Riders Tour 2018

The DKB-Riders Tour 2018 was the 18th season of the Riders Tour , an international show jumping tournament series .

The program of the Riders Tour comprised six special stages mainly at CSI  4 * tournaments, one stage was organized at a CSI 3 *. The Riders Tour is organized by a company of the same name, whose managing director is Paul Schockemöhle .

Deutsche Kreditbank has been the title sponsor of the series since 2010 . For the third time, the main sponsors were BEMER Int. AG and mauser einrichtungssysteme GmbH & Co. KG.

Course of the tournament series

The stages of the DKB-Riders Tour have remained unchanged since 2014: The six tournaments took place between April 25th and November 25th. The special tests were usually the grand prizes of the tournaments. In the German show jumping and dressage derby , the jumping derby was the Riders Tour rating test. The Munich Indoors in Munich marked the end of the Riders Tour season.

With the exception of the German Jumping Derby, the evaluation tests were each announced as a jumping competition with two different rounds . However, the penalty points were not taken from the first round, so the announcement (except for the starting order in the second round) largely corresponded to a jumping competition with a winning round. The best quarter of the participants in the first round qualified for the second round.

The evaluation points were awarded as follows:

space	1	2	3	4th	5	6th	7th	8th	9	10	11	12	13	14th	15th
Points	20th	17th	15th	13	11	10	9	8th	7th	6th	5	4th	3	2	1

The exams

1st examination - Hagen aTW

The 2018 Riders Tour season kicked off in April: The Grand Prix of the CSI 4 * tournament “ Horses & Dreams ” in Hagen am Teutoburg Forest was held on April 29th from 2:30 pm.

In the first round of the test, endowed with € 75,000, there were ten zero-error rides. The starting field of the second lap was supplemented by the two fastest riders with four penalty points, of which Marcel Marschall and Fenia van Klapscheut had clearly the fastest time of all participants with 70.94 seconds.

Jan Wernke had the fastest ride of the second lap with Queen Mary , but eight penalty points threw him back to twelfth place. The victory went to Denis Nielsen, who was half a second slower, but made no mistakes. As in the previous year, second place went to Christian Rhomberg and Saphyr des Lacs , last year's third Markus Beerbaum came fourth with Cool Hand Luke in 2018.

	equestrian	horse	1st round		2nd round		scoring points
			Penalty points	Time ( s )	Penalty points	Time ( s )
1	Denis Nielsen	Caspar	0	-	0	53.54	20th
2	Christian Rhomberg	Saphyr des Lacs	0	-	0	55.04	17th
3	Cameron Hanley	Comanche	0	-	0	55.42	15th

(Places one to three out of a total of 48 participants)

2nd exam - Hamburg

Matthew Sampson and Gloria van Zuuthoeve , winners of the 89th German Jumping Derby

The German show jumping and dressage derby in Hamburg was held in the first half of May, from May 9th to 13th, 2018, due to the early date of Ascension Day . The first qualification test was postponed to the tournament Wednesday, the second qualification followed on Friday.

The decision about the Riders Tour points was made in the German Jumping Derby on Sunday afternoon. In 2018 there were 32 riders at the start. After many of the first starters had to refuse , the eleventh starter had the first almost flawless ride: Gerald Nothdurft made only one mistake with 14-year-old Amazing , with four penalty points he took the lead. The 20th starter then managed to overcome the one kilometer long course without a mistake: Gilbert Tillmann, Derby winner of 2013, had the only nine-year-old Claus Dieter available for the derby start for the second time and, as in the previous year, made no mistakes in the normal circuit .

The Belgian mare Gloria van Zuuthoeve contested the derby course for the second time: After David McPherson finished the course with her with eight penalty points in 2015, she was now ridden by the 27-year-old Briton Matthew Sampson. Now 12 years old, the mare and her rider made no mistakes and thus ensured that there would be a jump-off in this test. Like Sampson, the rider who scored the third round of zero mistakes competed in the German Jumping Derby for the first time: Sandra Auffarth, championship rider of the German eventing riders, competed in Hamburg with her jumper La Vista . Billy Twomey fell from his 2016 Derby winner, Diaghilev , while jumping off the second Irish wall. The ride went better for the last starter: Dermott Lennon had won both qualifications for the derby with the 12-year-old Gelvins Touch . In the derby itself eight penalty points came together, a fast time (159.42 seconds) brought him to eighth place in the final result. Benjamin Wulschner was even faster, with Bangkok Girl he had finished the derby course in 157.13 seconds, with four penalty points and the fastest time in the field, he secured fourth place.

