Latest from Horse & Hound in Daniel-deusser

Heavy-hitting German showjumping team named for Aachen worlds with Olympic champion on reserve list

Becky Murray — Wed, 08 Jul 2026 14:28:41 +0000

The German showjumping team has been revealed for the 2026 World Championships in Aachen (11-23 August) – as the home side boldly states “the goal is clear: a team medal”.

The team includes current European champions Richard Vogel riding United Touch S and former European champions Andre Thieme with DSP Chakaria. Olympic and European medallist Daniel Deusser will ride Otello De Guldenbloom and 2025 European bronze medallist Sophie Hinners has been named with Iron Dames Singclair. Both Daniel and Sophie’s horses are making their championship debut.

Marcus Ehning and Coolio 42, who were part of the 2025 Europeans team alongside Richard and Sophie, are first reserves. Perhaps more notably, 2024 Olympic champions Christian Kukuk and Checker 47 are second reserve.

A German federation spokesperson said national showjumping coach Otto Becker, who has led the home side to 13 senior medals during his 17-year tenureship, selected a team experienced in championships – and that “the goal is clear: a team medal for Germany”. Of course, the Germans will also be eyeing one of the seven 2028 LA Olympic spots up for grabs.

The pressure will be on Germany to deliver in front of the home crowd. In the past 10 years individual medals have come thick and fast, but team gold has eluded them. They won bronze at the 2025 Europeans, 2018 World Equestrian Games and 2016 Rio Olympics – and silver at the 2021 home Europeans in Reisenbeck.

With this in mind, some fans might be left scratching their heads over the omission of legendary performer Marcus Ehning and reigning Olympic champion Christian Kukuk from the core team – but looking at current form across the six combinations shows just how enviable a position the German selectors were in.

In February the federation said that there was not a fixed selection for the showjumping team, “but rather an individually agreed-upon selection route” with Otto.

The record of Richard Vogel and 14-year-old super stallion United Touch S speaks for itself; the formidable European gold medal-winning pair won the Rolex grand prix at the Dutch Masters in March and the World Cup leg in Basel at the start of the year.

Another key factor is likely to be Aachen’s big grass arena. Richard and United Touch won the CSI5* Rolex grand prix of Aachen in May, and Sophie Hinners was third with 11-year-old Iron Dames Singclair – proving these pairs can deliver there.

They don’t have championship experience together, but last month Sophie and Singclair posted a double clear to help Germany to the runner-up spot in the La Baule Nations Cup leg. This was alongside Richard, Daniel and Andre – all on their Aachen rides – showing the four already work well as a team. They were beaten by France by just 2.55 penalties.

Andre Thieme and DSP Chakaria have shown they are still at the top of their game five years after they won individual gold at the 2021 Europeans. The mare, now 16, had eight months out after picking up an injury in the summer of 2023 – but returned to win the Rolex grand prix of Aachen in July 2024. This year, they helped Germany to first place at the Ocala leg of the Longines League of Nations (LLN) in March and in May they won the Longines grand prix of Hamburg, another big grass arena.

Olympic team bronze medallist Daniel Deusser and 12-year-old Otello De Guldenboom, might not have a championship under their belt, but the pair are consistent at the top level. Among their multiple top placings this year, they were second in the World Cup Final in Fort Worth in April, and part of the Nations Cup squad at La Baule.

This isn’t to say Marcus Ehning and 13-year-old Coolio 42 or Christian Kukuk and 16-year-old Checker 47 are out of touch. Just last month Marcus and the 13-year-old gelding won the Longines grand prix of Switzerland – even while being chased by a loose dog.

Christian and Checker were part of that winning team at the LLN Ocala alongside Richard and Andre in March, having posted a vital double clear, and they have two recent Global Champions League team victories under their belt as part of Reisenbeck International.

Should Otto need to call on a reserve, he has two strong contenders waiting in the wings, who importantly, will be able to withstand the high pressure of being called upon at the 11th hour, if needed.

Under the showjumping rules, each national federation may enter a maximum of five athletes and five horses. The team will consist of four combinations (or three, for those countries that do not have four).

The substitution rules vary between disciplines. For showjumping, in the event of accident or illness of a horse or rider confirmed by medical certification, a substitution can be made up to one hour before the first horse inspection on 17 August.

The fifth horse and rider combination – in Germany’s case this is currently Marcus and Coolio – may participate in the training session on 18 August. The first competition session is on 19 August.

Chef d’equipes must declare in writing the members of the team by 5.15pm on 18 August. In cases of substitutions after this declaration, in the event of accident or illness, a substitution may be made until one hour before the first competition – with medical certification and approval of the president of the ground jury.

At the 2015 European Championships in Aachen the German team won silver, and at the 2006 Aachen World Equestrian Games the team won bronze. Could 2026 be the year they bag a team gold in front of the Aachen crowd?

The German showjumping team for the 2026 World Championships (in alphabetical order of surname):

Daniel Deusser with 12-year-old stallion Otello De Guldenboom

Owner: Stephex Stables

Breeder: H Versnick

Breeding: by Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z, out of a mare by Caretino

Sophie Hinners with 11-year-old gelding Iron Dames Singclair

Owner: Pegase Equestrian BV

Breeder: J AB Wannius

Breeding: by Singular Ls La Silla, out of a mare by VDL Cardento 933

Andre Thieme with 16-year-old mare DSP Chakaria

Owner: Pferdemanagement & Marketing GmbH

Breeder: Martin Juergens

Breeding: by CHAP 47, out of a mare by Askari 173

Richard Vogel with 14-year-old stallion United Touch S

Owner: Julius-Peter Sinnack

Breeder: Owner

Breeding: by Untouched, out of a mare by Lux Z Z

Reserves:

Marcus Ehning with 13-year-old gelding Coolio 42 (first reserve)

Owner: rider and Elmrok BV

Breeder: M Wirtz

Breeding: by Casalito, out of a mare by Quidam De Revel

Christian Kukuk with 16-year-old gelding Checker 47

Owner: H & Partner Gbr and Madeleine Winter-Schulze

Breeder: Wolfgang Kipp

Breeding: by Comme Il Faut 5, out of a mare by Loro Piana Come On

To stay up to date with all the breaking news from major shows throughout 2026, subscribe to the Horse & Hound website

Top mare makes ‘fresh and feisty’ winning comeback and a remarkable case of déjà vu

Jennifer Donald — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 15:43:01 +0000

Hitting the international showjumping news headlines this week is multi-winning mare Killer Queen VDM, who has made a welcome return to top-flight sport with regular rider Daniel Deusser after several months on the sidelines.

Meanwhile in the USA, one Irishman declares his winning mount as having the potential to be “one of the best in the world” – strong words, indeed. There’s also a remarkable case of déjà vu in the Chepstow’s CSI2* grand prix and even the 2012 Olympic champion admits to feeling the nerves ahead of a five-star class. Read on for our weekly round-up of international showjumping news headlines and results.

A welcome comeback for “fresh and feisty” top mare Killer Queen VDM

While the King, King Edward, has been making showjumping news headlines in recent weeks, this week it was the turn of the Queen, Killer Queen VDM, to take the spotlight.

Daniel Deusser and his multi-winning mare made a winning return to five-star competition at the Printemps Des Sports Equestres in Fontainebleau. The 14-year-old mare returned to competition on the Spanish Sunshine Tour this year but they stepped up to five-star for the first time since last summer, looking better than ever when landing a 1.55m class.

“I’m delighted she did so well,” said the German rider, crediting the mare’s “warrior spirit”. “She might even be a bit too fresh and feisty for a competition like this!”

Great Britain’s Joe Stockdale was also in winning form at the show with Equine Rescue Services Kandleford in a 1.45m speed class.

CSI5* Fontainebleau results

Showjumping news: “I think he’ll end up one of the best in the world”

Ireland’s Conor Swail won the $225,000 Kentucky Invitational four-star grand prix presented by Hagyard Equine Medical Institute with 11-year-old Casturano after a six-way jump-off in the Rolex Stadium. Egypt’s Nayel Nassar finished second with Igor Van De Wittemoere while US rider Charlotte Jacobs, who also managed to enjoy watching some of the three-day event at the venue, piloted Irish Sport Horse Rincoola Milsean (by Aldatus Z out of Rincoola Abu by Cruising) into third position.

“This horse jumps clear round after clear round and the confidence you get from jumping a horse with so much ability is how much he’s grown over the past year – I’m very excited about him,” said Conor, who scorched home quickest from penultimate draw. “If he keeps doing what he’s doing, I think he’ll end up one of the best horses in the world.”

Second-placed Nayel said: “I can’t even guess the number of times I’ve lost to Conor. But that’s the beauty of the sport, it’s not over till it’s over. Conor is a favourite of mine to watch.”

Kentucky invitational results

Conor Swail and Casturano win the CSI4* invitational grand prix at Kentucky. (Image credit: creditUnknown)

A remarkable case of déjà vu

There was a remarkable case of déjà vu in the grand prix at the Chepstow Spring International CSI2* at the David Broome Event Centre, Monmouthshire, when the top two places went to the same combinations as the previous week at the CSI2* Chard – Mikey Pender on HHS Cornetta and William Whitaker on Chacco’s Lando.

“It was quite cool that Will and I were first and second again!” said Mikey, who also won Sunday’s CSI2* small tour 1.30m with Cornetta’s full brother HHS Cyprus.

Poles had fallen very easily round Colm Quinn’s jump-off course, with the first third of the 12-strong field all faulting. It was Mikey who broke the jinx, delivering not only the first clear but also taking some economical early lines to clock the quickest time of the class on the big-engined grey by Cornet Obolensky. Four other riders left the fences standing, with William and the striking 11-year-old getting the spectators behind them as they looked to be the only combination in touch – but they were lagging a second behind when they landed before the turn to the final line and couldn’t gain the ground.

“I was definitely quicker from two to three,”said Mikey, who angled the second fence and turned on a scything seven-stride arc round to the third. “I don’t think anyone else had seven there. I turned her so tight but she is really switched on, she is always with you waiting for you to give her the next instruction.”

Read the full report from the show in this week’s Horse & Hound magazine, in the shops Thursday, 2 May.

CSI2* Chepstow results

Steve Guerdat wins with Dynamix De Belheme in Fontainebleau, despite admitting to feeling “more nervous than I have for a long time” (Image credit: creditUnknown)

A “perfect” mare takes notable victory

With preparations starting to take shape for many potential Olympians, all eyes were on the CSI5* in Fontainebleau, where Swiss showjumper Steve Guerdat and his brilliant “horse of a lifetime” Dynamix De Belheme triumphed in the grand prix with an eye-catching performance over tracks set by France’s Gregory Bodo and Spain’s Santiago Varela, who will be in charge of the fences in Versailles for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“Dynamix has shown consistency since she started competing,” said the reigning European champion, who triumphed after a three-way jump-off. “She’s always been perfect, always jumped clear rounds in every age category and class.

“It’s fair to say that she surprised me this weekend. I wasn’t expecting her to be so dynamic; I thought she was still one or two competitions away from reaching top form. It gives us confidence for the rest of the season.”

