| Show weekend in Riesenbeck, Amsterdam and Doha
The show weekend started on Thursday morning at home in Riesenbeck with the Youngster Tour for 6- and 7-year-old horses and got off to an immediately successful start for Team Beerbaum. The 6-year-old Ascaro O (Asca x Stakkato) placed third with Ludger and was the best 6-year-old horse in the class. The two other 6-year-olds ridden by Ciaran in this competition, Zados R and Impress de Jolie Z, also placed with clear rounds. The now 7-year-old daughter of Zinedine, Zendaya, also secured a placing with James in the first class of the day. The 6-year-old Agassi WS Z also delivered a confident round but narrowly missed out on a placing due to a single time penalty.
Our young horses continued to impress on the second and third days of the show in Riesenbeck. In the second class on Friday, Zados R placed fourth with Ciaran, while Ascaro O finished fifth under Ludger. With his second horse, Impress de Jolie Z, Ciaran secured eighth place in this class. In the final of the Youngster Tour, a show jumping competition with two phases, the young horses of Team Beerbaum once again achieved multiple placings. Ascaro O, who had already placed highly on both previous days, secured sixth place as the best 6-year-old horse in the final. Close behind were Zados R, Impress de Jolie Z and Zendaya in eighth, tenth and twelfth place respectively.
With Dynar, Ciaran delivered a confident round in the first Medium Tour class, using the competition as a warm-up for the Ranking class in the afternoon. The pair jumped a clear round, but the time was not fast enough for a placing. In the subsequent Ranking class, the first competition of the Large Tour, the pair were very fast and the time would have been good enough for second place, but one rail fell along the way, resulting in a final placing of 13th.
Cortez FZ, who is once again available via Hengststation Beerbaum in frozen semen this year, showed convincing performances under Kathrin Stolmeijer. He jumped clear in the Medium Tour over 1.35 m on Thursday and then secured a placing in the Large Tour over 1.45 m on Friday.
It was a very successful show weekend in Riesenbeck for Kathrin Stolmeijer, as she won all three classes of the Small Tour with the 11-year-old mare Kate Slottie, owned by Beerbaum Stables.
For James, it was a special weekend in his still young career, as he not only competed in Riesenbeck but also made his first appearance at a 5* show in Amsterdam with Dia Chapila PS and Elzandor Z. In his first 5* class with Dia Chalipa PS, a 1.45 m jumping competition with two phases, the pair jumped clear in both phases, but the time was just not quite enough for a placing. They narrowly missed out on a placing at their 5* debut and finished 14th out of 44 combinations. In their second start, the pair again jumped clear, but in very strong competition the time was not sufficient for a placing, and James and Dia Chapila PS finished 17th out of 55 starters – nevertheless a very strong performance by the Riesenbeck pair.
In the Grand Prix of Amsterdam, a 1.60 m jumping competition with a jump-off, James competed with the 10-year-old Elzandor Z. For both, it was their first start in a 1.60 m class. They began the course promisingly in front of an impressive atmosphere, but one rail fell along the way, causing them to miss the jump-off and narrowly miss a placing as well. In the end, they finished 14th out of 41 starters in the 5* Grand Prix of Amsterdam – an impressive result in their first start at a highly competitive 5* World Cup show.
At the same time, Philipp was competing again in Doha and once more placed Callao L in both 3* classes in which he competed. Over the past few weeks, the 9-year-old gelding has shown very consistent performances, and this week was no exception. In the 3* Grand Prix on Saturday, the pair once again qualified for the jump-off with a clear round in the first round, in which 13 of the 44 combinations advanced. In the jump-off, however, one rail fell this week, resulting in a final placing of 13th. Aberdeen Z and Lady Concern du Rezidal also secured placings in classes of the 3* and 5* Tours on the final day of the show week.