Gilbert Tillmann had to present in the jump-off. Here, too, it went for him as in the previous year, an obstacle error earned him four penalty points. Matthew Sampson took the lead at a faster pace and without any mistakes. Sandra Auffarth attacked his time and undercut it by over four seconds. But both "railway barriers" (obstacles 12a and 12b) fell and let Auffarth finish the test in third place. Thus, the first British victory in the jumping derby since 1989 was certain.

	equestrian	horse	1st round		Sting		scoring points
			Penalty points	Time ( s )	Penalty points	Time ( s )
1	Matthew Sampson	Gloria van Zuuthoeve	0	-	0	50.53	20th
2	Gilbert Tillmann	Claus Dieter	0	-	4th	53.62	17th
3	Sandra Auffarth	La Vista	0	-	8th	46.41	15th

(Places one to three out of a total of 32 participants)

3rd exam - Wiesbaden

Always the Whitsun weekend and a week after the German Jumping and Dressage Derby takes place in Wiesbaden , the International Pfingstturnier instead. In 2018 the event took place from May 17th to 21st.

With the Grand Prix of the state capital Wiesbaden, the Riders Tour special test was on the agenda on Whit Monday afternoon. Since there was only one high-class show jumping competition at the La Baule Nations Cup this weekend , there was also a strong international starting field this year. Adjusted to this, the first round of the Grand Prix, endowed with 150,000 euros, was demanding: Of the 45 riders who competed, only seven remained without errors.

In the second lap of the best quarter of the field, Marcel Marschall had to present, but with Fenia van Klapscheut he made an obstacle error as in the first lap . The second lap went better for Christian Ahlmann than in the first lap : With the nine-year-old stallion Clintrexo Z , he not only made no mistakes, but was also fast with a time of less than 46 seconds. The next zero-error ride was done by Max Kühner and Alfa Jordan , who, however, chose a not so direct route when attempting the double combination and thus required 49.15 seconds. After two riders with four penalty points followed Wilm Vermeir, who came close to Ahlmann's performance with the Belgian gelding Jacqmotte (without penalty points in 46.89 seconds at the finish).

Elisabeth Meyer from the Gugler stable in Pfungstadt, Hesse, who rode Monodie H , also made no mistakes . The gray mare had been ridden by David Will , who previously worked there, until autumn 2017 and, with Elisabeth Meyer, showed the slowest fault-free lap of the second lap. Significantly faster, but almost a second slower than Ahlmann, Sergio Álvarez Moya came in second. Like Ahlmann, he also rode a horse with Luchino who was only nine years old.

As the third from last starter, Michael Jung started the second lap. While the reigning eventing world champion, Sandra Auffarth, got nine penalty points in the first round, the current Olympic champion of the discipline had a chance of winning the Grand Prix. With 45.24 seconds he undercut Ahlmann's time, but a mistake in the double combination prevented the change in leadership. Lillie Keenan's and Cian O'Connor's rides were no longer dangerous for the leader, and victory in the Wiesbaden Grand Prix went to Christian Ahlmann for the first time.

	equestrian	horse	1st round		2nd round		scoring points
			Penalty points	Time ( s )	Penalty points	Time ( s )
1	Christian Ahlmann	Clintrexo Z	4th	-	0	45.84	20th
2	Sergio Álvarez Moya	Luchino	0	-	0	46.82	17th
3	Wilm Vermeir	Jacqmotte	0	-	0	46.89	15th

(Places one to three out of a total of 45 participants)

4th exam - Münster

With the tournament of winners in Münster , the Riders Tour season was continued from August 23rd to 26th, 2018 after a break of several months.