Even the 2012 Olympic champion admitted to feeling particularly nervous at the start of the show’s feature class.

“More than I had been for a long time,” he confessed. “Not because of the course – at ’s-Hertogenbosch, Dynamix and I jumped really well on the Friday, but then I didn’t get things right on the Sunday; she hasn’t taken part in any competitions since, so I was left with that memory, which is why I was nervous. But she has some great qualities and made things easy for me as a rider on this really enjoyable course.”

CSI5* Fontainebleau results

Showjumping news: “A great couple of weeks” helped by “the most wonderful stallion”

British teenager Rosie Smith sealed “a great couple of weeks” as a vital member of the Nations Cup team when, after helping the children-on-horses team to a third-place finish in the youth competition in Czechia, she and the great stallion Fruselli landed the grand prix.

“I’m incredibly grateful to my owners for giving me the chance to gain this experience,” said Rosie, daughter of Olympian Holly Smith, who added: “Although Rosie is short on mileage at this level of competition, she rode to orders beautifully to win, helped by the most wonderful stallion!”

Ted Bastian-Mason also flew the British flag on the podium, finishing third with a double clear on Forest Ranger OL.

In the team competitions, the young riders took second, represented by Francesca Young (Carrickview Libretto), Glain Watkin Jones (La Vie Est D’Or), Tallulah Mackenzie Smith (Nistria VD Winning Z) and Connie Adams with Jagger. The junior squad also took the runner-up spot, this time after a jump-off, with a great performance from Henry Squibb (Diatencona PS), Alena Hughes (Hercules), Izzy Doyle (Claxon Van De Bosweg) and Ruby Barrs (Manzana De Rigo), who also finished runner-up in the under-25 grand prix on Guinot Di Nocciola.

“It was my first 1.45m so it was quite daunting,” she said.

The best kiss and cry reaction, Deusser’s sensational victory and a debut World Cup win

Jennifer Donald — Mon, 21 Nov 2022 12:57:31 +0000

We enjoyed four days of world-class showjumping in Prague, Czech Republic, this week, with the 2022 Longines Global Champions Tour season drawing to a sensational close with the Super Grand Prix and Global Champions League (GCL) Super Cup team tournament providing a great spectacle. In Las Vegas, there was a milestone win for a young US rider and a podium Nations Cup finish for Ireland in Portugal. Here are just some of the highlights from the past week’s international showjumping action, plus showjumping results.

The best kiss and cry celebration

Miami Celtics came out top in a fierce battle for the GCL Super Cup at the Prague Playoffs, with jubilant supporters erupting on the kiss and cry (main image top) as 23-year-old Swiss rider Edouard Schmitz nailed their victory with a clear under immense pressure.

“My knees are still shaking,” said the Celtics’ under-25 rider, who rode Gamin Van’t Naastveldhof (pictured below). “When you go into the ring knowing you have to deliver a clear, it’s difficult but when you’re under pressure sometimes you perform better. You wish for days like this.”

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

His team-mates in Prague were Irish riders Bertram Allen on Pacino Amiro and Michael G Duffy riding Clitschko 17.

“To finish with a win is not something I think any of us expected,” said Michael. “We really fought hard all week and we have three amazing championship horses – we certainly wouldn’t be sitting here without them. My heart was in my mouth watching Edouard! I didn’t make his job the easiest [adding eight faults] but he got stuck in, he didn’t leave anything to chance and what a ride from him and Bertram.”

GCL Super Cup final standings

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Milestone success for Lillie Keenan

US rider Lillie Keenan, 26, won her first Longines FEI World Cup qualifier in Las Vegas riding the 11-year-old Dutch-bred stallion Agana Van Het Gerendal Z (pictured above). Victory came after a six-way jump-off where she beat the previous week’s Toronto winner Daniel Coyle, this time riding the nine-year-old Ivory TCS, by just 0.16sec.

“I’ve taught myself that when I go later [in the start order] to just walk my course, think about my plan and stick to it,” said Lillie. “I know Daniel’s really fast. I didn’t need to see him do it to know that I’d have to do everything I could to try to beat him.”

Conor Swail regained the lead in the North American League World Cup standings after his 11th-place finish.

Longines FEI World Cup of Las Vegas results

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Deusser is left speechless after LGCT Super Grand Prix success

THE curtain closed on the 2022 Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) with a resounding victory for German superstar Daniel Deusser and the quirky but supremely talented chestnut Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z in Saturday’s 1.65m LGCT Super Grand Prix at the Prague Playoffs in the Czech Republic.

“I’m speechless about how my horse performed tonight – I think he underestimated a bit the height of the fences but he really tried his heart out,” said Daniel, who took home a staggering top prize of just over €300,000 after the two-round competition.

LGCT Super Grand Prix results

©Sportfot (Image credit: creditUnknown)

Jessica Springsteen is the speed queen

At the ESP Pre-Charity CSI3* in Wellington, Florida, Jessica Springsteen (pictured above) triumphed in the $37,000 Elite Horse Transport 1.45m speed class riding Stone Hill Farm’s nine-year-old mare Naomi Van Het Keizershof (Cardento x For Pleasure), whom she’s had for three years.

“I think she is really special,” said Jessica. “She has taken a little bit more time but is super careful and is very competitive. I’m hoping to step her up and put her in a couple of the smaller grand prix classes this season.”

Elite Horse Transport 1.45m speed class results

(Image credit: Manue Macker)

Oakingham Stud achieves further international success

Winning the grand prix qualifier at the ESP Pre-Charity CSI3* show in Wellington, Florida, was US rider Alison Robitaille with the Oakingham Stud-produced mare Oakingham Lira (pictured above), now owned by Alison Firestone.

“My goal early last year was to be jumping the three-stars by the end of this year, so this is really great,” said the rider. “I’m just so happy with how my horse feels; we’ve been building our partnership all year long. After walking in today, we really feel like a team.”

Oakingham Stud owns Ben Maher’s championship medal-winning Faltic HB and Lira was produced by the stud’s Mackenzie Ray and Shane O’Reilly before going overseas, teaming up with her current rider at the start of this year.

CSI3* Wellington grand prix qualifier showjumping results

Swiss riders finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th in Italian grand prix

Remarkably, in the CSI2* grand prix in Gorla Minore, Italy, this week, the top five placings were filled by Swiss riders. The victor after an 18-strong jump-off was Pius Schwizer riding Cassalino, chased home by his team-mates Barbara Schnieper with Innok, Roger Umnus (Cupido), Jean-Maurice Brahier riding Caracoles, with Steve Guerdat in fifth on Hubba Bubba.

Gorla Minore CSI2* grand prix results

(Image credit: Manue Macker)

Eve Jobs’ ‘unbelievable’ stallion makes a winning comeback

Irish rider Darragh Kerrins landed the $137,000 NoltrexVet grand prix at the CSI3* show in Wellington, Florida, with the 11-year-old Holstein stallion Lissino, owned by Eve Jobs.

“I’ve been riding him on and off for the last two years,” said Darragh (pictured in action above). “He actually had a small injury around this time last year and pretty much missed the whole year. We started bringing him back to jumping at the end of August. He has come back feeling better than ever; he feels unbelievable.

“I didn’t know what to expect after watching everyone else go in the first round, but he gave me everything today, he’s an unbelievable horse,” said Darragh, one of only two riders from a field of 33 to jump clear in round one. “When I walked the course today, it definitely walked hard but I didn’t think it was going to turn out that difficult. The time allowed was a big issue and in the combination line you could either do a seven or an eight, so there were options everywhere.”

CSI3* grand prix results in Wellington, Florida

Nations Cup podium for Ireland

In the CSIO3* Nations Cup held at Villamoura Champions Tour, Portugal, France came out winners, chased home by USA and Ireland’s squad of Trevor Breen (Germaine W), David Simpson on Indian Quality Z, Alexander Butler with Coolivio PS and Richard Howley on Fame. Great Britain’s quartet finished 11th after narrowly missing the cut for round two. William Fletcher and Ginadina PP were among the CSI3* individual winners in this week’s competitions.

Villamoura Champions Tour results

‘One of my best wins ever – I’m speechless’: it’s fourth time lucky for Prague Super Grand Prix’s winning rider

Jennifer Donald — Sat, 19 Nov 2022 23:01:49 +0000

German showjumper Daniel Deusser added to an unforgettable year when winning the Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) Prague Super Grand Prix at the Global Champions Playoffs in the Czech Republic, on Saturday night (19 November).

Riding the superstar 14-year-old stallion Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z, Daniel jumped the fastest of only two double clears from the 13 starters to take home the lion’s share of €1.25m in prize money in spectacular style in front of over 8,000 spectators in the vast Prague O2 Arena.

“I’m speechless about how my horse performed tonight – I think he underestimated a bit the height of the fences but he really tried his heart out,” said Daniel, the only rider to have qualified for every Super Grand Prix in the four years since its inception.

The German rider’s victory in Prague comes on the back of a phenomenal winning streak over the past year – he won the CP International presented by Rolex in Spruce Meadows in September and qualified for this event in Prague by winning the Cannes and New York legs of the LGCT, the Rolex Grand Prix at the Dutch Masters as well as some big wins in Florida at the start of the year.

The 14-year-old stallion took some time out earlier in the year but has returned better than ever.

“The performance from my horse was unbelievable,” said the Stephex Stables-based Daniel, whose groom Sean Lynch was awarded in the prize giving along with the other podium-winning grooms.

“He had a break and came back very strong. I know he is very handy in these small indoor arenas and he jumped here three years ago in the Super Grand Prix and the form he’s had in the past few weeks was why I chose to bring him here,” explained Daniel, currently ranked 12th in the world.

“I wasn’t expecting to win but I knew he had a chance. After the first round we said this is really big and maybe not jumpable but then we saw seven of the 13 riders jump without a fault, some just with time faults. But that shows how good the class was and how good the competitors were. At the end it was fantastic sport with two double clears and of course I’m delighted I was the fastest one.

“This is one of my best wins ever.”

Prague Super Grand Prix podium

Taking second in the Super Grand Prix with the only other double clear in this two-round competition was another German rider, 32-year-old Katrin Eckermann riding the very smart nine-year-old mare Cala Mandia, by Capistrano 2.

“My horse was unbelievable, he made it so easy for me,” said Katrin, who finished ahead of a rueful McLain Ward of USA in third.

McLain also jumped a double clear on the outstanding 16-year-old mare HH Azur, but added a crucial time-fault in round one, which he described as a “sloppy mistake”, underlining just how small the margins are in the sport these days.

“I just misjudged it slightly – I thought I was quick enough – but my horse is incredible,” reflected McLain. “I can’t be grateful enough for her.”

With late withdrawals from Ludger Beerbaum, who wished to save his great mare Mila for the following day’s GCL team Super Cup Final and Malin Baryard-Johnsson, whose mare H&M Indiana picked up an injury in the field in the run-up to the season finale, we were down to 13 contenders, all of whom had qualified at one of the 15 grands prix during the 2022 season of the LGCT.

Five of the 13 finished faultless in round one and Belgium’s Pieter Devos with his London LGCT winner, the barefoot and bootless Mom’s Toupie De La Roque, had come into round two in pole position. However a heartbreaking four faults at the curved plank in the second round dropped them to fourth, with Harrie Smolders also dropping to fifth after a four-fault round on Monaco NOP.

