And once again the German national anthem sounded in the Al Shaqab Arena in Doha: After Marcus Ehning had won the main jumping competition yesterday, Christian Kukuk stood at the top of the podium on Friday. The Beerbaum Stables rider and his Olympic and European Championship partner Mumbai (by Diamant de Semilly) were the last pair of nine to win the jump-off in the CSI5* 1.55m main event. After only 41.36 seconds, the team Vice European Champions galloped to the finish in a rush. And they had actually broken Mark McAuley's and GRS Lady Amaro's (by Amaretto D'arco) best time of 41.42 seconds. And the winner himself was quite surprised about his triumph: "The jump-off didn't actually go as planned. I did one canter jump more than I wanted to. I was surprised myself when I looked at the scoreboard at the finish. But in the end, the basic speed of Mumbai was enough," Christian Kukuk said happily after his ride. Third place on the podium was taken by Kevin Staut, who was also only a blink of an eye slower with Dialou Blue PS and 41.59 seconds.
Fourth place went to Ireland's Shane Breene with Cuick Star Kervec (by Quick Star) ahead of his compatriot Michael Duffy. The Irish rider was competing for the first time with his new acquisition, the ex-mare of Philipp Weishaupt Che Fatanstica (by Check In). An obviously good new pairing.
Also in the jump-off and double zero were Marcus Ehning and the grey DPS Revere (by Hermes de Reve). "This is the first time the stallion has competed in a 1.55m show jumping competition. He has great quality and I am super happy with his performance," Ehning was pleased with his eighth place.
Gerrit Nieberg and his Ben were also able to place eleventh, despite a drop in the round, thanks to a quick round.
