1.60 m vertical. This resulted in a total of five penalties for Christian and Just Be Gentle and ultimately sixth place in the Top 10 Final. Only Scott Brash and Kent Farrington remained fault-free in both rounds, with Scott Brash and Hello Chadora Lady crossing the finish line in 45.63 seconds to secure victory in Geneva with a margin of 0.16 seconds over the American.
In the Rolex Grand Prix on Sunday, Christian chose his successful partner Checker. The pair started the course confidently and securely, but a slight forehand mistake at the front rail of an oxer late in the course prevented them from qualifying for the jump-off.
We look back on a successful weekend on home ground in Riesenbeck and in Switzerland and now turn our attention to the upcoming national show in Riesenbeck next Wednesday and Thursday, as well as the 5* World Cup event in London, where Philipp will compete on the weekend before Christmas.
Another highlight of the past weekend was the presentation of the Golden Riding Badge to Mia Charlotte Becker. Mia has been training with some of her horses with us in Riesenbeck for several years now and was able to celebrate this milestone surrounded by family, friends and colleagues in Riesenbeck. The entire Team Beerbaum warmly congratulates Mia on receiving her Golden Riding Badge!