There were no British qualifiers for the 2022 running of the Prague Super Grand Prix, but Mikey Pender was best of the two Irish contenders, finishing seventh with one fence down in each round riding HHS Calais.

You can read the full report including insight and analysis from the Global Champions Playoffs in next week’s issue of Horse & Hound, in the shops 24 November.

A flying John Whitaker, a red Ferrari and young horse world champions – the tales behind this week’s showjumping results

Jennifer Donald — Mon, 26 Sep 2022 15:12:37 +0000

Making the headlines among this week’s showjumping results were some exceptional young horses at the FEI WBFSH World Breeding Championships, a victorious British pony team and a raft of winners from the Unex Competition Yard in Saint Tropez.

For John Whitaker fans, there was a moment to savour in front of the New York skyline, where Daniel Deusser also chalked up the incredible achievement of back-to-back five-star grands prix. A landmark first international win also came for 39-year-old Matthew Boddy, so congratulations to him.

Here is your weekly round-up of international action from the world of showjumping over the past week.

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

John Whitaker wins in front of the Statue of Liberty

Yorkshire’s very own John Whitaker saved the best for last when closing the Longines Global Champions Tour of New York with a sizzling five-star win aboard Equine America Unick Du Francport. With 10 combinations qualifying for the jump-off, this was always going to be a red-hot finale and, against the backdrop of the New York city skyline, fourth-drawn John (pictured above) flew home quickest, to beat Egypt’s Nayel Nassar riding El Conde.

“I am absolutely delighted,” said John, one of only three double clears. “This is such a special location and venue with the iconic Statue of Liberty behind us. We have come a long way, so to finish like this is top.

“Nayel was quick so when I beat him I knew I had a chance.”

Showjumping results from Sunday’s CSI5* 1.55m jump-off class at the LGCT New York

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World finals showcase Irish breeding…

The FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championships for Young Horses at Lanaken in Belgium once again put the spotlight on some exceptional Irish bloodlines, with both the five- and six-year-old finals won by Irish-bred youngsters.

The six-year-old title went to the outstanding Kannan mare ABC Saving Grace, ridden by Ethen Ahearne (pictured above) and bred by Patrick Kehoe out of Cruising mare Ardnehue Diamond Cruiser. Grace is a half-sister to the former Harry Charles ride ABC Quantum Cruise.

“I got ABS Saving Grace in November when I started my own stable and competed her for the first time in February or March,” said Ethen, who was making his debut at these world championships. “But so far she has only jumped at national level and last month in Dublin we were able to qualify for this World Championship. So this was actually the first time we competed at international level.”

A total of 40 combinations had qualified for this six-year-old final, with 14 jumping clear in round one, and the runner-up spot went to Garance De Vains, by Diamant De Semilly, ridden by Valentin Pacaud for France from breeder Christian Bihl. British rider Alex Gill had two horses through to the jump-off and took the bronze medal riding the VDL Stud’s KWPN gelding Lacoste VDL (VDL Zirocco Blue x Indoctro).

FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championships for Young Horses six-year-old final results

… With a tremendous five-year-old also taking centre stage

The five-year-old champion at the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championships for Young Horses was BP Goodfellas (Stakkato Gold x Obos Quality), bred by Kevin Babington and ridden by Ger O’Neill, who only took the reins four weeks earlier.

“I have nothing but admiration for this horse,” said Ger, who has won two championships at Lanaken in recent years.

The 1.30m track was set by Eugene Mathy and 18 of the 47 finalists progressed to the jump-off, where Ger and the quality gelding came out from late draw to post the fastest clear in 40.12sec.

“He didn’t need, in retrospect, to jump the double with the speed at which I entered,” said the Irishman. “But he did a great job. He is a nice horse to ride with a real winner’s mentality. I also rode his mother [Goodwins Loyalty] a long time ago, so that makes a nice story. And I expect this is only the first chapter for BP Goodfellas.”

FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championships for Young Horses five-year-old final results

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If at first you don’t succeed… First international success for Matthew Boddy

In New York, the CSI2* grand prix presented by Champagne Piaff at the Longines Global Champions Tour was won by British rider Matthew Boddy and the 14-year-old gelding Chameur 137, owned by Purple Road LLC (pictured in action, above). The pair were the fastest of just two double clears. This win was a landmark for the 39-year-old rider as it was his first international success.

“I owe so much to Georgina Bloomberg and [trainer] Jimmy Doyle; I’m not doing this without them,” said Matthew, who works for Georgina’s Gotham Enterprizes. “Representing them makes me proud as anything. I’ve been trying for two and a half years to win for them and I’ve been knocking on the door for a long time.

“I thought my mum and dad were going to have a heart attack at home! It’s a great first international win for me,” added Matthew, who was competing at only his second show on Chameur, who was previously ridden by Georgina. “Today was the result we wanted. We’ve been experimenting for a couple of days because I don’t really know him that well. We went in on the attack and it worked for us. He jumped so easy, nice and confident. It was cool to be here and win in New York, especially for Georgina. She’s so kind to me and gives me horses to ride. I like working for the team and wearing the badge.”

The runner-up spot went to US rider Emmanuelle Greenberg riding the 14-year-old Darco stallion Dublin Van Overis, while third was US-based British rider Amanda Derbyshire and her recent Hampton Classic victor Wonder If, a 10-year-old mare by Cevin Z owned by Gochman Sport Horse LLC. This pair produced the fastest jump-off time but with one rail down to beat fourth-placed finisher Mimi Gochman and Celina BH.

LGCT of New York CSI2* grand prix showjumping results

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‘Icing on the cake’ for impressive Casall seven-year-old

The champion seven-year-old at the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses was the Casall-sired gelding Caillan, ridden by Sweden’s Rolf-Goran Bengtsson for owner-breeder Gerd Ohlsen. The runner-up was the Zangersheide stallion Dourkhan Hero Z, ridden by Christian Ahlmann, with Cornet Obolensky mare Precious Dwerse Hagen and Olivier Philippaerts of Belgium taking third.

Great Britain’s James Whitaker reached the jump-off with the quality son of Argento, Just Call Me Henry, to take seventh in this coveted final.

Rolf, who rode the great stallion Casall to a string of great international successes during an outstanding career together, and Caillan flew from penultimate draw to secure the world title.

“We have had an incredibly good year – we already won the championship in Holstein and Warendorf and this is really the icing on the cake,” said Rolf. “If I compare him to his sire, Caillan is more explosive on the jump than Casall, but of course he still has a long way to go to match his track record!”

There was a British victory in the seven-year-old consolation final courtesy of Joe Trunkfield riding Harry Whall’s Uriah 4, with the runner-up spot going to Billy Utah, by Cevin Z, ridden by Jessica Burke of Ireland.

FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championships for Young Horses seven-year-old final results

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Back-to-back grands prix for Daniel Deusser

Germany’s Daniel Deusser followed up on his success at the recent CP International at Spruce Meadows by making a triumphant return with Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z in the Longines Global Champions Tour grand prix of New York. Less than a second separated the quartet of jump-off contenders and the runner-up spot went to London victor Pieter Devos riding Mom’s Toupie De La Roque, with Sweden’s Malin Baryard-Johnsson third on H&M Indiana.

This was Tobago’s fourth show back after a break.

“I’m happy and proud that he is finally getting back into form and I hope to enjoy him a little longer,” said Daniel. “If it works out like that when you’re last to go in the jump-off and you finish in first place, then it’s always fun!”

The golden ticket to the LGCT Super Grand Prix in Prague passed to fourth-placed Irishman Shane Sweetnam on Alejandro.

“This is Alejandro’s second time qualifying for LGCT Super Grand Prix so that shows what a great horse he is,” said Shane. “He was close in Miami so I thought I had a chance of winning today. I am very excited to have qualified and very excited about today’s result.”

Ben Maher and Faltic HB took sixth in the grand prix with four faults in round one and the Brit now heads to the season final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next month at the top of the overall season standings.

LGCT of New York grand prix results

A triumphant British team

Great Britain’s pony team scooped victory in the FEI Youth Nations Cup Final in the Netherlands ahead of France and Ireland in a tight-scoring contest. The squad of Tabitha Kyle, who jumped the clinching double clear on Atomic Du Bary, Noora von Bulow on Elando Van De Eoshoeve, Harriet Hodge riding Little Charlie and Tilly Bamford (Lapislazuli) claimed victory on a score of six. Noora was also an individual winner on the pony small tour riding the 15-year-old mare Delflip and in the junior section with the prolific nine-year-old Interstar B, while Tabitha came home with a victorious four-timer with Oakley and the mare Nightgirl VH Sonnishof Z. Junior rider Eve McCoy also kept the British flag flying with a double of 1.30m win with her father Sir Anthony’s Cocktail D’Azur.

Results of the FEI Youth Nations Cup Final

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

‘She’s going to be a big name for me’

The Irish flag flew proudly in New York, first for Eoin McMahon and the 16-year-old gelding Chacon, who triumphed in the opening CSI5* 1.45m two-phase at the Longines Global Champions Tour of New York.

“There were some spooky fences on the course today, but my horse handled it very well,” said Eoin of Madeleine Winter-Schulze’s Chacco-Blue son.

Chasing him home were German showjumper Hans-Dieter Dreher riding Cous Cous, with third place going to fellow Irishman Shane Breen and Haya, who went on to win Sunday’s CSI5* speed class (pictured above).

“She was fantastic in there,” said Shane of the 10-year-old KWPN mare (Mylord Cathargo x For Pleasure) he co-owns with Old Lodge and on whom he triumphed in the Queen’s Cup at the Royal International Horse Show at Hickstead.

“She’s been wonderful all season. The plan is to build her up for the grands prix and, step by step, we’re getting there. Next year, she’s going to be a big name for me.

“I saw that they were doing seven strides quite easily to the last jump, so I thought if I kept up on the left-hand side, I could do six strides. I chanced it and it came off.”

He beat his fellow Irishman Darrah Kenny and Chic Chic into second.

Results from the LGCT of New York

(Image credit: creditUnknown)

Team Unex prove unstoppable in St Tropez

In the CSI1* classes at Hubside Jumping in St Tropez, the Gredleys’ Unex Competition Yard was again well represented in the winner’s circle with Rachel Gredley (pictured above) collecting red ribbons on both Jalanna and Hobalo. Rachel’s sister-in-law Polly landed a 1.25m one-two on Jimmy Mack V Berkenbroeck and Baloubelle and, not to be outdone, stable jockey Joe Clayton headed a class on Sunday with Belinda. This seals a phenomenal run of form for the team over the past three weeks in the south of France.

Rachel said of the 10-year-old Hobalo, who was previously ridden by her husband Tim Gredley: “I’ve only been riding Hobalo for two or three months. He is a very respectful, courageous horse and it is great to see him win a class today. I think he has the potential to go to higher classes, just like [London LGCT winner] Jalanna, who has been running very well for three weeks at Hubside Jumping.”

