26 July - Ludger Beerbaum explained the German team's aim at the home game in Aachen. After the Nations' Cup weekend in Mannheim, where they once again didn't manage to take the victory, his résumé was sobering: "We didn't manage it again, we haven't managed to win for a damn long time recently. It is not just bad luck. The team has got to give itself a jolt!" There is no question about it: There are just a few days to go before the FEI European Championships kick off in Aachen. Thus, things are slowly getting serious for the show-jumpers too. The Commission of the German Olympic Equestrian Committee (DOKR) has announced the longlist for the show-jumpers, whose dream of competing in Aachen is now almost within grasp. The Chef d'Equipe Otto Becker is faced with a difficult decision, namely putting the right team together. Because in Aachen the German riders will be facing strong competition. In the past, the German jumping team have claimed the gold medal at the European Championships seven times. The last time was in Madrid in 2011, at the time the team comprised of Carsten-Otto Nagel (Corradina), Marco Kutscher (Cornet Obolensky), Janne Friederike Meyer (Cellagon Lambrasco) and Ludger Beerbaum (Gotha FRH). In Aachen, in their own country, the urge to win again will be particularly high. The toughest task is considered to be beating the current title defenders, Great Britain. However, Otto Becker is remaining realistic: "We are coming to Aachen to win a medal – that much is clear! Nevertheless, in the jumping sport, joy and sorrow lie very close together. Many nations have what it takes to secure the European Championship title, if they have a good week in Aachen. So, winning a medal certainly can't be taken for granted."
The following riders are still in the running for one of the coveted places on the team: Christian Ahlmann with Epleaser van’t Heike and
Taloubet Z, Ludger Beerbaum with
Chiara and
Chaman, Daniel Deusser with
Cornet D’Amour and
First Class van Eeckelghem, Hans-Dieter Dreher with
Cool and Easy and
Embassy II, Marcus Ehning with
Comme Il Faut and
Plot Blue, Janne-Friederike Meyer with
Goja, Meredith Michaels-Beerbaum with
Comanche and
Fibonacci, Mario Stevens with
Baloubet and
Brooklyn, Patrick Stühlmeyer with
Lacan and finally André Thieme with
Conthendrix. The final team will be announced on August 10
th.
The jumping competitions begin in Aachen on Wednesday, August 19
th, with the "Turkish Airlines Prize", the first competition in the team classification and the first qualifier for the individual classification. The deciding competitions with two rounds for the team classification will take place on Thursday, August 20
th and on Friday, August 21
st. The individual title will be decided on the last day of the FEI European Championships (August 23
rd) in the big finale, the "Rolex European Champion".
source: www.aachen2015.de