26 Aug Philipp Schulze Topphoff und Carla in Pole Position for the BEMER Riders Tour rating competition
(Münster) When asked how many victory interviews he has already given in his young career, Philipp Schulze Topphoff still hesitated quite modestly, but as of today it will definitely be one more. Riding the Westphalian Comme il Faut daughter Carla, the 25-year-old decided the qualification for the fifth leg of the BEMER Riders Tour in his favour this afternoon. Among the 47 participants in the first round and eight finalists who qualified for the Marktkauf Cup jump-off, the show jumper from Havixbeck came out on top. With an impeccable performance in the jump-off and 39.48 seconds, Schulze Topphoff won narrowly ahead of Mario Stevens on Starissa (0/40.63). Marco Kutscher and Aventador secured bronze in 41.02 seconds.
Philipp Schulze Topphoff only needs 12 minutes to get to the showground opposite Münster Castle and the joy of winning in front of his home crowd and many friends and colleagues was written all over the young man’s face. He was the first rider to gallop into the jump-off course with Carla and set a time that only the Luxembourg rider Victor Bettendorf could beat (4/38.76). “I knew that there would be a lot of fast riders. I actually took the line from one to two with one canter jump more than my competitors. If I had seen three or four rides before, I probably would have done it differently,” Schulze Topphoff admitted. “But the other turns went really well for me. I noticed how my horse jumped better and better with each jump and really paid attention. She wanted to be clear. My job then was just not to stop her from doing that!” Schulze Topphoff, who celebrated his 25th birthday only last Tuesday, is also counting on the ten-year-old chestnut mare in the Grand Prix of Münster on Sunday.
World-class pair Mario Stevens and Starissa jumped into second place. Stevens is also optimistic about tomorrow’s competition of the BEMER Riders Tour and praised the event: ” It is one of the best shows there is. The conditions, the friendly atmosphere, the importance for the people of the region – it’s just great. Everyone is taken care of here.” Third place went to another in-form pair: Marco Kutscher and Aventador S, who already won the Grand Prix of CSI Hof Waterkant at the beginning of August. They will also compete in the Grand Prix on Sunday and Kutscher believes that there is still room for improvement for the ten-year-old stallion: “Aventador has a lot of ambition. Only in terms of the bit I haven’t found the ideal solution yet. But I think if I manage to optimise that, anything is possible for Aventador.”
The leading rider in the BEMER Riders Tour ranking, Michael Viehweg showed on Contario that the course in Münster suits him. With only one pole in the jump-off, the rider from Schrobenhausen finished in eighth place at his ‘Turnier der Sieger’ debut. The fifth leg of the BEMER Riders Tour will be decided on Sunday from 3.00 pm in the Prize of the Auto Nagel Unternehmensgruppe. Schulze Topphoff will then, however, have the advantage of being able to watch his colleagues first, because as the winner of the qualifier he will be allowed to start as the last competitor in the rating competition. German WDR television will show the Grand Prix on “Sport im Westen – live” from 3:30 pm. In addition, the streaming portal ClipMyHorse.TV will broadcast from Münster.
Result MARKTKAUF-CUP – BEMER Riders Tour Qualification, CSI4* competition with jump off (1.55m)
- Philipp Schulze Topphoff (GER) & Carla NRW, 0/39.48
- Mario Stevens (GER) & Starissa, 0/40.63
- Marco Kutscher (GER) & Aventador S, 0/41.02
- Zoe Osterhoff (GER) & Jaguar King WD, 0/44.34
- Caroline Müller (GER) & Jack, 0/46.09
- Victor Bettendorf (LUX) & Big Star des Forets, 4/38.76
- Marc Houtzager (NED) & Sterrehof’s Dante, 4/40.52
- Michael Viehweg (GER) & Contario, 4/43.19
All results: https://results.hippodata.de/2023/2332/html/de/hippodata/resultlist_06.html?style=wn
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: Riding the Westphalian Comme il Faut daughter Carla, 25-year-old Philipp Schulze Tophoff decided the qualification for the fifth leg of the BEMER Riders Tour in his favour © Stefan Lafrentz