French showjumper Julien Gronin landed the CSI5* 1.60m grand prix jump-off riding the 13-year-old mare Valou Du Lys. He was chased home by Ireland’s Billy Twomey and the stallion Chat Botte ED. The two-star equivalent went to Lorenzo De Luca riding Poden Farms’ mare Dirka De Blondel. Italy’s Emanuele Gaudiano (pictured top soaring past a riskily parked red Ferrari) was also a multi-winner this week.

Hubside Jumping results

Prague Lions triumph in GCL

GCL team Prague Lions produced the sole double clear to triumph in the Global Champions League of New York, held on Governors Island. The squad was represented by Niels Bruynseels aboard Matador and Pieter Devos and the super barefoot mare Mom’s Toupie De La Roque and this was the Lions’ third success of the season. This also fast-tracked them to the semi-finals of the GC Super Cup in Prague in November. Stockholm Hearts and Berlin Eagles head to the final in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, next month just one point apart at the top of the leader board.

GCL results from New York

French-bred triumphs in the Sires of the World

The prestigious Sires of the World Class at the FEI WBFSH Jumping World Breeding Championship for Young Horses was won by the Selle-Francais approved Kannan stallion Drako De Maugre, ridden by Germany’s Patrick Stühlmeyer. Belgium’s Gudrun Pateet took second on the eight-year-old Sea Coast Enjoy Z (Emerald x Parco).

“I’ve been riding this horse for a while but this is only our sixth competition together,” said Patrick of the winning nine-year-old. “I’m confident he has more in store for us.”

The highest placed British contenders were Louise Saywell with Ian Dowie’s nine-year-old Kinsborough Kasper, by Kannan, in a very creditable 12th.

Results from the Sires of the World at the World Breeding Championships

‘Incredible’ mare helps rider secure first leg of Rolex Grand Slam

Jennifer Donald — Mon, 12 Sep 2022 15:01:30 +0000

“She just an incredible horse,” said German showjumper Daniel Deusser of his ever-obliging 12-year-old mare Killer Queen VDM after the duo achieved one of the hardest feats in the sport, jumping a triple clear to win the $3million CP International presented by Rolex at the Spruce Meadows Masters Tournament in Canada, on Sunday (11 September).

Daniel also became the live contender for the next leg of the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping, at Geneva in December.

“She was unbelievable to jump three clear rounds. Usually if you jump just two clear rounds, you’ve won already,” said Daniel. “But I’m able to enjoy this feeling now.”

This blue-riband event is one of the toughest classes in the world. Leopoldo Palacios’ formidable, technical tracks tower far higher than the average five-star grand prix and the Venezuelan doesn’t make any allowances for time-wasters. The stakes are raised even higher as the top 12 from the 40 starters jump a full second round before any riders on double clears – and they come few and far between in this contest – jump off against the clock.

Swiss rider Steve Guerdat lifted the prize last year as the sole double clear and was back in the mix this year as one of three jump-off contenders, lining up against Hickstead’s King George V Gold Cup winner Gilles Thomas of Belgium on Aretino 13 and the German hero.

With pressure and expectation pulsating round the arena, Steve opened proceedings with the tail-swishing 13-year-old gelding Venard De Cerisy. The pair skipped round until tapping out the first element of the double of swans – one of a handful of fences to have been bought in from the recent Herning World Championships – but they were quick and a 41.7sec four-fault round still applied the pressure to his rivals.

When the hotshot 24-year-old Belgian toppled two fences, it all came down to Daniel and this exquisite mare, who triumphed in last year’s Aachen grand prix. Daniel admitted he felt “pretty nervous” walking in beneath Spruce Meadows’ iconic clock tower, but this forward-thinking mare soared over every obstacle with a clean flick of her heels and the historic title was theirs.

“It’s a class I’ve followed since I was small,” he said. “I watched it on TV and I still have VHS cassettes at home that show the grand prix here. I’ve watched it over and over again, but I could never imagine being here. So to win the CP International presented by Rolex here in Spruce Meadows is a fantastic feeling.”

“She will definitely have a big dinner tonight and some carrots and sweets,” he added of the 12-year-old mare by Eldorado VD Zeshoek out of the legendary For Pleasure mare Derly Chin De Muze.

“At the beginning of the season, I set myself the goal to come here with her as I’d never been here before for the Grand Slam. She’s done well in these big grass rings. I think she enjoyed it.”

Daniel Deusser will now continue his journey once again towards the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping.

You can read the full report from the Spruce Meadows Masters in this week’s issue of Horse & Hound, in the shops Thursday 15 September.

‘He has a special technique’: unorthodox stallion ‘tries his hardest’ over 1.55m track at Royal Windsor – and wins

Jennifer Donald — Fri, 13 May 2022 21:42:55 +0000

On Friday afternoon at Royal Windsor Horse Show, a little stallion “who tries his hardest to get over the bigger jumps” triumphed in the 1.55m CSI5* Pearl Stakes.

Thirteen of the 15 combinations who jumped clear in round one returned for the jump-off, where Germany’s Daniel Deusser piloted the 11-year-old French-bred Bingo Ste Hermelle to victory in a lightning-quick time of 36.32sec.

“It was a very smooth round, I always choose a forward distance with him, rather than going flat out, and he tried really hard – it was a good feeling today,” said Daniel, who took the reins on the stallion a year ago and rode an absolutely remarkable jump-off round at the Longines Global Champions Tour grand prix at Valkenswaard in the summer to triumph there.

“He jumped some big classes last year but then he had a bit of a break over the winter. He’s been back for three or four shows now and actually he’s feeling better and better at every show, so I feel really positive about the future for him.

“I’m going to give him a day off tomorrow and then Sunday will be his first grand prix of this year. So we’ll see from there what the next few weeks will bring.”

Daniel executed the tightest of turns and cleared some of the troublesome verticals set by course-designer Bernardo Costa Cabral with ease, but it is over the oxers that this son of Number One D’Iso can be slightly unorthodox.

“He’s very easy to ride but sometimes he has a bit of a special technique behind over the oxers – sometimes his back legs go right under his body – he’s not the biggest horse and he just tries really hard to get over the bigger jumps,” explained Daniel, currently ranked number 10 in the world. “He always gives you such a safe feeling though.”

Talking about his return to the five-star Royal Windsor Horse Show, Daniel added: “Windsor is a bit different compared with all the other shows, which are all a bit similar. Here we have different jumps, different ground, good audience and a big arena – and now with the sun, too, it couldn’t be better.”

Finishing in his slipstream was Belgian rider Jos Verlooy riding Luciano Van Het Geinsteinde, double clear in a time of 37.46sec, while John Whitaker was best of the five British contenders in the jump-off. The Yorkshireman finished third with Equine America Unick Du Francport, AKA the tea-loving “Frank”, who threw in his trademark mighty buck after the final fence.

“He’s had a week off and he’s really fresh!” said John, who rode the 14-year-old gelding at the World Cup Final last month.

“He hasn’t jumped a huge amount recently, but the way he jumped today, I think I’ll give him the day off tomorrow [Saturday] then bring him out again for the grand prix on Sunday.”

The CSI5* jumping action continues at Royal Windsor Horse Show on Saturday and Sunday and you can follow all the action with Horse & Hound online and in next week’s issue of the magazine, in the shops on Thursday, 19 May.

‘The rankings system is an addiction for riders’: jumping owner speaks out about the sport’s ‘problem’

Jennifer Donald — Sun, 08 May 2022 15:32:05 +0000

Stephan Conter is a familiar name on the showjumping circuit as founder of the world famous Stephex Stables, horse breeder and owner of some top horses including Daniel Deusser’s Olympic ride Killer Queen VDM and Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z. He also hosts five-star shows such as Knokke Hippique and the Brussels Stephex Masters.

The Belgian ventured into horse ownership over 20 years ago, teaming up with Daniel, currently ranked number seven in the world, a decade ago.

“I decided that I really wanted to get to the top level of the sport,” says Stephan. “I made the decision to find a top-level rider, and my decision was Daniel. I then threw everything into that decision and really went for it. Once you start to win grands prix and become a serious competitor it becomes very addictive, and you want to continue that success by having the best horses and riders.

“I now have multiple riders, including my two daughters [Emilie and Zoé] and watching them succeed on my horses is very motivating for me. I am also very proud when I see horses that I have bred or sold doing well. We sell a lot of horses – in the grand prix in Wellington, Florida, recently, we had two horses that I still own in the jump-off as well as a few others that we used to own, and watching the horses being successful gives me such a kick.”

‘Every horse is for sale’

Talking about his hugely successful breeding programme and providing horses for his riders, Stephan explains that “every horse is for sale”.

“I do not keep all my best horses because if you look at all of the horses we have sold, there are so many that have achieved incredible results,” he says. “For example, if you look at the Olympic Games last year, we had seven horses jumping there and I only owned one, so that shows the quality of the horses that we sell.

“If a horse is a really good match for one of my riders, then I will wait for a season before we think about selling that horse. Davidoff De Lassus [his 13-year-old stallion] is a very good match for Zoé, and so we will keep him for another year unless we have an exceptional offer.

“Emilie is more of a seller than her sister; she is willing to sell when a good offer is made. Zoé would like to keep every horse, but I think she is starting to understand that we are normal people, and we still need to make a living out of the sport to continue our beautiful story.

“Firstly, I am a businessman and I like things to go quickly, which is why I mainly buy horses around six- to eight-years-old, but I still do run a breeding programme,” says Stephan. “These horses can be ready to sell in around 24 months and that is how I like to work. I am open to selling any horse, if not I would own thousands of horses. For me it is not a problem to own that many horses – the problem is that it is too complicated to train that many horses. To train a horse up to the level where it could be a grand prix winner you need to educate them with the highest care and quality. So therefore, we do sell a lot of the horses we breed unbroken.

“The level of breeding in Belgium is extremely high – the best in the world, I think – and that means the horses are not cheap, but it does mean that you have a chance to choose the best horse for your rider. I make my decisions on which horse to buy for which rider based on my gut feeling. I cannot explain why I choose a horse sometimes, but I just trust my feeling. So far, this has brought me much success.”

‘It’s an addiction – and that is a problem’

But, says Stephan, there is a real problem with the modern sport.

“A few months ago, we had two riders in the world’s top 10, so you need to have a lot of horses to ensure they can stay up in the rankings,” he says. “It is not like it was 20 years ago when the riders could take the winter season off, now there are shows every weekend. I think the rankings system is an addiction to the riders and that is a problem.

“To continue to be at the top of the sport riders need to compete almost every weekend to ensure they continue to gain ranking points. So therefore, we need a lot of younger riders to train the horses at home when our top riders are out competing. There are a lot of young and talented riders in our sport right now. I believe that you cannot just discover your next top rider tomorrow, you need to work with them for a couple of years and ensure they are trained properly. Some of the top riders in the world now were not the best when they were 18, but they had an excellent work ethic and dedicated themselves to the sport. It is nice to see that with hard work you can get the results that you deserve.”

‘Tobago Z could win the Rolex Grand Slam’

It could be a very exciting year in particular for Daniel Deusser with both Tobago Z and Killer Queen jumping so well.

