Third Grand Prix in a row for Christian Ahlmann
John Whitaker, who finished second in the Grand Prix on both weekends in Riesenbeck, was more than satisfied: “I had two nice weekends here. It's a great tournament, the conditions are fantastic and the arena is beautiful. I'm happy with how my horses jumped.” The Brit again rode his wife's 14-year-old gelding Unick Du Francport (0/44.29) in the Grand Prix. Third place went to Gerco Schröder from the Netherlands on a Glock's Lausejunge (0/46.64). Twelve of the 56 starting couples had qualified for the jump-off course designed by Frank Rothenberger, including five starters from Sweden, three German riders, two Dutchmen, one Irishman - and one rider from Great Britain. The field of participants who visited the CSI** Riesenbeck at the weekend would have done credit to any 5-star event: World number one Peder Fredricson (Sweden), number seven in the Longines world rankings, Marlon Modolo Zanotelli (Brazil), the Olympic medal winners Gerco Schröder (Netherlands) and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson (Sweden), and of course the German leaders Christian Ahlmann, Marcus Ehning, Marco Kutscher, Christian Kukuk, Felix Haßmann, Katrin Eckermann were at the start. Host Ludger Beerbaum was delighted to welcome such an illustrious group of colleagues. Obviously the tournament date was well chosen - some of the riders used the tournament as preparation for the event in Doha next week - and the riders also appreciate the conditions in the event hall and in the new, permanent stables. For generations of show jumpers, John Whitaker from Great Britain is considered a role model and a living legend. His calm way of riding, the feeling for and the symbiosis with the horse fascinated both his colleagues and hundreds of thousands of spectators at the tournament arenas around the world. The 66-year-old Briton, son of a dairy farmer from Huddersfield, not only won the hearts of the audience in the saddle. He is also known for his kind demeanor and dry sense of humor. Would you like an example? After he won Olympic silver with the team in Los Angeles with the bay gelding Ryan's Son in 1984 and became individual and team European champion with the gray Milton in 1987, journalists asked about the difference between the two horses. John Whitaker's answer was short and to the point: "The colour". Ludger Beerbaum and John Whitaker are linked by a friendship that has lasted for decades and has grown over the tournament time together. John Whitaker: “I remember our first meeting when he was a young rider in Dortmund. We've been good friends ever since.” In 1999, the Brit wrote the foreword to Beerbaum's book “Success is No Coincidence”. At that time he already praised: "Ludger works with his horses, he doesn't fight against them." All results at: https://results.riesenbeck-international.com/2022/riesenbeck-international_3/
