Robert Smith Was the Fastest

Aachen, June 18, 2003 - Marco Kutscher (Riesenbeck) missed the victory in the Warsteiner-Prize "Prize of Europa" and with that his biggest success with an edge of only twelve hundredth. On his nine year-old Dutch Montender, the rider from the stables of Ludger Beerbaum had submitted a racy round, but British Robert Smith, who had already been the winner of yesterday's opening competition with his -as well- nine year-old, Dutch stallion Claudius was able to beat him. The British rider obtained a prize money of 16.500 Euro, and to cool down after the competition he was offered a huge glass of Warsteiner beer at the prize giving ceremony.

The son of the former show jumper Harvey Smith was completely pleased: "Marius Claudius is very fast, and he is in top shape. The course was really difficult and the time was an additional criterion." At the moment, he is obviously equipped with the best horse, especially with regard to the European Championships in Donaueschingen, because with Mr. Springfield he has a second top horse at his disposal. "Mr. Springfield will soon start again after a break. I cannot say today which horse I will take with me to the European Championships, but both horses are in top shape."

Highly satisfied was also Kutscher, who normally is not very famous with regard to fast rounds. "I have never been on the course that fast before", he committed laughingly, "but I wanted to show to my boss Ludger, that I can do it." About two seconds behind those two was Otto Becker with Cento (Steinfeld), the second best German. "Cento is indeed back in top-form after his injury", the Olympic Team Champion says happily. He had won the World Cup Final last year with the grey stallion.

Becker paid a great compliment to Chief Course Designer Frank Rothenberger, who is for the first time building the jumping courses in Aachen. "He has done a very good job, has brought eight riders through the arena without a fault." He also said that the course had been demanding and that the time, which let a high number of the riders drop out, had been an additional and necessary criterion. "In this competition, only obstacles up to 1,50 meters were allowed, so Rothenberger had to use the time as an additional criterion, because all top riders are starting today."

European Champion Ludger Beerbaum, who had one fault in the final two-fold combination with Gladdys, was in exchange luckier in the Prize of the Region Aachen "In memoriam Landrat Hermann-Josef Pütz". The man from Riesenbeck brought a considerable edge between himself and his competitors during the jump off with twelve participants, with the 13 year-old Champion du Lys, with whom he had won the Derby of Hamburg about two weeks ago, and Beerbaum won in 37,89 seconds in front of the Italian Vincenzo Chimirri (40.48) on Askoll Salto van't Riethof and French Michel Hecart (40,99) on That's Life.

The Germans had managed a three-fold victory in the first qualification for the Sparkassen Youngsters Cup, a jumping competition for young horses: With the seven year-old Westphalian Emily, Rene Tebbel (Emsbüren) succeeded with a faultless round in 55,65 seconds in front of Merschformann (Laer, 0/55,82) on Acajou and Marco Kutscher (Riesenbeck, 0/57,83) on the stud stallion Conterno-Grande, both horses being eight year-old Oldenburger.