“Killer Queen has a lot of character. She is a beautiful lady, but she has a lot of character and that can be difficult for Daniel sometimes,” reveals Stephan. “She has all the scope you could want in a top-class show jumper, and she wants to be the best in the world. She has to compete against the best horses in the world in the ring, but she also has to compete against her neighbour in the stables, Tobago Z. She has to prove to Stephex Stables that she is better than him; we put them next to each other in the stables, so they know they have to compete against each other to be the best.

“Maybe together Killer Queen VDM and Tobago Z, can win the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping. We nearly won the Rolex Grand Prix at CHIO Aachen in 2019, but Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z was beaten by Kent Farrington and Gazelle. We actually sold Gazelle to Kent, so we were beaten by one of our own horses. But I think Tobago Z could win the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping, he is in great form at the moment.”

Stephan underlines the importance of communicating with his riders, saying he speaks to them “about everything”.

“We choose which shows each horse will go to, but I do have a strong opinion on which shows we should prioritise, which are the Rolex Grand Slam Majors and the other Rolex shows,” he says. “All the riders agree with me, as these shows are simply the best in the world. Hopefully, one day people will say the same about the Brussels Stephex Masters. It is very exciting that CSIO Roma and now La Baule are also supported by Rolex. In my opinion, shows supported by Rolex are on a different level to all the other shows, and all my riders love to compete at them.”

Stephan and his team are currently building a new stadium for the Brussels Stephex Masters and there will be a new venue for Knokke Hippique next year, as well as an exciting new show in Marbella coming soon.

With thanks to Rolex Grand Slam

‘He has so many quirks’: meet Tobago Z, Daniel Deusser’s new Rolex Grand Slam contender

Jennifer Donald — Mon, 14 Mar 2022 12:08:44 +0000

Germany’s world number five Daniel Deusser landed the Rolex grand prix at The Dutch Masters on Sunday (13 March) to reignite his Rolex Grand Slam dreams, this time with Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z. Daniel also won a leg in 2021 at CHIO Aachen with Killer Queen Z.

Riding the 14-year-old stallion, Daniel topped a competitive 12-strong jump-off by just 0.13sec from Harrie Smolders on Monaco. This is just the latest accolade in an extensive list of accomplishments for Daniel and Tobago Z (by Tangelo VD Zuuthoeve out of Whoopie C, by Mr Blue) but, says his rider, while he’s almost unbeatable in the ring, he’s a completely different horse at home.

“He’s not at all impressive and very lazy, you’d actually doubt if he had enough blood or scope to jump a big class,” Daniel tells H&H. “But at shows he jumps one clear round after another.

“Stephan Conter [of Stephex Stables] bought him as a seven-year-old and our rider Jonna Ekberg mostly rode him in smaller classes to get him going. He didn’t want to touch any poles and he had lots of scope, but his lazy attitude was even worse as an eight-year-old so we didn’t expect that one day he’d be jumping the best grands prix in the world.

“With most young horses you have to work on rideability and a lot have problems shortening their stride, but with him it was the opposite – I had to teach him to jump forward and give him confidence,” reveals Daniel. “He started jumping bigger classes at nine but aged 10 he gained a lot of confidence, everything felt easier and he had one grand prix result after another; that’s when I thought he’d be a star.

“People are surprised at how small and compact he is when they meet him, but he has a great mind – he wants to jump clear and he’s a great fighter. There seems to be no limit to how big he can jump and it’s an unbelievable feeling.”

Among their other greatest achievements are the CSI5* Rolex grand prix, Florida (March 2021), CSIO4* grand prix, Florida (March 2021), team silver at the European Championships (August 2019) and the Bordeaux World Cup qualifier (February 2019).

‘He’s like my number one child’

According to his devoted groom Sean Lynch, Tobago Z keeps him motivated every day.

“He and I are inseparable, so much so that if he was in a fire and so was my boyfriend, I’d get Tobago out first!” says Sean. “He’s like my number one child. But I didn’t really like him in the beginning – he was like a feral little farm pony. It was only after Daniel’s Olympic horse First Class died that we suddenly clicked and now it’s only me who can deal with him.

“He has so many quirks – if you brush him too fast, he panics. He’s a bit funny with his head, too, and the other day I moved to clip his face and it was game over – I had to leave him for 15 minutes and come back.

“At shows, he knows where people will give him candy so he stops and plants his feet. You’ll be pulling for ages then suddenly he decides he wants to move again. Everything is on his terms. He’s obsessed with fruit – apples, bananas, kiwi and watermelon are his favourite. But the best thing about him is his big heart. He’s very pretty, very photogenic but when he goes in the ring he comes alive.”

Edith De Michele, of co-owners Scuderia 1918, adds: “We are so proud of Tobago Z and his results with Daniel, they are such a lovely pair.”

Explosion W vs King Edward: who is the best showjumping horse in the world? Data experts reveal all

Jennifer Donald — Sat, 15 Jan 2022 08:32:39 +0000

Who is the best showjumping horse in the world right now? Who is the best showjumping horse of all time? These are the questions we often ask ourselves while watching the likes of Ben Maher’s Explosion W jumping against Henrik von Eckermann’s King Edward or Daniel Deusser’s Killer Queen VDM week after week on the five-star circuit. Obviously whoever jumps fastest and clear is the winner on the day, but who ranked as the best showjumping horse in the world overall in 2021?

Fortunately our friends at the equestrian data analytics company Equiratings have once again come up trumps with their number crunching and produced the CAS – Clears Against Standard – metric system, a new way to evaluate and compare the best horses in the world statistically.

“This feels like a watershed moment in the sport,” says the company’s co-founder Diarm Byrne on the Equiratings Jumping Podcast.

“It [CAS] is a different way of looking at the sport, but it’s heavily researched and it’s backed up by data science,” he stresses.

CAS is the number of clears a horse has jumped against the number of clears that should have been jumped – the “standard” – over those courses.

“If you’ve jumped 20 times and the average clear rate [in a class] was 25%, you should have produced five clears” explains co-host Sam Watson.

So someone who jumped eight clears would have a CAS value of +3 – three more clears than that standard of five clears. Of course, for horses that jump fewer clears than the standard, the number will be negative.

The metric can be applied to any level, but the Equiratings team are focusing on 1.60m-plus tracks at five-star shows over the course of a year. They take out jump-off rounds, however, where the theory changes.

So in 2021, 25 horses produced the highest CAS value range of three or more.

Scott Brash’s Hello Jefferson, for example, jumped at the top level 22 times in 2021 and produced 11 clears – a 50% clear rate – whereas the courses he jumped had a clear rate of 30%, giving him a CAS value of 3.8.

Martin Fuchs’ Geneva grand prix winner Leone Jei jumped a bit less in 2021 – 15 times – but was clear on nine occasions. That’s a clear rate of 60%, but the courses he jumped were slightly harder with a clear rate of only 27%, giving him a higher CAS value of 4.6.

“That’s a really strong number – only 25 horses in the world last year had a value of three or higher,” says Sam Watson. “It’s a clean, crisp metric.”

He adds, of course, that: “The opinion will always be there, the theories will always be there.”

And the best showjumping horse in the world is…

So who came out top in the CAS ratings for 2021? King Edward and Explosion W seemed to make all the headlines over the past 12 months, but who was most effective at jumping clear rounds?

Explosion W was the top British horse with his phenomenal clear round strike rate – in 2021 he produced 10 clears from 17 rounds producing an astonishingly high CAS value of 5.5, only good enough for seventh in the standings however. The runaway winner on the stats was Olympic bronze medal-winning King Edward. He jumped 18 clears over 25 rounds, with an astonishingly high clear rate of 72% and a CAS of 11.5.

“This horse was head and shoulders above the rest if you’re talking about clear round efficiency at the top level of the sport,” says Sam. “King Edward is in a league of his own and it’s world class – as good as we’ve seen from some of the biggest names in this sport in the last decade.”

Here are the overall standings for 2021:

CAS values for showjumping horses jumping 1.60m-plus in 2021

King Edward (Henrik von Eckermann, SWE) 11.5
H&M Indiana (Malin Baryard Johnsson, SWE) 7.6
Beauville Z (Maikel van der Vleuten, NED) 7.5
Quel Homme De Hus (Jerome Guery, BEL) 7.4
Killer Queen VDL (Daniel Deusser, GER) 7
VDL Cartello (Darragh Kenny, IRL) 5.8
Explosion W (Ben Maher, GBR) 5.5

Who are the best showjumping horses in the world over the past decade?

King Edward also ranks highly among the figures which Equiratings have worked out back to 2010 – only six horses have produced a CAS of 10 or more and Eric Lamaze’s outstanding partner Hickstead comes out top as the greatest showjumping horse of the past 12 years by the smallest fraction of decimals. Big Star’s remarkable 86% clear round strike rate in 2013 puts him third and the best of the British showjumpers.

Explosion W’s highest CAS value of 9.2 was achieved in 2019, leaving him just off the top five. However, he holds the highest Elo ranking on the Equiratings database of 898.

“That tells us his consistency at beating the best opposition in the world is the most effective – that’s what he’s brilliant at,” says Sam.

The top five showjumping horses in the world over the past 12 years are:

Top CAS values for the best showjumping horses in the world jumping 1.60m-plus since 2010

Hickstead, Eric Lamaze (in 2010) 12.6
Casall ASK, Rolf-Goran Bengtsson (in 2014) 12.6
Big Star, Nick Skelton (2013) 12
King Edward, Henrik von Eckermann (2021) 11.5
Cedric, Laura Kraut (2010) 10.6

So as you can see, King Edward is already holding his own with the best of all time.

“It’s why we can get excited about King Edward,” says Sam.

Of course, evaluating the best showjumping horse in the world like this is highly objective, but do you agree with the stats? Was King Edward the best showjumper in 2021? How can Explosion W, who won the Olympic gold medal, not be described as the best showjumping horse in the world? It’s one we could discuss for hours…

Let us know your thoughts by emailing them to hhletters@futurenet.com, including your name, nearest town and county and you may be published in a future issue of Horse & Hound magazine – you could also win a bottle of Champagne Taittinger

‘My success would be impossible without him’: Daniel Deusser credits groom Sean Lynch in his rise to the top

Jennifer Donald — Tue, 14 Dec 2021 17:42:55 +0000

German showjumper Daniel Deusser handed over the baton for the Rolex Grand Slam to Geneva winner Martin Fuchs at the weekend, but the world number two has enjoyed a tremendous year with his top mare Killer Queen VDM, while his great partner Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z has also recently returned from injury.

But Daniel credits all his success to the big team behind him, including his elite groom of seven years, Sean Lynch.

“The sport is now so complicated and close together, and I travel so much that my team at home is just as important as my athlete in the saddle,” he says. “I trust Sean one hundred per cent, which is very important when he is travelling with our top horses. He does everything with the horses, and he is a very important person in my career. My success would be impossible without him. He loves the horses, it can be a 24-hour job and if something happens to one of them, he is there for them and he is so dedicated to them.”

