The stadium in Riesenbeck was packed with enthusiastic spectators who were treated to an afternoon full of surprising twists, exciting moments and top performances. The Global Champions League team competition took centre stage during this eleventh stage of sixteen in the 2025 season. The teams competed against each other in two rounds. The course in the first round proved to be particularly difficult: only eight riders remained faultless and only two teams recorded a total of four penalty points: the Cannes Stars with Katrin Eckermann and Janne Friederike Meyer Zimmermann, and Valkenswaard United with Marcus Ehning and Hans Dieter Dreher. The home team from Riesenbeck received eight penalty points after Christian Kukuk and Emanuele Camilli both knocked down a fence.

In the second round, the competition took a complete turn. Several teams managed to complete the new 1.60 m course without faults, including Riesenbeck International. Maximilian Weishaupt replaced Camilli with the nine-year-old Kokomo B (Kannan) and delivered a flawless round. Kukuk also achieved a clear round with Chageorge (Chacco-Blue). This not only secured Riesenbeck a podium place on home turf, but also 25 important points in the standings. This moved the team up from sixth to fifth place.

Kukuk reacted with relief and pride afterwards: ‘In the second round, I rode more consistently from the start and that paid off. My horse jumped fantastically. Max put in a great performance with his young horse. That wasn't the original plan, but he did a fantastic job. Being able to give something back to the home crowd is always an extra motivation.’

Henrik von Eckermann was delighted with the win with Istanbul Warriors, right where he used to work himself: "The team strategy hasn't always worked as hoped lately, maybe we had the wrong combinations. But this time everything fell into place. The course was challenging, but fair and well constructed. My horse is only nine years old, so this performance makes me extra proud and gives me confidence for the future." Thanks to the maximum score of 30 points, the team moved up three places in the standings.

In the interim standings, the top four remain virtually unchanged. Valkenswaard United remains firmly in the lead with 231 points, followed by the Shanghai Swans (218) and the Cannes Stars powered by Iron Dames (217), who limited their deficit with a seventh and fourth place finish. The difference between second and third place is now only one point. Next week, the competition continues in New York, USA.