Victor Bettendorf Wins the Global Champions Tour Stop in Riesenbeck, Ahead of Deußer and Kukuk

“Yes, that was a difficult course,” Abdel Said said, confirming the impression made by Peter Schumacher’s course design for the Global Champions Tour stop in Riesenbeck. It claimed its “victims” at various points, including Said and his mare Bonne Amie, who had won last year’s GCT Super Grand Prix. They were among the 15 pairs who completed the course with four faults—along with Marcus Ehning on Coolio, Christian Ahlmann on Untouched LB, Sophie Hinners on My Prins, and Jörne Sprehe on Toys. The latter two were even fast enough to secure a placing.

In contrast, nine pairs withdrew voluntarily, and six completed the first round without any faults, including Henrik von Eckermann and Christian Kukuk, two former riders from the Riesenbeck stable.

The pricking

Although six pairs had advanced to the jump-off, Gilles Thomas withdrew his European Championship bronze medalist, Ermitage Kalone—presumably to rest him for the World Championships in Aachen.

Henrik von Eckermann and his 12-year-old Belgian horse Minute Man were the first to compete in the jump-off. In 2024, the two-time world champion took over the son of Vigo d’Arsouilles from Willem Greve, and in 2025, among other achievements, rode him to a double clear round in the Nations Cup at Falsterbo. However, that was the pair’s last competition for quite some time. It wasn’t until the end of May that von Eckermann brought him back to competition. Riesenbeck is the first Global Champions Tour stop since the pair withdrew in Paris in 2025. They have never placed in one of these show jumping competitions. Today, in the first round, they demonstrated how to tackle Peter Schumacher’s masterful course design.

And in the jump-off, they pulled off the same feat. However, it was clear that Henrik von Eckermann would ride for safety rather than victory. With a time of 41.83 seconds, they left the door wide open for the competition.

Deußer’s nimble Pepita versus Lynch’s “truck”

The second pair to enter the arena were Daniel Deußer and the lively 11-year-old chestnut mare Pepita van’t Meulenhof. The mare doesn’t have a huge stride in the canter, but she moves powerfully and lightly on her feet—and that’s exactly how she jumped. With a time of 36.34 seconds, they were significantly faster than von Eckermann and Minute Man.

In contrast, the Irish rider Denis Lynch and his rather sedate Holsteiner, Cordial—a son of Casall—didn’t stand a chance. Lynch gave it his all, and so did Cordial. But a truck just can’t beat a sports car—a clear round in 38.79 seconds.

Then a wave of applause broke out—it was Christian Kukuk and Checker’s turn, the two Olympic champions who had called Ludger Beerbaum’s facility home for so long and to whom a bronze monument had since been dedicated in front of the entrance to the Riesenbeck International main building. Here, too, they gave it their all, and Checker is clearly more agile on his feet than Cordial. But he didn’t take the turns as tightly as Pepita did. The clock read 36.82 seconds. And what did Ludger Beerbaum say? Apparently quite a lot, because he accompanied his former protégé all the way from the course to the warm-up arena and went over the ride with him once more.

Bettendorf’s Dream Ride

Meanwhile, on the hallowed Rasen in Riesenbeck, Victor Bettendorf of Luxembourg and his ten-year-old Selle Français gelding, Gibbs Un Prince, were getting ready for their appearance. There’s hardly a more unassuming horse than this son of Number One d’Iso—bay, tall, angular, and when it comes to jumping, he’s more of the “a good horse jumps only as high as it needs to” type. But he does it! And he’s fast, too. With a time of 35.37 seconds, the pair shaved nearly a full second off the times set by Daniel Deußer and Pepita on the final line. It was a well-deserved victory. Bettendorf was overjoyed, especially with his four-legged partner.

“I know he’s a superstar, but I didn’t think he was ready for that yet,” the Luxembourger revealed later in an interview. Especially since the two of them have been through a difficult period. “Looking back, though, I asked a little too much of him too quickly last year. That wasn’t fair to the horse,” he admitted self-critically. “That’s why we took a step back, competed in smaller classes, and built him up gradually. Now that patience is paying off.”

Checker’s Athletic Response

Daniel Deußer finished second with Pepita. He took the loss in stride: “When you’re in the lead until the very last rider, of course you want to win. But Victor was incredibly fast today. Still, I’m very satisfied with my round. Pepita is in excellent form and jumped fantastically again today. For her, it was almost a perfect round, and I’m very happy with my horse.”

Behind them, Christian Kukuk finished third. As he rode in for the award ceremony, his horse pranced so joyfully, as if he wanted to show everyone once again just how fit a 16-year-old Olympic champion is. And perhaps also to the national team coach, who did not select the pair for the World Championships in Aachen. “I just can’t understand it at all,” Christian Kukuk had told the dpa after the team roster was announced. This weekend, he and Checker gave a competitive response—after all, he also rode clear in yesterday’s Global Champions League jumping competition over 1.60 meters.

Kukuk: “Of course, I would have liked to have finished one spot higher. But to be honest, I’m very happy with third place. Above all, I’m thrilled with how Checker jumped yesterday, today, and in the jump-off. He’s an extraordinary horse, and I’m incredibly proud of him. The pressure was definitely palpable this week, but I think we gave the right response in the course. It was also the first time I’ve returned to Riesenbeck since it’s no longer my home base. Still, it feels like home every time I drive through the gate. Seeing Ludger and the whole team again was something very special. Tonight, we definitely have every reason to celebrate this success together.”

You can find all the results from Riesenbeck here.