Benjamin Wulschner wins Grand Prix of Riesenbeck
The Grand Prix of Riesenbeck went to the energetic Benjamin Wulschner on Saturday evening, who gave his colleagues no chance in the jump-off on the twelve-year-old gelding Prieuré (0/33.76). But second place was secured to great applause by a rider whose four competitors could easily be his sons or even grandsons. In any case, they are all big fans of John Whitaker and his horsemanship. The equestrian legend from Great Britain needed 35.55 seconds for the jump-off course with the 14-year-old gelding Unick Du Francport, a horse owned by his wife Clare: Cool as always, with a pull towards the jump, tightly ridden turns and a great overview of the course, then a glance at the clock and a short salute with his left hand to the audience as he left the course. Completely unagitated and likeable, this is how the now 66-year-old show jumper presented himself for the first time at Riesenbeck International. And because he liked it so much, and because he has been friends with the host Ludger Beerbaum for decades, John Whitaker will also saddle his horses at the next CSI** next weekend. Gerrit Nieberg came third with his Ben (0/36.34). Sönke Fallenberg and Mario Stevens took fourth and fifth place with one drop each. The course director, Peter Schumacher, had given the 50 starter pairs a very tough nut to crack. As always, he built a difficult round that was fair to ride, with a double combination, a triple, frequent hand changes, a steep jump with a plank directly at the entry and exit, and a built-over water steep jump as the final obstacle. It took until the 16th rider before the anthem for the first zero-fault ride resounded through the well-attended hall and the audience applauded. Geritt Nieberg, a regular guest at Riesenbeck International who lives in Münster, piloted his 11-year-old Westphalian gelding Ben beautifully and successfully through the course. Another four pairs followed. Philip Rüping and the Dutch rider Teddy Van De Rijt missed the jump-off with one time fault each. Not too many clear rounds, good sport, exciting right to the end - the course director and his staff, the organisers and the spectators liked it! Final day in Riesenbeck, for the CSI** competitions this year it is Saturday. The final competitions of the Small, Medium and Grand Tour, as well as the Fundis Youngster Cup, take place before the well-deserved competition-free Sunday, which the participants and their staff can spend at home. In the final of the Fundis Youngster Cup, the seven-year-old horses showed their training advantage over their six-year-old colleagues and took the top places. The mare Diacontina ( Diacontinus x A Conto As) with her rider Sönke Fallenberg (0/23.67) won this two-phase jumping competition ahead of the stallion Kentucky (Crespo VDL x Kashmir van Schuttershof), ridden by Jaroslaw Skrzyczynski (0/23. 98), and the stallion Zalando Royal (Zinedine x Cornet Obolensky), ridden by Hannes Ahlmann, who needed 24.43 seconds for the clear round. In the Small Tour, Benjamin Wulschner, who had a really good run at the show with four wins and very good placings, won with the 12-year-old gelding Quidditsch (0/28.22) in the final two-phase jumping competition. Sarah Nagel-Tornau rode her Chili H to second place (0/28.96). Third place went to the winner of the second qualification for the Grand Tour, Philip Rüping on Medarco PS (0/30.20). Alexa Stais, who has recently been employed as a rider in the stable of Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum and Markus Beerbaum, showed in the Medium Tour Final how quickly she is able to adjust to new horses.
She won with Lucato Mad Jo (0/24.27) ahead of Benjamin Wulschner, who was close to his fourth victory with Bangkok Girl PP (0/24.29). Dutchman Albert Zoer finished third on Jackpot (0/25.03).
All results at:www.results.riesenbeck-international.com/2022/riesenbeck-international_2/
