Christian Kukuk and young hopeful Viki van Gogh win championship in Hohen Wieschendorf
Christian Kukuk and young hopeful Viki van Gogh win championship in Hohen Wieschendorf
from Jan Tönjes 
Christian Kukuk and young hopeful Viki van Gogh win in Hohen Wieschendorf. Photo: Maria Seiler Olympic champion Christian Kukuk won the championships in Hohen Wieschendorf with nine-year-old Viki van Gogh, more than four seconds behind the runner-up. The best 15 pairs, all without a knockdown, had qualified for the second round. The duo took the lead there with a clear round in 39.38 seconds. They were followed – at a considerable distance – by Laura Klaphake with the ten-year-old VDL Quizano van’t Merelsnest (43.62 seconds) and Hungary’s Péter Szuhai with Corbluecenta (43.86). The championships in Hohen Wieschendorf were contested by 59 riders from 19 nations. The obstacles were up to 1.55 meters high.
Kukuk on Viki van Gogh; “Horse with exceptional qualities”
“Viki van Gogh is an exceptional horse,” said winner Kukuk afterwards. “She is a horse with exceptional qualities. She has always been ambitious, you could always really take risks with her in the jump-off. I think it’s a huge advantage that she looks for the jumps herself. You actually sit on it and steer a bit, but you always have the feeling that she wants to aim for the next jump. That helps tremendously.”
Viki van Gogh: Hanoverian ancestry with Dutch infusion
The Hanoverian mare is by Van Gogh, who jumped successfully at international level under Marco Kutscher. Dam’s sire Now or Never goes back to Furioso II. Calidoio brings a few more Holsteiner genes to the line. Espri is followed by Hanoverian stallions who have mainly worked north-east of Bremen in Uthlede: Wendenburg and Winnetou.
Hohen Wieschendorf a good place
Hohen Wieschendorf is not an unfamiliar place for the pair. The mare won the Youngster Tour there two years ago, and last year they both came fourth in the Grand Prix of the two-star tour. This was followed by victory in the championship. “You can already see the long-term plan I’ve made with her,” explained Kukuk. “Of course, you never know whether it will really turn out the way you want it to. In the end, you still have to prove it. She has done that at every stage so far. That makes me very proud and today is a confirmation of what I’ve always seen in her.”
Results Championship of Hohen Wieschendorf
