31 Aug Championship feeling for the 6th stage at the CSI Lier
(Lier) There is little time between the stages, but the sport is all the more generous for it: The sixth stage of the BEMER Riders Tour will already take place this week at the Azelhof in Lier, Belgium. The CSI Lier at three-star level is hosting the Tour for the second time. Already on Friday, 1 September, the qualifier will be decided in the Stephex Arena. The best 50 pairs of this international jumping competition with jump-off, including the pre-qualified riders, will then start in reverse order on Sunday, 3 September, in the Grand Prix of Lier, which is also the rating competition of the BEMER Riders Tour. This Grand Prix will be an international show jumping competition over 1.55m with two rounds.
A world-class field of 157 riders from 33 nations is expected, conveying almost championship character. Daniel Deusser (GER), Marlon Modolo Zanotelli (BRA) and Laura Kraut (USA) are among the top 25 in the current world ranking list and are therefore pre-qualified for the competition on Sunday. The Dutch rider Sanne Thijssen recently won the Grand Prix of Valkenswaard in sensational style. The Italian champion rider Lorenzo de Luca, the Belgian world champion Philippe Le Jeune and the Luxembourgian five-star Grand Prix winner Victor Bettendorf have also announced their attendance.
Hall Mcateer hungry for further Riders Tour points
Lier is also the next BEMER Riders Tour stop for 23-year-old British rider Jodie Hall Mcateer, stage winner of the CSI Ommen, who is currently in fourth place in the ranking with 20 points. She won her first Tour points on Kimosa van het Kritrahof against strong international competition in the Netherlands. Since then, the pair have competed at five-star level in London. Hall Mcateer has jumped in Lier many times and has very good memories of the Azelhof: “I have jumped in Lier many times before and won my first world ranking class there five years ago. The facilities are great for both horses and riders so I am looking forward to a good weekend of sport and hopefully a few more ribbons! I will have my bay mare Kimosa with me, who won in Ommen, so hopefully we can keep building on her form and gain some more points in the Riders Tour.”
The young rider from Hertfordshire, UK, who has also been successful in the Global Champions Tour over the past three years, praises the initiative of show jumping series: “Chasing an overall ranking really motivates the riders to stay consistent and target their team at specific classes. It’s also nice that the Riders Tour is mainly aimed at 3 and 4* shows as it means riders who aren’t high enough on the ranking list to get into a 5* event can can compete. These shows have great facilities, nice atmospheres and top sport where you can combine being competitive with developing younger or less experienced horses to the higher levels.”
The streaming portal ClipMyHorse.TV will broadcast all competitions from Lier live.
Ranking of the BEMER Riders Tour after five of eight stages
1. Patrick Stühlmeyer (GER), 35 Punkte
2. Michael Viehweg (GER), 26
3. Hans Dieter Dreher (GER), 25
4. Michael Kölz (GER), 20
4. Jodie Hall Mcateer (GBR), 20
6. Eoin McMahon (IRE), 17
6. Penelope Leprevost (FRA), 17
6. Michael Greeve (NED), 17
6. Evelyne Bussmann (SUI), 17
6. Christian Kukuk (GER), 17
Stages of the BEMER Riders Tour 2023/24
Horses & Dreams meets Sweden, Hagen a.T.W. / GER, 19. – 23. April 2023
Pferd International, München-Riem / GER, 18. – 21. May 2023
CSI Ommen, Ommen / NED, 06. – 09. July 2023
Fest der Pferde, Donaueschingen-Immenhöfe / GER, 27. – 30. July 2023
Turnier der Sieger, Münster / GER, 24. – 27. August 2023
CSI Lier Azelhof Horse Events, Lier / BEL, 31. August – 03. September 2023
CSI Arena Nova, Wiener Neustadt / AUT, 05 – 08 October 2023
VR CLASSICS, Neumünster / GER, 15. – 18. February 2024
Photo: Jodie Hall Mcateer, winner of the 3rd Tour leg at CSI Ommen, is currently in fourth place in the ranking with 20 points. © Ineke Wunnink