The grand prize was on the final day at around 3 p.m. The initially set allowed time of 84 seconds proved to be impossible to manage, whereupon it was increased after three rides. The jury decided on a generous increase to 90 seconds. The ride by Julia Houtzager-Kayser and Cayetano Z , which was initially punished with time penalties, was the first clear round. Out of a total of 37 starters, 14 riders and their horses managed to get no penalty points.

This resulted in a big winning round for all 14 faultless participants. The first lap without a mistake in the winning lap was shown by Lars Nieberg, who crossed the finish line with Foster in 41.53 seconds. While Marc Houtzager was also without mistakes, but slower, Marcus Ehning and his stallion Funky Fred took the lead. It took him less than 39 seconds to complete the course. The next who could approach this achievement was Philipp Weishaupt, who with the 11-year-old Asathir was just over a second slower than Ehning. Just 0.15 seconds slower than Marcus Ehning, but the nine-year-old gelding Claus Dieter finished the winning round with an obstacle error. The horse, which finished second in the German Jumping Derby with Gilbert Tillmann in 2017 and 2018 , showed his best performance so far with his new rider Frank Schuttert.

As the penultimate starter, Christian Ahlmann already knew at this point that he would take the lead in the Riders Tour overall standings. With Clintrexo Z , his winning horse from Wiesbaden, he attacked Ehning's time and actually remained without errors for a time of 38.30 seconds. Paul Estermann, as the last starter, reached the seventh zero-error lap of the winning lap, with a slow time it became sixth for him and Curtis Sitte .

	equestrian	horse	1st round		2nd round		scoring points
			Penalty points	Time ( s )	Penalty points	Time ( s )
1	Christian Ahlmann	Clintrexo Z	0	-	0	38.30	20th
2	Marcus Ehning	Funky Fred	0	-	0	38.80	17th
3	Philipp Weishaupt	Asathir	0	-	0	39.85	15th

(Places one to three out of a total of 37 participants)

5th exam - Paderborn

Two weeks after Münster, the fifth stage of the Riders Tour as part of the Paderborn Challenge was on the program. The only CSI 3 * tournament in the series took place from September 6th to September 9th, 2018 on Paderborn's Schützenplatz.

Annelies Vorsselmans opened the second round of the Grand Prix, which was held early on Sunday afternoon. With the 10-year-old stallion Olimpo , she finished the ride without a jumping fault, but with a time penalty. The time allowed turned out to be tight, and Andre Sakakini, the second starter in that second lap, did not finish in the time allowed. By the end of the round, five of the 13 starters did not succeed.

Wout-Jan van der Schans managed the first completely flawless lap on the second lap, taking the lead with the 15-year-old gelding Capetown . Mario Stevens and Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann also made no mistakes, they lined up behind van der Schans. Third from last starter was Andreas Kreuzer. Kreuzer had reduced his tournament starts in 2018 and his best horse Calvilot temporarily competed with his stable colleague David Will. In August, Kreuzer presented the gelding for the first time at an international tournament. In the Grand Prix of Paderborn, Kreuzer attacked with Calvilot and crossed the finish line 1.60 seconds faster than Wout-Jan van der Schans without making a mistake.

Ben Schröder as the penultimate starter also showed a zero-error lap, due to a chosen slow basic pace it was only enough for him and the 10-year-old Davino Q to finish fifth. Even Krzysztof Ludwiczak, who had finished second in the Paderborn Championship the day before, had no chance of victory. This went to Andreas Kreuzer.

	equestrian	horse	1st round		2nd round		scoring points
			Penalty points	Time ( s )	Penalty points	Time ( s )
1	Andreas Kreuzer	Calvilot	0	-	0	47.25	20th
2	Wout-Jan van der Schans	Capetown	0	-	0	48.85	17th
3	Janne F. Meyer-Zimmermann	Minimax	0	-	0	49.45	15th

(Places one to three out of a total of 49 participants)

6th exam - Munich

After a further break of several months, the last tournament of the Riders Tour season was held in Munich's Olympiahalle from November 22nd to 25th, 2018 . As part of the Munich Indoors Grand Prix , the last points were awarded for the overall ranking.

