Status: 05/19/2023 09:38 am
Mario Stevens won the Hamburg Championship at the German Show Jumping and Dressage Derby in Klein Flottbek. The show jumper from Molbergen in Lower Saxony prevailed on Ascension Day with the fastest clear ride in the jump-off. The NDR is also broadcasting live on TV and on NDR.de today.
The German champion won in the saddle of Starissa in 48.83 seconds ahead of Hans-Dieter Dreher (Eimeldingen) with Elysium (49.06) and the Irishman Shane Breen with Quick Star (49.65). A total of ten couples had reached the jump-off of the first major jumping competition at the Derby tournament.
Stevens had to tremble until the end, when Gerrit Nieberg with Ben as the last starter in the jump-off was on course without any mistakes until the penultimate obstacle. Then, at the penultimate obstacle, a pole fell on the winner of the traditional Aachen Grand Prix – first place for Stevens, who finished third last year in Dreher’s triumph.
“My plan worked,” said Stevens on NDR. He wanted to lure the competition with his fast ride. “I’m super happy with Starissa, it was the first jumping event here at the tournament and then winning the championship is amazing,” he said in praise of the ten-year-old gelding. “My whole family is here, I’m just happy.”
For his victory, the Lower Saxony received 20,000 euros of the prize money of 80,000 euros. The test was also the qualification for the Grand Prix on Saturday. For the first time since 2008, the EUR 300,000 competition is no longer part of the Global Champions Tour million series.
Today is the second qualification for the spring derby. The highlight of the classic in Hamburg is the fight for the derby winner’s blue ribbon on Sunday.
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