In the final of the Grand Tour, the Grand Prix of Riesenbeck, Sophie Hinners once again showed what she is made of. The 25-year-old won the international CSI** jumping competition over a 1.45 metre high course after a jump-off with the 12-year-old gelding Beryl de Pres (0/39.33). Second place went to Ludger Beerbaum's stable rider, Philipp Hartmann on Cool Feeling (0/40.70). Third place went to Josch Löhden (0741.66). Eleven of the 40 starting pairs were clear after a demanding round.
Sophie Hinners had already won the main jumping competition at the start of the show on Thursday and was seventh in the advanced (S) level show jumping competition of the Grand Tour on Friday. Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann was seventh on Thursday, on the final Saturday she finished fourth in the Grand Prix on the eleven-year-old mare Cornela after the jump-off.
The two riders Sophie Hinners and Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann have more in common than their blonde ponytails. Both come from the far north - Vierden in Lower Saxony and Hamburg - both have a husband/life partner who comes from southern Germany. The men of both are known as riders and horse traders (Richard Vogel/Sophie) and as former riders and horse traders (Christoph Zimmermann/Janne). Both gentlemen are supported in their activities by their extremely successful female partners in the jumping saddle.
The 42-year-old Janne-Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann can already look back on a glittering international career: Team Gold at the World Equestrian Games (2010) and the European Championships 2011, German Ladies Champion 2006 - and the highly prestigious victory in the Grand Prix of Aachen 2011.
Sophie Hinners is only 25 years old. For some time now, she has been praised as the greatest talent by the entire squad of top international riders, always with the appreciative addition: "very hard-working, extremely nice, reserved and grounded". Her patron and co-owner of several horses, the Dutchman Emile Hendrix, is pleased: "I have been really lucky with Sophie." Her most important successes so far are victories at the EEF Nations' Cup with the team and second place at the German Masters in Stuttgart in 2022.
