The German champion is now also the MERCEDES GERMAN MASTER. Late on Friday evening, the Wiesbaden-born Daniel Deußer rode to victory in the second most important jumping class at the 29th International STUTTGART GERMAN MASTERS Horse Show. Riding his nine-year old mare Evita van de Veldbalie in front of 6,400 thrilled spectators, he left all the fences standing when clocking 37.69 seconds in the jump-off contested by the nine riders that had gone clear in the first round. After the lap of honour, the 32-year old European Championships team runner-up, who now lives in Beerse, Belgium, raced around the arena at the steering wheel of his new Mercedes-Benz GLK 350 Off-Roader worth almost 68,000 Euro. “This afternoon I was standing in front of the roll of honour thinking, hey I wouldn’t mind having my name up there. And that it probably wasn’t going to happen today as I would be riding against the world’s best and that I had a young horse.”
Second was the British Team Olympic champion Scott Brash whose mare Ursula was also faultless in the jump-off when going through the finishing line in 38.89 seconds. His reward: 16,000 euro prize money. Ludger Beerbaum on Chaman and Max Kühner (both Germany) on Cornetta were equal third in a time of 40.57 seconds and both received 10,000 euro.
Manfred Hommel, director of the Mercedes-Benz dealership in Stuttgart, said it was his first visit to the horse show: “I was impressed by the fantastic sport. The jumping was stunning and Deußer’s ride simply sensational.”