Daniel Deusser ( GER) riding Killer Queen during the Individual Jumping Qualifier for the Individual Final for the Olympic Jumping Competition at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games held at Equestrian Park in Setagaya-ku in Tokyo in Japan between the 23rd July and 8th August 2021 (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Aachen grand prix: ‘a very special’

Looking back at his victory on home soil in Aachen when he became the live contender for the Rolex Grand Slam, Daniel says: “It is something very special to win and very different to winning another grand prix. A lot of people wanted to do interviews and photo shoots with me; I really enjoyed the whole experience. But unfortunately, the horses don’t know that I have won one of the best grands prix in the world, so we got back to reality quite quickly.

“As a German, to win at CHIO Aachen was amazing. Aachen is so special to me, and the crowd is fully supporting you. When you come into the arena it is very loud, but the moment the bell goes, it is silent in the stadium – it is a very special feeling.”

While Daniel’s other top horse Scuderia 1918 Tobago Z missed much of the summer through injury, he is particularly excited about two younger horses he has coming through.

“They are both very exciting prospects for the future,” he says. “One is a nine-year-old, called Scuderia 1918 Mr. Jones, we bought him two years ago as a seven-year-old. We have very big hopes for him for the next couple of years. However, due to Covid-19, he lost a year of experience, as he did not do very many shows, so he is a very young nine-year-old.

“The second horse is called In Time and [before Geneva] I had never actually taken this horse to a show myself. One of our Stephex riders [Kendra Brinkop] has competed him in the young horse classes. I would like to get some experience on him and get to learn more about each other. I think he has a lot of potential.”

In preparation for the indoor season, Daniel trains over different distances and lines.

“For example, in the indoor season you see a lot of three- or four-stride distances, which you hardly ever see in a big outdoor ring like Aachen,” he explains. “That is something you have to train, but in general most of our horses are well educated and old enough with good experience that you do that one or two times before the indoor season and that is enough. It is more of a fitness programme and they only see the big fences during the shows.”

‘I loved to watch John Whitaker and Franke Sloothaak’

Scott Brash remains the only rider to have won the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping, but Daniel says it is “definitely a goal” for the next few years.

“Winning the Rolex Grand Prix at CHIO Aachen was a goal that I had for many years, really ever since I was a child,” says Daniel, who has also won the World Cup Final with Cornet D’Amour (pictured below) in 2014.

“When I was a child and I went to the big shows to watch the world’s best show jumpers, there were only two combinations that I really loved to watch. One was John Whitaker and Milton, the other was Franke Sloothaak and Walzerkönig. I was very lucky a couple of years later that I got the opportunity to work for Franke Sloothaak for four and a half years and I’m still in contact with him. Even though he lives far away from me, he is still a major support to me and gives me advice over the phone. He watches all of my rounds, and I must admit he is a huge part to my success.”

One thing Daniel has learned from Franke is patience.

“He was very quiet and cool on the horse, even if the horse had been very difficult during the week, and he was very patient with it and they always jumped well in the shows,” he says. “If you are too young and too motivated it can be very difficult. I think it is very important to just be patient and learn from your mistakes in the past. You need to get the basics right, both for yourself as rider and your horse, in order to be successful.”

Daniel DEUSSER (GER) riding Cornet d'Amour during the Third and final round of the Competition for the European Team Jumping competition at the FEI European Championships in Aachen, Germany on 21 August 2015 (Image credit: Peter Nixon)

Daniel is one of the most competitive riders on the circuit and his phenomenal results have helped him to the world number one spot, although he currently sits at number two, behind Sweden’s Peder Fredricson.

“There is just something in me that likes to go a step further and likes to win,” he says. “As showjumpers, we go to a lot of shows, and there are usually a lot of competitors in the classes, with only ever one winner. So, you do not win all the time, being second or third is not a drama, but when you don’t win you will always re-live the round and wonder what you could have done better. Even though you don’t always win, the motivation on a Monday morning is always there. I learn from what could have gone better, and I see each show as more experience, so that when I go to the next show I will do better.”

With thanks to Rolex Grand Slam.

‘I’m the happiest man in the world’: World number one wins first leg of €1million Rolex Grand Slam in Aachen

Suzanne Jones — Sun, 19 Sep 2021 18:03:30 +0000

World number one Daniel Deusser lifted the Rolex Aachen grand prix in his home country of Germany with two killer turns on Killer Queen VDM to become the new Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping live contender.

“Finally! I’ve come close a couple of times before [second on Tobago Z in 2019 to The USA’s Kent Farrington and second in 2015 on Cornet D’Amour] but to win the Rolex grand prix in Aachen is special,” said Daniel, who will now target Geneva for the second leg.

Two consecutive wins earns 500,000 euro and three consecutive wins makes a cool one million – Scott Brash is the only one to achieve this with Hello Sanctos.

Eighteen of the 40 starters contended round two – 12 clears joined by eight of the fastest four-faulters. Seven returned double clears over two full-round 1.60m tracks testing scope and rideability, built by celebrated German course-designer Frank Rothenberger, to make the jump-off.

Daniel set a fast opener with two breath-taking rollbacks and a gallop to the final Rolex oxer on the Eldorado VD Zeshoek x For Pleasure 11-year-old.

“At first I thought going first wasn’t an advantage but afterwards – good, I put pressure on and Killer Queen did a fantastic job, I’m the happiest man in the world,” he said.

He faced a nail-biting wait. You could hear a pin drop as Olympic champions Ben Maher and the big-striding Explosion W – third here in 2019 – galloped down the distances. But the front rail of the oxer out of the double fell and although they beat the time by 1.18 sec, Ben’s hopes were dashed and he finished fourth.

Britain’s other hopeful Scott Brash – second in Friday’s 1.60m three-way decider – also encountered problems at the same fence as Hello Jefferson bounced the back rail out of the cups. They slowed up to finish fifth behind the USA’s Laura Kraut riding Baloutinue.

Aachen grand prix: rising star finishes second

Last-to-go Brian Moggre, 20, almost stole the show. The American talent produced a double clear earlier in the week on Balou Du Reventon to majorly contribute to a USA Nations Cup win and was determined to give his all. He rode the round of his life on the Cornet Obolensky x Continue 15-year-old, kicking on despite rattling the double and galloped to the final Rolex oxer to finish second just 0.31 sec outside the winning time.

“It’s been my dream since a little kid to compete here and I wanted a positive experience; my horse has made it an awesome one, he’s the most amazing horse I’ve had in my short life,” said Brian.

Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet was the only other treble clear for third on Nevados S.

Scott topped Saturday’s Allianz-Prize winning round by 0.39 sec in a 10-horse jump-off with the 12-year-old stallion Hello Vincent.

“Ten clears and the top 10 qualified for the jump-off, the course-builder was exactly on target but the course certainly wasn’t a walk in the park – it never is in Aachen,” said Scott. “I kept it as quick, smooth and rhythmic as I could, he’s quick through the air too, which helps.”

‘The horse felt great, I just have to ride better’: world number one Daniel Deusser reflects on Olympic individual showjumping final performance

Lucy Elder — Wed, 04 Aug 2021 12:46:27 +0000

World number one Daniel Deusser blamed himself for the two rails that cost him a place in the Olympic showjumping individual jump-off today (Wednesday, 4 August).

The German rider and his electric mare, the aptly named Killer Queen, impressed with their firey clear in Tuesday’s qualifying round at the Tokyo Olympics.

The pair came into the final, looking hungry for a medal, with the 11-year-old by Eldorado Vd Zeshoek showing her huge scope over Santiago Valera’s first-round course. But a pole at the first part of the double at 11A and another rail at the cherry tree oxer at 13 – the fence that also ended Martin Fuch’s hopes of individual Olympic glory – resulted in a total of eight faults.

“We have a very difficult course here; the course designer really asked whatever he could ask,” said Daniel.

“[Killer Queen] started very carefully the first part of the course. After the triple combination I thought over the line with the water to the vertical that I had a good forward rhythm and I gave her enough confidence. But to the last combination, I was just a little bit far off, everything was a little bit long.”

He added: “It’s disappointing, but at the end, the horse felt great, I just have to ride better.”

When asked if his disappointment was connected to his world ranking, Daniel replied: “No, it’s disappointing anyway. Not because of my world ranking, because actually the horse did what she had to do. I’m sure if I come a little bit closer to the triple bar, she would have had a different jump there, and probably she would jump also better at the second last, and I would still be in the race.

“So I don’t think it has anything to do with the world ranking or the pressure of the world ranking.”

‘The majority were against this change’: riders react to new Olympic showjumping format

Becky Murray — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 16:31:17 +0000

As the Olympic showjumping individual qualifier comes to a close, riders have reacted to the new showjumping competition format at the Tokyo Games.

The key differences from previous Olympics are that the individual medals will now be decided before the team competition, and there are only three riders in each nation’s squad, rather than four. One of the reasonings behind this decision was to make it easier for people outside the sport to understand – every rider’s score will contribute to their country’s tally. There is no drop score.

Additionally, in the team final, there will be a 20-minute break after the first two riders from all 10 teams have jumped. An intermediate classification of teams will be established and used to determine the starting order of each team’s third rider in reverse order of merit.

World number one Daniel Deusser said he was “not a fan” of the new format, adding that in the individual qualifier today even having one rail down meant combinations would not qualify. The top 30 riders of 73 qualified for Friday’s individual final, including Daniel, and only those who jumped clear rounds secured a place.

“Jumping three rounds in my opinion puts the best combinations together,” said Daniel. “Today it is possible that you have a good day, you ride a clear round, [rather] than another one who should be in the final over three rounds.”

“That’s the sport and that’s the format this year. We will have a winner tomorrow and I guess it will be a good winner. We will see how the teams go with the three riders without drop scores. If a horse spooks one time, it could theoretically destroy the whole team and that’s a shame. I liked the format before – to decide over five rounds is more, in my opinion, an Olympic champion than a one-round jump off tomorrow.”

British riders Scott Brash, Ben Maher and Harry Charles made it safely through to the final with clear rounds, but Scott said he “didn’t love” the new format.

“It is what it is,” he said. “It’s the same for everyone so you have to get on with it.”

Irish riders Bertram Allen, Cian O’Connor and Darragh Kenny also all picked up qualifying places.

“The round [today] is playing for a lot, whereas normally for the individuals you had three rounds before the final, so maybe if you had two down today you could get it back over the next two days,” said Bertram. “You’ve only really one shot here and if it doesn’t go your way, you’re out.”

US rider’s Jessica Springsteen, Laura Kraut and Kent Farrington were among those who did not qualify for the individual final. Laura, who had two fences down with Baloutine, said she did not have “sour grapes” over the new format.

“We’re all jumping the same format – obviously I think the majority, if not all the riders, were against this. I think a lot will come at the end of this, as to whether this was a good idea or not,” she said.

“I would have appreciated that you had two and three scores that accumulated to get you in the top 30, not just a one-and-done type day, but it is what it is and we’ll see what happens.”

Kent said the new format is very different from that of the past.

“If something goes wrong in the first round, it’s finished – unfortunately we’re seeing the reality of that today,” he said.

“It is what it is. I always try to compete under whatever guidelines or rules they give us and in a different circumstance, maybe it would work to our advantage and tonight it didn’t. I’m not blaming the format, I just think we needed a better performance.”

