A heavyweight line up of the stars of show jumping will head to Hamburg this week as the Championship temperature heats up for the 11th leg of the Longines Global Champions Tour 2021 circuit.
Leading the pack will be 2018 & 2019 Longines Global Champions Tour Champion, and newly titled Olympic Champion Ben Maher, who will compete in the three day festival of show jumping with his top horses. Currently sitting 7th in the overall season rankings Maher will be looking to take advantage of key Championship contenders sitting this leg out.
Five time Olympic medallist and home hero Ludger Beerbaum will also be back and looking for another strong result at his local show ground. The top German rider has won the LGCT Grand Prix here before, and this year clearly looking for a repeat of his former success in Hamburg to claim a golden ticket to the Longines Global Champions Tour Super Grand Prix.
There will be plenty of home heroes for fans to support, with top German riders also including Marcus Ehning, Christian Ahlmann, Philipp Weishaupt, Friederike Meyer-Zimmermannand U25 star Laura Klaphake, who has previously pulled out a stellar performance in the LGCT Grand Prix of Hamburg to dazzle the knowledgeable crowds.
They will face stiff competition from names such as Max Kühner, Eric van der Vleuten, Marlon Zanotelli, Laura Kraut, Nayel Nassar, Harrie Smolders, Shane Breen, Alberto Zorzi, Denis Lynch, and Leopold van Asten all lining up for a chance to win the prestigious LGCT Grand Prix of Hamburg, and earn a place in the all-important GC Prague Playoffs at the end of the season.
The current qualifiers for the Longines Global Champions Super Grand Prix include Niels Bruynseels, Olivier Robert, Ben Maher, Peder Fredricson, Darragh Kenny, Sameh El Dahan, Sergio Moya, Scott Brash, John Whitaker, and last weekend’s LGCT Valkenswaard winner Daniel Deusser – with just five more places available in the ultimate showdown in show jumping.
At the Derby-Park Klein Flottbeck, families can enjoy picnics in the countryside setting where the German Jumping and Dressage Derby has been held for decades. Or visitors can take a trip into the city to enjoy a whole host of activities from sight-seeing to fine dining, music to museums. The first of two events hosted by the passionate horse country, Hamburg was last year the host of the prestigious stallion Casall’s retirement, made extra special with his exceptional Longines Global Champions Tour Grand Prix win – a story that will go down in history as being one of the greatest.
With the level of competition and excitement building year on year, the 11th stop on the 2021 season of the Longines Global Champions Tour will be a thriller.