From barefoot to shod and back – top showjumping stallion takes it in his stride

Christian Kukuk has had his super campaigner Mumbai shod for the European Showjumping Championships – but plans for the stallion to go back to being barefoot afterwards.

The German combination, who are competing as individuals in Milan this week, jumped a super clear to stay on their score of 2.04 and in ninth place overnight.

Christian said he was happy with a fault-free round on Thursday, although “a bit unhappy with myself” as his plan for the line from fence three to four did not come off.

“I was planning to ride that a bit different, but Mumbai showed in that moment that he can also handle difficult situations,” he said. “Then all the rest of the course actually felt very easy, very focused – he was all the way focused with me. I could ride the lines as I wanted to and that’s always a nice feeling for the rider.”

Christian has previously told H&H that the 11-year-old Diamant De Semilly stallion feels lighter and faster barefoot, but that he has put the shoes back on temporarily for jumping on grass.

“He got [the shoes] on Sunday, and we will take them off again on Sunday, so he has them for a week,” he said. “On the grass arenas, I have to compete with shoes but on the sand arenas he goes without and he’s fine.”

Christian Kukuk said he cannot put the shoes on too often as this could risk cracking Mumbai’s hooves so he spaces the grass shows out enough to ensure there are no issues.

“He has a super head,” he added. “He will go in the ring and he’s not scared of anything. You can put any wall there, water, planks, it doesn’t really matter. He’s a little excited, but it’s normal for a stallion to be honest.

“He is a very, very good character. He would never ever do anything mean, never.”

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