Nobody came by: Mario Stevens won the German championship title of the show jumpers in Balve on Sunday with Starissa.
The 42-year-old from Molbergen (Cloppenburg district) was the only faultless in all four rounds and left Tom Schewe and Lorenzo behind. The surprise runner -up only conceded two penalty points for exceeding the time, otherwise there was no drop.
Third finished René Ditmer with Cody. The rider from Stade narrowly missed the podium last year.
Earned wages for Stevens
“You can see how important it is to stay in the permitted time. Mario had also planned, prepared for it and now got the wages deserved,” said national coach Otto Becker about the WDR about the winner, who was already victorious in 2017 and 2022.
Stevens himself had a good feeling early on. “I quickly realized that not much can happen today. Our plan has worked fully,” said the winner at the WDR. Now he wants to tackle the upcoming big tasks and qualify for the Grand Price at the upcoming Chio (early June 27th).
Stevens set at the Chio
Otto Becker had kept three places for his Chio team for the Balve winners. “However, Mario Stevens was set beforehand,” said Becker.
Last year’s winner Patrick Stühlmeyer and Olympic champion Christian Kukuk were not at the start in Balve. Previously, Stephie de Boer secured her first championship title in the separately led women’s concentration on Saturday.
Our sources:
- Livestream of the WDR from Balve
- News agency SID
