German show-jumpers are banking a „jolt for Germany“

Ludger Beerbaum explained the German team’s aim at the home game in Aachen. After the Nations‘ Cup weekend in Mannheim, where they once again didn’t manage to take the victory, his résumé was sobering: „We didn’t manage it again, we haven’t managed to win for a damn long time recently. It is not just bad luck. The team has got to give itself a jolt!“ There is no question about it: There are just a few days to go before the FEI European Championships kick off in Aachen. Thus, things are slowly getting serious for the show-jumpers too. The Commission of the German Olympic Equestrian Committee (DOKR) has announced the longlist for the show-jumpers, whose dream of competing in Aachen is now almost within grasp.

The Chef d’Equipe Otto Becker is faced with a difficult decision, namely putting the right team together. Because in Aachen the German riders will be facing strong competition. In the past, the German jumping team have claimed the gold medal at the European Championships seven times. The last time was in Madrid in 2011, at the time the team comprised of Carsten-Otto Nagel (Corradina), Marco Kutscher (Cornet Obolensky), Janne Friederike Meyer (Cellagon Lambrasco) and Ludger Beerbaum (Gotha FRH).

In Aachen, in their own country, the urge to win again will be particularly high. The toughest task is considered to be beating the current title defenders, Great Britain. However, Otto Becker is remaining realistic: „We are coming to Aachen to win a medal – that much is clear! Nevertheless, in the jumping sport, joy and sorrow lie very close together. Many nations have what it takes to secure the European Championship title, if they have a good week in Aachen. So, winning a medal certainly can’t be taken for granted.“

The following riders are still in the running for one of the coveted places on the team: Christian Ahlmann with Epleaser van’t Heike and Taloubet Z, Ludger Beerbaum with Chiara and Chaman, Daniel Deusser with Cornet D’Amour and First Class van Eeckelghem, Hans-Dieter Dreher with Cool and Easy and Embassy II, Marcus Ehning with Comme Il Faut and Plot Blue, Janne-Friederike Meyer with Goja, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum with Comanche and Fibonacci, Mario Stevens with Baloubet and Brooklyn, Patrick Stühlmeyer with Lacan and finally André Thieme with Conthendrix. The final team will be announced on August 10th.

The jumping competitions begin in Aachen on Wednesday, August 19th, with the „Turkish Airlines Prize“, the first competition in the team classification and the first qualifier for the individual classification. The deciding competitions with two rounds for the team classification will take place on Thursday, August 20th and on Friday, August 21st. The individual title will be decided on the last day of the FEI European Championships (August 23rd) in the big finale, the „Rolex European Champion“. For all those, who would like to be there live: Tickets are still available for many competitions, which can be ordered here:

www.aachen2015.com

 Source: Press release