There are a lot of people who thought what happened in Prague last weekend was more than great. For example, the Frenchman Julien Epaillard, who won the Super Grand Prix of the highly prized show jumping series Global Champions Tour with his horse Dubai. Many of the best riders in the world competed with their horses in the “Prague Play Offs” and competed for prize money of around eleven million euros.
The Super Grand Prix, the individual competition, was endowed with 1.25 million euros alone. In the Global Champions League Super Cup Final, the team competition, there was 6.5 million euros. According to the organizers, around 13,000 people in the stands created an electric, intense and exciting atmosphere. “A dazzling display of excellence”, brilliant and excellent, was the presentation of Epaillard and his “remarkable” horse.
The impressive choice of words may be appropriate given the requirements: the obstacles in this five-star test were up to 1.65 meters high. Epaillard and Dubai relegated world champion Henrik von Eckermann (Sweden) to second place with his top horse King Edward. “For us as organizers and for the riders, this is the event that everyone works towards all year round,” said Dutchman Jan Tops, who initiated the Global Tour and League (GCL): “You see the best horses and riders here at the beginning.”
Collision inevitable
Christian Kukuk, recently named GCL “Rider of the Year,” also emphasized the importance of the tour: “We wanted to win the championship and we all stuck to the same plan. The team spirit we had this year was unbelievable.” The 33-year-old Westphalian wasn’t talking about a world or European championship, but about winning the GCL overall ranking.
In addition to Kukuk, five other couples from the ten-member German Olympic squad started in Prague. At the same time as the play-offs, which have been running for five years, the “German Masters” World Cup tournament took place for the 37th time in the Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle in Stuttgart – endowed with 436,000 euros for jumping. The Frenchman Kevin Staut won the Grand Prix of Stuttgart, the World Cup test, with his horse Beau de Laubry. Only two German Olympic squad members, Hans-Dieter Dreher and Jana Wargers, competed, because for the first time the tournaments took place on the same weekend.
In recent years it has been possible to stay out of each other’s way. This time the collision was inevitable: “There was no alternative, no place in the calendar, because there are big tournaments before and after,” says national coach Otto Becker.
Rider with principles: The Swiss Steve Guerdat prefers to start in Stuttgart. : Image: picture alliance / Eibner press photo
The number of five-star jumping tournaments has grown enormously in the past decade. While there were 53 in 2013, there are now 82. “The need is there,” says Becker: “It’s nice for the riders that there is a large selection.” But he restricts: “All tournaments want the same people have. On the Global Tour, riders have commitments to their teams. If someone is out, they have to compete whether they want to or not.”
That’s one of the reasons why Steve Guerdat doesn’t think the Super Grand Prix is that great. The Swiss, 2012 Olympic champion, three-time overall World Cup winner and current European champion, consistently avoids the tour. The 41-year-old relies on the traditional series of show jumping: “I can’t understand at all why people leave Stuttgart to go to Prague. Stuttgart is one of the absolute highlights. Nothing could make me give up starting,” he said on SWR television.
For him, the World Cup and the Nations Cups with their 100-year-old history are tournaments that make up the history of his sport: “That’s why I became a fan. I grew up with that. I wouldn’t give up moments like this for any money in the world.”
National equestrian trainer Otto Becker is monitoring developments closely. : Image: dpa
For the riders, taking part in the tour is a balancing act between economy and tradition. If you want to compete in both worlds, you need several top horses and good management. Two of the most successful German riders did this well this year: Philipp Weishaupt won silver at the European Championships, Christian Kukuk won the Nations Cup final with the German team. Together they won the GCL overall ranking with their team “Riesenbeck International”.
The national coach has prepared to view his pairs for the major championships such as the 2024 Olympic Games in both worlds. Otto Becker is sure that his riders will be ready at the crucial moment when it comes to the nomination for Paris. And top-class sport, he is just as convinced as the Stuttgart organizers, was also possible without some of the top riders in the Schleyer Hall. This was the case not only in jumping, but also in dressage and four-in-hand driving.
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The interest in the tournament is unbroken, as a look at the stands shows and also the fact that two Olympic champions, Steve Guerdat in the course and Isabell Werth in the dressage arena, come back year after year. This time Isabell Werth won the Dressage World Cup with the gelding Emilio. With another horse she became a “German Dressage Master”. The mare’s name? Superb.
