Can anything in the sport of showjumping cap a day in which you win one of the most prestigious grands prix in the world? Well, yes it can if your first child also decides to make her arrival on the morning of the competition. We headline this week’s international showjumping news round-up with the remarkable story of Olympic champion Christian Kukuk’s unforgettable day in Florida, in which he won the $750,000 Rolex grand prix hours after becoming a father. No wonder he described himself as “the happiest man on the planet”.
Read on for all of this week’s showjumping news and results from around the world.
Showjumping news: “A day we’ll never forget”
The Olympic champion Christian Kukuk had “a day we’ll never forget” on Saturday, 29 March, when he not only celebrated becoming a father for the first time, but he also won one of the biggest grands prix on the global circuit for the second year running.
With almost immaculate timing, Christian and his partner Veronica Tracy were due to welcome their first child just after the 12-week Winter Equestrian Festival in Wellington, Florida, concluded. But baby Lila decided to make her appearance a day early, arriving at 1am on the morning of WEF’s season finale, the $750,000 Rolex US Equestrian Open grand prix.
Christian won the competition last year and the euphoric new father teamed up once again with his incredible Olympic gold medal-winning partner Checker 47 to produce one of the performances of his life. In an eight-way jump-off, he beat runner-up US rider Laura Kraut (Bisquetta), with pathfinder Ashlee Bond of Israel riding Donatello 141 finishing in third.
“I’ll be there as fast as I can!” was his message to Veronica after winning the class on Saturday evening.
“As always, Checker gave me his all. It really was a dream come true and something we’ll be able to relive for every birthday to come. I am the happiest man on the planet tonight,” he said, also crediting groom Sofie Karlsson, for whom the Madeleine Winter-Schulze-owned Checker is “like her best friend”.
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“I know every single button and Checker knows and trusts me. It’s a relationship based on trust,” he said. “I know exactly what I can ask from him, and he knows I would never ask anything crazy from him. Consistently winning on this level is only about creating a deep relationship with your horse.
“I knew Laura was fast and that I had to try everything in the jump-off,” added Christian, who has spent his first winter in Florida. “It went well and then suddenly I had too many strides to the last. I thought for a second that I had lost it but I looked to the screen and saw I got lucky in that moment.”
Laura admitted she had “left the door open”, and Christian managed to stop the clock 0.29sec quicker than her and Cherry Knnoll Farm’s 11-year-old mare.
“Being second to the Olympic champion feels pretty good,” she said. “Bisquetta is a very quick horse, but I got a bit cautious.”
Ashlee Bond credited her Olympic partner: “Donnie and I have been together for nine years, and after the Olympics I wasn’t sure he was going to do this again.
“The fact that I get to be third in a Rolex 1.60m grand prix makes me grateful and I don’t take any of these moments for granted,” she added. “As long as he keeps telling me that he loves his job, he’ll do it. Then, if he can give my daughter pony rides for the rest of his career, that’s fine.”
Great Britain’s Jessica Mendoza added another victory to an impressive string of results at this year’s WEF, this time with borrowed horse VDL Stella, the ride of one of her students.
“There were enough in the jump-off so it was nice I was last to go; I could see what everyone was doing,” she said after landing the CSI2* jump-off class. “She doesn’t have the biggest stride so I couldn’t do the leave-outs. Some did seven [strides] to the double, but I knew doing eight was just as quick. I went quick without losing my cool.”
Ben Maher is nursing a fractured foot, but he also managed to win on the final week of WEF, topping the Adequan WEF Challenge Cup with Point Break, who was newly arrived in Florida from the Dutch Masters and was due on a return flight for this week’s World Cup Final in Basel, Switzerland.
“He came, did his job and he’s leaving,” said Ben, who beat world number two Kent Farrington on Toulayna, with Daniel Coyle third with Ariel Grange’s Legacy. “Competition is tough here – it always is – but I think more and more of the world’s best are coming here.”
Ireland’s Thomas Ryan landed the Toscana Tour’s CSI4* grand prix in Arezzo, Italy, with 10-year-old Jezebeau BC, after just three combinations made the jump-off. Earlier in the week, Jack Whitaker continued his excellent form with Equine America Valmy De La Lande, finishing second to Harrie Smolders (Mr Tac) in the Longines world rankings grand prix qualifier.
Emanuele Camilli delivers a milestone first Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) grand prix success with Chacco’s Girlstar.
(Image credit: creditUnknown)
Showjumping news: a milestone in Mexico
And finally in this week’s international showjumping news round-up, we head to Mexico, where Italy’s Emanuele Camilli delivered a milestone first Longines Global Champions Tour (LGCT) grand prix success with Chacco’s Girlstar, edging out Jörne Sprehe and Sprehe Hot Easy. Jérôme Guery and Great Britain V completed the podium.
“I took all the risk and I was lucky that it went my way today,” said Camilli, who secured his place at the Super Grand Prix in November.
Denis Lynch is the new LGCT championship leader at this early stage in the series.
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Jennifer is passionate at showjumping and her role as H&H’s showjumping editor has taken her around the world reporting from shows and interviewing riders, connections and those involved behind the scenes. Since joining H&H from BBC Sport in 2005, she has written on every subject across the equestrian sphere — from turnout rugs to stable management — and has interviewed gold medallists, world champions and winners galore. She also has first-hand experience of working in the equestrian industry as a riding instructor and yard manager.
