Olympic Jumping: The Beerbaum Connection

Since the nomination of the German show jumping team for the Olympic Games in Paris, experts in the equestrian scene have been talking about a constellation that has never been seen before ‒ and which will probably remain unique. The composition of the seeded riders alone ‒ Christian Kukuk, Philipp Weishaupt and Richard Vogel ‒ fills the staff at the Beerbaum Stables in Riesenbeck with great joy.

Weishaupt has been working for Ludger Beerbaum since 2003, Christian Kukuk has been at the stables since 2012. And Richard Vogel was also employed there from 2016 to 2018 and describes that time as extremely valuable for his further development.

The selection of horses to compete in Paris is considered even more spectacular by the experienced breeders. They are “three Westphalians for Paris”, as the Westphalian Studbook proudly puts it. All three show jumpers have close links to Ludger Beerbaum’s stables, who is “a little proud”.

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Christian Kukuk’s 14-year-old gelding Checker can point to the genes of the world’s best show jumpers. He is the son of Comme il faut and was bred by Wolfgang Kipp. Comme il faut was even born in Ludger Beerbaum’s stables in Riesenbeck. He is descended from Cornet Obolensky, who also had his stall in Riesenbeck. This wonderful sire was successfully ridden internationally by Marco Kutscher and won the team gold medal with him at the 2011 European Championships. Comme il faut’s dam was none other than Ludger Beerbaum’s top horse Ratina Z. With this probably most successful mare in the world, he won the team gold medal at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, followed by individual and team gold at the 1997 European Championships. Incidentally, Checker’s dam’s sire Come on was also stabled in Riesenbeck.

Philipp Weishaupt’s ten-year-old gelding Zineday is by Zinedine/Polydor and was bred by Franz-Georg Ottmann. Now 20 years old, the chestnut stallion Zinedine was known for his lightning-fast reflexes, boundless ability, ambition and caution. With his rider Ludger Beerbaum in the saddle, he collected numerous victories and placings in the Grand Prix in Paris, London, Shanghai, Zurich and St. Gallen. Zinedine is still at stud at Beerbaum Stables in Riesenbeck and is very popular with breeders. Zineday’s dam Paola was also at home in Riesenbeck, and Franz-Georg Ottmann and Ludger Beerbaum agreed that Paola would be covered by Zinedine for breeding purposes and would therefore move to the yard in Saerbeck.

Richard Vogel’s 12-year-old stallion United Touch S by Untouched/Lux, bred by Julius-Peter Sinnack, is also related to Riesenbeck. His great-granddam is Classic Touch, with whom Ludger Beerbaum won the individual gold medal at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona.