Hessen Grand Prix for 26-year-old Christian Kukuk

Transcription

1 PRESS RELEASE International Festhallen Tournament Frankfurt December 2016 Hessen Grand Prix for 26-year-old Christian Kukuk (Frankfurt) He was the final competitor in the Jump Off to enter the course and he left it as victor: Christian Kukuk from Riesenbeck, Westphalia, won the Hessen Grand Prix - the Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG Prize - with Westphalian stallion Limonchello. With a beautifully ridden, fault-free round completed in seconds, the 26 year old delighted spectators in the sold-out Frankfurt Festhalle. That is without doubt one of my greatest achievements and the perfect end to the year, enthused Kukuk, who has been riding Limonchello NT for three years. The Grand Prix, endowed with 70,000 euros prize money, was the main event of the four-day tournament in the heart of Frankfurt. The German triumph, which national coach Otto Becker must have observed with particular joy, was completed by two further German riders. Markus Renzel from Oer-Erckenschwick piloted gelding Cato into second place, while third place went to Rhenish regional trainer Holger Hetzel from Goch with Holstein horse Legioner. Only four of the 51 competitors managed to secure a place in the Jump Off of this world-rankings test. Christian Kukuk s reward for his speedy round was an A class Mercedes worth 27,000 euros - who ends up driving it will have to be decided between the show jumper and horse owner Peter Nagel- Tornau. Limonchello makes it really good fun, emphasised Kukuk, who received a call from his boss Ludger Beerbaum immediately after his win. He had been following his colleague s performance in Frankfurt with his entire family in front of the television.

2 Kukuk: They re all beside themselves with joy in Riesenbeck. Kukuk also received the special award from the state of Hessen for the most successful rider at the International Frankfurt Festhalle Riding Tournament. Minister President Volker Bouffier, who was celebrating his birthday in the Festhalle, was keen to congratulate him. Janne Friederike Meyer (Hamburg) was awarded the Messe Frankfurt prize for most successful Amazon. Also celebrating an impeccable performance in the Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG Grand Prix with his horse Cato was Markus Renzel who came second. I said to my wife and children this morning that I was actually feeling really good about it, said Renzel, for the past few weeks I ve been all over the place a bit and didn t know what I could do differently. And Holger Hetzel, who had the unenviable task of going first in the Jump Off, also seemed to be very satisfied with her performance: It s not great having to go first, I didn t want to do anything too risky. If someone had told me before the tournament that I d get third place in the Grand Prix, I d have immediately said that that would be a good result. All three riders will now be taking a brief Christmas break before starting afresh in Swing, charm, charisma - Louisdor Prize finalists and freestyle candidates enchant crowds in Frankfurt One is called Sammy Davis jr., the other Real Dancer, and both impressed individually with their charisma and sporting attitude. Sammy Davis jr. is ten years old and the winner of this year s Louisdor Prize final. With team Olympic champion Dorothee Schneider (Framersheim) in the saddle, smart Sammy trotted to victory in the young horse Grand Prix (FN) with a score of percent. And the trainer is very fond of her Sammy Davis jr. : He has a great deal of charisma, a real aura. He is a very imaginative horse, he has real spirit - you need that in this sport. The horses s charisma keeps everyone in Framersheim on their toes, as ten-

3 year-old Sammy likes opening doors, having a good nose around and making his own decisions about the work in hand. He loves being on the move, says Schneider, but sometimes you have to remind him that he actually needs to go left now rather than right The winner of the contest paid tribute to the platform the Louisdor Prize provides, as it is precisely these sorts of tests that young horses need in order to become serious candidates in Grand Prix sport. In second place behind the winning duo were nine-year-old Sam s Ass and Isabel Freese (Norway), while Harmony`s Don Noblesse and Susan Pape (Hemmoor), competing for Great Britain, took third. Dr. Evi Eisenhardt from the foundation s board of directors announced at the close of the Louisdor Prize that in addition to the five current qualification stations, which begin in Hagen a.t.w., there will be a sixth station in 2017, for which the three top-placing horses from each of the previous stations will be eligible to enter. This station will take place at an international indoor tournament prior to the final in the Frankfurt Festhalle. CEECOACH Grand Prix Freestyle powered by peiker - dancing in the arena A true dancer, 12-year-old dark brown Hanoverian Real Dancer, handed his rider and trainer Jan-Dirk Gießelmann from Barver the victory in the CEECOACH Grand Prix Freestyle powered by peiker, conjuring up an enduring smile for the rider from Lower Saxony s face. The 33 year old concluded his first complete year in international sport with the freestyle win in Frankfurt. With a score of percent, Gießelmann and Real Dancer even surpassed team Olympic champion Sönke Rothenberger (Bad Homburg), who was competing with an old hand, 17 year old Favourit. Gießelmann remained modest however, reassuring colleague Sönke Rothenberger that he wouldn t be appearing in a t-shirt saying I beat an Olympic champion any time soon. Third place went to Polish rider Beata Stremler, who lives in Duisburg, with 13-year-old Rhenish gelding Rubicon D.

4 Results overview 5 Int. Showjumping- Competition - Grand Prix (1.55 m) with jump-off CSI3* - presented by Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG:1. Christian Kukuk (Riesenbeck), Limonchello NT, 0.00/40.57; 2. Markus Renzel (Oer-Erckenschwick), Cato 68, 0.00/41.64; 3. Holger Hetzel (Goch), Legioner 2, 0.00/42.38; 4. Luca Maria Moneta (Italien), Herold N, 4.00/42.12; 5. Andreas Knippling (Hennef), Tannenhof's Chacco Chacco, 1.00/64.44; 6. Mariann Hugyecz (Ungarn), Chacco Boy, 4.00/60.16; 19 Nat. Grand Prix Final 2016, Louisdor Prize Final 2016:1. Dorothee Schneider (Framersheim), Sammy Davis jr., %; 2. Isabel Freese (Norway), Sam's Ass, %; 3. Susan Pape (Great Britain), Harmony's Don Noblesse, %; 4. Kathleen Keller (Luhmühlen), San Royal 3, %; 5. Heiner Schiergen (Krefeld), Discovery OLD, %; 6. Anabel Balkenhol (Münster), Heuberger TSF, %; 17 Int. Grand Prix Freestyle with music - S *** dressage test CEECOACH Grand Prix Freestyle powered by peiker:1. Jan-Dirk Gießelmann (Barver), Real Dancer FRH, %; 2. Sönke Rothenberger (Bad Homburg), Favourit, %; 3. Beata Stremler (Poland), Rubicon D, %; 4. Beatrice Buchwald (Rheinberg), Daily Pleasure 4, %; 5. Juliette Piotrowski (Kerpen), Sir Diamond, %; 6. Nadine Husenbeth (Sottrum), Florida 94, %; 8 Int. two-phase show jumping test (1.40 m/1.45 m) for 7 and 8-year-old horses CSIYH1* LOTTO Hessen Prize: Youngster Tour final:1. Johannes Ehning (Stadthagen), C-Jay 3, 0.00/32.63; 2. Gudrun Patteet (Belgium), Sea Coast Coco Berlini, 0.00/33.33; 3. Pieter Devos (Belgium), Claire Z, 0.00/34.23; 4. Constant Van Paesschen (Belgium), Veneur d Isigny, 0.00/37.81; 5. Mario Stevens (Cloppenburg), Fairmont E, 0.00/38.03; 6. Jana Wargers (Emsdetten), Cassijo 2, 0.00/38.83;

5 Details online: Press Release December 18th 2016