A three horse race to the Championship finish for Beerbaum, Bengtsson and Brash

28 Septembre- After another electric Grand Prix last weekend at the Longines Global Champions Tour of Vienna, the race for this year’s Champion’s crown and the major share of a €1million bonus prize fund has now been narrowed down to three of the biggest names in show jumping - Ludger Beerbaum (GER), Scott Brash (GBR) and Rolf-Göran Bengtsson (SWE). Beerbaum leads the charge by just 12 points from Bengtsson in 2nd, while Brash lurks just 20 points behind the Swede in 3rd.

Due to runs of sparkling form from each of these three riders throughout the season, this little pack has broken away from the rest of the top ten and asserted their dominance over the 2014 series. Rolf-Göran Bengtsson, 52, was the first of them to come to the fore towards the beginning of the season with a Silver medal in Antwerp and Monaco followed by a win in Chantilly, all with his trusty mount Casall ASK - but World No1 Scott Brash was quickly on his heels.

As reigning Longines Global Champions Tour Champion, 28-year-old Brash had to carry the weight of expectation this season, but he has stood firm and delivered. After picking up a Bronze medal in Hamburg, Brash made history again this season by becoming the first rider to win three rounds in the same year - Cannes, Cascais, Estoril and London - with his incredible gelding Hello Sanctos. However, consistency is key and Brash’s flashes of brilliance have not yet propelled him to the top of the leaderboard this year.

World No2 Ludger Beerbaum on the other hand has managed his season peak perfectly, with just a small dip in form in the middle during Cannes and Paris. Since then, Beerbaum, 52, has systematically climbed his way up the places and the ranking with a 4th in Chantilly, 3rd in Valkenswaard, 2nd in London and 1st in Lausanne. The four-time Olympic Gold medallist took over as ranking leader from Bengtsson in Lausanne and has his eyes firmly on the prize in Doha.

As the ranking stands, it would seem Beerbaum has it sewn up but both he and Bengtsson already have the maximum seven scores counting and Brash only has six, so the Scotsman can collect full points in Doha while the other two must still drop their lowest score. “Scott will be dangerous if he is in the first four in Doha and I’m not better than 5th,” said Beerbaum. “Scott is the one to watch, but I will be there watching him.” Fighting talk! The final leg in Doha (13-15 November) is sure to be a thrilling climax to another sensational season.

Source: Press Release

(Photo: Stefano Grasso/LGCT)