The decision on overall victory in the tournament series was largely made in the first round of the Munich Grand Prix. Christian Ahlmann, who had a clear lead in the overall standings, received 13 penalty points with Colorit and thus had no chance of further rating points, but his two fiercest competitors also failed: Janne Friederike Meyer-Zimmermann got nine penalty points with the gray mare Bali , Denis Nielsen with the gelding Carlo S even on 12 penalty points. None of the previous top three of the Riders Tour in Munich was able to collect points, so Ahlmann's overall victory was certain. But Andreas Kreuzer, winner of Paderborn, made it into the second round. This gave him the chance to draw level with Ahlmann in the overall standings with a win.

In the first round nine riders and their horses made no mistakes. In addition to them, the four riders who had finished their rides with four penalty points in under 60 seconds also qualified for the second round. The 24-year-old Frenchman Edward Levy started the second round. With the Mexican mare Rebeca he showed a brisk pace, he cleared a mistake in under 40 seconds. Even with a high basic pace and without mistakes, but slower than Levy, Torben Köhlbrandt moved up to second place with the 9-year-old mare Miss Bubbles . With Elisabeth Meyer and Mario Stevens, there were two rides with eight penalty points before Alain Jufer entered the course. He delivered the third lap without mistakes in the second lap, but with a significantly slower time (46.07 seconds).

After further rides with errors, it was Lisa Williams from South Africa who showed the fourth zero-error ride. Just like Jufer at a reduced pace, she came in third. Andreas Kreuzer was allowed to start as the last participant in the second lap. But his goal of finishing first with Calvilot did not succeed. Started with a correspondingly high pace, he had already made two mistakes after five obstacles. On the sixth jump, the entry into the double combination, he no longer got a suitable distance, broke off the start of the jump and gave up. The victory in the Grand Prix thus went to Edward Levy.

	equestrian	horse	1st round		2nd round		scoring points
			Penalty points	Time ( s )	Penalty points	Time ( s )
1	Edward Levy	Rebeca	4th	-	0	39.71	20th
2	Torben Köhlbrandt	Miss Bubbles	4th	-	0	41.23	17th
3	Lisa Williams	Campbell	0	-	0	45.11	15th

(Places one to three out of a total of 49 participants)

Final score overall

	equestrian	Stages						Total points
		Hagen	Hamburg	Wiesbaden	Muenster	Paderborn	Munich
1	Christian Ahlmann	-	0	20th	20th	-	0	40
2	Janne F. Meyer-Zimmermann	-	7th	0	5	15th	0	27
3	Andreas Kreuzer	0	-	-	-	20th	3	23
4th	Denis Nielsen	20th	-	-	0	2	0	22nd
5	Gerrit Nieberg	10	-	-	0	10	0	20th
	Lars Nieberg	7th	-	-	13	0	-	20th
	Mario Stevens	-	-	-	-	13	7th	20th
	Matthew Sampson	-	20th	-	-	-	-	20th
	Edward Levy	-	-	-	-	-	20th	20th

Web links

• Internet presence of the DKB-Riders Tour
• FEI tournament calendar

Individual evidence

1. ↑ DKB-Riders Tour - Imprint , accessed on May 4, 2018
2. ↑ The sporting regulations of the DKB-Riders Tour 2018 , accessed on May 4, 2018
3. ↑ Result of the Grand Prix of Deutsche Kreditbank AG, CSI 4 * Horses & Dreams 2018
4. ^ Result of the German Jumping Derby 2018
5. ^ Briton Matthew Sampson wins the 89th German Jumping Derby, Sandra Auffarth sensational third , Jan Tönjes / St. Georg, May 13, 2018
6. Jump in performance in Pfungstadt , Udo Döring / echo-online.de, May 24, 2018
7. ^ Result of the Grand Prix of the State Capital Wiesbaden 2018
8. ↑ Wiesbaden: Christian Ahlmann wins the Grand Prix , Kirsten Ahrling / Reiter Revue International, May 21, 2018
9. ^ Result of the Grand Prix of the City of Münster 2018
10. ^ Result of the Grand Prix of Paderborn 2018
11. ^ Result of the Grand Prix of Munich 2018
12. ↑ Christian Ahlmann wins the Riders Tour 2018 , Alexandra Koch / Reiter Revue International, November 25, 2018
13. ↑ Final result Riders Tour 2018 (PDF)