H&H’s horse of the day: Daniel Deusser’s Killer Queen – ‘She knew the competition started today’

Becky Murray — Tue, 03 Aug 2021 15:17:49 +0000

Killer Queen, the ride of world number one Daniel Deusser, showed just how much she enjoys her job in what looked like an effortless round in the Olympic showjumping individual qualifier at the Tokyo Games.

The Belgian-bred 11-year-old by Eldorado Vd Zeshoek produced a polished clear with her ears pricked the whole way as she navigated the course with her German rider. The combination have qualified for the individual final tomorrow (4 August).

“When I entered the ring she was quite excited,” said Daniel.

“It was the first time here in the stadium under the lights. The warm-up is different and the fences are smaller – she knew exactly the warm-up was a warm-up and the competition started today.

“I’m very optimistic and I’m looking forward to the final.”

Daniel explained Killer Queen is a forward-thinking mare who makes jumping big fences feel easy.

“In general she is a little bit aggressive [to the fences]. She always wants to go forward, rarely do I have to push her in the ring – I always have to hold her a little,” he said.

“In a championship or when the fences are getting bigger, normally I would say it’s an advantage for her. She’s very energetic and she wants to go forward. She’s very scopey, she jumps these fences very easily and she doesn’t have to push herself.”

The mare is no stranger to the top of the sport with consistent grand prix placings around the world, including a World Cup win in Mechelen, Belgium, in late 2019. In February 2020 the mare was crowned the FEI’s horse of the month, and at the time Daniel predicted Killer Queen was “a horse for the future”.

Her jumping career began in 2016 under Belgian rider Walter Lelie, who bred her with Ann and Dirk Bruggeman-Carpentier. She won the four-year-old Belgian young horse championship with Walter, then Stephan Conter bought her as a seven-year-old and Daniel took on the ride.

New name picks up showjumping’s Grand Slam baton H&H Plus

Jennifer Donald — Tue, 27 Apr 2021 07:43:05 +0000

Max Kühner becomes the latest contender to bid for the Rolex Grand Slam, while 19-year-old Jack Whitaker lands his first five-star victory at Indoor Brabant Horse Show, ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands

FIVE-star jumping made a spectacular return to Europe and although spectators were noticeably absent – the makeshift painted grandstands were a novel touch nevertheless – there were three days of top-flight sport to savour at Indoor Brabant Horse Show in the Netherlands.

The new hero of the sport is Max Kühner, who triumphed in Sunday’s Rolex Grand Prix making him the first new live contender for the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping since Martin Fuchs lifted the baton in Geneva back in 2019.

The Austrian rider, ranked 23 in the world, triumphed after an eight-way jump-off. Germany’s Christian Kukuk took an early lead with the 11-year-old gelding Checker 47 and it wasn’t until the penultimate partnership – Max and the 10-year-old Elektric Blue P scorched round – that his time was beaten, by over a second. Last to go was 32-year-old Brazilian rider Marlon Modolo Zanotelli (VDL Edgar M), who came to the final obstacle slightly behind the clock to take the runner-up spot.

“The Rolex Grand Slam has always been a big aim for me so I’m very happy that it worked out today,” said Max, who collected a first prize of €231,000 (£200,227).

Max has represented his country at championship level and bought the German-bred 10-year-old by Eldorado VD Zeshoek, out of a For Pleasure mare, as a two-year-old.

“I saw him do one free jump on a video and I said I liked him,” remembered Max. “The auction was already running so we bought him.

“He’s always done everything very well, he was always a very good horse, and he never disappointed me. He has unbelievable possibilities, as jumping is quite easy for him. He has a good character and likes to do the sport.”

At home, Max says the gelding “gets bored quite easily” so the team have designed a special programme for him and the plentiful hillwork has done wonders at improving his condition.

“We hack him and drive him to where he can climb a little bit in the mountains,” said Max.

As the new contender for the Rolex Grand Slam, Max already has the next legs at Spruce Meadows and Aachen in September on his schedule, but there will be some juggling required with the European Championships also set to run the same month.

“We will aim to take Chardonnay 79 to Calgary, as he finished third in the last Spruce Meadows Grand Prix in 2019, where he jumped very nicely, and maybe we’ll take Elektric Blue to Aachen.”

Whitaker lands his first five-star prize

WHILE 19-year-old Jack Whitaker completed with a creditable eight faults on Valmy De La Lande in his first attempt at a Rolex Grand Prix, he landed Saturday’s feature class, the 41-starter 1.55m Audi Prize, on the 11-year-old mare Scenletha.

A confident and dazzling performance over Louis Konickx’s testing jump-off track claimed Jack his first five-star success as he topped the leaderboard ahead of US rider Kent Farrington (Creedance) and Scott Brash riding Hello Vincent.

“The feeling is fantastic – it’s what everyone comes here to do,” said Jack. “But among some of these world-class riders, it’s a bit surreal to win!

“Scenletha is unbelievable, she’s such a nice horse. She’s so consistent and she’s got a lovely character, but she’s also feisty. Tonight she fought for me a bit, and I can’t thank her enough. She’ll get plenty of Polos and pats later.”

Jack credited the Young Riders Academy for helping to put him in this position.

“I just hope that they can continue supporting and helping young riders like me,” he said.

Daniel Deusser overcomes

GERMANY’S world number two Daniel Deusser landed victory on day one after a nail-biting international showdown with the 12-year-old Casallvano.

“Having walked the course, I was quite surprised that there were so many clear rounds,” explained Daniel. “I have to say, all the lines and the turns worked out really well. Casallvano is actually a really scopey horse. He’s a little bit shy when he comes into the ring, but that’s also a positive part of being very careful on the jumps.

“Although he’s a very fast horse, I had in the last one or two weeks a couple of turns that didn’t work out like I expected. But I finally came to that point today where everything works out, which makes me very proud.

“Considering the circumstances, it’s difficult that we can do our job at the moment. The organisation here and the sponsors did a great job to make that happen and let us ride again.”

Among the other five-star winners was Ireland’s Denis Lynch, who took top honours in Saturday’s 1.45m jump-off class with his super-consistent 14-year-old stallion Cristello. He just pipped Laura Kraut to the post on Constable II, one of several good placings over the weekend for the US rider.

This report is also available to read in this week’s issue of Horse & Hound, on sale Thursday 29 April

German dressage and showjumping teams announced for Rio Olympics

Pippa Roome — Sat, 16 Jul 2016 14:55:35 +0000

The German dressage and showjumping teams have been announced for the Rio Olympics at a press conference held in Aachen today.

Dressage:

Kristina Bröring-Sprehe (above) on Desperados FRH
Sönke Rothenberger on Cosmo
Isabell Werth on Weihegold OLD
Dorothee Schneider on Showtime FRH
Travelling reserve: Hubertus Schmidt on Imperio

Showjumping

Christian Ahlmann on Taloubet Z
Ludger Beerbaum on Casello
Daniel Deusser on First Class Van Eeckelghem
Marcus Ehning on Cornado NRW
Travelling reserve: Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum on Fibonacci 17

Meredith’s listing is to be confirmed as she has to check her owners are happy for the horse to travel on the reserve basis.

The dressage team is exactly the same as the quartet which has dazzled this week in Aachen, winning the Nations Cup with three plus-80% scores in both the grand prix on Thursday and the special today. Sönke is an Olympic debutant, but the other three all have Games experience.

The showjumping team also has one Olympic first-timer in Daniel Deusser, who was the World Cup champion in 2014.

The Germans won the showjumping Nations Cup in Aachen last Thursday evening, when Meredith was in the team and Daniel was left on the bench. Casello and Fibonacci were on that Nations Cup team, with Christian riding Epleaser Van’t Heike and Marcus on Pret A Tout.

The German eventing team is expected to be announced imminently too, after the conclusion of the Aachen Nations Cup this morning. Germany finished second to Australia, but this will not cause the reigning Olympic, world and European champions any concerns as they were only fielding one of their expected Rio quartet in the team. Michael Jung won the class individually on FischerTakinou, who is his preferred mount for Rio.

Full report from Aachen in H&H this week, out Thursday, 21 July.

Scott Brash crowned world number one

Jennifer Donald — Thu, 07 May 2015 13:25:23 +0000

Great Britain’s leading showjumper Scott Brash has returned to the top spot in the latest Longines world rankings.

The 29-year-old Scotsman had held the position as world number one for 16 months from December 2013. However, he lost his position last month to Germany’s Daniel Deusser, dropping to number two in the world. Some good results recently, including dual victory at the Longines Global Champions Tour of Miami, have helped push Scott back up to the top spot in the latest rankings issued today (7 May 2015).

Scott can now proudly display two armbands — one as the Longines world rankings leader and one for heading the Longines Global Champions Tour 2015 series.

Daniel Deusser drops to the number two spot with the reigning Olympic champion and newly crowned winner of the World Cup final in Las Vegas, Steve Guerdat, soaring up to number three in the world. Ludger Beerbaum, who was previously ranked number three, drops to seventh.

Nineteen-year-old Bertram Allen of Ireland just drops out of the top 10, now ranked 11th. Ben Maher (24th) is the next highest placed British rider, with John Whitaker elevating one spot to 34th and Michael Whitaker in 49th. William Whitaker sits just outside the top 50 in 53rd.

Longines rankings top 10

Scott Brash (GBR) 2,834
Daniel Deusser (GER) 2,691
Steve Guerdat (SUI) 2,585
Kent Farrington (USA) 2,570
McClain Ward (USA) 2,480
Elizabeth Madden (USA) 2,465
Ludger Beerbaum (GER) 2,425
Maikel Van Der Vleuten (NED) 2,421
Kevin Staut (FRA) 2,400
Rolf-Göran Bengstsson (SWE) 2,369

Scott Brash is currently competing in the Longines Global Champions Tour in Shanghai. You can find out how he gets on in the next issue of Horse & Hound magazine, out Thursday, 14 May

Scott Brash loses world number one ranking

Jennifer Donald — Tue, 07 Apr 2015 16:19:40 +0000

Scott Brash has lost his spot as the world number one after a reign totalling 16 months.

In the latest Longines world showjumping rankings revealed today (Tuesday 7 April), Germany’s Daniel Deusser, 33, has risen from number three to become the new world number one.

Scott now stands at number two, with Ludger Beerbaum, also of Germany, dropping one place to third.

Scott first topped the rankings in November 2013, taking over from his team-mate Ben Maher. The Hertfordshire rider was the first British showjumper in more than 20 years to hold the number one spot, and stayed there for three months.

In November 2014, Scott became the first showjumper since 2006 to hold the number one spot for an entire year.

Scott’s 16-month reign at the top of the world means he narrowly misses out on beating the record set by Germany’s Marcus Ehning, who held the top spot for 17 months from August 2005 to December 2006.

“After the London Olympics this has always been a goal and to have achieved it, is fantastic,” said Scott when he first became world number one.

Nineteen-year-old Bertram Allen of Ireland celebrates making it in to the top 10 in the world for the first time. Ben Maher remains the next highest British rider — he drops three places to 22nd, followed by John Whitaker (35th) and Michael Whitaker (45th). There are now three USA riders in the top 10, with Beezie Madden remaining the top ranked female rider in the world.

