That was mega exciting and absolute top show jumping sport: Christian Kukuk and Mumbai won the Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix in Rome and left the world's best behind them! What an achievement.
Of course, Ludger Beerbaum's beaming rider was at first lost for words after his sensational triumph. "I don't know what to say. It is my first Grand Prix victory in the Longines Global Champions Tour and I am shaking all over. It's so nice when years of hard work pay off like this. And then Mumbai's breeder is also here in Rome today and it's her birthday. It must have been our day," Christian Kukuk said happily.
What a day and what an exciting and hard-fought jump-off for the victory in the Grand Prix! A total of twelve pairs, five of them riders from the top ten of the FEI World Ranking List, Ben Maher with Faltic HB (by Baltic VDL), Henrik von Eckermann with Iliana (by Cardento), Peder Fredricson with H&M Christian K ( by. Namelus R), Marlon Modolo Zanotelli and Like a Diamond van het Schaeck (by Diamant de Semilly) and Daniel Deusser with his stallion Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z (by Tangelo vd Zuuthoeve), who was jumping in top form again, entered the jump-off together with Kukuk. And in this jump-off nobody was given even a tenth of a second.
Marlon Modolo Zanotelli was in the lead for a while. But then Kukuk and Mumbai entered the course and everything went well: The grey horse, which is not really that fast, galloped through the course like clockwork, but Kukuk overtook Zanotelli's best time of 43.62 seconds with the tightest of turns and galloped to the finish after only 42.68 seconds. Lead. And then came a long period of anxiety for Kukuk. For the fair was far from over. Ben Maher also went all out with Faltic and attacked Kukuk's best time. But in the end 43.35 seconds were "only" enough for Maher to take second place ahead of Zanotelli.
And then Kukuk had to really tremble once more. His great role model, Daniel Deusser, and Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z (by Tangelo vd Zuuthoeve) had drawn the best lot as the last starters. Already in the round, the dream team left no doubt about their entry into the jump-off. They jumped the Grand Prix course so easily, relaxed and elegantly without any faults. But in the jump-off, one of the poles fell in the heat of the moment. And so it was ninth place for Deusser and his reliable Tobago on Saturday.
Christian Ahlmann and his Emerald son Mandato vd Neerheide were unlucky on Saturday. After a great round, the pole fell on the last jump and prevented him from taking part in the jump-off.
Christian Kukuk was happy about his golden ticket for the Super Grand Prix in Prague: "My groom always told me that I wanted to win a Grand Prix and that I wanted to go to Prague. That has now worked out."
