| Zados R is Vice-Champion of the 5-year-old show jumpers
German championship for young horses, Warendorf
The first qualifying competition for 5- and 6-year-old show jumpers started on Wednesday at the National Championships in Warendorf. Four young horses competed for Beerbaum Stables and all of them showed an impressive performance. In the 5-year-old M* class, Zados R, son of Zinedream, put in a beautiful round under Ciaran, which was rewarded with a score of 8.9 and 2nd place.
Our 6-year-old horses also performed excellently throughout the class. The daughter of Zinedine showed an almost perfect round under James, which the judges rewarded with a score of 9.1 and that led to a victory in a field of 126 horses. Taggi, daughter of Calido I, also impressed under Ciaran and won the third division with a score of 8.9. Oberon by Ogano Sitte, and James received a score of 8.6 and came fourth in this class.
Zados R continued his successful run in the 5-year-olds, also receiving a score of 8.9 in the second qualifying class, which meant third place in the second qualifier. This put Zados R in 2nd place overall after the two qualifying tests and qualified him for the final on Sunday. The Zinedream offspring continued his flawless performance, as he showed two great rounds in the speciality class M* under Ciaran, which were awarded scores of 9.1 and 9.0 by the judges. This secured silver for the Riesenbeck pair, and Zados R was crowned Reserve-Champion of the 5-year-old show jumpers.
The 6-year-old show jumpers continued to impress in the second qualifier. Zendaya, daughter of Zinedine, took home the gold ribbon with James in the second competition. With a score of 8.9, she won the third division. Oberon even managed to surpass his performance from the first qualifier and won the second division with James. This put Zendaya in the lead in the overall standings after the two qualifiers, with Oberon in third place. Both were therefore eligible to compete in Sunday's final, an M** class with a jump-off. Unfortunately, Zendaya missed the jump-off with one knockdown and was unable to reward her outstanding performance in the two qualifying rounds. Oberon, on the other hand, remained faultless and qualified for the decisive jump-off. Seven of the 36 starting pairs competed in the demanding jump-off, in which only two pairs remained faultless. James and Oberon also had to accept a knockdown in the jump-off course, but this secured them the bronze medal in the National Championships for 6-year-old show jumpers.
Oberon, bred by Erich Stevens, was also named Youngster of the Year 2025. Oberon impressed in a combined ranking from the Hetzel Young Horse Masters and the German National Championships, securing this award.
Spruce Meadows Calgary, Canada
Christian, Sofie, Checker and Cepano Baloubet travelled to Spruce Meadows in Canada last weekend. Together with Sophie Hinners, Daniel Deusser and Richard Vogel, Christian once again represented Germany in the Nations Cup in Calgary. The first round could not have gone better for the German team. Christian and Cepano Baloubet were the first German pair to complete a clear round, Sophie Hinners and Iron Dames Singclair followed suit, and Daniel Deusser and Gangster v/h Noddevelt also remained without penalty points. The final pair of the German team, Richard Vogel and Cloudio, decided not to start in the first round, as the German team's penalty-free result was already certain before their ride. This meant that the German team and the British team were penalty-free after the first round and on course for gold. In the second round, the first rider of the British team had two knockdowns, as in the first round, thus increasing the pressure on his team. Christian and Cepano Baloubet also had to accept four penalty points in the second round. Sophie Hinners and Daniel Deusser remained faultless, but so did the second and third riders from Great Britain. The decision was therefore made by the respective last riders of the team. Richard Vogel and Cloudio were the first to start and had an annoying knockdown at the last obstacle of the course. Donald Whitaker and Millfield Colette now had to remain faultless to secure victory for their own team, and the two kept their nerves and produced a confident, faultless round. This secured second place for Otto Becker's German team in the Spruce Meadows Nations Cup.
For Christian, the action continued on Sunday with the 5* Rolex Grand Prix. The Olympic champions from Paris delivered a confident round without any faults at the jumps, but the tight time in the first round cost the Riesenbeck pair the jump-off. Finishing 0.89 seconds over the allowed time of 80 seconds, the pair narrowly missed out on the second round.
Saturday will be an exciting day for Team Riesenbeck International, as they will be aiming to collect more important points for the overall standings at their home match in the Global Champions League.
Tickets for the LGCT Riesenbeck can be purchased online at https://tickets.riesenbeck-international.com/en/tickets or on site at the box office.
