Doha: Start of the Global Champions Tour and League

Doha (fn-press). Ludger Beerbaum (Riesenbeck) started the new season of the Global Champions Tour with a victory in the Grand Prix. At the Al Shaqab equestrian center in Qatar's capital, Doha, he and his mare Mila finished the eight-pair jump-off in best time. His compatriot Christian Ahlmann (Marl) came fifth with the stallion Dominator Z.

33 couples competed in the course of the Grand Prix, Global Champions Tour evaluation stage, created by the Italian Uliano Vezzani. Eight of them remained clear in the course and secured entry into the jump-off of the 375,000-euro test. Ludger Beerbaum was the best at solving the task. The 58-year-old used his ten-year-old mare Mila from the Oldenburg International breeding association. The Monte Bellini-daughter also stayed clear in the jump-off and crossed the finish line in 38.18 seconds. The victory was rewarded with prize money of 123,750 euros. His former colleague Henrik von Eckermann achieved the second fastest time. The Swede and his Olympic horse King Edward needed 38.74 seconds. A week earlier at the first CSI5* in Doha, the two had already taken fifth place in the Grand Prix. The Dutchman Jur Vrieling with the Holstein gelding Long John Silver (by Lasino) claimed third place in 40.02 seconds.

Christian Ahlmann was on the Zangersheide stallion Dominator Z, son of the recently deceased exceptional sire Diamant de Semilly, in an unbelievably fast time of only 35.18 seconds, but a mistake prevented a better result than fifth place. Philipp Schulze Topphoff (Havixbeck) and his Westphalian mare Concordess NRW as well as Hans-Dieter Dreher (Eimeldingen) and his Holsteiner gelding Elysium recorded a drop in the round and finished the Grand Prix in 13th and 16th place.

In the show's second most important show-jumping, which was endowed with almost 150,000 euros, two German riders were happy about great successes. Behind the Swiss winner Martin Fuchs with the Holstein gelding Conner Jei (no penalties, 34.74 seconds in the jump-off), Christian Kukuk, rider in Ludger Beerbaum's stable, placed second and Christian Ahlmann third. Kukuk sat in the saddle of the only nine-year-old Belgian mare Nice van't Zorgvliet (0/35.8). The Emerald daughter was ridden by the Finn Mikael Forsten until September last year. Ahlmann used the Stakkato Gold son Solid Gold Z (0/36.75) in Doha. hen