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The show jumpers from Riesenbeck have a year full of highlights ahead of them

Christian Kukuk, Philipp Schulze Topphoff and Harry Allen at the GCL opener in Doha

For the world's best show jumpers, an outdoor season is about to begin that will be particularly challenging and exciting: The Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) 2024, which features 16 stages, each with a Grand Prix and a highly lucrative season finale - the Play Offs. At the same time, 14 teams will be competing for their championship title in the world's most important team series in show jumping, the Global Champions League (GCL). The series takes in three continents, 14 countries, 16 tournament locations - with more than 36 million euros in prize money at stake! And finally, the whole world is looking forward to the Summer Olympics in Paris. A mammoth task for Ludger Beerbaum's show jumping stable, who would like to "dance at all weddings" with his riders and is already predicting: "It will be a balancing act." The LGCT/GCL season kicks off this weekend in Doha. The Riesenbeck International GCL powerted by Kingsland team has strengthened its ranks in order to be prepared for the demanding year ahead. Philipp Schulze-Topphoff has been promoted from U25 rider to senior, his place now taken by another super talent, 23-year-old Harry Allen, brother of the highly successful Irish rider Bertram Allen. Jane Richard is there, as are the top performers based in Riesenbeck Philipp Weishaupt, Christian Kukuk and Eoin McMahon. These three are looking towards the Olympics and are already on the longlist for their home country. Weishaupt (with Zineday), Christian Kukuk (with Mumbai, Just be Gentle and Checker) and McMahon (with Mila) want to prove to their national coaches that there is no getting around Riesenbeck. Youngster Harry Allen and the two experienced riders Philipp Schulze Topphoff and Christian Kukuk will be competing in Doha. It is clear that Kukuk is the team leader. He was the most consistent rider of all the participants in the LGCT and GCL series last season. Riesenbeck International has been the undisputed winner of the GCL team title for the past two years. The five riders around team boss Ludger Beerbaum had achieved this with enormous team spirit and the will to win, as they had to cope with difficult conditions: First Beerbaum broke his thigh during the first leg in Doha, later in the year he announced his retirement from international sport at the CHIO in Aachen. Philipp Weishaupt broke his foot and then Eoin McMahon suffered a broken hand. This bad luck with injuries did not stop the team. On the contrary: Weishaupt and his internationally acclaimed young gelding Zineday won silver at the European Championships, while Ireland's Eoin McMahon and his team won team silver at the European Championships. "That was a sensational year," is how the Riesenbeck team summed up their triumph, which was crowned by another victory in the play-offs. As the venue for the only German LGCT and GCL stage (18 to 21 July), the Riesenbeck International Equestrian Center, the team's namesake, is looking to score points in front of a home crowd for the second time since its premiere in 2023. "At home, we will once again offer the fans a spectacle and show the best sport," promises Christian Kukuk. So it will take a lot of tactics and strategy - and a bit of luck - to meet the demands of the year. But the team boss is not worried. Decades of experience are helpful. Ludger Beerbaum: "We are prepared and will remain true to our policy of starting each leg with the best and fittest team at the time.

More information: www.gcglobalchampions.com/

26.02.2024 share
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