VR Classics – Victory for Christian Ahlmann

Press release VR Classics – The wave of success keeps on rolling for Christian Ahlmann: The rider from Marl in Westphalia, currently sixth in the world rankings, has won the Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken Schleswig-Holsteins Grand Prix at the VR Classics. With Hanoverian stallion Codex One he was the final competitor in the jump-off of the world rankings test (which boasts prize money of 50,000 euros) and managed to remain fault-free for his 33.99 second round – making him a hair’s breadth faster than Dutch rider Gert-Jan Bruggink with Vampire.

Double success for top rider
The perfect dramaturgy triggered boundless enthusiasm from the packed-out stands. Schleswig-Holstein’s equestrian sports spectators truly value sporting achievement, and this was demonstrated exquisitely by Ahlmann both in the traditional test on Sunday afternoon and on the previous evening in the Performance Sales International world rankings test. He won the latter with stallion Epleaser van`t Heike. His father, Georg Ahlmann also competed in show-jumping competitions in the Holstenhallen, and for son Christian his win on Sunday was his first victory in the main test of the VR Classics. “My father often talks about Neumünster and he often mentions the Wappenklause”, grinned the show jumper, “I’ve got to find out if all the stories are true…” For Ahlmann it was the second highly successful weekend in a row after two victories in Braunschweig a week ago.

“I just didn’t ride quickly enough”, concluded the otherwise phenomenally fast Dutchman Gert-Jan Bruggink, who, like many of his compatriots, is a regular at the tournament. Bruggink: “Neumünster is one of the classics, we love coming here.”

A sentiment shared by the rider who came third – German Show-Jumping Champion Denis Nielsen from Löningen. Neumünster also held an emotional element for the 26 year old, as his coach Tjark Nagel was honoured. “Without him none of this would have been nearly as achievable”, said the pro from Lower Saxony.
In total, 13 out of 40 competitors in the Volksbanken and Raiffeisenbanken Grand Prix reached the jump-off. Riders from all over Europe, and indeed from China (Zhiwen Zhao) took part in the most prestigious test of the four-day tournament.

With 38.000 Spectators over four days the international show created a new record.

10 CSI3* – Int. Compet. with one Jump-Off (1,55 m),
Grand Prix of VOLKSBANKEN UND RAIFFEISENBANKEN
1. Christian Ahlmann (Germany) auf Codex One *0.00 / 33.99
2. Gert-Jan Bruggink (Netherlands) auf Vampire 6 *0.00 / 34.04
3. Denis Nielsen (Germany) auf DSP Cashmoaker *0.00 / 35.50
4. Peder Fredricson (Sweden) auf H & M All In *0.00 / 35.66
5. Max Kühner (Austria) auf Chardonnay 79 *0.00 / 36.16
6. Michel Hendrix (Netherlands) auf Baileys *0.00 / 36.20

Source: Press release VR Classics