Current top 10 in the Longines world rankings:

1. Daniel Deusser (GER)

2. Scott Brash (GBR)

3. Ludger Beerbaum (GER)

4. McLain Ward (USA)

5. Kent Farrington (USA)

6. Rolf-Goran Bengtsson (SWE)

7. Beezie Madden (USA)

8. Kevin Staut (FRA)

9. Steve Guerdat (SUI)

10. Bertram Allen (IRL)

British equestrians shortlisted for FEI awards

Sophia Heath — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 10:50:59 +0000

Four British equestrians have been nominated for the 2014 FEI awards — vaulter Joanne Eccles and grooms Alan Davies, Jackie Potts and Jessica Benbow.

Joanne, who won individual gold and pas de deux bronze at the FEI Alltech World Equestrian Games (WEG) this summer, has been nominated for the Reem Acra best athlete.

The 25-year-old will face stiff competition from showjumping world champion Jeroen Dubbeldam, driving world champion Boyd Exell, and German showjumper Daniel Deusser, who won the World Cup Final in Lyon in April.

All three nominations for the best groom of the year award are British. Jackie Potts, who has been with William Fox-Pitt for 21 years, won the award in 2006 and has been nominated again.

She is joined in the category by Alan Davies, who is the groom for Carl Hester and Charlotte Dujardin, and Jessica Benbow from Somerford Park Farm.

In total 18 candidates have been nominated across five categories — Longines rising star, Reem Acra best athlete, best groom, against all odds and FEI solidarity.

All the nominees have been invited to attend the awards ceremony which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan on 14 December as part of the FEI’s general assembly.

The full list of nominees:

Longines rising star — dedicated to equestrians aged 14 to 21 who demonstrate outstanding sporting talent:

Irma Karlsson (SWE)

Lambert Leclezio (MRI)

David Ziegler (CAN)

Reem Acra best athlete — athletes who have demonstrated exceptional equestrian skills and have taken the sport to a new level over the past 12 months:

Boyd Exell (AUS)

Daniel Deusser (GER)

Jeroen Dubbeldam (NED)

Joanne Eccles (GBR)

Best groom — this award is reserved for those all-important, behind-the-scenes team members who work around the clock to ensure that horses get the best possible care and attention:

Alan Davies (GBR)

Jackie Potts (GBR)

Jessica Benbow (GBR)

Against all odds — people who have pursued their equestrian ambitions despite physical handicap or extremely difficult personal circumstances:

Roxanne Trunnell (USA)

Sofie Lexner (SWE)

Sudipti Hajela (IND)

Sydney Collier (USA)

FEI solidarity — an equestrian development project, or an individual or organisation that has demonstrated skill and energy in expanding equestrian sport:

Andrjey Malcievsky (RUS)

Equal Ark (SIN)

Southern Hills Eventing Inc (AUS)

Yuriy Chertkov (UKR)

Scott Brash finishes third to Daniel Deusser in thrilling World Cup final

Jennifer Donald — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 15:24:23 +0000

Great Britain’s Scott Brash soared up the rankings on the final day of the Longines FEI World Cup jumping final in Lyon, France, to finish 3rd with Ursula XII.

“It’s my first World Cup final and I’m happy to be sitting on the podium in third,” said the world number one.

Germany led the way in a nailbiting finale with 32-year-old Daniel Deusser (Cornet D’Amour) taking the 172,500euro top prize, just ahead of Ludger Beerbaum riding Chiara 222.

“He touched the first rail, which was good for him being awake, but not the best for my nerves — it was a bit scary,” said Daniel. “In the warm-up, I was concentrating on me and my horse, I didn’t see the others.

“When I went in, the pressure was on, but after the first fence my concentration came back. To win a championship like this is an unbelievable feeling.”

Great Britain’s other representative Michael Whitaker finished just outside the top 10 in 11th.

Don’t miss the full report from the FEI World Cup in this Thursday’s issue of Horse & Hound (out on 24 April).

Robert Whitaker gallops to Olympia Horse Show glory

Horse & Hound — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 06:26:22 +0000

ROBERT Whitaker added his name to this year’s Olympia roll of honour after galloping to victory on Lacroix in day two’s major class, the Santa Stakes.

The young Yorkshireman produced a fantastic jump-off round to hold off some of the world’s best on the horse he recently rode to grand prix glory at Unex Towerlands and Stockholm.

“He’s had a terrific season,” said Robert, who has won more than £130,000 since May on the 12-year-old Holsteiner.

Bob Ellis’s course certainly caused plenty of excitement and less than 1sec covered the first six home. Young German Daniel Deusser was Robert’s closest rival, finishing only 0.25sec behind on the classy Air Jordan Z, with Beat Mandli third for Switzerland on his reigning World Cup champion Ideo Du Thot.

Robert was keeping up a 100% British record at this show. William Funnell and Denise Stamp’s evergreen Cortaflex Amber Du Montois had earlier headed the Eraser Speed Stakes, a novel class in which riders could knock four faults off their score if they jumped the bigger of two alternative final fences.

The remarkable British-bred mare never wasted an inch to relegate Tim Stockdale (Lou Lou) and Robert and John Whitaker (Rusedski II and Casino) to the minor placings.

“Amber thrives on atmosphere and this show has plenty of that,” said William.

RESULTS (first three & all British placings)

Shelly Ashman, David Rogers (Transport Ltd) and BBB Insurance Eraser Speed Stakes

1. Cortaflex Amber Du Montois (William Funnell)

2. Lou Lou (Tim Stockdale)

3. Rusedski II (Robert Whitaker)

Casino (John Whitaker)

10. Likido (Nick Skelton)

Santa Stakes

1. Lacroix (Robert Whitaker)

2. Air Jordan Z (Daniel Deusser), GER

3. Ideo Du Thot (Beat Mandli) SUI

8. Sefana (Mark Armstrong)

Latest from Horse & Hound in Daniel-deusser

Heavy-hitting German showjumping team named for Aachen worlds with Olympic champion on reserve list

The German showjumping team for the 2026 World Championships (in alphabetical order of surname):

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Top mare makes ‘fresh and feisty’ winning comeback and a remarkable case of déjà vu

A welcome comeback for “fresh and feisty” top mare Killer Queen VDM

Showjumping news: “I think he’ll end up one of the best in the world”

A remarkable case of déjà vu

A “perfect” mare takes notable victory

Showjumping news: “A great couple of weeks” helped by “the most wonderful stallion”

Ted Bastian-Mason also flew the British flag on the podium, finishing third with a double clear on Forest Ranger OL.

“It was my first 1.45m so it was quite daunting,” she said.

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The best kiss and cry reaction, Deusser’s sensational victory and a debut World Cup win

The best kiss and cry celebration

Milestone success for Lillie Keenan

Deusser is left speechless after LGCT Super Grand Prix success

Jessica Springsteen is the speed queen

Oakingham Stud achieves further international success

Swiss riders finish 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th in Italian grand prix

Eve Jobs’ ‘unbelievable’ stallion makes a winning comeback

Nations Cup podium for Ireland

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‘One of my best wins ever – I’m speechless’: it’s fourth time lucky for Prague Super Grand Prix’s winning rider

Prague Super Grand Prix podium

You can read the full report including insight and analysis from the Global Champions Playoffs in next week’s issue of Horse & Hound, in the shops 24 November.

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A flying John Whitaker, a red Ferrari and young horse world champions – the tales behind this week’s showjumping results

John Whitaker wins in front of the Statue of Liberty

World finals showcase Irish breeding…

… With a tremendous five-year-old also taking centre stage

If at first you don’t succeed… First international success for Matthew Boddy

‘Icing on the cake’ for impressive Casall seven-year-old

Back-to-back grands prix for Daniel Deusser

A triumphant British team

‘She’s going to be a big name for me’

Team Unex prove unstoppable in St Tropez

Prague Lions triumph in GCL

French-bred triumphs in the Sires of the World

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‘Incredible’ mare helps rider secure first leg of Rolex Grand Slam

“She was unbelievable to jump three clear rounds. Usually if you jump just two clear rounds, you’ve won already,” said Daniel. “But I’m able to enjoy this feeling now.”

“She will definitely have a big dinner tonight and some carrots and sweets,” he added of the 12-year-old mare by Eldorado VD Zeshoek out of the legendary For Pleasure mare Derly Chin De Muze.

“At the beginning of the season, I set myself the goal to come here with her as I’d never been here before for the Grand Slam. She’s done well in these big grass rings. I think she enjoyed it.”

Daniel Deusser will now continue his journey once again towards the Rolex Grand Slam of Showjumping.

You can read the full report from the Spruce Meadows Masters in this week’s issue of Horse & Hound, in the shops Thursday 15 September.

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‘He has a special technique’: unorthodox stallion ‘tries his hardest’ over 1.55m track at Royal Windsor – and wins

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‘The rankings system is an addiction for riders’: jumping owner speaks out about the sport’s ‘problem’

‘Every horse is for sale’

‘It’s an addiction – and that is a problem’

‘Tobago Z could win the Rolex Grand Slam’

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‘He has so many quirks’: meet Tobago Z, Daniel Deusser’s new Rolex Grand Slam contender

‘He’s like my number one child’

“He has so many quirks – if you brush him too fast, he panics. He’s a bit funny with his head, too, and the other day I moved to clip his face and it was game over – I had to leave him for 15 minutes and come back.

Edith De Michele, of co-owners Scuderia 1918, adds: “We are so proud of Tobago Z and his results with Daniel, they are such a lovely pair.”

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Explosion W vs King Edward: who is the best showjumping horse in the world? Data experts reveal all

And the best showjumping horse in the world is…

Who are the best showjumping horses in the world over the past decade?

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‘My success would be impossible without him’: Daniel Deusser credits groom Sean Lynch in his rise to the top

Aachen grand prix: ‘a very special’

‘I loved to watch John Whitaker and Franke Sloothaak’

With thanks to Rolex Grand Slam.

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‘I’m the happiest man in the world’: World number one wins first leg of €1million Rolex Grand Slam in Aachen

Aachen grand prix: rising star finishes second

“It’s been my dream since a little kid to compete here and I wanted a positive experience; my horse has made it an awesome one, he’s the most amazing horse I’ve had in my short life,” said Brian.

Belgium’s Gregory Wathelet was the only other treble clear for third on Nevados S.

Scott topped Saturday’s Allianz-Prize winning round by 0.39 sec in a 10-horse jump-off with the 12-year-old stallion Hello Vincent.

“Ten clears and the top 10 qualified for the jump-off, the course-builder was exactly on target but the course certainly wasn’t a walk in the park – it never is in Aachen,” said Scott. “I kept it as quick, smooth and rhythmic as I could, he’s quick through the air too, which helps.”

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‘The horse felt great, I just have to ride better’: world number one Daniel Deusser reflects on Olympic individual showjumping final performance

“We have a very difficult course here; the course designer really asked whatever he could ask,” said Daniel.

He added: “It’s disappointing, but at the end, the horse felt great, I just have to ride better.”

“So I don’t think it has anything to do with the world ranking or the pressure of the world ranking.”

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