They have won four stages of the Global Champions League this season: Team Riesenbeck also took the lead in Vienna after the first round – and a fifth stage victory was within reach. Max Weishaupt and his Holstein-based Zuccero HV (v. VDL Zirocco Blue) made the first 1.60m course look almost like a dressage competition, and in round two the 14-year-old stallion was no closer to breaking a pole – double zero as in the textbook. Philipp Weishaupt and Oreo D. R. (v. Kannan) also completed the course without fault and error – that was two times of top performance and that is how it should continue.
The Scandinavian Vikings were the big favorites in the race: Lara Tryba and the Holstein-bred Shotgun (v. Stakkato Gold) chose the safe option and only finished the first lap with one time penalty. Her teammate Jur Vrieling decided on a similar strategy: with VDL Mattias (v. Comme il Faut), the Dutchman went for safety, but he incurred two time penalties. Three penalty points on the team’s score could be costly, or maybe not?
In round two over 1.55m, the team remained error-free. Jur Vrieling had the experienced 15-year-old Grand Slam VDL (v. Cardento) on board for round two, and together they set the team record for the first time.
With this, Team Riesenbeck International was under pressure as the last team in the battle for victory before Schloss Schönbrunn. After the second flawless round by Max Weishaupt, it was up to his brother Philipp to bring home the victory. For round two, Philipp Weishaupt had chosen Kilmister (v. Diarado), his Vienna Grand Prix winner from last year.
But a loss ended the dream of the fifth title of the season and Team Riesenbeck slipped to second place this time. This was of course still a great team performance. And in the overall standings, Team Riesenbeck continues to lead with a large lead of 242 points ahead of the Istanbul Warriors (201 points).
The Istanbul Warriors took third place on the podium in Vienna with Henrik von Eckermann aboard Hylanderhof’s Saruschka (v. Stakkato Gold) and Abdel Said aboard the Holsteinian Wathnan Calvaro (v. Cascadello). This team also remained error-free in round two. In round one, however, the duo had scored eight penalty points, which ended up being counted.
The whole result: HERE
The GCL ranking: HERE